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Merry Christmas! The Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special, titled 'Joy to the World', is finally here bringing an extra dose of festive cheer after you just inhaled a whole Christmas dinner. And according to our very own Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review, the episode was an absolute treat.
Christmas Day just isn't the same without hopping into the TARDIS for an adventure, with this year's escapade taking us to the Time Hotel, a place where guests can book a room from various times in history. However, a deadly plan is unfolding and so the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) sets out on a mission, alongside stranger Joy (Nicola Coughlan) who he bumps into along the way, to save the world.
To say anything more here would be revealing too much so here's you warning: the following features major spoilers for the Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special 'Joy to the World'. If you have seen the episode though read on for our ending explained, where we break down that final act and your biggest questions.
Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special ending explained
"The Star Seed will bloom and the flesh will rise." So keeps saying Joy when the final act of the episode kicks off, as she's still handcuffed to the briefcase which is a "containment unit" for weapons manufacturer Villengard's mysterious item.
Walking around the Time Hotel, she is "scouting for the right time" but the Doctor is still unclear what exactly for. He knows that inside the case is an atom that will eventually create a star but he doesn't know why Villengard has brought it to the Time Hotel.
Then it clicks into place – they need time to create the star so their plan is to drop the case off in a hotel room millions of years ago, then hop to another in the future and boom, the star will have been created. Or as the Doctor puts it – "you just microwaved a star".
Wanting to break the spell Joy is under being attached to the briefcase, the Doctor is, well, incredibly mean to her. Pushing every button, an upset Joy eventually breaks when the Doctor brings up her mother, who we learn died alone on Christmas Day during the pandemic. Tearfully shouting at the Doctor, Joy soon realizes that the handcuff has fallen off and she's now free of the briefcase. He apologizes saying he had to make Joy angry to "wake [her] up".
Turning their attention to the briefcase, the Doctor accidentally triggers Villengard's Q&A system, helping us learn more about their intentions – which is delivered by the Silurian hotel manager we met earlier whose consciousness has been uploaded to the case. The arms manufacturer are using the Star Seeds as weapons, given that they can give birth to something that can cause an almighty explosion, killing every living thing on a planet.
The Doctor and Joy are then interrupted by a dinosaur, as they didn't realize the hotel room they are now in is from the prehistoric age. The dinosaur eats the briefcase but the pair are able to escape. However, their respite is only brief as Joy realizes that if the seed was planted 65 million years ago, it will be exploding during her time on Earth.
Realizing that Villengard would need to pick the suitcase back up, the Doctor says that they will send a signal to the last briefcase carrier, who happens to be Joy. The only problem is though, the Doctor severed the link between her and the case.
He's interrupted by his Sonic Screwdriver buzzing, which happens to be a message from hotel worker Trev (Joel Fry) who was helping the Doctor earlier in the episode before his death. Trev tells the Doctor that just like the Silurian hotel manager his consciousness has also been uploaded and that they are both "part of the star" now.
Still wanting to help the Doctor despite now being part of Villengard (after all, he did promise to never let him down), Trev tells him that the star seed is about to detonate and that it needs to be taken off-world. He also tells the Doctor and Joy which room the case is now in, but the pair discover it's locked in a shrine.
Trev informs them that there's only four and a half minutes until detonation, so the Doctor runs off in search of rope to break the shrine open, which he finds in a hotel room on Mount Everest. Launching the rope to Joy, the shrine is broken open and she's left alone with the open briefcase.
Looking at the seed Joy says "It's okay, don't worry, we're going to be fine, we can do this you and I, I want you to live" – what a mystery! When the Doctor returns both Joy and the seed are missing, but upon stepping outside of the cave he realizes why.
Joy has absorbed the Star Seed, telling the Doctor that it's "in all of us" – with the faces of all those who were handcuffed to the briefcase appearing. She says she's taking the star far away from Earth as it's about the bloom, adding that "I think I'm saving the world". The Doctor begs her to stop but Joy says she's not dying, she's "changing" and "saving something beautiful" with the star. She also gives some wise words to the Doctor saying he needs to change too, as he's lonely and "needs to find a friend".
We then see Joy rise up becoming a star in our night sky. A montage scene sees various characters looking up at this star, including Millie Gibson's companion from the last season Ruby Sunday and Joy's own mother. Looking on from her hospital bed, Joy's mother recognizes the star as being her daughter, before disintegrating to become a part of it too.
During this montage scene we also see hotel manager Anita, who the Doctor bonded with earlier, be hired by the Time Hotel after his recommendation. Then in the very last scene, we rejoin the Doctor who realizes that he's in Bethlehem on the day Jesus Christ was born, with Joy being the star that leads the wise men to his birth. Because of course she is!
Who dies in the Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special?
Quite a few people bite the dust in 'Joy to the World' as after all, this is Doctor Who we are talking about and there is still pain even on Christmas Day.
Any character who was handcuffed to the briefcase at some point during the episode disintegrates, with weapons manufacturer Villengard no longer needing them. We therefore see the mysterious businessman who was first carrying the briefcase, hotel worker Trev (Fry), the hotel bartender, the Silurian hotel manager (Jonathan Aris), and of course Joy (Coughlan) all die.
Another notable death is Joy's ill mother, who we see die alone in hospital on Christmas Day during the pandemic in a flashback scene, with COVID restrictions meaning she can only see her daughter over a video call.
What happens to Joy?
Coughlan's Joy has quite the arc in 'Joy to the World'. At the end of the episode she sacrifices herself, choosing to become part of the star. However, Joy doesn't see it as a sacrifice as she tells the Doctor she is simply "changing" and saving not only the world, but something beautiful in the star.
Joy then shoots off into the night sky, exploding to become a star.
What is the Star Seed?
The Star Seed is a weapon being developed by arms manufacturer Villengard, who are enemies we have seen several times before in Doctor Who. We learn that the seed gives birth to a star – or as Villengard likes to put it, "a customisable energy source". When a star is born a huge explosion is caused, so Villengard aims to allow its customers to plant these wherever they want to cause death and destruction.
Is Ruby Sunday in the Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special?
Yes, Millie Gibson's companion Ruby Sunday is indeed in 'Joy to the World'. We kinda saw this coming as whilst she left the TARDIS during last season's finale 'Empire of Death', she is appearing in the upcoming second season.
Ruby makes her cameo in the montage at the end of the episode, being one of the characters we see looking up at Joy's star. As she gazes at the night sky, her phone rings to which she answers "hi mum", a nod to the fact she reunited with her birth mother in the last season.
The Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special 'Joy to the World' is available to watch now on Disney Plus in the US or BBC iPlayer if you are in the UK.
For more, check out our guide to everything we know about the upcoming Doctor Who season 2 and the best shows to watch on Disney Plus.
