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

Another up goes to the entire sequence between Fifteen, Ruby, and Mel after they escape in the Memory TARDIS.

We watch as Fifteen ruminates on the fact that he has essentially doomed the universe through his very essence. He is driven by his love of exploration, lust for discovery and thirst for knowledge. This episode expertly folds this in on itself and makes the Doctor's driving passion the very thing that ends creation.

I don't believe we've ever seen this side of the Doctor weaponised against him like this, and it's not hard to see why, from his perspective, this is a horrifying existential revelation that makes him question everything about himself. It's an unimaginably cruel plan that's very befitting of an antagonist like Sutekh.

Despite my earlier comments about the lack of stakes in this story due to going too far at the beginning, this scene right here still absolutely emphasises the emotional weight of this destruction. This is what Flux should have felt like.

My only regret is that this portion of the episode really doesn't last long enough.