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

I was slightly worried last week that after having this Susan Twist throughline throughout the season, we wouldn't really get much of an explanation for her presence beyond 'it was a trap', but I was glad that the episode took the time to explain Sutekh's plan in more detail.

It turns out that Sutekh has been clinging to the TARDIS through most of the show's history. Throughout the rest of classic who, the wilderness years and the Time War, and through the entire revival, every planet that the Doctor has ever landed on, or ever saved, now has its own Susan, created by the TARDIS perception filter.

This kills two birds with one stone. Firstly, it allows Sutekh a means of spreading his gift of death across the galaxy by activating these spooky sleeper agents throughout time and space. It also gives us a reason for Sutekh holding out for so long before revealing himself, spreading his influence and growing in power.

The idea that the literal God of Death has been clinging invisibly to the outside of the TARDIS throughout the majority of the show is really unsettling. The TARDIS is a safe space, and it now feels retroactively tainted (and this isn't a criticism, quite the opposite - it's horribly creepy).

The only question I'm still left with after this though, is what about Fourteen's TARDIS? Did Sutekh make the jump to the new TARDIS when Fifteen whacked it out of the old one? I suppose it makes sense, as Fourteen's TARDIS would no longer be travelling the universe and birthing new Susans, but still, a line acknowledging this wouldn't have gone amiss.