Doctor Who showrunner explains "hard-won" ending to The War Between the Land and the Sea - including unseen stage direction
"In the end, what we have is love."
Warning: Spoilers ahead for the finale of The War Between the Land and the Sea.
Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies has broken down the ending to spin-off The War Between the Sea, even letting fans in on a previously unseen stage direction in the script that adds more context.
The five-part series followed Russell Tovey's Barclay, and Gugu Mbatha's Salt, unlikely ambassadors for two different species who get thrown together when the world faces up to a conflict between the land and the oceans.
Despite seeming doomed by the end of the series, Barclay and Salt find a way to be together, with one dramatic scene showing Tovey's character undergoing a physical change and growing gills.
Opening up about that ending in a documentary about the making of the show, Davies explained: "In the end, what we have is love.
"Actually, it's very much, as I've explained before, where the show comes from - who we love, what we love, and how we should express that love and show it."
Davies added: "The stage directions for that final scene say - and there was no way of voicing this on camera - but the stage directions say, that's the point, if there’s hope for anyone, it's in those two.
"It's the way they become each other. It’s like there is no land, there is no sea. They’re both the same. And they physically become the same and they're recognising the same. There’s hope for any of us in any situation. It’s always that. It’s a hard-won ending and I think it’s beautiful and I’m very glad we did it."
Davies has also been open about how important it was to tackle climate change in the Doctor Who spin-off, with the writer previously telling Radio Times: "One of the most boring things you can ever say to a writer is, 'Don’t be preachy'.
"Quite a few religions have been based for thousands of years upon preaching. It’s not bad as a system, it works. The truth is, I don’t have to get on a high horse at all. If I’m writing about the oceans in 2025, then they really are filthy and stinking and half-destroyed. I would be lying if I didn’t mention these things. It’s only politically engaged because it has no choice."
Meanwhile, star Tovey added: "I would want [viewers] to feel activated and angry.
"I hope that there will be a whole generation who will watch this and feel that this is going to inspire them to do something. I hope, through the humanising of what the hell is happening on our planet, it will do what David Attenborough does, but through drama, to compel people to wake up and recognise that we have to do something about this."
The War Between the Land and the Sea is available to stream on BBC iPlayer. Doctor Who will return to BBC One and BBC iPlayer this Christmas.
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Authors
Louise Griffin is the Sci-Fi & Fantasy Editor for Radio Times, covering everything from Doctor Who, Star Wars and Marvel to House of the Dragon and Good Omens. She previously worked at Metro as a Senior Entertainment Reporter and has a degree in English Literature.
