Doctor Who: The Legend Of Ruby Sunday Review - 6 Ups & 4 Downs

7. UP - The Legend Of Ruby Sunday

Doctor Who The Legend of Ruby Sunday
BBC Studios

Despite not getting any solid answers (for now) on Ruby's parentage, it was nice to finally have this put front and centre at last.

Millie Gibson is otherwise fairly robbed of screentime this episode, but those few minutes we get of Ruby reliving the night she was abandoned are enough for her to still make a splash this week. Ruby's optimism than descends into desperation throughout, the mounting fear she won't get her answer despite being so close, and her pained screams as her mother slips through her fingers yet again - throughout this scene, Gibson once again manages to say quite a lot without words, stealing the scene despite the fact that Fifteen is doing all the talking.

It's a shame that she's felt so underutilised this series outside of 73 Yards. Speaking of which, the security camera that picked up this footage was mentioned as being 66 metres away, and you can guess how many yards that is - perhaps that episode will get more of an explanation than we thought.

In fact, the entire time window sequence is great. The Doctor's initial inspection of the chamber, only to announce 'this is rough' is probably the funniest moment of the episode, and the visuals of the chamber are fantastic, with the VHS hologram effect having an almost ghostly quality to it.

Doctor Who The Legend of Ruby Sunday Time Window
BBC Studios

One minor detail I also liked was Carla attempting to reassure Ruby's holographic mum that her daughter is safe - in both the episodes that she's had a prominent role in so far, outside forces have made her forget or turn her back on Ruby - it's about time we got some scenes where she gets to be a mum.

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Alex is a sci-fi and fantasy swot, and is a writer for WhoCulture. He is incapable of watching TV without reciting trivia, and sometimes, when his heart is in the right place, and the stars are too, he’s worth listening to.