Swan Song (TV story)

*"A lot of people have been asking me; what will I miss most about my sister? What will I remember about her? What am I going to do without her? The truth is that I don't know. Ruby has always been there for me whenever I have needed her, at my lowest points. She was there to support me. Now I'll never see her again; never have that comforting hand on my shoulder, never have the chance to tell her just how much I loved her.

The truth is, there's no singular thing that I will miss most, nothing that could ever be elevated above the rest because I will miss seeing her smile, I will miss hearing her laugh. I know that I will never stop missing her from this day until my last. My sister was the single most important person in my life and that will be a hole that I can never fill and I will never stop going over what I could have done better, because I don't know who I am without her."*
―Damien Barrella

***Swan Song*** was the thirteenth and final episode of Series 21 of *Doctor Who*. It was the second part of a two-part finale, preceded by *The Infinity*.

This episode marked the final appearance of Holly Earl as Ruby Barrella.

## Synopsis

Four Heroes. Four different paths. One destination.

This is everything that their travels with the Doctor have been preparing Ruby, Damien and Osric for. Kris has captured Orla and seized the Infinity and now, standing between the Doctor and his friends is an army of Revenants that roam the land, slaughtering everything they come across mercilessly. Meanwhile, in the Temple of Morol, Kris prepares the final stages of his place to use the Infinity to annihilate the human race and in order to get there, the Doctor, Ruby, Damien and Osric will have to cross the great devastation, full of lethal obstacles.

With each passing hour though, the devastation stretches further around the planet. As the situation spirals out of control, leaving everyone more desperate to stop the unfolding events; sacrifices must be made, promises will be broken and not everyone is going to make it out alive...

## Cast

* The Doctor - Richard Madden
* Ruby Barrella - Holly Earl
* Damien Barrella - Tom Holland
* Osric Tennyson - Jake Abel
* Orla Adair - Hannah John-Kamen
* Kris - TBC
* Johnathon Danielsen - Alex Pettyfer
* Alicia Sallow - Naomi Scott
* Milly Turzon - Brianna Hildebrand
* Kate Stewart - Jemma Redgrave
* Petronella Osgood - Ingrid Oliver

## Crew

* Writer - Cal A. King
* Director - Chloé Zhao

## Continuity

* When trying to stand Kris down from activating the Infinity to wipe out humanity, Ruby talks about her parents's death and how much she hated the driver of the car that killed them, before learning to forgive him to spare herself from the pain and anger. (TV: *Monsters and Legends*, *One More Day*)
* When Damien rushes to activate the Infinity so he can destroy Kris and the Revenants, the Doctor remembers what the Oracle of Delphi told him about the usage of the device having a terrible price. (TV: *The Mists of Time*)

## Story Notes

* After Katarina, Adric, Fleur and Jake Scott; Ruby is only the fifth companion of the Doctor who originated from television to have been killed permanently during an adventure.
* Osric was also going to leave in *Swan Song*, but this was changed due to King believing the episode was already doing too much.

 **The Specials** | Regular Episodes | *Lost in the Artirex* • *The End of the Line* • *Dead Men Tell No Tales* • *Gunpowder, Treason and Plot* • *The Operation of Time: Part One* / *The Operation of Time: Part Two*