'Doctor Who': The Subtle Clues Behind The Lead Up To The Finale's Big Villain Reveal, And Why It Worked So Well

WARNING! SPOILERS for Doctor Who 14x07/1x07, 'The Legend of Ruby Sunday'.

As the Fifteenth Doctor's first season of Doctor Who rapidly draws to a close, fans have been treated to the return of Sutekh, God of Death, a classic villain from the Fourth Doctor story 'The Pyramids of Mars'. While some predicted the return, surprisingly few picked up on some of the most obvious clues that something was amiss, as far back as last year's 60th anniversary specials.

It all has to do with The Doctor's beloved Tardis..

A Clue in the intro

Prior to the airing of Doctor Who's three 60th Anniversary specials, 'The Star Beast', 'Wild Blue Yonder', and 'The Giggle', returning showrunner Russell T. Davies suggested that fans may find a clue in the show's new title sequence as to what to expect in coming episodes. Typically, NuWho title sequences have depicted the Tardis on what looks like a straightforward flight through the Time Vortex. In the newest title sequence, beginning with 'The Star Beast' and continuing into Series 14/Season 1, the Tardis seems to be flying a little more haphazardly, with sparks emitting from the bottom in some shots.

As the 6oth specials were airing, some Whovians did take note of the above, theorising that there might have been something wrong with the Fourteenth Doctor's Tardis. However, when the specials came and went with no mention of an issue, the theories faded.

Crash Landings

In most cases throughout Doctor Who history, The Tardis exits the Time Vortex and materialises with little fuss, save for the iconic 'vworp, vworp' that signifies it's arrival. When the Tardis is seen crash landing, such as in the episodes 'The Eleventh Hour' or 'Deep Breath', it is because something has gone wrong, often due to damage caused by The Doctor regenerating.

However, throughout Russell T. Davies second era as Doctor Who showrunner, The Tardis has crash landed on a regular basis. At first, many fans brushed this off as the show making use of it's higher budget to create greater visual spectacle for the landing sequences, but now, looking into the greater detail surrounding the crashes suggests there was always something more sinister at work.

The first crash of note occurs in the second 60th Special, 'Wild Blue Yonder'. The Tardis crashes in a tree above Sir Isacc Newton, with the Fourteenth Doctor and Donna Noble inadvertently tweaking history when Newton mishears their 'Gravity' joke as 'Mavity'.

At the time, this crash was blamed on Donna having spilled tea on the Tardis console at the end of 'The Star Beast'. However, the scene, and potentially the crash, takes on greater significance in hindsight, especially once fans realised it included the first appearance of Susan Twist/Susan Triad, who appears everywhere The Doctor goes and has now been tied to Sutekh's return.

The most recent crash occurred in 'The Legend of Ruby Sunday', as The Fifteenth Doctor and Ruby arrive at UNIT HQ. The Tardis then remains untouched for most of the episode, until the troubling reveal that it may not have arrived alone..

A Strange Groan

Throughout the series, the Tardis has been occasionally emitting a sinister groaning sound, separate from it's usual materialisation noise. The first time we hear the groan is in 'Wild Blue Yonder', where The Fourteenth Doctor admits the noise is strange, but dismisses it as part of The Tardis rebuilding itself.

It is heard again when The Fifteenth Doctor is preventing Maestro's attempted hijacking of The Tardis in 'The Devil's Chord', and again during 'Rogue', when it is brushed off as The Tardis's aversion to Bounty Hunters after Fifteen has allowed Rogue inside.

Because of these alternate explanations, the groan, likely indicating the extra strain the Tardis is under due to the weight of Sutekh, isn't pinpointed as a separate issue until 'The Legend of Ruby Sunday', by which point it is already too late as The Tardis is inside UNIT HQ and Sutekh's trap is sprung.

Why The Reveal Worked So Well

While some fans predicted the Sutekh return prior to the big reveal, most agree that the reveal and lead-up to it were executed very well. The biggest success was the nature of the clues. The intro, the crashes, the groan.. next to the obvious appearances of Susan Twist, the Tardis related clues were hiding in plain sight. Always there, enough for some fans to notice, but subtle enough that their importance does not become clear until everything comes together for the big reveal.

After a shaky period for the show during Chris Chibnall's time as showrunner, Sutekh's return story arc feels like a much needed return to form for Doctor Who. Hopefully 'Empire of Death' can bring Series 14 home with a strong finish.