Doctor Who writer reveals how Star Wars inspired Season 14’s divisive finale

Doctor Who Season 14 has had mixed reviews from longtime fans, but writer Russell T. Davies revealed a surprising inspiration for the direction the show took: Star Wars.

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

While the reveal did answer questions audiences had since the show premiered, many fans were gutted by the revelation as it wasn’t as exciting as they wanted it to be.

However, Davis is standing by the idea behind Ruby’s mother and went so far as to explain how the modern Star Wars trilogy played a big role in the reveal’s conception.

Warning: spoilers for Doctor Who Season 14 below!

Doctor Who Season 14’s finale revealed Ruby’s mother, Louise, to be a regular human woman who left Ruby on the steps of a church because she was only 15 years old when she gave birth.

The Doctor and his nemesis Sutekh believed Louise had ties to the Time Lords or gods due to her ability to conceal her identity for so long.

During an appearance on Doctor Who: Video Commentaries, Davies explained how Ruby’s backstory was heavily inspired by Daisy Ridley‘s character Rey in the latest trio of Star Wars movies, specifically The Last Jedi.

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

“An ordinary person with the Force – and then the next one, they changed it all so that she was the child of the Emperor, and they made her…. She was, like, cosmic and had godlike powers.

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

While Season 14’s reveal didn’t go over well with some Doctor Who fans, the concept itself is pretty clever seeing as the show dropped several hints that pointed to her being a normal person the entire time.

The biggest one was a scan the Doctor conducted on Ruby, which showed she was 100% human and proved her mother couldn’t be an otherworldly being.

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