Doctor Who writer reveals how Star Wars inspired controversial season 14 finale

Doctor Who season 14 received mixed reviews from longtime fans, but writer Russell T. Davies revealed a surprising inspiration for the direction the series is taking: Star Wars.

Season 14 of Doctor Who ended its eight-episode run with the Doctor and his companion Ruby Sunday uncovering the series’ overarching mystery: the identity of Ruby’s mother.

Although the reveal answered questions from audiences since the series premiere, many fans were gutted by the reveal because it wasn’t as exciting as they wanted it to be.

However, Davis stays true to the idea behind Ruby’s mother and went as far as to explain how the modern Star Wars trilogy played a big role in shaping the reveal.

Warning: spoilers for season 14 of Doctor Who below!

The Doctor Who season 14 finale revealed that Ruby’s mother, Louise, was an ordinary human woman who left Ruby on the steps of a church because she was only 15 when she gave birth .

The Doctor and his enemy Sutekh believed that Louise had connections to the Time Lords or gods due to her ability to hide her identity for so long.

During an appearance on Doctor Who: Video Commentaries, Davies explained how Ruby’s story was heavily inspired by Daisy Ridley’s character Rey in the final trio of Star Wars films, particularly The Last Jedi.

“The second movie said that Daisy Ridley was nothing special, that there was nothing special about her parentage. That she has just received the Force. She was just ordinary,” Davis said.

“An ordinary person with the Force – and then the next one, they changed everything so she was the Emperor’s child, and they made her…. She was cosmic and possessed divine powers.

“And I really loved the version where she wasn’t special. When she is ordinary. So that’s my reaction to that. She’s not Sutekh’s daughter. She’s not the daughter of the Time Lords or Rassilon or anything like that. His mother is Louise Miller, who was 15 and pregnant, from a dangerous and violent home, and who left her child on the doorstep. And that’s my… That’s my reaction to that. Because I think it’s a better story.

Although the season 14 reveal wasn’t well-received by some Doctor Who fans, the concept itself is pretty clever considering the show dropped several clues that she was a normal person the entire time. time.

The most important was a scan the Doctor performed on Ruby, which showed that she was 100% human and proved that her mother could not be an otherworldly being.

For more, check out our guide to all the best Doctor Who episodes and villains from season 14 as well as our ‘The Legend of Ruby Sunday’ review. You can also check out all the best new TV shows streaming this month.