BBC
The first season of Ncuti Gatwa’s “Doctor Who” came to a close late last week and with it came the resolution of the biggest mystery of the season – who was Ruby Sunday’s mother.
SPOILERS AHEAD FOR “Doctor Who” 1×08: “Empire of Death”.
After vanquishing the returning Sutekh, the series revealed that Ruby’s birth mother wasn’t some big cosmic entity or call back to earlier ‘Who’. Instead, she was an ordinary 35-year-old nurse who had to give Ruby up at age 15.
The reunion sparked emotional scenes but also some deflated or even confused reaction from fans. In the series, the reveal was explained away as her being important “because we [the audience] think she’s important” and she was actually “the most ordinary – a scared little girl making her baby safe.”
It’s a bold choice from showrunner Russell T. Davies who effectively shows how basic myth is created whilst also having a bit of fun with a modern watching culture that loves to theorise endlessly and invest in often overly elaborate theories.
Several have brought up a comparison with the end of “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” and the reveal in that film about Rey’s parents being ‘ordinary’ people. Davies, speaking on the BBC iPlayer’s commentary track for the finale, says the comparison is apt as Rian Johnson’s film partly inspired him:
“This is kind of my reaction to [that film]. The second film said that [Rey] was nothing special, there was nothing special about her parentage… She was just… an ordinary person with the Force.
Of course, the third Disney “Star Wars” film ‘The Rise of Skywalker’ moved away from that reveal in favor of Rey being Palpatine’s granddaughter. Davies opted to stick to the “Last Jedi” approach with Ruby’s mystery:
I really loved the version where she wasn’t special. When she’s ordinary. She’s not the daughter of Sutekh. She’s not the daughter of the Time Lords or Rassilon or something like that. Her mum is Louise Miller, who was 15 years old and pregnant, from a dangerous, abusive home, and left her child on the doorstep. Because I think it’s a better story.”
Gibson is returning as Ruby in the second season and Davies says in his post-episode tease for this year’s Christmas special that there’s more to the story:
“We have a Christmas special coming and I absolutely can tell you that Ruby Sunday has not finished her story.
Millie Gibson’s coming back. That’s not a spoiler, it’s absolute fact. We’re very excited. Christmas is mad and brilliant and exciting! I can tell you that the story as we go into 2025 of Ruby’s family is not quite at an end.
There’s more revelations to come. But why was Mrs Flood standing on a rooftop making those pronouncements? All I can say is, you are literally in for the ride of a lifetime.”
Gatwa’s entire first season run is now available on BBC iPlayer in the UK and on Disney+ around the rest of the world.
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