It’s not too often that the Doctor is a supporting player in an episode, or is hardly ever there. People recall how he helped a girl fight the Weeping Angels via video clips. They don’t even meet until the end.
This week, he disappears while Ruby is in a strange Welsh town with dark secrets, and an old woman seems to be following her….keeping an exact distance
SPOILERS BELOW
Fans would suspect something is up when the show doesn’t start normally. It doesn’t have the logo then the title of the show. That’s because it’s more Ruby than the Doctor. The reason why is even stranger.
It’s clearly Millie Gibson’s show, showing a woman who is confused and terrified that her reality has changed dramatically because of one small event. Uatu from “What If” would like to talk to her.
It begins with the Doctor and Ruby delighted they landed in Wales. He then talks about a guy named Roger ap Gwilliam (Aneurin Barnard), a prime minister who almost set off a nuclear war. He forgets this happens 22 years later. Then he breaks a circle of strings with trinkets (did he learn nothing from the land mine last week?). She reads a scroll that says “Rest in Peace, Mad Jack”.
Suddenly, the Doctor disappears, and the TARDIS is locked. Ruby doesn’t understand this.
All the time, an old woman (Hilary Hobson) is apparently following her, always 73 yards away. If anyone tries to talk to her, they run away in horror. What she says, it’s never known.
Ruby also meets a hiker (Susan Twist, again) who looks familiar somehow. She is the first to be scared off by the Old Woman.
Ruby then enters a pub in a place called Glyngatwg, and some people talk about a fairy circle (what the Doctor stepped on) and someone called Mad Jack. It seems he and Ruby broke the spell and Mad Jack is out and about. The people in that pub even includes Sian Phillips, who’s in on PBS almost as much as Alistair Cooke, Anyway, a sharp knock on the door implies Mad Jack is coming, but it’s really a guy with meat pies. However, when someone does talk to the Old Woman, the man runs away.
Now that Ruby thinks the Doctor has abandoned her, she goes back to London and her mum Carla. However, the Old Woman is always there, 73 yards away. When Carla tries to talk to her, she also runs away but also abandons Ruby.
What kind of episode is this?
After a while, Ruby gets help from Kate Lethbridge-Stewart (Jemma Redgrave). Seems that UNIT not only deals with extraterrestrial events but also the supernatural. Let’s hope that includes a section on Slayers. However, they’re also unable to handle the Old Woman.
So is Ruby to be doomed to be haunted by the Old Woman? It seems that way…
…until she meets none other than Roger ap Gwilliam (aka Mad Jack) in 2046. It looks like he’s on his way to being Prime Minister as a handsome Trump who is trigger-happy. Once Ruby finds out he is interested in leaving NATO and firing nukes, she infiltrates his campaign and gets the help from someone called Marti
Does this mean Ruby is meant to change history? It seems that way. Thanks to the Old Woman that never goes away, Ruby is able to stop Roger by having the Old Woman talk to him. That’s enough to stop the future.
Yet nothing changes for Ruby. The Old Woman is still with her, even when Ruby is in her final years in the late 2080’s. The TARDIS is still there and some notice it despite the perception filter it has. Old Ruby said she always had hope he would come back, right to the end.
Finally, the Old Woman gets closer to Old Ruby….and we find out they are the same person! Old Ruby suddenly sees her younger self and the Doctor as they land in Wales.
This time, Ruby stops the Doctor from breaking the fairy circle, while he warns her to not read the scrolls. Did Old Ruby do this as the Old Woman always 73 yards away? Well, she is heard whispering as the Doctor is talking. If there’s a deeper reason aside from changing the past, fans will find out.
Some people have compared this to “Turn Left”, which shows what could have happened if Donna never met the Doctor. It might be closer to the Twilight Zone episode, “Spur of the Moment“, where a girl is chased by an old woman. Anyone who saw this may make the connection.
“73 Yards” is an interesting way to hit the halfway mark of the current season. The mystery of Ruby Sunday is still hidden, but the show promises a big payoff. More hints that she’s more than she seems to be are likely to continue through June. It also seems UNIT will be involved somehow, and maybe we’ll find out who two certain old women really are (including Mrs. Flood).
Maybe we’ll see “Mad Jack” Gwilliam again, as the old timeline may emerge…or someone worse will show up. Remember when the Master was PM?
Ncuti and Millie are making their mark on the show, and are an engaging couple. It’ll be interesting where and when they go from here once 2025 rolls around.
Next time, a domed city looks like the perfect place…until it isn’t.
