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The first series finale of the Ncuti Gatwa era of Doctor Who , “Empire of Death”, feels like an encapsulation of his time in the TARDIS – thematically bold, handsomely produced, superbly performed. But showrunner Russell T Davies ’s weakness for loose plotting and rushed denouements lets this final episode down. Last week’s episode “The Legend of Ruby Sunday” , which was the first half of this two-part finale, ended with the grand return of an old nemesis – Sutekh, the god of death.

First introduced in the 1975 Tom Baker story “Pyramids of Mars” as an alien who was worshipped as a god, now he has been reestablished as a supernatural deity whose deadly “dust of death” – magic sand that kills anyone it touches – is spreading across the universe. The Doctor and Mel (Bonnie Langford) have no choice but to run. In a thrilling chase scene, they flee on the back of a scooter as Sutekh’s dust engulfs London.



Just one problem: Sutekh, who is lavishly rendered as a huge CGI canine creature, has gained control of the Doctor’s TARDIS. He claims that he has been a stowaway for thousands of years and has been seeding versions of Susan Triad (Susan Twist) in every place the TARDIS landed to spread his dust of death. That’s why the Doctor keeps encountering the same woman over and over across time and space.

The revelation that the Doctor is partly responsible for killing every world he has visited gives Gatwa an opportunity to showcase his best angst-ridden.

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