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“EMPIRE OF DEATH: DOG DAY AFTERLIFE”

The season finale picks up with Sutekh’s “gift” of death smothering the universe in a growing tide of destruction. In classic RTD fashion, the tone veers from grim apocalypse to delightful chaos, with Fifteen and Mel racing through the rapidly deteriorating streets of London on a Vespa to escape deathly dust clouds. It’s utterly daft and utterly brilliant—death by sandstorm never looked so fun. UNIT troops throw everything they’ve got at Sutekh’s encroaching darkness (to no avail), and we get the full scope of the threat when friends, families, and familiar faces—including Ruby’s neighbours and Carla—are reduced to powder.

Yes, it’s obvious that a cosmic reset is coming, but that doesn’t stop these scenes from delivering punchy tension and genuine scale. The death toll sells the threat even when logic tells us not to worry too much.

THE TOLL OF A TIME LORD

After the chaos comes the calm. Most of the episode unfolds in the eerie silence of Sutekh’s aftermath. The Doctor, Ruby, and Mel drift through the ruined world, trying to work out how to undo the devastation. The scenes aboard the TARDIS, and gazing down at a dust-choked Earth, are full of quiet dread. The idea that every world the Doctor has visited has now fallen into decay is a powerful concept—though the Doctor’s guilt for “dooming” the universe by simply existing doesn’t quite land. Travelling isn’t a crime, Doctor. You’re not that guy.

Still, Ncuti Gatwa nails these moments. Subdued, haunted, determined—this is Fifteen at his most Time Lord-y. And Bonnie Langford shines too, giving Mel gravitas and warmth. Her scenes recalling memories of Six and Seven inside the Remembered TARDIS (complete with costume Easter eggs) are lovely, and her turn under Sutekh’s influence is genuinely unsettling.

THE GOD OF DEATH (AND THE DOG ON A LEASH)

Gabriel Woolf’s return as Sutekh is a masterstroke. His gravelly, commanding voice brings proper old-school menace to the big bad. Sure, the CGI Anubis design is different from Pyramids of Mars, but it’s still imposing, and the idea that he’s been clinging to the TARDIS since 1975 is delightfully daft. He’s a big old goth dog with a flair for melodrama, and honestly? That works.

The Remembered TARDIS continues to be a great concept, tied in neatly with Tales of the TARDIS and Empire of Death alike. And the revelation that the TARDIS’s perception filter extends exactly 73 yards offers a cheeky nod to 73 Yards, giving fans something to chew on.

Meanwhile, Harriet Arbinger remains an eerie presence, masked and menacing, though underused in the grand scheme of things.

THE SPOON, THE TWIST, AND THE DNA FIX

The episode’s slower stretches—like the spoon woman in the desolate wasteland—build atmosphere more than plot. They’re evocative, if slightly meandering. A stronger payoff might’ve elevated the post-apocalyptic wanderings, but at least we get solid sci-fi grounding in the revelation that DNA testing in the 2060s will finally identify Ruby’s mother. It’s a clever, believable twist.

What’s less effective is how one pivotal scene—Fifteen receiving the dog whistle from his future self—was left on the cutting room floor. It’s a jarring omission in a story full of setup and payoffs.

THE COMPANION THAT WASN’T SPECIAL (AND WHY THAT’S SPECIAL)

Much like The Legend of Ruby Sunday teased Susan’s return, this episode teases that Ruby’s mother must be someone extraordinary. So when it turns out she’s just a perfectly normal woman who made an impossible choice, it’s quietly powerful. Anti-climactic for some, yes, but refreshing in its simplicity. Ruby doesn’t need to be a chosen one—she’s strong and kind because of who she is, not who her parents were.

SUTEKH UNLEASHED (AND THEN... LEASHED)

The final confrontation is gloriously mad. Ruby refuses to give Sutekh the name of her mother, and the Doctor quite literally puts him on a leash, dragging him through the Time Vortex like a very naughty dog. The sheer audacity of this sequence—Sutekh flailing behind the TARDIS, life returning to the universe—is thrilling and absurd in the best Doctor Who tradition.

The logic of “bringing death to death means life” might feel like a handwave, but honestly? Two negatives make a positive, and it fits the fairytale logic that has always powered Who at its best. It works emotionally and thematically, even if it’s not airtight sci-fi.

A QUIET GOODBYE

After all the dust has settled (literally), the episode ends on a poignant, emotional note. Ruby finally meets her birth mother in a quiet café. No explosions, no speeches—just two people reconnecting across time. It’s simple, it’s powerful, and it made me tear up. Her final goodbye to the Doctor, warm and full of gratitude, is a beautiful moment. It’s a fitting farewell to a companion who’s had one of the more quietly compelling arcs in recent memory.

📝 VERDICT: 7/10

Empire of Death is a wild mix of camp spectacle and solemn apocalypse, tied together with heart and flair. Sutekh’s return may be over-the-top and slightly silly, but it’s glorious all the same. The real triumph, though, is Ruby Sunday’s grounded, human story coming to a heartfelt conclusion.

Dust storms, dog gods, and DNA—this finale’s got it all.