Doctor Who Joy To The World Ending, Explained

The latest Doctor Who Christmas special struck a perfect balance of festive cheer and science-fiction action, continuing the ongoing storyline of Ncuti Gatwa’s character. “Joy to the World” was a fun episode that was positively received by fans and critics alike, making it a Doctor Who episode to remember.

There was a lot to take away from this special in terms of the overall series moving forward, and while Doctor Who always appeals to people of all ages, the episode’s ending had some confusing aspects.

What Was The Plot Of The Episode?

In this episode, the Doctor finds himself in the Time Hotel, where every room acts as a portal to specific moments in history rather than a classic bedroom. It’s a brilliant setting for an episode. It allowed the Doctor to dip in and out of various periods quickly, with ease and a simple explanation which benefited the entire flow of the episode.

“Joy to the World” also see the Doctor dealing with a familiar enemy in the form of Villengard. A star seed is passed between numerous characters via a briefcase that attaches itself to whoever is available and it then uses them for its own need. It becomes clear that the star must be relocated before it destroys all of humankind, which is the ultimate goal throughout this episode. It’s a large-scale situation that was fitting of a Christmas Day special and ensured that people would find it to be enthralling and dramatic in the right kind of whimsical manner that the show is known for.

What Happened To Joy At The End?

At the end of the episode, the Doctor is frantically scrambling to find a possible location for the star as he attempts to save everyone at the last send, as is stereotypical of the show. But Joy ultimately decides to sacrifice herself by absorbing the star’s energy as she flies into space and becomes a brand new star. It allows her to find inner peace as she believes she’s saving and changing the world, providing a moment of reflection and happiness in a sad situation.

She beams up to the sky, and the audience sees what happens to Joy’s mother. While Joy believed that she died alone of COVID-19 because she was unable to visit the hospital, the fact is that her mother realizes Joy has become a star. She sees it and passes away happy, with a smile on her face, which further pushes the message that the decision she made was the right one. It’s a symbollic message which is something Doctor Who is notorious for, even if this wasn’t literally spelled out to people.

What Impact Did This Have On The Doctor?

Even though Joy’s storyline was a huge part of this particular episode, the focus of the show is ultimately always on the Doctor, and “Joy to the World” was no different in that aspect. Gatwa gets the chance to show a full range of his acting skills by bringing his usual charisma. Still, there are also a lot of serious moments for him as the topic of his loneliness is a significant part of the episode. His connection and scenes with Anita best showcase this, as she perfectly calls him out on his decision to duck out of things, which is something he’s been doing at times when situations have become difficult emotionally for him. It’s an area of the character that has been explored, and that theme is going to continue moving forward.

The ending could be seen as an emotional moment as Joy loses her life in her decision. But even in that instance, she ends up thinking of the Doctor as she provides some final wisdom. She urges him to find a friend and to not be alone, and that’s what the ending is all about. It’s a fitting story to take place at Christmas, which is a time for togetherness, family, and friendship, and that’s what the Doctor has struggled with throughout this version of the character. He came close to losing Ruby Sunday at times in the past season, and the two of them ultimately parted ways in the finale. Even though she’s set to appear again and did so in a brief cameo even in this episode, “Joy to the World” saw the Doctor wrestling with the difficulty of those emotions and the impact that no longer having Ruby around is actually playing on him, which might be more severe then his usual bubbly-self are willing to first admit.

Ultimately, the ending was there to serve as a lesson to the Doctor in particular that not only can he not physically save everybody, but that sometimes that is okay. People have other purposes, but he doesn’t need to be alone even when he can’t fix everything. The entire episode had threads of loneliness, from how the Doctor felt to the way Joy’s mother died and her guilt at not being there. This story progressed things for the show because it’s all about what the Doctor does next and his need to not do the journey alone. That’s something that should dovetail into the upcoming season, where he’s set to gain a new companion, with this ending possibly inspiring that for him moving into the new series of Doctor Who.

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