Ncuti Gatwa Confronts One Who Waits As Humanity Is At Stake

This article contains spoilers for Doctor Who Season 14, Episode 7, “The Legend of Ruby Sunday.”

A classic series foe, Sutekh, returns and reigns supreme in the trailer for Doctor Who season 14’s epic finale, “Empire of Death.” In his debut season, Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor and Ruby Sunday have witnessed a woman named Susan Twist appearing in their adventures, who is later revealed to be tech entrepreneur Susan Triad. However, in the Doctor Who episode “The Legend of Ruby Sunday,” Susan is revealed to be part of the “One Who Waits'” plans, as Tom Baker-era villain Sutekh (Gabriel Woolfe) returns to render the universe to dust.

With one of the Doctor’s deadliest classic foes returning to the universe, a short trailer for season 14’s finale has been released on the official Doctor Who YouTube channel.

In the first trailer for “Empire of Death,” Sutekh has won, as a possessed Harriet (Genesis Lynea) pilots and warps the TARDIS, and deadly sandstorms sweep the Earth. Left wracked with guilt for the part he played, it is up to the Doctor, Ruby, and Mel (Bonnie Langford) to end Sutekh’s tyranny through Ruby’s childhood memories and journeys across devastated worlds.

How Deadly Is Sutekh?

The Returning Villain Featured In The Fourth Doctor’s Adventures.

Despite numerous red herrings from the in-universe Susan Foreman trap, Carla’s (Michelle Greenidge) allusions to season 2 villain The Beast, and the return of tracks used in season 3’s reveal of The Master (Derek Jacobi), Sutekh’s Doctor Who return acts as a perfect bridge across multiple generations. This can be seen from the series incorporating the Osiran God of Death, classic villain The Mara, and spin-off antagonist The Trickster (Paul Marc Davis) into the newly formed villainous pantheon, with Woolfe reprising his role. Furthermore, Sutekh’s emergence has set in motion some of the season’s highest stakes.

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Susan Twist’s Doctor Who Season 14 Role Explained: Who She Was Really Playing

Susan Twist’s Doctor Who character permeates Ncuti Gatwa’s first season as the Fifteenth Doctor, but her true identity is only revealed very late.

In his debut story during the Fourth Doctor‘s Doctor Who era, “The Pyramids of Mars,” Earth would have been devastated by Sutekh’s wrath. Despite not being the target of his war rocket aimed at Mars, the Fourth Doctor and Sarah-Jane Smith (Elizabeth Sladen) witnessed a destroyed Earth on a brief visit to the 1980s following his release. With a storm brewing over London and sand sweeping over terrified crowds in the city in the trailer, it is clear few will survive Osiran’s deadly vengeance on the Doctor.

With the TARDIS claimed by Sutekh in UNIT HQ, Susan and Harriet fully under his thrall, and the Doctor, Ruby, and UNIT staff divided, the universe is in a dire state going into Doctor Who season 14’s finale. Though many longtime viewers may recognize the foe, season 14’s mysteries and his long-awaited return quickly let newcomers know just how deadly of a threat the classic villain is. With the Doctor left feeling defeated and Ruby facing her past head-on, Gatwa’s first season finale is sure to leave viewers’ hearts broken alongside the Time Lord’s.

Doctor Who releases new episodes every Friday simultaneously on Disney+ for international audiences and BBC iPlayer for UK viewers.

Source: Doctor Who

Doctor Who

Originally premiered in 1963, Doctor Who is a sci-fi series that follows a powerful being known as a Time Lord, referred to as the Doctor. Using an interdimensional time-traveling ship known as the TARDIS, the Doctor travels time and space with various companions as they solve multiple problems and help avert catastrophe as much as they almost cause it. Though the Doctor is always the same character, they experience regenerations, allowing them to be recast every few seasons as a unique immortal being with new personality traits.

Release Date

November 23, 1963

Seasons

14

Franchise(s)

Doctor Who

Writers

Mark Gatiss , Toby Whithouse , Neil Cross , Steven Moffat , Chris Chibnall

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