Warning! This article contains spoilers for Doctor Who season 14 (new season 1), episode 7.
Summary
Doctor Who’slatest season is rapidly racing to its inevitable conclusion, andthe penultimate episode has already revealed a lot about the mysteries established throughout season 14.Doctor Whowas first released in 1963, which means that the lore of the series is incredibly deep and far-reaching. However, the show has gone through several regenerations in its lengthy run, withthe latest season once again rebooting the show in an effort to revitalize the franchise.
Showrunner Russell T Davies is responsible for kicking off the firstreboot ofDoctor Whoin 2005, after the show had been off the air for over a decade, with only a TV movie released in the interim. In the almost 20 years since, the show has had highs and lows, but recent years saw the show falling out of favor with many. However,RTD has returned to give the show new life once again, and this latest iteration has been packed with new surprises, twists, and tricksthat are all building to an epic conclusion.
7The True Identity Of The One Who Waits
Sutekh, The God Of All Gods, Is Revelead
With the latest season ofDoctor Who, RTD and the team of creatives have worked tirelessly to make season 14, alternatively known as the new season 1, special. In addition to the new fantasy and supernatural elements, there are plenty of new mysteries to unravel.As early as the 60th Anniversary special, “The Giggle,” the show had been hinting at a mysterious power known as The One Who Waits.With this mysterious figure having some connection to The Toymaker, there was no clear answer about whom this title was referring to.
This changed definitively in episode 7, “The Legend of Ruby Sunday,” when the identity of this mysterious entity was revealed. The One Who Waits is another old foe of the Doctor that has not been seen in the show for almost 50 years.Sutekh is the self-proclaimed god of all gods who first encountered theDoctor during his Fourth Regeneration (Tom Baker) in the 1975adventure, “Pyramids of Mars.” This ominous and imposing figure has now been confirmed as the entity that the Toymaker and villains like Maestro were referring to earlier in the season.
Doctor Who’s The One Who Waits Identity Explained: How They Return & Fourth Doctor Connection
The One Who Waits finally shows his face in Doctor Who season 14, episode 7, “The Legend of Ruby Sunday,” and he has a history with the Doctor.
6Susan Twist’s Recurring Doctor Who Season 14 Cameos
She Has A Connection With Sutekh
One of the most apparent mysteries that popped up throughoutDoctor Whoseason 14 wasthe mysterious woman who was spotted in almost every episode.The actress, Susan Twist, has had a prominent recurring role throughout the season, and in one of the three episodes of the 60th Anniversary specials, “Wild Blue Yonder.” However,in each episode, she appears to play unconnected characters.From the face and voice of a futuristic ambulance, to a milk maid in Isaac Newton’s locale, Susan Twist’s face has been seen throughout time and space.
However, it appears that the character has a clear and close connection to the overarching villain of the season, Sutekh. In “The Legend of Ruby Sunday,” Twist plays a character named Susan Triad, whose name alluded to a connection to the TARDIS (S Triad is an anagram for TARDIS). However,the tech mogul Triad reveals that the name was actually a reference to Sue Tech, or Sutekh.Beyond her connection with the god, it is unclear how the character connects, but at least her popping up everywhere now makes sense.
5Why The TARDIS Has Been Groaning Throughout Doctor Who Season 14
A Strange Presence Was Surrounding The Ship
As early as “Wild Blue Yonder,” theTARDIS has been having more problems than usual. The Doctor’s most faithful and enduring time-traveling companion, his ship, has always had some slight issues. Between the faulty chameleon circuit and the frequent landings in the wrong time or place, the TARDIS is certainly prone to minor issues. However, it normally has a specific rhythm, and reliably lands without much of a problem.This season, the TARDIS has been crying out in load groans and crash landing far more often than normal, and episode 7 finally revealed why.
When the Doctor and Ruby stepped into UNIT’s Time Window, they were able to discover apresence surrounding the TARDIS that had remained hidden up to that point.When the Doctor first met Ruby in “The Church on Ruby Road,” he had to rescue a baby Ruby from time-traveling goblins. However, that same night, a presence surrounding his TARDIS, which resembled a large black and glowing red cloud swirled arounf his trusty ship.This presence later reveals itself to be a manifestation of Sutekh, but when exactly it attached itself to the TARDIS is still uncertain.
4The Doctor’s Children Haven’t Been Born Yet
The Life Of A Time Lord Is Not Linear
Perhaps the oldest mystery in Doctor Who relates to his family. The Doctor has always been elusive about his family, his history and his life before traveling in the TARDIS. But one thing that was revealed in the very first episode wasthe fact that the Doctor had a granddaughter who went by the name of Susan Foreman. The Doctor and Susan travel together in his stolen TARDIS, and by standard human logic, the fact that the Doctor has a granddaughter, implies he had children earlier. However, “The Legend of Ruby Sunday” provided some surprising new context about this relationship.
The Doctor is a Time Lord, a Gallifreyan who has access to time travel. This means that he is able to adventure to the furthest reaches of space, as well as either end of time. However,Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctorreveals that he has not had children yet. This wouldn’t make sense for a human on a linear timeline, but Time Lords have a different relationship with time.This explains why the Doctor has not gone into detail about his family, although, in earlier RTD episodes starring David Tennant, he did refer to his kids and a wife in the past tense. How very Timey Wimey.
3What Happened To Sutekh After His Fourth Doctor Episode
The God Found A Way To Continue Existing
In the original story where Sutekh was first introduced, the Doctor comes out victorious after a grueling and terribly difficult adventure.“Pyramids of Mars” ended with Sutekh dying as the Fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith escape into the TARDISto escape the terrible explosion. However, as a god, it would make sense for Sutekh to be much more durable than other mortal beings. Sutekh may have appeared to die and disappear for good in that 1975 adventure, butseason 14 reveals a very different fate for the god of all gods.
Rather than simply dying of old age or an explosion,Sutekh escaped his fate and managed to continue existing in some other way.Whether he has lain dormant for the thousands of years that elapsed on Earth from “Pyramids of Mars” to “The Legend of Ruby Sunday,” or if he was somewhere outside time lying in wait, Sutekh never died. It appears he also made some sort of connection with the other gods whom he rules over, considering their fear and warnings about his imminent arrival to the Doctor and Ruby during this season.
Susan Twist’s Doctor Who Season 14 Role Explained: Who She Was Really Playing
Susan Twist’s Doctor Who character permeates Ncuti Gatwa’s first season as the Fifteenth Doctor, but her true identity is only revealed very late.
2What The Mara Really Is
The God Of Beasts
Speaking of Sutekh’s godly family tree, “The Legend of Ruby Sunday” exposed another detail about his lineage and his pantheon of gods. While theDoctor Who60th Anniversary specialsbrought the Toymaker, an ancient god the Doctor faced long ago in his first form back, the following episodes expanded on the godly dynasty within the Whoniverse.Sutekh is the father of the gods, and proclaims his relationship as such in episode 7. While detailing his own identity,he refers to others in that family tree, including another old rival who appeared in a Fifth Doctor story, the Mara.
While the Mara was already revealed to be a child of Sutekh,“The Legend of Ruby Sunday” expanded on the Mara’s identity by revealing their title as the “god of beasts.“This further expands the identity of the giant snake-like creature that terrorized the Doctor in “Kinda.” This ultimately shows how much RTD is trying to connect the series between the classic adventures and the modern era, rather than simply ignoring the previous stories that helped to establishDoctor Whoas the longest running sci-fi show of all time.
1Rose’s Fate After Doctor Who’s 60th Anniversary
UNIT Employee
However, “The Legend of Ruby Sunday did not ignore modern Doctor Who and even added a character who was introduced during the recent 60th Anniversary specials.Rose Noble, the daughter of Donna Noble and Shaun Temple, was first introduced in “The Star Beast.“While her character had a notable role in the episodes where she appeared, she was last seen settling down with her family, and the recently bi-generated Fourteenth Doctor, played by Tennant. With Fourteen and Donna being closely tied to her character, it was not guaranteed that her character could make much of a return. However,she is actively working at UNIT in episode 7.
Donna secures a job with UNIT at the end of “The Giggle,” but Rose appears to have proven her ability to work there as well.When the Fifteenth Doctor sees Rose at UNIT HQ, he is incredibly excited and greets her, asking how her uncle is doing. This is a reference to his earlier self, as there was no other uncle referenced in her episodes, andTennant’s Fourteenth Doctordeclares how pleased he is to have a niece. Thankfully, the fate of Rose and her family appeared to be positive up untilDoctor Whoepisode 7, but the arrival of Sutekh could still change everything ahead of the final episode.
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Doctor Who: Released on July 29, 2025, this series follows the Doctor and their companion as they journey across time and space, encountering a range of extraordinary friends and adversaries, expanding the universe of the long-running British science fiction series.
