Doctor Who
admonition : Spoilers ahead for the two - part coda ofDoctor Whoseason 14 .
Summary
Sutekh’sDoctor Whoreturn after such a prolonged period raise the question of why he was so impossibly patient onwards of his riposte , but there ’s a hypothesis that can explain it . After first appearing inDoctor Who ’s Greco-Roman epoch , Sutekh descend back to the show inDoctor Whoseason 14 ’s penultimate episode , " The Legend of Ruby Sunday . " The two - part finis of Ncuti Gatwa ’s inaugural run as the Fifteenth Doctor is only Sutekh ’s second live - action appearance . While a substantial period of almost 50 years had pass between Sutekh story , it was far , far longer within the world ofDoctor Who .
Sutekh ’s 1975 debut in " pyramid of Mars " had him facing off against Tom Baker ’s Fourth Doctor . Four ’s victory was only slight , but take back showrunner Russell T Davies has retconned the taradiddle ’s ending by having the Doctor only conceive Sutekh to be vanquish , with the God of Death adhere to the TARDIS ever since . It ’s a huge change toDoctor Whocanon that means the villain has on the QT been present in every escapade between " pyramid of Mars " and his issue inDoctor Who ’s Disney epoch . In other words , almostevery thespian to play the Doctorhas never been far from Sutekh .
With Sutekh , Ruby ’s female parent , and Mrs. Flood , Doctor Who time of year 14 ’s finale is packed with major reveals and shocking moment worthy of a closer feel .
Theory: Sutekh Couldn’t Return While Doctor Who’s Time Lords Still Existed
The One Who Waits was wise to be so patient
Sutekh was initially frustrate by the Fourth Doctor , a lonely Time Lord against an improbably powerful being who could stamp out with just a single tinge . As a result , Doctor Who ’s The One Who Waitshad a intelligent respect for the Doctor ’s society , and was wise not to reveal himself while there were so many other Time Lords throughout sentence and outer space . The Doctor ’s " Last of the Time Lords " story was never in burden during the definitive geological era , with the show ’s principal character just being a breakaway from Gallifrey . So , it have sense that Sutekh would choose to stay out of sight .
Gallifrey has dip in and out of existencea number of times since the 2005Doctor Whorevival , but the planet and its citizenry were n’t rightfully wiped from existence untilSacha Dhawan ’s Master charge a Time Lord genocidethroughout metre and space during Jodie Whittaker ’s run as the Thirteenth Doctor . Interestingly , Sutekh first take off to excite in " Wild Blue Yonder,“which was n’t too long after the Master ’s outrageous natural action . So , with the most hefty being inDoctor Who ’s Pantheon of Godsconfident that the Time Lords would n’t come upon him , he begin to plan his big reveal .
Why The Time Lords Likely Would Have Fought Against Sutekh
The Doctor’s people have been known to intervene in certain matters
Time Lords as a society generally do n’t interpose in any matterthrough time and space , as most see themselves as beholder more than anything else . However , this philosophy has been inconsistent through the millenary . Not only do individuals like the Doctor and the Master often mistreat out into the universe to interact with various backwash and civilization , but the Time Lords themselves have also choose to step in given the right circumstances . The biggest factor in whether they incline to intervene is whether they are at least part of the grounds for whatever ’s function faulty .
If Sutekh go forth , and it was uncover he ’d commandered a TARDIS , the Time Lords would n’t tolerate lazily by .
For example , the last Second Doctor fib , " The War Games , " featured a renegade Time Lord called the War Chief , who had align himself with a nefarious foreign species and endeavor to help them make an United States Army . Patrick Troughton ’s Doctor asked the Time Lords for help , and they assisted in the escapade ’s consequence . There ’s also the matter of the Time Lords going to war with the Daleks , so there are instance where the society does n’t align with the description of mere beholder . So , if Sutekh emerge , and it was uncover he ’d commandered a TARDIS , the Time Lords would n’t brook idly by .
Sutekh Was Much Weaker During Doctor Who’s Classic Era
The God of Death needed time to reach “Godhood”
There is no denying that Sutekh was a redoubtable foe the first time around . Even from his prison on Mars , he was able-bodied to take restraint of Earthbound avatars and employ them to deliver his " Gift of Death . " However , in the centuries since his last direct encounter with the Doctor , he ’s been exposed to the Time Vortex and been familiarizing himself with how the TARDIS work . The God of Death openly excuse in " Empire of end " that he has been grow steadily more brawny since he latched onto the spicy loge in " Pyramids of Mars . "
" I hang to your infernal machine , and for so many years I hid . I have traveled with you for all this prison term , depend on the spine of your ship , staring into eternity and develop into my dead on target godhood . Now I know every beat of the heart of your time machine , and I can bend it to my will . It will stand as my communion table , the tabernacle of my Empire of Death . "
So , Sutekh apparently felt he involve all this metre to become as powerful as he aimed to be . Paired with the on-going presence of the Time Lords until the Master killed them , the timing of Sutekh ’s resurgence in " The Legend of Ruby Sunday " makes much more sense than it just being some kind of random decision . If he ’d pick out to reveal himself any preferably , it ’s extremely likely the Doctor would have been able to vote down him again almost now . Even if he could n’t , thenthe Time Lords may have arrived to hit the TARDIS from the villain ’s grasp .
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Interestingly , the totality ofDoctor Whoseason 14 is a stealth continuation to Tom Baker ’s " Pyramids of Mars"story from 1975 . Not only is this acknowledged by clip from the original story appearing on the Time Window screen in " Empire of Death , " but also by a ingenious casting conclusion . Gabriel Woolf returns in the season 14 finale to interpreter Sutekhafter play the part inDoctor Who ’s classical earned run average . Woolf also voiced the Beast inDoctor Whoseason 2 , episodes 8 and 9 , " The Impossible Planet , " and , " The Satan Pit . " This suggest a tie between the two characters .
Carla Sunday even advert to Sutekh as " The Beast " in " The Legend of Ruby Sunday . "
Sutekh Would Have Known The Time Lords Survived The Time War
The Doctor Who villain had the advantage of access to the TARDIS
If Sutekh was indeed waiting for the fall of the Time Lords before he revealed himself , there ’s an literary argument to say that he could have done so after they were all ostensibly pop after the Time War . However , with the God of Death having such unfettered access to the TARDIS , a machine that can go , has been , or will go to any corner of time and blank , Sutekh may have been fully aware that the Time Lords secretly survived the Time Warrather than perishing as the Doctor call back .
Russell T Davy ' homecoming as Doctor Who showrunner has brought with it an intriguing chemical element , breaking the fourth paries on a semi - regular cornerstone .
So , while it may have been tempting for Sutekh to amount back after the Time War , he ultimately made the wise decision of staying concealed . It was only after the Master ’s racial extermination that Sutekh knew for sure that he would n’t be pit by any Time Lords other than the medico . Given the advantage over Gatwa ’s Fifteenth Doctor , which he ’d gained by keep up the element of surprisal , The One Who Waits gave himself the best chance of conserve a permanent Empire of Death . regrettably for him , Doctor Who ’s primary grapheme also played the prospicient game and beat Sutekh again anyway .
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Cast
The in vogue physician Who series introduces the Fifteenth Doctor , bring together by new associate Ruby Sunday .
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