Clever Doctor Who theory explains why the TARDIS shuts down Ruby in ’73 Yards’

Doctor Who Season 14, episode 4, “73 Yards,” was one of the most mysterious episodes ever of the long-running British sci-fi show, but there may at least be a feasible explanation for why Millie Gibson’s Ruby Sunday was unable to enter the TARDIS. Due to the absence of Nkuti Gatwa’s fifteenth doctor, Gibson became the temporary leader of the Doctor Who Season 14 cast in “73 Yards,” took the audience through an entire alternate timeline that was finally scrubbed from existence in the final moments of the episode. It was a wild ride, but it left a lot of unanswered questions.

Ruby’s timeline in “73 Yards” begins with the Doctor’s disappearance, and when she tries to look for him in the TARDIS, she finds herself unable to gain access. She is finally left with no choice but to leave the blue box on the Welsh cliff and return home. Although she revisits the TARDIS much later in life, The Doctor’s sentient time and space machine never goes back on its decision To keep Ruby out – That is, at least, until the new timeline. Interestingly, the TARDIS may very well have a very understandable reason for its actions.

Doctor Tardis knew that the old woman was a future version of Ruby Sunday

The TARDIS has a unique way of perceiving time

The TARDIS does not see time in the same way as the franchise’s humanoid charactersAnd it also has additional insight into temporal matters that many other figures in the Doctor Who universe lack. With that in mind, it’s very possible that the TARDIS was aware of the fact that the gesticulating old woman who remained 73 yards away from Ruby Sunday throughout the episode was actually a future version of Millie Gibson’s character. .

Ruby doesn’t discover the truth about her long-distance stalker until the end of “73 Yards,” when she is transported to the hillside and sees her younger self arriving in Wales with the Doctor. The TARDIS, however, may have known about Ruby’s future as soon as the old woman appeared. Although the future that led to old Ruby being there at all is ultimately wiped out by her own actions, upon her first arrival in Wales, growing old and appearing 73 yards away is still her destiny. The TARDIS could easily have been aware of this and taken pre-emptive action.

What might have happened if the TARDIS had allowed Ruby to enter

Ruby’s death away from Earth would have created a paradox

In some sci-fi properties, paradoxes are temporary events that, while unfortunate, can often be folded into the plot and generally accepted as part of the story. in the Doctor Who Universe, paradoxes are not taken lightly. Paradoxes in Doctor Who have the potential to end the universe, so it’s understandable why they are taken so seriously.

If the TARDIS had allowed Ruby to enter when she tried to board near the beginning of “73 Yards,” it could have been the start of a reality-shattering paradox. Because of this, the TARDIS took a drastic but necessary step to avoid such a disaster. even without the doctor, Ruby may have found a way to pilot the TARDIS If she had been allowed to board.

If so, it is possible that she could have found herself stranded even further from home and possibly on a different world altogether that is filled with potential life-threatening hazards. If she dies on a distant planet long before she reaches the age of her older counterpart, she would never have become the woman on the hill. Assuming old Ruby is at least partially connected to the Doctor’s disappearance, her absence also means that Gatwa’s character would be continued.

Therefore, Ruby would not have to try to enter the TARDIS to search for him. in short, Ruby entering the TARDIS only to end up never having to enter the TARDIS at all is impossibleWhich makes it a paradox. Even if the TARDIS did not consciously know all the steps that could lead to this paradox, a strong sense of temporary discomfort may have been enough to decide to endure Ruby.

Doctor Who will probably never officially reveal why Ruby can’t board the TARDIS

The mystery of “73 Yards” is a huge part of the appeal of the episode

“73 yards” is arguably Doctor Who The best episode of season 14And there is a very good reason for that. The story is so enigmatic and compellingly unclear that it allows for endless discussion without ever arriving at an explanation that can be reasonably confirmed to be 100% correct. By intentionally leaving so many aspects unanswered, such as Ruby’s inability to board the TARDIS, the intrigue remains intact, and more narrative possibilities remain alive.

It would be very rewarding if writer/showrunner Russell T Davies one day decided to share the official reason why Millie Gibson was denied entry to the blue box, and whether it was even a conscious decision by the TARDIS at all. The paradox explanation is only one theory to explain these Doctor Who scene, but the real reason may be something completely unexpected.

Key background

• Did you know: 73 Yards was the first episode of the fourteenth season to be filmed.

• It is also the highest rated episode of the season on IMDB (8.2)