“The Legend of Ruby Sunday” builds toward a potent Sutekh cliffhanger, but James Whitbrook’s review argues that its crowded route there—through Ruby’s parentage, Susan Twist’s appearances and UNIT’s Time Window—feels muddled. The June 17, 2024 io9 review treats the episode as an uneven penultimate chapter: the reveal works, while much of the setup remains difficult to connect.
What is “The Legend of Ruby Sunday” about?
In James Whitbrook’s account, the Doctor and Ruby visit UNIT to investigate footage from the night Ruby was left at a church and the recurring appearances of Susan Twist. Twist plays Susan Triad, a technology executive preparing a vague global announcement. The characters consider whether “S. Triad” is a clue to the TARDIS—and whether Susan could be the Doctor’s granddaughter.
UNIT’s Time Window also enters the investigation: it is used in an attempt to see Ruby’s mother on Christmas Eve. These mysteries share the episode, but Whitbrook finds that they do not fit together smoothly. His review is a critical reading of the episode, not an official synopsis.
Why does the episode feel crowded?
The episode asks viewers to follow several possibilities at once: Ruby’s birth mother, Susan Twist’s repeated appearances, the possible return of the Doctor’s granddaughter Susan, and what UNIT’s Time Window might reveal. Whitbrook’s criticism is not simply that the episode raises questions; it is that the separate threads compete for attention without forming a consistently clear line of investigation.
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That crowding also limits the space for character beats between the Doctor and Ruby. The mysteries generate anticipation, but the review questions how much of the preceding setup contributes to the episode’s eventual payoff.
What happens in the Sutekh reveal?
The Doctor and Mel go to Triad Technologies, where the apparent Susan Triad clue proves misleading. Whitbrook identifies “Susan Technology” as the clue pointing toward Sutekh. Sue and Harriet Arbinger become skull-faced heralds, and Sutekh—voiced again by Gabriel Woolf—emerges as the returning death-associated villain.
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The reveal occupies the episode’s final stretch and is the element Whitbrook praises most. It gives the mysteries a dramatic destination, even as the review argues that the path to that moment is muddled. Ruby’s parentage and the question of the Doctor’s granddaughter are not resolved in this installment; the episode leaves them within the larger finale setup.
How does the cliffhanger connect to Doctor Who history?
Whitbrook links Sutekh’s return to the classic serial “The Pyramid of Mars,” the earlier Doctor Who story associated with the character. He also compares the shape of the reveal to the Professor Yana/Master revelation in “Utopia”: in both cases, a mystery resolves into the return or identification of a major figure. The comparison concerns the structure and impact of the reveal, not a claim that the two stories are otherwise alike.
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That history helps explain why the cliffhanger lands for the reviewer. The name carries weight for longtime viewers, while the final transformation gives the episode a sudden, forceful payoff.
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Whitbrook’s verdict is divided rather than wholly negative or celebratory: a frustratingly crowded lead-in, followed by a strong cliffhanger. The final five minutes supply the tension and surprise he wants, but they do not automatically make every preceding mystery feel necessary or coherent. His review leaves the larger question open: whether the finale can make the setup feel worthwhile.
Read James Whitbrook’s full review at io9/Gizmodo.
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