Doctor Who: Who Is the One Who Waits?

Warning: The following article contains major spoilers for Doctor Who Season 1/Series 14, Episode 7, “The Legend of Ruby Sunday.”

The third and final Doctor Who 60th anniversary special, “The Giggle,” teased the arrival of a terrifyingly powerful villain, the One Who Waits, in Season 1/Series 14. So, who is the One Who Waits?

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Who Is the One Who Waits In Doctor Who?

As revealed in Doctor Who Season 1/Series 14, Episode 7, “The Legend of Ruby Sunday,” The One Who Waits is Sutekh, the God of Death. This explains why even the Toymaker and Maestro – both gods themselves – fear The One Who Waits: he’s not just off-the-charts powerful, he’s also their boss. “The Legend of Ruby Sunday” establishes Sutekh as the leader (and quasi-parent) of a pantheon of malevolent deities known as the Gods of Chaos. Like Sutekh, each deity represents a different concept. For example, the Toymaker is the God of Games and Maestro is the God of Music.

That said, a dialogue exchange between the Fourteenth Doctor and the Toymaker in “The Giggle” suggests Sutekh doesn’t exactly run a tight-knit operation. After all, the Toymaker “ran” when he came across Sutekh – hardly the behavior you’d expect from a faithful minion. It’s possible, however, that leaving the Toymaker free to wreak havoc on the Doctor’s life was part of Sutekh’s grander plan.

Speaking of said grand plan, what does Sutekh want? It’s simple: to wipe out all life in the universe. That’s a bit of a bummer, but it is consistent with his whole “God of Death” schtick. Sutekh has what it takes to achieve his genocidal goal, too. Aside from his considerable reality-warping talents, the one-time One Who Waits has also infected the Fifteenth Doctor’s TARDIS. Indeed, it’s hard to see how the Doctor will emerge victorious from Season 1/Series 14’s finale, “Empire of Death”!

Related: When Does Doctor Who Season 1/Series 14 Come Out?

Has The Doctor Encountered The One Who Waits Before?

Yes, the Doctor’s fourth incarnation went head-to-head with Sutekh in the seminal 1975 serial “Pyramids of Mars.” The Fourth Doctor came this close to defeat, as Sutekh – identified here as a rogue alien Osiran – breaks free. But quick thinking on the Doctor’s part resulted in Sutekh suffering a time travel mishap, aging thousands of years before croaking.

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Or so we thought – licensed Doctor Who media later confirmed that Sutekh’s death was not as permanent as it seemed. The God of Death has since clashed with the Fourth Doctor again (as well as the Seventh and Tenth Doctors) in Doctor Who comics and audio stories. Whether Sutekh forged his connection to the TARDIS following one of these encounters remains unclear for now.

Doctor Who Season 1/Series 14 is currently streaming on Disney+.

The above article was updated on 6/17/2024 by the original author to add information about the One Who Waits.