Doctor Who – Every Fifteenth Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) Episode Ranked

Well … SPOILERS if you haven’t seen the news already – Ncuti Gatwa’s time in the TARDIS is over after a mere two seasons. My thoughts on the matter are mixed, but that’s not what I’m going to be talking about right now.

Originally I was going rank the episodes of Season 2, but I might as well do all of the Fifteenth Doctor episodes. There are only eighteen of them, after all …

Before we begin, you can check out some of my related blog posts below:

Bad

18 – Space Babies (1-1)

In my Season 1 ranking I expressed disappointment in how RTD chose to open his new era of Doctor Who with “Space Babies”. Nowadays, my feelings go beyond mere disappointment – I’m in sheer disbelief that this was the direction he chose to start in.

There’s nothing about this episode I like. The opening with Ruby turned into a dinosaur is stupid. The Bogey-monster is ridiculous. The baby-centric plot is groan-inducing.

Half of the Chibnall era episodes were better than this.

Meh

17 – The Reality War (2-8)

I don’t want to go as far as saying “The Reality War” was a bad episode. It was a bad finale, that’s for certain, but as Doctor Who episodes go I’ve seen worse (i.e. I’d rather sit through this than “Space Babies”).

Omega and the Rani are brushed to the side, Belinda’s character gets assassinated, and Ncuti’s regeneration was one of the quickest and shallowest of the series. The UNIT vs bone monsters action romp and the emotional scenes of the Doctor wanting to be a father saved this episode from the “Bad” tier.

I’m seriously doubting whether to continue with Doctor Who after this. That’s how much of a mis-step this finale was.

16 – The Church on Ruby Road (Xmas-1)

In a similar vein to “Space Babies”, I found “The Church on Ruby Road” to be far too immature and silly for an introduction to Ncuti’s Doctor. This episode gets more of a pass however for being a Christmas Special. Those are allowed to be a bit goofy.

I don’t like the singing goblin plot at all. Ruby’s origin is teased well (ish), but I now know it goes nowhere. The positives are that Fifteen and Ruby are immediately a fun duo, and the scene where Ruby is erased from existence is executed quite well.

OK

15 – The Robot Revolution (2-1)

Is “The Robot Revolution” a better season opener than “Space Babies”? Most definitely, but that wasn’t a high bar to clear.

Belinda being taken to her own planet is a fun premise (in fact, I found Belinda’s whole origin and presentation of her character to be quite compelling as companions go), and I thought it was a cool twist when the Doctor’s “companion” was killed and Belinda had to replace her.

There’s a lot of sitting and talking, however, and the AI villain actually being Belinda’s ex-boyfriend “AL” was a pretty rough twist.

14 – The Devil’s Chord (1-2)

“Space Babies” followed immediately by “The Devil’s Chord” had me questioning whether I was a true Whovian anymore.

What was billed as the “Beatles episode” had little to do with the Fab Four, and the ending with the song-off and the dance sequence was one of the worst climaxes in any Doctor Who episode.

Maestro worked well as a villain, though, and there were a few musical ideas across the episode (like the opening titles and Ruby’s piano performance) that earned it some favour.

13 – Empire of Death (1-8)

I rated “Empire of Death” quite positively in my original Season 1 ranking, praising its action and emotional beats as a finale.

In hindsight, however, it dropped the ball in some key areas. Sutekh doesn’t come across as a real threat, and the subplot of Ruby’s mum – arguably the most important narrative thread of the season – has an anticlimactic answer.

Especially after watching “The Reality War”, I just don’t think RTD has the sauce anymore when it comes to writing finales.

12 – Dot and Bubble (1-5)

“Dot and Bubble” is another Season 1 episode that I’ve softened on over time.

I do like the final scene with Ncuti as it’s one of his best acting showcases, and the general themes of racism and segregation in an echo chamber are well written for the most-part, but on the whole this is a weird and sometimes boring Doctor-lite episode.

11 – The Story and the Engine (2-5)

You could tell “The Story and the Engine” was written by a writer who cares a lot about the show. Doesn’t mean the episode itself was exciting.

The concept of a barber needing stories was fine (and had some cool visuals), but I could’ve seen the ending of the Doctor laying out his past to overload the Engine a mile off.

Jo Martin also makes a cameo as the Fugitive Doctor. Cool, I guess. It was nice to see her again, but I was disappointed by how little her cameo affected the grand scheme of things.

10 – The Interstellar Song Contest (2-6)

There are good parts in “The Interstellar Song Contest” – the scene of the ceiling bursting and the Doctor floating in space was a highlight of Season 2. Graham Norton makes a fun cameo. Mrs. Flood bi-generating into the Ranis set up the finale nicely.

Unfortunately, I was never going to like a Eurovision-themed episode. Especially one that focuses on an oppressed species that gets tortured by the Doctor and we’re supposed to see this as a good ending for everyone involved.

Also, in hindsight, why did the TARDIS doors explode in the final shot? That had nothing to do with the following two-part finale. Odd choice from RTD.

Good

9 – Wish World (2-7)

I went into “Wish World” with a fair bit of hype. It was the first of the two-part Season 2 finale – and Season 1’s two-parter started off strong.

It ended up being overhyped, but still alright. Conrad becomes the god of a doubtful world with help from a baby wish god (not a sentence I ever thought I’d type), and the Rani threatens to revive Omega. Probably a cool reveal if you’re a Classic Who fan.

8 – Rogue (1-6)

I’m not a man who gets bothered by gay love stories in media. I do get bothered by cosplay monsters and a focus on Bridgerton vibes / inside jokes that get lost on me.

The set design is really good, however, and Jonathan Groff has amazing chemistry and scenes with Ncuti.

7 – The Legend of Ruby Sunday (1-7)

Similarly to a lot of Season 1, I think I held “The Legend of Ruby Sunday” in too high a regard. It’s still a “Good” first episode of the two-part finale but it’s not quite “Great”.

The Sutekh reveal at the end, the scenes with the Time Window and the general UNIT shenanigans make it a fun watch.

6 – Lucky Day (2-4)

“Lucky Day” felt like a spiritual sequel to “73 Yards”, and it was ever so slightly less engaging.

I really liked Conrad as a character, from the initial twist to the reveal of his motivation, and his confrontation with the Doctor was my favourite Ncuti scene of his tenure.

5 – 73 Yards (1-4)

Even after a year I still don’t quite get the hype behind “73 Yards”.

It’s still really good – especially the first half where Ruby gets separated from the Doctor and people start to turn on her. The episode loses me with the rushed Roger Ap Gwilliam plotline in the latter half.

Great

4 – Lux (2-2)

I kept my hopes low for the “Doctor Who fights a 50’s cartoon” episode, but “Lux” was surprisingly enjoyable.

The reveal that Mr. Ringading was the God of Light had a lot of weight, and the animation was stellar throughout. If there was one good thing to come out of the higher-budget Disney era, it’s premises like this.

I’m still a bit mixed on the fourth-wall-breaking fan scenes. On the one hand they were quite endearing, but on the other they were too distracting.

3 – Joy to the World (Xmas-2)

I seem to be the only Whovian who really liked this Christmas Special. Moffat is so good at writing witty dialogue and time-bending premises, and there were a lot of heart-felt moments throughout.

Having the Doctor befriend a hotel receptionist for a year was more rewarding than I thought possible, and the final scene with Joy’s mum in hospital was the first time I’d cried at a TV show in a long time.

2 – Boom (1-3)

It’s Moffat again!

I knew when “Boom” was announced that it would be my favourite episode of Season 1, and it delivered. There are incredible stakes throughout, and once again Moffat gives a dialogue masterclass.

Amazing

1 – The Well (2-3)

Everyone lost their minds when “The Well” released. I don’t blame them – it’s the best episode (alongside “Wild Blue Yonder”) of the past decade.

The Midnight reveal was so cool, the lone survivor premise was terrifying, the recurring motif of having something behind you was skin-crawling … not only was this a terrific Doctor Who episode, it also stands on its own as a phenomenal Sci-Fi episode.

Aaaand that’s my list! You can check out some of my latest blog posts below: