Spoilers ahead for Doctor Who finale, Empire of Death.
The eighth and final episode of Ncuti Gatwa’s debut season as the Fifteenth Doctor has finally dropped and fans have never been more confused.
The latest episode picked up from the grand reveal that 1970s villain Sutekh –aka the God of Death – had escaped captivity and was ready to reign terror after clinging to the Tardis and travelling throughout time and space with the Doctor.
As most of humanity is turned into dust, the Doctor, 80s companion turned UNIT employee Mel (Bonnie Langford) and current sidekick Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson escaped to the memory Tardis.
Soon the Doctor realises the trio is being kept alive for a reason – so that Sutekh can finally uncover who Ruby’s biological mother (the cloaked woman who left her newborn on a church doorstep on Christmas Eve) truly is.
They travel to the future where they find a government DNA system that can give them the answer Ruby has been searching for.
Although Sutekh is defeated before he can find out, at the end of the episode the audience is told Ruby’s mother is actually just an ordinary woman named Louise Alison Miller.
Louise became pregnant at 15 and decided to leave Ruby for her safety due to her abusive stepfather. Now she is a nurse.
After an emotional reunion in a coffee shop, Louise re-enters her daughter’s life alongside Ruby’s mum Carla (Michelle Greenidge) and nan Cherry (Angela Wynter). Ruby soon decides to leave the Doctor in order to get to know her new family members.
Despite Doctor Who fans finally getting closure on the season-long mystery surrounding Ruby’s birth mother, many were dissatisfied with the reveal.
Viewers pointed out several things still don’t add up, including Louise’s clothing choices, her decision to name Ruby by dramatically pointing at the road sign on a lamppost, and why Sutekh was so desperate to discover her secret.
And, all importantly, in the Christmas Special last year Davina McCall was put on the case to find Ruby’s parents and failed, implying they were more than just ordinary humans.
What did you think of the Doctor Who finale?Comment Now
‘I don’t want to [seem] miserable but that was a real letdown. After such a big buildup, Ruby’s mum being just a ‘normal’ woman feels like it cheats the audience,’ @danthepeters wrote on X.
‘If Ruby’s mum and dad are so ordinary, why couldn’t Davina find them last year,’ @co95_l added.
‘I am disappointed in this finale. There was so much build-up, but the Doctor was able to defeat Sutekh pretty easily and a lot of the mysteries were tied up pretty sloppily,’ @acageddreamer echoed.
the snorts that went through the cinema when they revealed that this was all because rubyâs mum was naming her like what???? ððð pic.twitter.com/n3wxsBLlfi
— beth ⨠(@raggedydocs) June 22, 2024
Russell T Davies when I tell him Iâd like to know why rubyâs 15 year old mum was roaming the streets in a cloak from The Traitors on Christmas Eve 2004 #DoctorWho pic.twitter.com/XkXj05RU3A
— Harrison Brocklehurst (@harrisonjbrock) June 22, 2024
where is a 15 year old mum getting this traitors ass cloak from #DoctorWho pic.twitter.com/uDAMC2mZjU
— chris. ! ðª¼ð«¶ (@whats0ccurin) June 22, 2024
Sorry but for Ruby to have no depth the entire season and the only thing going for her was this mystery mother and itâs just Louise down the road ? Huhhhhh #DoctorWho
— The Scarlet Mitch (@MitchellLWell) June 22, 2024
— Cass ⨠(@_ACasso) June 22, 2024But why was she, a 15 year old, dressed like Voldemort going to murder some muggles?
And why was she ominously pointing at a lamppost like that instead of, I donât know, leaving a little note?
Please ðð #DoctorWho
Rubyâs mum being 15 dressed like a medieval witch on Christmas Eve for no reason whatsoever is high camp #DoctorWho
— Harrison Brocklehurst (@harrisonjbrock) June 22, 2024
the collective sigh in the cinema when Rubyâs mother was revealedâ¦. Oh that was a fumble I fear #DoctorWho #doctorwhospoilers pic.twitter.com/WwushDgDN4
— pierce (@_PX_music) June 22, 2024
The problem with that ending is; now Iâve lost interest. Rubyâs character was drastically oversold to us! It feels like I was conned into investing into herâ¦like Russell was that worried about viewers that he bated us with Ruby which is wrong! Not as hyped for S2 now #DoctorWho
— Campbell (@Campbell2163) June 22, 2024
Iâm confused how Rubyâs very normal 15year old mother a) found a massive cloak b) seemed fine walking postpartum c) spun & pointed dramatically at a sign for the benefit of precisely no-one, yet that became Rubyâs name anyway #DoctorWho
— Rosa (@dazedomens) June 22, 2024
Although not all fans were annoyed by the plot twist.
‘I actually liked the payoff of who Ruby’s mum was. Doctor who has always been about making the extraordinary out of the ordinary, and the fantastical out of the everyday. She’s important because you made her important,’ @sophy_muses wrote.
I enjoyed that episode!! I know people will be divided on parts, but I think they’re saving more for the future. There’s 100% more to Ruby’s story, the fact she can still make it snow for a start. Great performances from everyone! Nice to get some intimate moments too! #DoctorWho
— Sophie ⨠(@soph_louise95) June 22, 2024
Seeing Ruby unite with her Mother brought me to tears of joy.𥹠Some people will be mad that sheâs not some intergalactic being but I love how her story played out. #DoctorWho pic.twitter.com/PiZAvDrUUM
— Bella ðºð©·ð (@BELLA_SNOWDEN) June 22, 2024
Although it is implied that Ruby has now left the show, showrunner Russell T Davies confirmed in Doctor Who: Unleashed that this is not the end for her character.
‘You’d have to be mad to say goodbye to talent like that and a character like that,’ he said on the behind-the-scenes BBC series.
‘This is a pause. I genuinely felt Ruby’s story paused there. She couldn’t get all that information about her family, all that emotional overload and run off in the Tardis. It pauses there.’
But he added ‘she’s coming back’ and shared a sneek peak of her season two scene in which she is urging pub patrons to ‘stay indoors’.
After the 2024 Christmas special, written by Steven Moffat and starring Nicola Coughlan, season two will kick off with a new companion played by Varada Sethu (who has already featured in an episode earlier this season, Boom).
And there is still plenty to uncover with the mystery of Mrs Flood (Anita Dobson), Ruby’s enigmatic next door neighbour, who knows more than she’s letting on.
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Doctor Who is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
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