The Doctor and Ruby wanted answers, but they were left with more questions… and one of the scariest monsters yet to be dealt with.
In Episode 7 of the first season of Doctor Who, the Doctor turns to UNIT for help, putting the people he cares about in danger, before learning the heartbreaking truth about the woman who follows him everywhere.
There were a lot of hilarious moments in the first half of the season finale that was scary, making this story one of the strongest and most on-brand episodes in a while.
Some great encounters with the Doctor
Despite the doctor’s protests that he didn’t want to destroy any more lives, he was happy and excited to spend time with his friends in the unit and surrounding areas.
I particularly enjoyed Rose Noble’s (Yasmine Feeney) appearance. She didn’t have much to do, but she and Ruby quickly bonded, being young women around the same age who shared a sense of adventure.
Rose must have felt validated as a trans woman when Carly called her amazing. These are the little moments that might not mean much if you’re not someone who has had to fight to be seen as their gender but they mean the world to trans viewers.
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It was also great that Ruby had a friend her own age, and I loved that the women bonded so quickly. They spent most of their time at UNIT together, and when the Doctor sent Ruby into the Window of Time, Rose hugged her – another little moment that spoke volumes.
I also enjoyed Carla. Her determination to accompany Ruby to the unit and her compassion for Ruby’s mother were powerful scenes, and Ruby had to push her away so she could do what she had to do to help save the universe.
The scenes with Ruby’s mother were the most emotional part of Doctor Who
Ruby didn’t get many answers about who her mother was. The woman (if she was human) never showed her face and must have seen Suketh since she pointed to a place behind the doctor who he mistakenly thought she was pointing at.
However, these were some of the saddest moments on television.
Carla: I think she’s crying. She had just given up her baby. It’s okay, my dear. We got it. Ruby is safe.
Ruby: I hope you can see me now. You did it, mom. I have traveled all over the universe.
Ruby’s longing to see her mother and talk to her was sentimental enough. She had high hopes that technology would finally provide answers, but it came up with nothing.
The big reveal has implications for the Whoniverse
It was equally sad for the Doctor to believe that Susan Triad might be his long-lost granddaughter, only to discover that she was harboring the extremely evil Sokyth.
I thought Suketh was a demon based on what he looked like when he first revealed himself and what the unit guard said after he disappeared.
The creature also confirmed a popular Doctor Who theory about what was happening: Playmaker, the Maestro, and the other villains are part of the Pantheon, a group of almost all-powerful, god-like creatures, and Sokith, also known as the One Who Waits, is the most powerful of them all.
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Sadly, this also means that Susan Triad is no Susan Foreman. Russell T Davies knew viewers would assume it was, so he played with our expectations, displaying his knack for telling a supernatural mystery filled with mystery.
This is how you create a suspenseful and startling scene: carefully lead viewers down one path, only for everything to turn out to be completely different than it seems.
The episode also ended in the perfect place with Suketh declaring that he’s here to destroy the Doctor and everyone he loves, which is the Doctor’s worst fear. With no preview scenes at the end of the hour, I was even more eager to see how the Doctor would defeat Sokith.
Suketh has tangled with the Doctor before
Soketh, named after the Egyptian god of death, appears in the classic series episode “The Pyramid of Mars”, where he is trapped in the pyramid and hopes to be freed so he can bring death to everyone.
At that time, Suketh used mind control to force the Doctor to use the TARDIS to help free him, but the Doctor was able to move the hatch into the space-time tunnel so that Suketh could never reach it and was trapped.
Since the last battle was about the TARDIS, I have to wonder if Suketh has been attached to it all this time and what Susan’s Triad has to do with things.
Did he have it or was this his human form?
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Who is Mrs. Flood?
It’s possible that Russell T Davies ran a scam, making us think that Susan Triad was Susan Foreman when the real Susan had been under our noses all this time.
The doctor mentioned that Susan might have re-energized to “hide” and Mrs. Flood used exactly that term to refer to herself, but this may have been another red herring.
This ambiguous comment Mrs. Flood made to Cherry about not getting what she wanted made her seem evil. However, it is also possible that Sherry is owned by one of Sokith’s followers, in which case it is possible that Lady Flood remains on the right side.
Sherry keeps saying that the doctor is a problem and that Carla should stay away, so what does she know and how does she know that?
On the other hand, Lady Flood is aware of the TARDIS, and we need to know how that happened.
This season has been all about fear
Since the beginning of the season, Doctor Ncuti has been happier and lighter-hearted than those who came before, but he still carries the same fear that everyone he loves will die because of him.
As he stepped onto the imaginary circle, Ruby felt her deepest fear: an alternate reality from which everyone who loved her would be alienated and refuse to speak to her again.
The Doctor and Ruby seem to come together because their fears complement each other. Their entire relationship is a metaphor for healing.
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I’ve wondered several times if anyone remembers Ruby’s adventure. She met Kate along the way, and the mysterious figure who remained 73 yards away, from the glimpses we got of either of them, looked like her real mother.
How do time paradoxes play a role in these strange events?
The Doctor explains to Rose and Ruby that he cannot return the TARDIS to Ruby’s birthplace without causing a massive time paradox, but it appears that Sokyth has a second TARDIS in the vicinity.
It seems that the doctor’s presence in the area has already sparked a paradox. Additionally, the resemblance between the 73 Yard Woman and Ruby’s mother suggests that Ruby herself was present at her birth, which is impossible.
I can’t wait to see how it all turns out! What about you, Doctor Who fanatics?
Hit the comments with your thoughts!
The first season of Doctor Who is streaming on Disney+. Classic Doctor Who is streaming on Britbox.
Jack Urey He is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. His debut novel for young adults, Reinventing Hannah, is available on Amazon. Follow him on X.
