Doctor Who fans have been anxiously waiting for the final episode of the latest instalment into the Doctor Who (played by Ncuti Gatwa) universe and were finally given some missing answers about Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) – but were left utterly disappointed.
The synopsis for the episode read: “The Doctor has lost, his ageless enemy reigns supreme, and a shadow is falling over creation. Nothing can stop the devastation – except, perhaps, one woman.”
It picked up from the grand reveal that 1970s villain Sutekh (Gabriel Woolfe) – aka the God of Death – had escaped captivity and was ready to reign terror after clinging to the Tardis and travelling throughout time and space with the Doctor.
Most of humanity was whittled down to dust, but luckily for Mel (Bonnie Langford) and Ruby, they managed to escape to the memory Tardis and reunite with the Time Lord.
It soon became clear that the trio were being kept alive for a reason – so that Sutekh could finally uncover who Ruby’s biological mother (the cloaked woman who left her newborn on a church doorstep on Christmas Eve) truly was.
Sutekh was defeated before he could find out, but at the end of the episode, the audience was told Ruby’s mother was actually just an ordinary woman named Louise Alison Miller.
Ruby found out that her mother had been a normal human being all along
BBC
It was revealed she became pregnant at 15 and decided to leave Ruby for her safety due to her abusive stepfather, before turning her life around and becoming a nurse.
After an emotional reunion in a coffee shop, Louise re-entered her daughter’s life alongside Ruby’s mum Carla (Michelle Greenidge) and Nan Cherry (Angela Wynter).
Ruby later decided to leave the Doctor in order to get to know her new family members, but some fans were left dissatisfied with the reveal and took to their X accounts to express their annoyance.
One noted: “Sorry but for Ruby to have no depth the entire season and the only thing going for her was this mystery mother and it’s just Louise down the road? Huh?”
Ruby left the Doctor to get to know her family better
BBC
“The collective sign when Ruby’s mother was revealed… Oh, that was a fumble I fear,” another added before a third said: “The problem with that ending is; Now I’ve lose interest.
“Ruby’s character was drastically oversold to us! It feels like I was conned into investing in her. Like Russell was so worried about viewers that he bated us with Ruby which is wrong! Not as hyped for S2 now.”
Someone else expressed: “I don’t want to [seem] miserable but that was a real letdown. After such a big buildup, Ruby’s mum being just a ‘normal’ woman feels like it cheats the audience.”
A fifth explained: “I am disappointed in this finale. There was so much build-up, but the Doctor was able to defeat Sutekh pretty easily and a lot of the mysteries were tied up pretty sloppily.”
Fans were annoyed that Ruby left and her storyline was “flat”
BBC
However, not all viewers were happy with the ending, as one praised: “I actually liked the payoff of who Ruby’s mum was. Doctor who has always been about making the extraordinary out of the ordinary, and the fantastical out of the everyday. She’s important because you made her important.” (sic)
It was assumed by fans that Ruby would not be returning to the series, however, director Russell T Davies has confirmed that it isn’t the end of the road for Ruby and recently explained: “You’d have to be mad to say goodbye to talent like that and a character like that,’ he said on the behind-the-scenes BBC series.
“This is a pause. I genuinely felt Ruby’s story paused there. She couldn’t get all that information about her family, all that emotional overload and run-off in the Tardis. It pauses there.”
During the behind-the-scenes episode Doctor Who: Unleashed he added: “She’s coming back” and shared a sneak peek of her season two scene in which she is urging pub patrons to “stay indoors”.