2nd Opinion, Take 1 “The Legend of Ruby Sunday” – A Much-Needed Step-Up

Gustaff Behr reviews the seventh episode of Series 14.

I have to admit, “Rogue” left me thoroughly unimpressed. With only 8 episodes this season and a lot of goodwill to rebuild, every episode needs to count. Unlike older seasons with more episodes, we can’t afford to waste a single moment, but this season has done so…repeatedly. It’s been a mixed bag so far—some hits, some misses—placing it squarely in the ‘unbalanced’ category, reminiscent of Series 2, 6, 7, and 9. Thankfully, “The Legend of Ruby Sunday” represents a much-needed step-up from last week’s disappointment, with plenty of highs outweighing the lows, in my opinion.

Just like the episode itself, let’s begin at the start. I appreciated how this penultimate story immediately plunged into the action without any unnecessary delays. It was disappointing, though, that the grand entrance of the TARDIS was prominently showcased in the trailers. Still, this swift start indicates there’s plenty to unpack.

Indeed, there is almost too much going on. There are two competing subplots, each deserving more time, but not enough to sustain separate episodes. The investigation into Susan Triad often takes a back seat to exploring Ruby’s heritage, which is unfortunate because I found Susan Triad’s storyline more compelling than Ruby’s birth mother’s, who will be relevant only for this season, I’m guessing. Now, unless these questions are answered in the next episode, I’m left with several pressing queries: Why was Susan Triad experiencing strange dreams of being someone else in another place? What kind of technology was she developing? And why is Harriet considered the harbinger when Susan has been the one leading us towards the arrival of Sutekh all season? Shouldn’t she be the harbinger instead?

I will say that the scene with the time window was visually entertaining, though as noted in the episode, using the TARDIS to park some distance away and simply observe events in person, much like Nine and Rose in “Father’s Day,” could have been a budget (and plot)-saving alternative and allowed the episode more time to delve into the Doctor/Susan stuff. The scene did linger a tad longer than necessary, but the slow, tense buildup towards the ‘entity’ was absolutely spine-chilling. I had no clue what was going on.

I didn’t for one moment believe Susan Triad (Susan Twist) would turn out to be Susan Foreman for two simple reasons; 1) from The Dalek Invasion of Earth I know she’s in 2164, not 2024 and 2) RTD would never recast Carole Ann Ford while she’s still around, and as fans have been eagerly awaiting the Doctor’s reunion with her after all these years. But props to Russell for the Sutekh reveal. Talk about a deep cut—that was a surprise, and thankfully, I hadn’t been spoiled. Credit also goes to the production team for bringing back Gabriel Woolf for the voice. That’s the kind of fan service I can support, along with those stunning CGI effects on the Sutekh monster. We’ve certainly advanced from the days of CGI dustbins. I do have to wonder how much of the budget went into rendering that beast.

Oh, and speaking of beasts, for those curious about why the Old Ruby Woman in “73 Yards” stayed exactly 73 yards away, it’s because 73 yards equals 66.6 meters, or 666—the number of the Beast. This detail also holds a subtle double meaning, especially considering that Gabriel Woolf also voiced the Beast in Series 2.

Moving onto the characters, let’s start with Rose Noble (Yasmin Finney). Let me just say that I was in stitches throughout this episode watching just how little this character actually got to do. Rose contributes absolutely nothing to the story. Talk about underusing a character—so much for diversity and inclusion, right? This amazing-half-meta-crisis-pseudo-Doctor-genius-whatever is essentially just set dressing! Rose gives the Doctor a hug – that’s it – and doesn’t even bother to properly answer my most pressing question about ‘how is your uncle?’. Yes, please do tell us why Fourteen doesn’t seem to know about Susan Triad despite UNIT tracking her for years? I’m sure everyone watching wants to know.

As for Shirley Bingham (Ruth Madeley) in the 60th Anniversary—I didn’t care for her either, and I still don’t care now that she’s been replaced by a thirteen-year-old scientific advisor. Neither Morris nor Shirley leave much of an impression, unlike Osgood (boy, has my opinion of her come a long way).

Millie Gibson on the other hand gets some really juicy material in this episode. The scenes with her during the time window sequence, from initial excitement to eventual devastation, was incredibly powerful. Beautifully acted. I empathized with her character so much when things came tumbling down, feeling the genuine sorrow of being denied the chance to discover her birth mother’s identity once again. It’s a testament to Gibson’s talent that she conveys such depth and emotion.

Ncuti Gatwa delivers just as exceptional of a performance, striking a balance between the exuberance inherent of this incarnation and the deeper, more somber dimensions. However, my concern about the Doctor’s continual crying this season unfortunately proved valid, as it detracted from what could have been a genuinely heartfelt moment. When he slid against the wall in that scene with Mel, reflecting on the death of Redshirt #WhoCares, it barely drew a reaction from me; I just pictured Bully McGuire’s Spider-Man in the scene asking, “You gonna cry?”

Good job, Doctor Who! You’ve successfully trained me not to invest in these poignant scenes with Gatwa anymore.

It’s great to see Mel back (Bonnie Langford), and even better that she’s given more to do than in “The Giggle”. It’s fitting for her to go undercover, considering her history of wandering into places with the Sixth and Seventh Doctors where she didn’t belong. I appreciated her telling the yet-again-overly-emotional Doctor to ‘…stop grizzling and fix it’—that felt like Russell channeling the audience’s feelings. While the episode doesn’t delve into it, I’m curious about Mel’s true feelings toward this incarnation. She called Fifteen ‘beautiful’ in “The Giggle”, but that seemed more about appearance. Her interactions with Fourteen have been minimal compared to the years she spent with the kinder Sixth Doctor and the more complex Seventh. How does Mel perceive an incarnation that sits down to mope when she’s used to seeing him plan and lay traps for his enemies?

Next week marks the conclusion of Series 14, and there’s a lot riding on the show to stick the landing. Fans have been eagerly anticipating a proper, high-stakes season finale that delivers satisfaction since Series 10 when the Doctor blew up Cybermen and the Master committed suicide (twice). Russell, please, just this once—give everyone watching a happy ending.

Asides

• Several weeks ago I got into a disagreement with someone over whether the Trickster was just a random Pantheon of Discord or part of this exclusive Pantheon club. I was right! Suck it, random person on the internet!
• Should we be worried that Russell pulled the exact same plot twist he used reintroducing the Master in Series 3? Yet again the Doctor misinterprets an anagram warning of an old enemy’s return. A little bit of originality please, Russell.
• Apparently, RTD insisted that there would be no returning monsters or villains this season. I appreciate lying to the fans to hide secrets that you’ll surprise them with later.
• I’m not sure if I like the unnecessary detail surrounding Susan Foreman’s parentage. While the idea of time travelers meeting their parents before their birth is hardly a new trope, time travel on a planet full of time traveler would probably be considered against the law, lest they accidentally erase themselves.
• Actually, now that I think about it, IT IS ILLEGAL. The First Law of Time strictly forbids Gallifrey’s present from interacting with its own subjective past or future.
• “The Sound of Drums” was written by Russell T Davies and features the Doctor stating that he’d recognize the Master as being a Time Lord on sight, so why doesn’t Fifteen recognize Susan Triad as NOT being Susan Foreman after seeing her properly?