REACTION: Empire of Death - Doctor Who 

You poor, poor, guys! You have no idea what you're getting into. And I was listening to the intro and I was like "Paul's not going to get any of what he's hoping for!"

59:11 No ordinary dog lead... it was a Timeleash ;)

Completely agree with you guys about the ending being acted and done really well but because the groundwork wasn’t done due to lack of episodes and the two main leads being separated for so much of the series the emotional weight didn’t hit in the way it used to in series 1-4 for for me

Why does the Doctor not identify his 4th incarnation to Ruby? He talks about 4 and SJS like they are other people.

GREAT! now this garbage is over, we can get back to Season 8 and some good Doctor Who!

Last of the Time Lords does have a reset ending, but Martha, Jack and the Doctor really have to work and suffer to bring it about. And the telepathic satellite system is all seeded earlier in the story, so it makes sense. Whereas just suddenly dragging Sutekh through the vortex makes no sense. You might as well have the Doctor just shoot out some regeneration energy into the vortex.

Great reaction, and I largely agree with your assessment. The visuals were great, and the apocalyptic scenes in the early part of the episode conveyed Sutekh’s power effectively. Ncuti gave his best performance so far, and the farewell scene with Ruby at the end was quite touching, even if it didn’t feel fully earned given the relative lack of time they have spent together. Mrs Flood also continues to intrigue - it hasn’t occurred to me when watching, but others have astutely pointed out that she is wearing clothes previously sported by companions, the white cloak being a notable example. On the negative side, it was clear from early on that RTD had raised the stakes so high that he had boxed himself in and would have to hit the big Moffaty reset button - consequently, the deaths of the UNIT gang left me cold, as I was already 99.9% certain that they would be brought to life again. Sutekh was defeated too easily, given how effectively his power and threat had previously been conveyed, and RTD’s attempts at whimsy with the whistle, the leash and the spoon felt overly contrived and annoying. The big Ruby’s mum reveal was also underwhelming, if not entirely surprising given we were told in Space Babies that Ruby was completely human. However, I don’t buy that Sutekh would have been so interested in Louise just because he couldn’t see her face, and why was a teenager in 2004 wearing a cloak? Was she a fan of the Scottish Widows ads? I also find it hard to believe that Sutekh could have clung to the TARDIS for so many years without being noticed, or that some of the situations the TARDIS has found itself in wouldn’t have tested his ability to hold on, but we’ll just have to let that go, I guess. Anyway, after a very uneven season it will be nice to get back to your classic reactions now…

I genuinely like this episode. Personally, I think the idea that Ruby's mum is an ordinary woman is perfect. I mean, the idea she was going to be significant to the wider world of Doctor Who is one fraught with controversy and nonsense. Also, the Doctor deliberately mocking a god who happens to look like a dog by taking it walkies through the time vortex is a nice touch. On the 15-year old Louise pointing dramatically at the road sign; she knows there's CCTV there and making sure her intentions are obvious. I don't know if churches have their own specific CCTV setups, but it's not that unbelievable, I don't think.

Why did ruby make it snow and have music around her never explained i really enjoyed first part but this and other things were not explained

This story is all metaphor. It’s superficially fun to watch, but doesn’t make any sense when you think about it.

Well, glad that load of tosh is over! My biggest concern that season 2 has already been filmed and RTD will still be delusional that he's the saviour of Who after Chibbers! For me the biggest joy of this episode was once the reset button had been activated and all those planets came back to life, the first one the Doctor mentioned was Vortis! The ZARBI are alive - hooray! Right enough of this twaddle - when is the Season 7 live review being schedule for?

Love watching your faces watching Doctor Who.

I think season has it's pros and cons and I think it was nowhere near as bad as people said it was

Also did you guys catch the web planet reference? The planet Vortis being one of the planets listed as now safe

This is one of the worst episodes of Doctor Who I’ve ever seen. Absolute nonsensical tripe! And we’re supposed to think Sutekh has been clinging to the Tardis all this time including when it was dispersed in Frontios! RTD’s writing is garbage. If he’s not content spoiling the Doctor’s characteristics he’s spoiling a classic villain like Sutekh by having him look like a crappy digital graphic and defeated by being dragged about on a dog leash! Intelligent rope we’re told! 😂 Nothing special about Ruby but she can conjure up snow! 😂 RTD also doesn’t have a problem having a 13 year old using weapons on his disability scooter! 😂 Modern Who is style over substance because the substance is badly plotted and incoherent. Great reactions.

They're all dead. Everybody's dead, Dave.

PS Kate is gonna get some big-eared scooby doo. ;)

The episode started well but the Sutekh defeat and reveal of Ruby’s mother fell flat for me - she’s been built up as this mythic figure that didn’t pay off and the ending should’ve been more emotional but it didn’t help that we’ve had only 8 episodes and the Doctor wasn’t in two of them properly

I loved all the stuff with Sutekh I think Russell showed how big a threat he is and I like the way they defeated him personally they were all my high points of the episode. Also I would say that Russell said that some things will go on Ito season 2 and you will look back at the end of that and be able to get a better idea of certain threads. I’m assuming he doesn’t just mean Mrs flood