Doctor Who: Empire of Death: Review

After 7 episodes, consisting of snot monsters, shadowy figures from afar and cosplaying killer birds, the first season of Ncuti Gatwa's Doctor Who comes to an end.

After The Legend of Ruby Sunday's big reveal, writer Russell T Davies has a lot of ground and season-long mysteries to wrap up.

But the episode picks up from the cliffhanger with god of gods Sutekh threatening the world's inhabitants and looking to lay waste as part of his "gift to humanity". And in the opening moments of the episode, it demonstrates the very real threat of Sutekh and his power with some truly shocking imagery inside of UNIT HQ.

Yet if all of that is enough to bring the menace, Empire of Death suddenly hits a stutter a few moments later as it doesn't quite seem to know how the Doctor will be able to reverse the damage done by Sutekh.

Fortunately the slowing of the pace allows for more emotional moments and the central arc of Ruby Sunday's lineage to come to the fore. And once again, Ncuti Gatwa shows off his acting chops, with sequences that both add depth to the Doctor and reveal the cracks in his own existence - the realisation of how long Sutekh has been latched onto the TARDIS utterly destroys him and in those scenes alone, Gatwa shines.

Packed full of nods to the past as only a fan of Doctor Who like Russell T Davies can do, the finale does serve to wrap much of season one's mystery up - and there will be those who will feel with a truncated season, it doesn't quite pack the emotional heft it needed in the end.

But Davies' writing has always been about the celebration of the ordinary - and in this case, the revelation of who Ruby's mother is certainly brings that to the fore. (Though Big Finish and Sheridan Smith fans will be sure there is a sly nod to a certain fan favourite amongst the explanations.)

Certainly the mystery of who Mrs Flood is feels like it's been stretched out into season two - and there will be many theories made following the very Mary Poppins-esque ending - but that's the nature of the Who beast these days.

Perhaps disappointingly the resolution to the threat of Sutekh betrays the utter menace that was built up by the cliffhanger and by having other threads to resolve or reflect on, there's definitely a consideration that the villain was sidelined through the finale.

While ultimately Empire of Death serves to wrap up the Ruby Sunday arc (and to discuss it more is to spoil for many), it does show both the strengths and weaknesses of this first season. And the usual Russell T Davies' impulses for finales and endings once again come to the fore - from fan service to retcons, there's much here that fails to live up under closer scrutiny, sadly.

Certainly a truncated season means it feels rushed in parts, but given the commanding presence of both Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson, as well as the breadth of stories throughout, this has been a confident reboot of a 60 year old show that promises more life in future.