Empire of Death

An awful lot of odd plot points (who the hell points at a sign like that), weird lines (why are we stressing this person is her """real""" mother over Carla, biological family isn't everything), and emotional beats that didn't quite hit (why is Kate a poet now, and also clearly she wasn't going to stay dead as soon as the sand started taking out everyone), which nevertheless didn't stop me from having a pretty fun time. The parts with the Memory TARDIS and also   Mrs Flood at the end were for sure the best

 

I just wish we'd had more time. I think things would have worked out better if we had more than only 8 episodes

Empire Of Death had a lot of excitement and anticipation to build up to. Not only did The Legend Of Ruby Sunday leave us with the return of Sutekh, but it also promised answers in the next episode for the identity of Ruby's mother, and how Susan Triad was spread through time. Whilst Empire Of Death is a decent episode overall, it doesn't quite stick the landing, as some of the answers given are underwhelming.

The elements that Empire Of Death does well are the moments of horror dotted throughout. The entire UNIT team turning to dust instantly is a sensational moment, showing these familiar faces who we've gotten to know being reduced to ashes in front of our very eyes. Whilst it's obvious that it will be reversed by the end of the episode, it's still very impactful, and shows that nobody is safe in this story.

The Doctor and Mel's action sequence on the Vespa also works incredibly well, injecting the episode with a great sense of adventure and adrenaline. Mel's determined attitude to 'fight back' is a million miles away from the screamer she used to be portrayed as, and this new side to Mel is great. She contrasts nicely with Ncuti Gatwa's Doctor as someone who acts as a harsh maternal figure to him when he gets emotional. Their dynamic works better than Mel with the Sixth or Seventh Doctors, and I'd like to see her travel with 15 for an entire series at some point.

One of the highlights of Empire Of Death even is the scene where 15, Ruby, and Mel travel together in the Memory TARDIS. Their interactions, with 15 and Mel happily reflecting on how they used to travel together, whilst Ruby is given clues about how to find out who her Mum is by the Memory TARDIS, are lovely, and show this shared connection between 15 and Mel as a Doctor and former companion. It's nice that we get an explanation for where the Memory TARDIS came from too, confirming it to be from UNIT's Time Window, and created from the VHS memory of Ruby's mother dropping Ruby at the church. It reminds me of how the MCU projects are all connected with each other, and the way that a plot point in one MCU film will crop up in another. Here, we have Tales Of The TARDIS creeping into the main show, Doctor Who, which in turn provides answers for the iPlayer spin-off.

Conversley, the answers for Ruby's mother don't work anywhere near as well. The reveal that she's just an ordinary woman named Louise is so disappointing considering the huge degree of build-up to the reveal. Teasing a major aspect of a character's family life like this doesn't work unless we know the person who turns out to be their biological Mum. Louise means nothing to us because we have never met her. She's just a random woman from the Present-Day, we're given no reason to care, and it doesn't make the slightest bit of sense. Why would Sutekh be so invested in who Ruby's Mum is if she's merely a human with no extraordinary qualities? Why does Louise point at a sign to name her child rather than just write a note? If Ruby's Mum is just human, how come Ruby can make it snow? Why could we never see her face in the Time Window? The more you think about it, the more it falls apart.

I think it's a mistake, too, that we don't see the Doctor reunite with Susan. There was so many references regarding the Doctor's granddaughter, that a reunion between the pair seemed inevitable. Instead of the Time Lord returning to Susan, however, he just drops Ruby off with her family and the episode ends. Considering the crazy amount of set-up for a Susan return, we really needed to see a scene of the Doctor going back to see her for it to properly pay off. I really hope we see Susan in the Christmas Special, because considering that the Doctor thought Susan Triad was Susan Foreman and was left disappointed, it makes no sense that he wouldn't immediately go back and visit her.

The ending is another thing that doesn't work for me. Whilst I like the notion of 'death defeating death' and that returning life to the universe, the fact that they basically just repeat the climax to Pyramids of Mars, with Sutekh chucked into the time vortex, doesn't really feel like a conclusion to Sutekh's story. What's to stop Sutekh just coming back later and clinging onto the TARDIS again, like he did after Pyramids Of Mars?

Gabriel Woolf is fantastic throughout Empires Of Death, though. He affords Sutekh a thoroughly creepy presence. Sutekh is intimidating and commands the screen, and Gabriel Woolf embodies the God of Death's omnipotent nature.

As much as I don't like the mother reveal, Millie Gibson as usual plays it fantastically. She brings the heart and emotion to her reunion with her biological mother, making it feel like a very raw and human moment. Millie Gibson is such a spectacular actor, and I'm so glad she's going to be in the next series too. Overall, I'd give Empire Of Death a 5/10. The horror and action sequences are superbly handled, but the reveal of Ruby's mother is disappointing, the lack of Susan Foreman is surprising, and the climax feels a little too easy. I really hope we get a Susan return in Joy To The World, otherwise I have to wonder what the point was in all the teasing regarding the Doctor potentially reuniting with his granddaughter.

Hey this is kind of like that movie with the big purple alien

I have mixed feelings on this one. Watching it in the cinema for the first time, I thought it was excellent and very enjoyable. However, upon a rewatch, parts of it really just don't make much sense. Why was the main villain so interested in the thing they were interested in? A reason is given, but it's not a very good one. This helps to make the episode feel really quite messy.

The way the main threat is resolved was quite funny in my opinion. I then liked that there was lots of post-action after this to fully explore the outcome of the main mystery's resolution. I really liked how this was done and am fully satisfied by this resolution in a way that I don't think other potential resolutions would have suceeded with. I think I agree with the point RTD was trying to make. The final few scenes did bring me to the verge of tears a few times.

The computer-generated and practical effects are all absolutely excellent throughout this whole episode. Everything looked great.

Exiting finale that tied things up quite neatly.
8.5/10

Eh... it was good... until it wasn't

first watched 22/6/24

silly and messy and stakes way too high but idk i had fun with it!!!!

Season One (Series 14); Episode Seven - “Empire of Death” by Russell T. Davies

I have not been this excited for a finale in a long time. Following on from one of the best cliffhangers we’ve seen in years into a story led by a returning legacy villain was a big task for RTD to take on in his first season back but you know what, he mostly succeeded. One of the most original scripts I have seen in a very long time with a bleak and harrowing first half that stuns and disturbs. Unfortunately, RTD wrote it, so you just know he managed to f**k up the ending. A really strong episode with a really weak conclusion, let’s get into it.

Sutekh has returned to bring his gift of death to all mankind. He has invaded everywhere in every time, and will smother the universe in dust. Only the Doctor and a few friends remain, but even they have given up hope.

(CONTAINS SPOILERS)

Firstly, the opening two thirds of the episode are absolutely brilliant Doctor Who. Massive, bombastic, harrowing, tragic, well acted and well written TV. Ncuti truly gives it his all, Gibson is playing the companion wonderfully and Langford is a nice one time tag along who steals the show with her presence - and I don’t even particularly like Mel as a companion. The scene where Sutekh turns the world to dust is genuinely one of the most shocking moments I’ve seen in recent memory and for a hot second I really thought they had killed off Kate. In hindsight, that would be a ballsy way to open the episode and I might’ve even preferred it if Sutekh actually had because I mean, what a way to establish a presence. Once it’s obvious they’re just going to do some Last of the Time Lords bullshit and reverse it all, it becomes a little less threatening. The memory TARDIS is just a joyous design, with all the little bits and pieces of older TARDISes littered around the place and Mel finding Six’s coat was just beautiful. I really like how quiet and melancholy the first part of this episode is. The long shots of sandy ruins on planets, the desolate wandering around forgotten Earth monuments, that really quite depressing moment with Claire from Fleabag. It’s a shame that technically didn’t happen because it was a brilliant scene. Ncuti screaming out into the void is definitely one of 15’s best moments so far, even if only for Gatwa’s incredible acting capabilities; I know I’ve criticised 15 for not acting like the Doctor most of the time, I’m happy to say Russell finally gets it right, 15 is magnificent in these last two parts. Mel’s betrayal hits close to home and there are some nice moments between Ruby and the Doctor but overall, the first two thirds are at least a 9/10, easy. Also, loved the explanation as to why The Woman was 73 yards away, so happy they addressed at least one of the weird things from that episode.

Unfortunately, like most Russell scripts, it has trouble wrapping up. Everybody has already pointed out that Sutekh’s defeat was pretty lacklustre. I actually really like the imagery of leashing a god and dragging it through time and the entire scene is utterly beautiful, genuinely my favourite scene visually from the entire season but it really does diminish Sutekh’s status as a grandiose villain, reducing him to a visual joke and a cheap ending. I’d almost like to call it fine because 15 and Ruby are great throughout the whole scene and it looks so good but yeah, Sutekh was an unfortunately crappy villain this time around. Frankly, his henchmen do more stuff than him and he spends most of the episode stuck in one spot, we don’t really get to see the extent of his influence in the universe. However, I have landed on the fact I really like the new design. The original is iconic, yes, but this is a little more intimidating and probably fits better with the bigger scale. Also, Gabriel Woolf is still an icon. Susan Triad surviving was a weird choice, I think it would make more sense for her to just not be there after the climax but RTD seems to have developed a phobia for complex endings and now can’t have anything but a happy conclusion to an episode.

And then there’s the matter of the conclusion to Ruby’s arc. I’m going to dedicate a whole paragraph to this because it makes up most of my negative feelings on the episode. Ruby’s mother being just a regular person is incredibly dumb. The sentiment is nice but it's a pretty simple sentiment that has been done a hundred times before in Doctor Who in a hundred better ways. Let’s all be honest here, it is the cheapest possible tug at the heartstrings you could imagine with the same emotional depth as those reality TV shows where a celebrity reunites somebody with their biological parents. Simple, easy, underwritten feels that genuinely baffle me. So the explanation for Ruby’s mother being impossible to find, snow appearing whenever Ruby remembers the day, there being a hidden song inside Ruby or Ruby’s mother’s face being actively masked so that nobody can look at it, was that the thought of her was so strong it caused all these events? One, what f**king sense does that make? The thought of somebody was so strong it ripped holes in time and defeated a god, yeah ok. Two, call me a pedant but change a couple words and that is just love saves the day. It is literally the most contrived and overused explanation in the history of writing. Why did it happen? Love. I’m sorry but why wasn’t Ruby’s mother in any databases? When we met her, she was just a normal woman, so why was it impossible for people whose job it is to do this just unable to? It’s a weak explanation and so disappointing to genuinely one of the best companion arcs we have had in a while. I was so hoping Ruby wouldn’t just be another 20-something from contemporary England like the last 10 god damn companions but no, she just is with weak RTD pandering waving away her most interesting features, causing Ruby to become just another companion with very little to her.

The first part of Empire of Death was easily the best finale we’ve had since The Doctor Falls: bleak, harrowing and tragic that truly made me more invested than anything in the last 6 years has. Unfortunately, Russell can’t write an ending to save his life and turns his terrifying villain into a laughing stock and cheaply refuses to conclude one of the best through-arcs we’ve had in years. Utterly disappointing TV that was so good for 90% of the runtime. But, Russell, if some for some god forsaken reason you find this review, I implore you, from the bottom of my heart, write a companion that isn’t just from 21st century England I f**king beg of you!

8/10

---

Pros:

+ Terrifying opening moments that set up a prevailing sense of dread for the rest of the episode

+ Bleak and quiet tone that feels like the end of the universe is happening around you

+ Entire cast is on top form from Gatwa to Gibson to Langford to Woolf

+ The memory TARDIS is a brilliant design

+ Has some of the best moments of the season like 15 screaming at what he’s caused and him comforting a woman as just turns to sand

+ Chilling direction and set design

+ Visually stunning episode that was glorious to watch on the big screen

+ 15’s characterisation is pitch perfect here, he finally feels like the Doctor for more than just an episode

 

Cons:

- Sutekh is fully just turned into a joke in this episode, barely lives up to expectations and defeated easily

- Though it’s one of the best looking scenes from the whole of Season One, Sutekh being dragged through the vortex is undeniably incredibly stupid

- The conclusion to Ruby’s arc is the most disappointed I’ve been in a while; the sentiment is nice but it makes zero sense and is a cheap attempt to make you well up

- Susan Triad surviving shows RTD hates having any kind of bad ending for any character

It was good but STOP TEASING US WITH SUSAN IF YOU HAVE NO SUSAN FOR US! It made me so paranoid Russell, please 😭