Okay. That just happened.
With "The Reality War," Doctor Who’s fifteenth series ends not with a whimper but an absolutely unhinged temporal scream. It’s a maximalist finale that throws everything—alternate timelines, divine children, classic Time Lords, and previous Doctors—at the vortex wall and somehow manages to land emotionally, thematically, and narratively. Mostly.
A quick look around the net will find you a lot of negativity for this episode, and season in general. I'll address that here very simply - for me series 15 (or season 2, whatever you want to refer to it as), has been fantastic. The most consistently engaging series for many a year. Has it been perfect? No. But my lord has it been exciting! For a 62 year old show, it has surprised me time and again. And The Reality War delivered one of the biggest surpirses in the show's history - an unexpected regeneration twist
The plot is Russell T Davies at his most Davies-ish; his most deus ex machina-est: Time resets to 23 May 2025, the day before the Earth supposedly ended, as the Doctor is rescued by Anita and whisked away to the Time Hotel—yes, that’s now a thing. With UNIT and Belinda’s memories restored, the Doctor quickly uncovers the Rani’s grand plan: to use Omega, ancient Time Lord founder and living nuclear tantrum, as a gene bank to restart their sterile Time Lord race.
It’s the kind of sci-fi bonkersness that would collapse under its own weight if not anchored by character beats that genuinely sing. Belinda’s arc with baby Poppy gets its emotional crescendo as she’s forced to say goodbye, only for the Doctor to bend reality by kickstarting his next regeneration to give her a happy ending. Yes, it’s a cheat. But it’s earned, if only because this series has so consistently been about grief, restoration, and identity.
Meanwhile, Ruby Sunday makes one last heroic move, using Desiderium’s power to re-stitch reality and grant Conrad a second chance. It’s a bittersweet grace note that carries real emotional heft. And Omega, finally released in dinosaur-Godzilla-sized glory, devours the bi-generated Rani like some cosmic Greek tragedy with a Gallifreyan twist. Mrs Flood escapes, naturally—her sneer promising this isn’t the end, and delivering a wonderful nod to another British institute, The Two Ronnies.
The ending moments pack in a lot: The Thirteenth Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) returns briefly, Anita delivers a cryptic message from a figure known only as "the Boss" (remember that the Meep mentioned this way back in the 60th anniversary special), which is in no way the biggest Series 16 teaser because, in a final flourish of regenerative fireworks, the Doctor transforms into a familiar face—one resembling Rose Tyler. Hello! I mean, it's certainly Billie Piper, but is it the Sixteenth Doctor? Whether this signals a new direction for the show or just another Davies-era meta mind-bender remains to be seen.
Is it all too much? Probably. But Doctor Who has always been about too much. And after sixty years it's got to the stage that, like pop, it has to eat itself to evolve. And this season has been sooo very tasty that I just want more. You can say what you like about Russell T Davies but he understands the assignment: throw the rulebook into the TARDIS engine and let it catch fire.
One lingering question, however, is the curious absence of Susan Foreman from this finale. Having made tantalising appearances in the preceding two episodes, her exclusion from the finale feels like a narrative gap, and one that could have been addressed when exploring the now sterile Time Lords. Whether it was a deliberate choice by Davies to save Susan for future reveals or just a lost opportunity for deeper emotional payoff remains to be seen—but for an episode that was so rooted in legacy, her absence was distinctly felt.
As the curtain quite unexpectedly falls on Ncuti Gatwa’s tenure as the Doctor, it’s worth pausing to acknowledge just how much he gave to the role. From his vibrant energy and sharp comedic timing to the quiet, aching sadness he brought to the Doctor’s lonelier moments, Gatwa’s era was both kaleidoscopic and deeply human. He portrayed a Time Lord reeling from loss, longing for connection, and choosing kindness in the face of cosmic cruelty. Whether cracking jokes in alien marketplaces or standing defiant before gods, Gatwa’s Doctor always felt alive, modern, and defiantly hopeful. His exit may come with sparks and spectacle, but the impression he leaves behind is indelible. Thank you, Ncuti. You were fantastic.
When any Doctor leaves, there’s an inevitable sense of transition—of one chapter ending as another begins—but if this series has proven anything, it’s that Doctor Who under Russell T Davies isn’t afraid of burning everything down just to show us how much more beautifully it can be rebuilt.
Of course we all know the speculation about the show's future and the rumours of another wilderness period. But in a world of internet leaks, if you can keep a regeneration secret, and a bag load of other unexpected twists across an entire season, then perhaps we need to tip a hat to Davies as a master of misdirection and look forward to a swift return to our screens and the start of Series 16.
After all, the war is just getting started.
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