'Doctor Who's' Overly Complicated, Slightly Nonsensical "Empire of Death" Is the Kind of Season Finale We Love

The first Russell T. Davies era of Doctor Who contained several consistent hallmarks: Fiesty companions who prove ordinary people are capable of doing extraordinary things; complex supporting characters with depth and agency; deep cuts from classic lore; and twisty plots that tended to make almost no sense at all from a technical or even general logic standpoint, and yet the emotional beats of which somehow managed to land exactly right. "Empire of Death" marks the first season finale of Davies' second tenure as showrunner, an hour that can basically be summed up thusly: Folks, we are so back.

This was, to put it in technical terms, a completely bonkers episode. It featured everything from Fourth Doctor Tom Baker to multiple major character deaths. The latter, naturally, are eventually reversed in an ending that grounds its cosmic stakes in the ordinary bonds of human connection. (Oh, and sorry in advance to everyone who thought Ruby's mother was Susan Foreman/Rose Tyler/Thirteen/Romana..... Ok, not sorry.) Davies can say whatever he wants about "soft reboots/fresh starts." "Empire of Death" is everything you loved (and hated) about Davies-style season finales, made bigger and bolder with the help of a Disney budget. It is utterly ridiculous, weirdly emotional, and over the top in every respect.

Did this episode answer all the questions this season posed? Nope! Do many of its plot twists make a ton of sense? Not really! (Tell me true, Whovians — did any of us really expect them to?) But Davies' take on the franchise has always been clear that it's the heart of his stories that matter, and from Sutekh's defeat to Ruby's reunion with her birth mother, this is a finale that delivers on those things in spades.