13 Darkest Doctor Who Endings Ever

Demons of the Punjab is a different kind of story – one without an alien threat (despite there being a perceived one), and ultimately, a tragic ending that Thirteen and company are powerless to stop. It’s a right tear-jerker.

When Yaz asks the Doctor to take her back to meet her Nani as a young woman, the gang are dropped right into the Partition of India – already a fairly heavy topic for the show.

As tensions rise, Yaz discovers that her Nani Umbreen is about to marry a Hindu man called Prem, a man who is, notably, not her grandfather.

While the fam (ugh) are busy investigating mysterious ‘demons’ plaguing the area, they’re blind to the real bloodbath looming on the horizon. As it turns out, these demons aren’t malicious at all, they’re witnesses, honouring those whose sacrifice is lost to history by standing by in their final moments. In a cruel turn, it transpires that they’re here for Prem. He is doomed to die, and can’t be saved, else Umbreen may never remarry and Yaz won’t be born.

Prem is ultimately killed on his wedding day, betrayed by his own brother, who has been swept up in the rising hatred between the Hindus and the Muslims. The scene is beautifully shot, and given tons of room to breathe.

It’s an ending that doesn’t rely on spectacle. It’s a story based on real events and tragedies, and the script is deeply respectful of that.