10 Worst Doctor Who Moments Of 2024

Sutekh’s return at the end of The Legend of Ruby Sunday was one of Doctor Who’s all-time great cliffhangers. But sadly, what followed wasn’t quite so great (and no we’re not talking about the weirdly hyped-up scene with Sian Clifford and a spoon).

Rather, one of the most unsatisfying things about Empire of Death was the way that everyone gets turned to dust in the first five minutes, and how easily they get brought back at the end.

It’s meant to be a stakes-raising moment that proves Sutekh means business, but when you kill such a wide array of key characters so casually, it’s blatantly obvious they’ll be back again by the episode’s end.

If this dusting had taken place at the end of the previous episode – ala Avengers: Infinity War – we'd have had a full week to sit with it, plenty of time for doubt to grow about who will survive, and who won't.

The fact that all the characters killed in The Legend of Ruby Sunday also came back to life only added salt to the wound. Reset buttons are nothing new for Doctor Who, but can we not at least leave one or two people dead so that these major, universe-changing events don't feel so easily overcome?