I'm liking the break from Daleks, Cybermen, Weeping Angels, etc... It's a breath of fresh air, spotlighting these other classic monsters/villains.

If Sutekh has been wrapped around the TARDIS this whole time, is that why in the titles it seems to be slightly less in control, hitting and sparking off the Time Vortex?

The bit about sutekh being in wild blue yonder reminded me about the salt situation and 14 being really concerned about creating a superstition at the edge of the universe!

i have a theory that when “ruby’s mum” was “crying” we’re gonna see a new shot in the next episode that reveals it’s actually the trickster laughing instead

After Susan Triad transforms in that episode I swear to God she looked just like Riff-Raff from Rocky Horror

Suetehk did also mention "The Mara, god of beasts" when he was listing off the gods in the pantheon....the 5th Doctor fought him twice as he possessed Tegan.....the Mara's true form was a giant snake

Honestly if this is 15’s thing going forward they should get Neil Gaiman to pen a few episodes with the gods.

So I've had this theory swirling in the back of my mind for some time now and it all comes back to most Who fans least favourite storyline... The Timeless Child. Now, ever since RTD returned as lead writer, he's constantly mentioned that he isn't retconning the Timeless Child storyline whatsoever and we've seen that with a bunch of references to it throughout series 14. But now I've got a feeling that he's actually building on the foundations of TTC and using it for a grander story in the making... When the revelation of TTC occurred, we learnt that the Doctor is actually from an unknown dimension and his true species is also unknown, so what if the Doctor is actually a member of this Pantheon just like the Toymaker, Maestro, Suetekh and the Trickster but the Doctor is actually the God of Life and serves as a counterpart to the evil Gods. This would also explain where his regeneration powers come from as well. On top of this, i'd like to think the Doctor was being hunted by this evil Pantheon and to escape their wrath, he disguised themselves as a child and hide away in a different dimension hoping they wouldn't find him but eventually they did and have continued hunting him across time, space and dimensions!

😮 I’m 56 years old I remember watching pyramids of Mars when I was a kid I just re-watched it and it’s still scared the crap out of me. Such a great episode.

This is great and all, but what I want to know is Will Cherry Sundae get her cup of tea next week. 😂

Watched Pyramids of Mars today, loved how there was call backs to the episodes in this series in PoM, like when the doctor took Sarah to the 80s to see it destroyed aka the same as the Maestro episode.

Ellie, check this out. Susan Twist has been in every episode since Wild Blue Yonder, except for The Giggle. Unless ... unless she was. We still don't know who picked up the Toymaker's gold tooth.

Ellie:"Who is Sutekh?" Me: *seeing Sutekh* "He is a good puppy!"

Harbinger also mentioned "The threefold deity of Malice and Mischief and Misery..." which is maybe relevant to the whole Triad thing? Maybe even a call back to the three Gods of Ragnarok?

I always love when they do the classic villains. It reallys connects the dots.

The Trickster also, notably, enjoys alternate timelines. If Ruby is linked to him, 73 Yards becomes a bit more relevant. EDIT: doubly so because 73 Yards follows his MO quite a bit. A tiny shift toppling dominoes until the world ends. And it almost did, simply because of that one misstep.

Don't forget that The Division and Techeun had a spaceship in the void

Suetehk being the eldest amongst the listed God's also explains Mystro's reaction to Ruby when it starts Snowing /& Holiday music playing. In that moment of Ruby's memory the infant Ruby may have seen Suetehk wrapped around the tardis.

Well, time to rewatch Pyramids Of Mars. I’m not complaining. No but seriously, though the reveal is quite obvious in hindsight the way it was done with the buildup of music to the sudden silence is so rewarding. Personal 10/10 episode. Hope Empire of Death is just as good.

another link is that in the Giggle, Donna asked Mel "Mel is this Static or Dynamic" and Mel responds with "Dynamic, We're using Triad". That may be a coincidence, but even then, Susan Triad was being mentioned. It's a line many just threw away, especially as it was followed by the amazing dance number, but re-watching it, made me spot it differently. It may be showing either how much her technology is used already, or could be linking to something in the next episode (maybe Sutekh is going to refer back to the Giggle?) just seems to coincidental IMO

I just..... I don't understand how everything could possibly be wrapped up in ONE episode and still be satisfying. I'm concerned...

This felt like a true Doctor who episode! I wasn’t feeling most of the season but this gives me hope for the final!

That sound the Tardis has been making has been bugging me as I recognised it from Classic Who, and I twigged what it was last night. It’s the sound of the Malus from Fifth Doctor story The Awakening. 😁

The guys from Stargate have been fighting with Sutekh between the two Dr. Who episodes, so perhaps that's how he escaped from the void.

How do we know that the woman dropping Ruby off is her mother? That feels like a big assumption we have all made...

A solid theory put forward by Louisa Mellor over at Den of Geek is quite simply, Sutekh corrupted* the Doctor's wife (the TARDIS, not River). "As H. Arbinger explained: 'He has hidden in the howling void, he has hidden within the tempest. He has braved the storm and the darkness and the pain and he whispered to the vessel. All this time he whispered and delighted and corrupted*, and the vessel did obey, for none should be more mighty and none should be more wise than the King himself. And the Lord of Time was blind and vain, and knew nothing.'" *not the word, see the article.

Maybe the fact that the Doctor is now in the "Mavity" timeline, maybe he'll find a way to restore the "Gravity" timeline.

I need this channel to survive a week between episodes

Personally i think sutekh has been around before the tardis lands in wild blue yonder as susan twist appeared before the tardis reached the edge of the universe and the tardis groaned before the salt scene indicating that 14 using superstition at the edge of the universe isn't the reason sutekh is back

I think that Ruby is going to be the key to defeat Sutekh, and I suspect that her mother will turn out to be another deity, but not one of the Pantheon of Discord, rather one that is diametrically opposed to Sutekh. A goddess of life and creation.

I think Wild blue yonder is when sutekh attached to the TARDIS, but in flux tardis was very weird + the whole universe distruction might have let him escape

Doctor Who: we can't bring back The Rani, no one knows who she is. Also Doctor Who: everyone remembers Toymaker and Sutekh, right?

Rewatching the Sarah Jane adventure atm and in the first season when Maria has to save Sarah from limbo and the trickster - basically - the Trickster actually mentions what it would be like to get their hands on the doctor so maybe after all this time The Trickster has been devising a plan with Sutekh since then

How did he pull off some text on a teleprompter? He once stopped an explosion through sheer willpower!

And if Sutekh was working with the trickster, who's to say the trickster isn't tricking SUTEKH?

Trickster should definitely be in doctor who as already this season there has been so much to connect to him, the fact that Ruby's hidden song was the tricksters theme from sarah jane adventures, the fact that the woman wears the same clothes but was also said to have a shadowed form by the doctor so it could be the trickster in disguise, also u have the fact that Ruby's story arc is ofc very similar to sky's arc in sarah jane adventures and seeing as Ruby's story continues next season I believe that's when we'll see the trickster

You missed one very big context clue Ellie; The groaning noise the TARDIS has been making is the exact same sound effect Sarah Jane heard when she saw Sutekh's face in the opening of that serial.

Thank you Ellie, you literally made it so much clearer 😂😂 Also did you see? In the 2nd episode, just before The Carol of the Bells played from within Ruby as a hidden song, the Trickster's theme was playing. You'll love this theory, another youtuber made a video about it putting them side to side!

Re: Set's Domains When I studied Egyptology as part of my Bachelor's Degree (long, long ago in the late 80s), Set had several domains of influence/responsibility depending on the era you look at Ancient Egypt. Later on, he became the "God of Foreigners" and, with that, became synonymous with a "God of Evil" due to Egyptian perspectives at the time regarding outsiders. Just a fun FYI! (Yay! I got to use my old degree again! Whoot!)

I appreciate this video. It helped immensely. Thank you

Thank you for the video. That was wonderfully presented and I enjoyed finding out information from the expanded universe that I otherwise would not have known.

I was going to guess that Sutekh was able to latch on to the TARDIS when it was cloned with the toymakers hammer, but the groaning in WBY puts the kibosh on that

Gabriel Woolf who voiced Sutekh in Pyramids of Mars in 1975 is back as Sutekh here! Thank you as always. Love the vids! 🌟

THANKS for this, Ellie!!!!

Did anyone else notice that after the Doctor mentioned that Timelords can change their face if their dying or need to hide away that Mrs Flood literally stated that "it's nice to get out, I'm always "hiding" myself away!" Is Mrs flood a Timelord? (cough cough, the Rani) or a god? (like Insensor the god of disaster: flood, rain, storm, disaster) Also, if every god has a Harbinger and the Harbingers are the gods child. Does that make the Maestro the Toymakers Harbinger before they matured into godlike stature? So, is it possible for Henry Arbinger to become a god? Because that would be awesome if the Harbingers became gods. In that case, then what do you reckon the other gods' first names to be? I reckon the Toymaker's real name is Horatio Arbinger. It suits him.

Thank you for the detailed theories!

You've done a great job here, Ellie. I really enjoyed your ideas.

Ruby’s origin will be show in another future episode in similar fashion to Clara’s origin. My theory is in a future episode she’ll wound up stuck in that timeline, meet her mum without any idea and later on it’s Ruby herself who will be dropping that baby in the church.

Did any one notice the ring Susan Triad was wearing when Mel shook her hand? It reminded me of the Eye of Horus

Whoever did the skeletor makeup on Susan Twist deserves amazing credit. That is proper scary looking. The make up on Harriet isn't as good because they did white on her which makes it look very Party City. But Susan looked terrifying. I can't wait for next week. I think Series 15 is going to be the search for Susan Foreman though.

Thanks for linking the dots, Ellie!

I want the Trickster to return so badly

And then the actual real Susan turns up and says... "Hay Grandad, trouble with the Pantheon of Discord, well, I found the Pantheon of Harmony"

GOD i can't wait for next week

It hit me as I watched a recap video of Pyramids of Mars, that something else makes sense now- All through the season there were several points where the Doctor was inexplicably afraid. He noticed he was afraid of the Bogeyman and didn't understand it and we never found out why, among other times. Sutekh was one of the rare beings that could mentally dominate the Doctor and make him feel terror. Now we know Sutekh as tied to the TARDIS all season long, it makes perfect sense.

Oh yes, first thing I did after watching the episode and unleashed was watch the Pyramids of Mars episodes 😅. They’re in season 13 of classic who if that helps anyone ❤

all i know is he was way creepier with the weird horse face back in the 70s than he is now

Great breakdown! Thanks Ellie!!

Also I haven't heard many people notice it, but in the toymaker, when Donna was typing she ask what system do they use and Mel says triad

You guys missed that in "Wild Blue Yonder", the TARDIS started groaning shortly after the Doctor and Donna stepped out of it and then it disappeared. That was the first instance where Sutekh seized upon the TARDIS. A BBC minute-long short here on KZfaq and social media compile that into all previous times the TARDIS groaned.

I would love to see the return of The Toymaker and Maestro. Both such great and menacing characters played by people I love

You actually did clear something up for me, corrected me even. I haven't actually watched Pyramids of Mars in a few years, so I apparently misremembered something. Repeatedly. On Twitter. It's fine.

Also just watched Pyramids of Mars. Couple things... Susan Triad is a servant just like the one Scarman brother, but that doesn't explain her many other roles in the series. Sutekh tries to recruit the Doctor because he's a Time Lord, presumably to use the TARDIS to get to Mars, but he may have been trying to control it all season for some other evil plot. Sarah Jane and the Doctor have a very different relationship than any in the modern show. Very snippy. The plot seemed at times to be made up on the spot. There's visible duct tape on one of the props!

Hey Ellie. Adored this ep. Remember the coffee spill... oh and please can you gove credits to the comic creators for any you mention

Thank you -- much clearer!

Thank you for explaining all of this. I'm strictly New Who, Eccleston onwards. They're pretty much fighting the Whoniverse's equivalent of Thanos. Got it. 👍

Coincidentally, I had just watched "Pyramids of Mars" on Tubi before this episode dropped. Loved that. Loved this.

While sutehk is part of the pantheon, i dont think he is the god of gods. I think thats just him saying that for flair (and that is what he believes)

it was to me the best episode yet, reminded me of old Doctor Who which is a big win to me, really hope the tone stays, excellent build up, underlining mystery to a bigger plot. fantastic.

I wonder if there's two of them? There's two TARDIS now from splitting them at the end of the specials? Could be pretty interesting. I totally think it happened at the edge of the universe. Wild blue yonder had so many things you can set off it because there was so much mystery

I think once Sutekh has been defeated (sorry for spoilers) I think the pantheon will start to fight over the top spot for power. War of the gods perhaps? Fenric seizing and opportunity. I noticed he wasn't mentioned.

Certainly the first time an episode made me go googling for the wiki information, lol! Felt it coulda done with some old-Who flashbacks when Harbinger was going on about the old gods. But that was still one heck of an introduction! I'm here for it, seems fun. Though I'm not really into this whole fighting gods thing as a plotline personally, especially when it warps reality to the point where anything goes and what rules there were no longer exist for Who (I prefer it when everything has an explanation or is an alien of some kind), but this was still quite enjoyable and tension building! Hoping it sticks the landing and is a good finale!

Hang on. If Sutekh was attached to the TARDIS in Wild Blue Yonder, what happened when the TARDIS became duplicated in The Giggle. Has Sutekh been duplicated too?

Since Sutekh took the form of a large dog-like thing, I wouldn't be surprised if he ate someone. If anything, it'd be slightly diasappointing for me to NOT see that.

I wish they would have just used a live actor for Sutekh, to match the other over the top gods so far.

I reckon it's possible Mrs Flood is Incensor. Floods are disasters. Storms (which she possibly summoned) are disasters. Or the God of Secrets that is mentioned. But also I got to thinking on a second watch of The Legend of Ruby Sunday. The Doctor literally says he's a disaster. Could he perhaps be Incensor? Incensor is supposed to be female and the child left originally was female... Just some random thoughts that are unlikely to be the case.

I still have a theory that the woman dropping Ruby off is Ruby. I also really want the Beast to be confirmed as part of the pantheon, but then not expanded upon further to keep the Beasts mystery.

All this discussion about Sutekh and the Tardis didn't mention one key element: there are *two* Tardises. I'd be rather disappointed if 14's Tardis isn't referenced in some way in "Empire of Death"

i wonder if maybe Sutekh latched on when they ended up in the parallel world where ickeys grandma was still alive since they had to actually go THROUGH the void to get there....

Rogue and the Chuldur were banished to another dimension, and the Pantheon of Discord are from another dimension. It seems like the number banished and the number in the Pantheon are the same. If they are the same beings, then Sutekh, the one who waits, could be Rogue... who waited for the Doctor to find and save him. If this is the case, this could allow them to tie up all loose threads for this season pretty easily.

I'm among those who immediately knew who Sutekh was when he got name dropped as well as the full understanding of how "we are so screwed" the situation is. And, funnily enough, I probably wouldn't have been if not for getting a used VHS copy over 2 decades ago from my, at the time, local library because they were selling their copy. Still trying to get a DVD copy and want it now movie than ever

So when do we think the TARDIS went back to Ruby Road? The only time I can think of is when the TARDIS took off in Wild Blue Yonder but the TARDIS started groaning before that happened so Im not sure when he was actually picked up

Side note. Both Pyramids of Mars and Image of the Fendahl featured exterior scenes filmed at Stargroves estate in Hampshire, MickJagger's then home.

If the trickster created a child in a sarah jane story it really is not too far fetched that RTD would bring that back for ruby

Nice video - I think I need to go watch the Pyramids of Mars.

SUTEKH : I am the night I am terror.....I am Batman?

With this episode the space behind sofas became a meme again. 🤣🤣🤣

WBY has become one of my favourite DW episodes ever (only watched NuWhu) and I've speculated so much on that episode and it's repercussions and so hyped it seems to be sooo relevant to this whole season. Counting the hours until seeing the finale in the cinema! Thanks for your discussion vids for us whovians that don't have any whovian friends!

I'm going to guess that Sutekh is going to be bound to the Tardis. Also I'm guessing Ruby's Mother was talking to Sutekh in the recording telling him that he'll never win!

My mad theory, well technically two, First it is a trickster trap, just not for the Doctor, but for Suteck I think he’s been held down, and has found a means to free himself by pitting him against the doctor. The Other aspect, I’ve begun to theorise rubys mother is Kate Lethbridge-Stewart Visual Similarities between the actresses and certain style choices, Kate and The Doctor talking about Susan and the age between the two being fitting. Just a theory and it’s very loose

Great story, Ed! "Oh, you *know* him..."

Pyramids of Mars is the only Classic Who DVD that I have currently. I'm going to re-watch as it's been a while.

another explanation i came up with for sutekh latching onto the tards was the incident when we first went to petes world when the tardfis fell through the void he couldve latched on there and waited for his plans he started to come to fruition

In Pyramids of Mars, Sutekh controlled The Doctor while he piloted the TARDIS, and The Doctor also used the TARDIS console to trap Sutekh. Two occasions where Sutekh had direct access to the TARDIS. I think its a mix of Venom at the end of "No Way Home" and Horcruxes. Just a splash of Sutekh was all that was needed to maintain the link, until he was strong enough to fully manifest. Just needed time.

Originally Sutekh was from an extremely advanced race. The Osyrans. He launched a campaign to destroy the universe, and the combined might of 740 Osyrans barely managed to trap him. Maybe Sutekh was normal once, and he became so powerful after being possessed by the "Beast." So, while it's a retcon, it may be just a matter of time when things occurred.

The groaning noise in hindsight reminds me a lot of the travel sound from Myst.

Iv put this of every comment section and every post to do with the finale PLEASE BRING BACK THE TRICKSTER

That groaning noise that the TARDIS was making was very similar sounding to the musical sting used in The Pyramids of Mars when Sutekh's mummies were walking about. Should have figured it out then.

Ooooo I love where this is all going

I love how clunky the old WHO was. There is a bit in Pyramids of Mars where Sutech stands up and you can see a hand that was holding his cushion . It wouldn’t have been as obvious if the hand had worn a glove .