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Spoilers Empire of Death grade and discussion thread

How do you rate Empire of Death?

  • Total voters
    55
26138 said:
How else is her face going to be covered up for purposes of hiding her so we can have the mystery of who she is? :shrug:Maybe she came straight from a Renaissance fair?


More like a waste of money filming that scene. :razz:


Technically he was in a time tunnel last time - not the vortex.


:shrug:
Click to expand...

Rubys dark secret is that in 2004 her mum was into Death Eater cosplay.
 
Well, that season was overall slightly better than Flux, without the excuse of being made during Covid lockdowns. I was hoping we might get the more recent RTD of Years and Years and It's a Sin but we got the RTD of Miracle Day and the Tennant season finales.
 
Columbo style, just two questions before I go.

1) Why was Sutekh so desperate to know Ruby's mum's name if everyone was dead?

2) What was the snow all about?
 
FredH said:
Apologies if this has already been answered, but since
Ruby’s mother was just a normal human being
, why did
it snow whenever she thought about that night
?
Click to expand...
Considering the scene of Mrs. Flood showed her surrounded by snowfall, I'm guessing the answer lies with her existence and why she's watching Ruby.

Steve Roby said:
Well, that season was overall slightly better than Flux, without the excuse of being made during Covid lockdowns. I was hoping we might get the more recent RTD of Years and Years and It's a Sin but we got the RTD of Miracle Day and the Tennant season finales.
Click to expand...
See, that was what I was hoping for this series but it still felt very much like Davies of old. True, certain episodes like "Dot and Bubble" and "73 Yards" are distinctively more like Davies of now than of old, but overall, the structure and conclusion of the series was Davies of old. Hopefully you're right in your hope that Davies' writing continues to progress towards Years and Years and It's a Sin, but I don't expect more than baby steps.
 
Australis said:
Columbo style, just two questions before I go.

1) Why was Sutekh so desperate to know Ruby's mum's name if everyone was dead?

2) What was the snow all about?
Click to expand...

And if it’s all ‘oh, it’s because she’s a mystery’ (a) no one else in the entire universe had a mystery about their parentage? Not a one? And (b) did Sutekh just spend those centuries reading gossip mags and watching reality TV dangling off the Tardis? ‘IT IS THE WILL OF SUTEKH THAT I MUST KNOW WHO THE FATHER IS JERRY’
 
GqyxKpi.jpeg
 
...and so begins the newest Doctor Who meme trend: Inserting Sutekh (any version of him) into memorable moments involving the TARDIS post-Pyramids of Mars.

Waiting to see such iconic moments as Idris revealing her truth to The Eleventh Doctor to the TARDIS towing Earth back to orbit added with Sutekh just chilling alongside.
 
JoeZhang said:
GqyxKpi.jpeg
Click to expand...

IT WAS THE WILL OF SUTEKH THAT THERE WAS A FLAKE IN IT
“Shurrup Sooty, you’re ruinin’ the vibe. I’m gonna get sum ‘ere.”
YOU SAID YOU WOULD NOT REVEAL MY PRESENCE IF I HELPED PUT THE MATTRESS IN
“You say somethin’ Yaz? I’m oblivious half the time me.”
“No nothing.”
“Really oblivious. Like the most oblivious person ever, that’s me. Awkward too. ‘Ave y’noticed that about me Yaz?’
WE ALL HAVE. KISS THE GIRL. YOU KNOW YOU REALLY WANT TO KISS THE GIRL.
IT IS THE WILL OF SUTEKH, AND ALSO THE LOBSTER.
 
"Ruby's buildup of the mystery about her Mum is so powerful it even cloaks her from Sutekh" is a borrowed idea from Clara's leaf in The Rings of Akahten - the stories we invent in our heads about possible futures are more powerful even than the actual pasts of beings that have lived over 900 years and travel in Time and Space.

Which is a GOOD message for storytellers like RTD to be preaching. So Ruby's Mum turned out to be ordinary. Now both of them have a new lifetime ahead to adventure in, and no trips to the Lost Moon of Poosh needed.

Yes, our favourite Time Lord has a sadz. But he'll get over it! Poor Mel.
 
I gave it an 8, which is probably overgenerous. It really failed to stick the landing. It was overwrought. But it did have some really nice character moments. So, I guess typical RTD.

I loved the Doctor screaming into the dying universe. We needed that during the Flux. Mel was fantastic. Ruby is great.

The season build up about Ruby's birth mother was wasted. No satisfactory payoff.

The big disappointment is that it appears like all the mystery building was more to get people talking than actual storytelling. In the end, that's the biggest negative. And at this point I really don't give a rats ass about who Mrs. Flood is. It's just another mystery to keep people chattering while probably not contributing to the story.

I could be wrong. Time will tell. But my interest in future mysteries has dropped significantly thanks to this episode.

I agree with other comments that the multiple key early deaths just screamed reset button coming.

Nitpicks:

Really, their interest in her birth mother made it so not only couldn't Doctor, Ruby, and Unit not see her face but also Sutekh?! WTF? Also, their interest should've made her face even more visible than the background they didn't care about!

A functional TARDIS created from memories. Another WTF.

Bringing death to death by dragging Sutekh through the vortex brings everyone back to life?!

What was the purpose of the mother and her baby scene.

It seems like destroying all life on Earth at multiple points in time was a bit of overkill. I mean, once at an early point would be sufficient, right?

So, the evil PM actually still happened despite 73 Yards?!
 
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In Doctor Who Unleashed following the TV broadcast of the episode, it's confirmed that Ruby will be back next season, and there will be two companions in the Tardis.

Didn't the like the ending of the season. It's another reset button episode, which I've hated since The Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords.

As for the weird arse plot developments, fanwank that we're expected to just take, I put that down to the genre switch from sci-fi to fantasy that RTD pulled with 14's trip to the end of the universe, a malleability of reality that means that we just have to go with whatever nonsense the writer the week comes up with, even if it sounds like a couple of five year olds playing pretend in the school playground.

None of this would really matter if I cared about the characters, was emotionally invested in the stories, but I haven't felt that way since Capaldi's final outing.
 
matthunter said:
"Ruby's buildup of the mystery about her Mum is so powerful it even cloaks her from Sutekh" is a borrowed idea from Clara's leaf in The Rings of Akahten - the stories we invent in our heads about possible futures are more powerful even than the actual pasts of beings that have lived over 900 years and travel in Time and Space.

Which is a GOOD message for storytellers like RTD to be preaching. So Ruby's Mum turned out to be ordinary. Now both of them have a new lifetime ahead to adventure in, and no trips to the Lost Moon of Poosh needed.

Yes, our favourite Time Lord has a sadz. But he'll get over it! Poor Mel.
Click to expand...
A great way of looking at it.

Mel with Colin's technicolor nightmarecoat and Syl's ? sweater were moving moments. Was the Memory TARDIS created in this episode?
 
matthunter said:
"Ruby's buildup of the mystery about her Mum is so powerful it even cloaks her from Sutekh" is a borrowed idea from Clara's leaf in The Rings of Akahten - the stories we invent in our heads about possible futures are more powerful even than the actual pasts of beings that have lived over 900 years and travel in Time and Space.

Which is a GOOD message for storytellers like RTD to be preaching.
Click to expand...
Except it's completely ridiculous. Sutekh who can destroy all life in the entire universe at all times but he can't see the birth Mom's face because its important to Ruby. Okaaaaay. If that stymies him, then there'd literally be a billion other things throughout the entire universe and all times that would also stymy him.

It doesn't make a lick of sense given all his other incredible abilities.
 
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Mr Awe said:
It doesn't make a lick of sense given all his other incredible abilities.
Click to expand...

Yes.

That's the point.

Sutekh isn't focused on all the other incredible stories going on, because they aren't important to him. Life is just insects.

Ruby isn't important to him. Ordinarily.

But she's important to the Doctor, so she's important to Sutekh.
 
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