Doctor Who Season 1 comes to a dramatic and emotional conclusion with "Empire of Death"

As a huge fan of the David Tennant and Matt Smith eras on Doctor Who, it is hard for me to say this, but I think Ncuti Gatwa just might be the best Doctor we've ever had. This week's season 1 finale proves that point over and over again. I think it's safe to say Gatwa has solidified his place in the Whoniverse.

"Empire of Death" picks up right where "The Legend of Ruby Sunday" left off. Things are in an apocalyptic state as Sutekh and his soldiers are wreaking havoc on London. Mel (Bonnie Langford) whisks the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) away while the UNIT soldiers and Kate Stewart (Jemma Redgrave) try to take down Sutekh.

There is a lot happening in this Doctor Who finale, and we have so much to talk about, so without further ado, let's get right into it!

The end of life as we know it

It's a bit absurd to think that UNIT is going to take down a God like Sutekh. Their bullets do no damage. Instead, life as we know it comes to an end.

Thanks to Sutekh's death dust, the entire world ceases to exist, including Kate Stewart, who bids the Doctor farewell. The Doctor and Mel are seemingly okay, and so is Ruby (Millie Gibson) who is still standing in the Time Window hoping to find out more her about her birth mother.

Meanwhile, all of London, including Ruby's mother Carla (Michelle Greenidge) and grandmother Cherry Sunday (Angela Wynter) become dust...just like that.

The Doctor and Mel find Ruby within the Time Window and learn that the Doctor can enter the TARDIS that is being projected from the old VHS tape. Inside of this TARDIS is something magical that makes me smile, because I know it's the doing of showrunner Russell T Davies.

The TARDIS is not this Doctor's TARDIS, but rather a culmination of all the Doctors there have ever been. It is hard to identify all the Easter eggs in there, but if you're a hardcore Whovian you will have noticed the clothes, the jump seat, and the sonic screwdriver, amongst many other things. It is quite a moment!

Oh, and Mel is seen looking nostalgically at items from the Doctors she's traveled with, including a coat and a vest, which is such a great throwback.

A throwback to "The Pyramids of Mars"

We also get a quick review of what happened when the Doctor and Sutekh last met. Basically, Sutekh forced himself to hang onto the TARDIS when the Doctor thought he had gotten rid of him once and for all. Sutekh had been traveling through space and time with the Time Lord ever since. Sutekh essentially used the Doctor as a means to bring chaos to the world.

The Doctor, Mel and Ruby realize the gravity of this situation as they sit aboard the TARDIS, watching Sutekh completely destroy every single planet, including the Ood Sphere and Skaro. Gatwa's performance as the Doctor comes to terms with this, which is some of the best acting I've seen from him in this episode. Bravo, Gatwa, Bravo!

Ruby's secret

Throughout all of this, you may be wondering: what does Sutekh want from Ruby? And why is he so obsessed with her? It turns out, her mother is the one and only reason. She is the only one he couldn't get to, and he could never understand why. This is the crux of his existence, and he needs to know who this individual is.

Meanwhile, the Doctor is trying to proactive. He finds a kind woman on a distant planet, the only person to survive's Sutekh's death wave, and asks her for some metal. With a little bit of hesitation, she hands over a spoon, not knowing that this spoon will save the universe. What a very Doctor Who thing to do!

A trip down memory lane

The Doctor heads back to the TARDIS, where he uses the spoon to fix the screen that shows a time window. Through the visuals he gets back, we see Sarah Jane with the Doctor when they last faced Sutekh. In fiddling with the time window screen, the Doctor realizes it responds to Ruby's question. It doesn't do it for him, but she can pose a question and seemingly get some kind of response.

All the while, Mel seems to be possessed by Sutekh, who has managed to take over her mind and begin brainwashing her. It's a bit eerie because Sutekh is essentially in that TARDIS with them, unbeknownst to the Doctor or Ruby. At some point, Mel no longer exists, and it is just Sutekh who is coursing through her body and using it as a means to spy on the Doctor and Ruby. After all, he just wants to find out who Ruby's mother is.

Through the time window questioning, the Doctor recalls that the evil prime minister Roger ap Gwilliam had made DNA testing a mandatory thing, and due to that, if Ruby's mother was still alive at that time, she would have to do this testing too. And if that is the case, then they have a way to find her mother!

The Doctor, "Mel," and Ruby head to the Department of Health in 2046 to look through the database in hopes of locating Ruby's mother, and they surely do! There is just one small issue, however. Mel is not Mel, and it doesn't take the Doctor long to figure that out. He uses a ploy to get her out of the room all while coming up with a plan.

Ending of Doctor Who Season 1, Episode 8 explained

Things pick up very quickly from this point forward as the Doctor and Ruby manage to find information on Ruby's mother. However, Sutekh pulls them all back to the present time; through Mel's body, he knows the Doctor has learned the information he has been looking for. My question is, if he is so powerful, why the heck can't he just figure this out by himself? What is the hold up here?

What happens next surely represents both Gatwa and Gibson's most perfect work to date. Emotions get the best of Ruby while Sutekh tortures the Doctor for information on Ruby's mother. She knows that she has no choice and must submit to save the Doctor's life.

But worry not, Whovians. This is all part of their grand plan, or at least Ruby's as she begins to turn the time window screen around only to smack a leash onto Sutekh and push him into the TARDIS.

As the Doctor and Ruby travel through space and time, they drag Sutekh through it, managing to reverse all the damage he had caused. All the worlds and planets are brought back, along with all the people on them! And that is where where say goodbye to Sutekh once and for all as the Doctor shuts the door and lets Sutekh burn in his own misery.

After all is said and done, Ruby does go and meet her biological mother, but the moment that the entire season was building up to falls a bit short. There isn't quite the hype and excitement that I was hoping for, but I am happy for Ruby!

The Doctor, on the other hand, has seemingly lost another companion to the real world. Ruby decides to disembark from the TARDIS after the Doctor helps her realize that she has a reason to stay back now. It's a gut-wrenching goodbye, and I hope it is short-lived as we head into a new season. This can't be the end of Ruby and the Doctor's adventures (and it isn't as Gibson will be back in Season 2).

All in all, the finale episode gave us all the moments we were hoping for but did fall short short of expectations. That's not to say it took away from the episode or the season as a whole. I thought the season was brilliantly done, and we left with the sense of satisfication that Doctor Who is back giving us what we've been craving.

I can't wait to see what the next season has in store, and look forward to the Christmas special which will likely be the next time Doctor Who will be back on our screens.

Until then my fellow Whovians!

Doctor Who season 1 reviews

• Episode 1, "Space Babies"
• Episode 2, "The Devil's Chord"
• Episode 3, "Boom"
• Episode 4, "73 Yards"
• Episode 5, "Dot and Bubble"
• Episode 6, "Rogue"
• Episode 7, "The Legend of Ruby Sunday"
• Episode 8, "Empire of Death"

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