Doctor Who
The Church on Ruby Road
Season 14
Episode 0
Editor’s Rating
Photo: Disney+
This episode could be summed up with a single quote from The Incredibles: “Coincidence? I think NOT!” The 60th-anniversary specials established that myths and superstitions hold a bit more weight now that the Doctor has played a game at the edge of the universe. And we’re continuing to explore this new version of reality with today’s episode, which revolves around coincidence-chasing goblins. It also serves as the first full adventure for the bi-generated Fifteenth Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and his charming new companion, Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson).
We first meet Ruby as a newborn infant on Christmas Eve. She’s left outside a church with no basket, just a blanket separating her from the snowy steps. That’s cold, ma. The Doctor informs us via voice-over that no one ever saw the mother again or knew her name — until a time traveler came to call. The sound of the TARDIS makes it pretty clear whom that’ll be.
Present-day Ruby is about to turn 19 years old. She’s being interviewed for Davina McCall’s (real-life) show that uses DNA samples to look for the family of “foundlings” who were abandoned as babies. Goblins stealthily set off a chain of events that almost results in Ruby getting knocked out, meanwhile Davina is whacked in the head.
Weeks later, the goblins are still bothering Ruby, and the Doctor has been observing. They meet at a club where the Doctor is having the time of his life in a kilt on the dance floor. His joy is magnetic. The Doctor informs Ruby that she’s not just clumsy or having bad luck and later prevents a giant snowman from crushing the car she and her friends are taking home.
On Christmas Eve, Ruby’s adoptive mother, Carla, informs her that they’re at the last minute getting a foster baby who happens to share her Christmas Eve birthday. A picture of baby Lulubelle takes its place on a fridge crowded with snapshots of the 33 children Carla has fostered. While Carla is out shopping, Davina calls to share that no traces of Ruby’s family were found … and that she has also been having some bad luck, as evidenced by multiple injuries. The call drops right before a Christmas tree is about to hit Davina. With Ruby distracted, the goblins steal Lulubelle (and one diva decides to leave a selfie behind).
Ruby follows the goblins onto the roof and gets on a ladder leading to their floating ship, much to the bewilderment of a chimney-jumping Doctor. With the help of some intelligent gloves that take away friction and weight, they make their way aboard the goblin ship. The Doctor assesses the danger with a sense of delighted, analytical interest, noting that the goblins want to eat the baby because the coincidence of it sharing a birthday with Ruby makes it tasty. They’ve been causing the accidents to weave her into their tapestry of chance. “It’s a brand-new science for me, and I love it,” he says. “The language of luck. ’Cause what is a coincidence but a form of accident? Two things bumping together unexpectedly … like you and me.”
After the Doctor works out the system of ropes that governs the ship, he and Ruby crawl through the vents, watching a goblin band perform an unfairly catchy musical number about eating the baby. (I’m sorry, Mariah, but this might be my most-streamed Christmas song this year.) As Lulubelle is seasoned and moved down a conveyor belt, a curtain drops to reveal her destination: the Goblin King’s mouth. Again, this feels like another ripple effect of that salt superstition: “He’s not a myth; he’s an actual thing,” the lead singer assures us.
Ruby and the Doctor finally drop down to scoop up Lulubelle. Even though the goblins seemingly were able to overpower them — at least enough to tie them up — no one attacks. The Doctor and Ruby distract the crowd by adding their own verses to “The Goblin Song” and then loosen the master knot of the ship to make their escape.
Back in Ruby’s apartment, the Doctor and Ruby try to goblinproof rooms from any accidents that could allow the creatures to creep back into our world. Carla’s back, and in a rush to keep her from asking too many questions, Ruby reveals that Davina found no trace of her family. Carla hugs her daughter, and the Doctor feels compelled to reveal that he found out that he was also adopted recently. Granted, that leaves out a lot of crucial, heartbreaking context, but it’s nice to see him opening up in a way that Fourteen had struggled with.
The coincidence that the Doctor and Ruby are both foundlings triggers some ominous rumbling that eventually leads to the ceiling of the flat to crack in half. It’s a sign that the goblins have left, and the Doctor is celebrating until he realizes that they’ve gone back in time to take the other Christmas Eve baby, Ruby, instead.
Without Ruby, the apartment’s Christmas décor has vanished along with Carla’s cheery disposition. I hate to think that another child wouldn’t have taught Carla the joys of family, but at least this allows us to witness some excellent acting from Michelle Greenidge. She has become bitter and jaded and now thinks of fostering as a source of income. The Doctor — whose own mother figure, Tecteun, viewed him as a means to an end and exploited his childhood to understand regeneration — is distressed by this change and promises to make things right.
With the help of his gloves, the Doctor moves the ship and impales the Goblin King on the church spire. He has pulled on the master knot of the plot as the problems of the episode proceed to untangle very quickly. The goblin ship and all its inhabitants conveniently disappear, leaving infant Ruby behind. Present-day Ruby is restored safely with all her memories intact. The ceiling crack is also back … but at least Carla cares about babies again!
While the Doctor saves Davina from the falling Christmas tree, Ruby is slowly putting together some clues, like a quip the Doctor made about a hot summer with Houdini. After realizing that the Doctor time-traveled to save the day, Ruby kisses her mom and runs outside. Her nosy neighbor, Mrs. Flood (played by Anita Dobson from EastEnders), who has now seen the Doctor come and go a couple times, nods in the direction of the TARDIS. Ruby discovers that it’s bigger on the inside, and the Doctor introduces himself.
Mrs. Flood tells a shocked fellow neighbor to stop making a fuss when the police box disappears. “Never seen a TARDIS before?” she says, winking at the camera. Now, is that just a tongue-in-cheek joke for the viewers or a hint that we might be seeing her again? In this new version of Who, it’s not necessarily clear.
Doctor Who has always been able to explain away confusing plotlines by pointing out that things are wibbly-wobbly and timey-wimey or that human brains just aren’t smart enough to understand the universe the way the Doctor does. But thanks to the events of the anniversary specials, the Doctor doesn’t totally understand the universe anymore, either, and that’s fresh and exciting for him. The sci-fi show is now almost treading into fantasy territory, willing to reach a little for the sake of the story (or even a funny song). No wonder our lively new Doctor has got a sillier-looking sonic screwdriver this time around.
• As anyone who has seen Sex Education knows, Gatwa is hilarious when he’s outraged and indignant. That’s on full display in this episode, creating some of my favorite Fifteen moments, like when he chastises Ruby while jumping over chimneys (“You saw a ladder and thought, Yeah, I’ll give that a go, babes?”), scoffs at the idea of the goblins being time travelers (“Excuse me! Time travelers are great. Like, the best. Like, wow”), and defends himself when Ruby tells him not to leave Lulubelle alone (“Eh, you did too!”).
• Love that from the POV of Ruby’s delightfully-named gran, Cherry Sunday, this episode is just about a long, boring wait for a cup of tea.
• Ruby doesn’t know where she came from, and she wants to feel connected to her family. Sound familiar? While a version of the Doctor was adopted into Donna’s family in the last episode, I’m still interested to see how the upcoming season will handle the mysteries surrounding the Doctor’s birth. Perhaps, like Ruby, he’ll try to search for answers in future episodes. Then again, when the Doctor saw Ruby’s biological mother hurrying away from the church, he simply shed a tear and watched her go, so perhaps we’ll acknowledge the sadness of his origin story but leave it in the past.
• This is the second time that showrunner Russell T. Davies has kicked off a new era of Who by giving the Doctor a 19-year-old blonde as a companion. Ruby’s got a very different personality and backstory compared to Rose’s, of course, so maybe it’s just a coincidence. Then again, considering the whole theme of this episode …
• I’m into the fashion! Ruby’s penchant for plaid is working for her, and Fifteen gets so many different looks in a single episode. I don’t know if he’ll eventually land on a signature outfit, but I personally won’t complain if his wardrobe keeps expanding.
