The Doctor Who season finale, "Empire of Death," concluded with Sutekh's defeat and the Doctor parting ways with Ruby Sunday after she'd finally found her mother.
While it made sense for Ruby to leave the TARDIS behind so she could get to know her mother and track down her dad, many Whoniverse fans were shocked to see her time with the Doctor end so quickly. We know actress Millie Gibson will return in season 2, though Varada Sethu is expected to be the new main companion.
Talking on Doctor Who: Unleashed, showrunner Russell T Davies justified the decision to have the Doctor and Ruby part ways.
"The whole thing builds towards a final scene in the TARDIS between the Doctor and Ruby, between Ncuti and Millie that is the heart of the show really, that’s what it’s always about. You can have all your monsters battling in the Time Vortex, and gods of death, and destroyed planets and all that stuff, but in the end, it’s kind of almost a love story between two people, between the Doctor and companion."
"It’s a parting of the ways, but they’re not being torn apart like Doctors and companions often are, their lives are just going in a separate direction. They just play that so subtly and so beautifully, I’m just proud to work with those two."
Davies also shared his thoughts on how the Star Wars sequel trilogy played into the reveal that Ruby's mother is a normal person rather than anyone "special." You'll recall The Last Jedi revealed the same was the case for Rey, only for The Rise of Skywalker to retcon that.
As a result, the future Jedi ended up being revealed as the daughter of an Emperor Palpatine clone, making the villain her grandfather. Later, she'd name herself "Rey Skywalker."
"This is kind of my reaction to – bear with me now – the Star Wars films. I can’t remember their titles, but in the last trilogy. In the last trilogy, the second film said that Daisy Ridley was nothing special, there was nothing special about her parentage. That she just got the Force. She was just ordinary. An ordinary person with the Force - and then the next one, they changed it all so that she was the child of the Emperor, and they made her. She was, like, cosmic and had godlike powers – And I really loved the version where she wasn’t special. When she’s ordinary."
"So this is my reaction to that. She’s not the daughter of Sutekh. She’s not the daughter of the Time Lords or Rassilon or something like that. Her mum is Louise Miller, who was 15 years old and pregnant, from a dangerous home, abusive home, and left her child on the doorstep. And that’s my. That’s my reaction to it. Because I think it’s a better story."
For as many mysteries the Doctor Who finale did address, there were plenty of others it saved for another day. Among them was the identity of the mysterious - and clearly villainous - Mrs. Flood.
Davies chose his words carefully but confirmed she had nothing to do with Sutekh.
"In episode 8, she says 'I had such plans.' So she’s not part of what Sutekh was up to. She’s kind of trapped in whatever Sutekh was up to, in as much as the whole world is and says 'I had such plans.' I wonder what that means. I can promise you reveals, I can promise you astonishing reveals and a lot of fun with her as well. She’s so much fun to work with, so good times with Mrs. Flood to come."
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