Doctor Who: Empire Of Death Review - 7 Ups & 5 Downs

The first thing Empire of Death does is attempt to massively raise the stakes, giving the Whoniverse its own Infinity War moment by killing pretty much everyone in a metaphorical snap of the fingers. It's hard not to draw comparison, even moreso when people start getting dusted into sand (the visual effect of this is absolutely stunning, by the way).

This similarity isn't why I'm giving this moment a down, though.

Five minutes in, we've lost Kate, Ruby's family, Mrs Flood, the entirety of UNIT, and for that matter, the rest of the world. It's a great sequence, don't get me wrong, and Jemma Redgrave  sells the hell out of the moment to the point where, if this was goodbye for her, it would have felt earned (even if it is slightly undermined by Yasmin Finney just chilling with her iPad in the background throughout the entire sequence).

The issue is, the stakes are raised so high so quickly, that there aren't really any stakes at all from this point. The moment you upset the status quo to this degree, it's inevitable that an RTD reset button™ is coming, and come it does. This sequence would've been so much more impactful and believable if, say, Rose and Morris had managed to escape while the others were getting dusted. In that event, I might have genuinely bought Kate's demise.

The fact that absolutely no-one dies as a result of Sutekh's 'Empire of Death' makes the entire thing feel a tad anticlimactic. We could've used a heroic sacrifice at some point, and I did think that might've been where we were headed with Mel. It would've hurt to watch, but that victory would feel so much more earned.

While I'm on the topic of UNIT, I want to mention once again Kate's brazen approach to employment law. Last week we discovered she's got a 13-year-old on the payroll, and this time, we find out she's armed this actual child's segway with fully-automatic weaponry? Steady, Kate.

She also seems to be fraternising in the workplace, if her little hand-hold moment with Colonel Ibrahim is anything to go by. And of course the episode wouldn't be complete without her randomly offering someone a job without any forward planning. It's basically her catchphrase now. I think we need to call Kate in for a little sit-down with HR.