Steven Moffat and Nicola Coughlan break down the impactful ending of Doctor Who‘s 2024 Christmas special, from the greater meaning behind the Star Seed to the emotional climax of Joy’s story. The 2024 special brought Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor and Coughlan’s lonesome traveler Joy together when an ominous package is being transported through a hotel that offers rooms from throughout human history. Set after the events of Doctor Who season 14, “Joy to the World” also stars Joel Fry, Jonathan Harris, and Steph de Walley.

With Doctor Who‘s 2024 Christmas episode coming to a poignant and hopeful, but bittersweet ending, Moffat and Coughlan opened up to TV Insider about the seasonal twist of the Star Seed storyline. With the episode dealing with many Christmases from across history, Moffat felt that creating a story involving the first Christmas was the best decision for the story. Furthermore, with the story focusing on the event, the decision was made to have the Star Seed erupt in a more aesthetically serene and peaceful way before he concluded that Joy becoming the star would be a fitting conclusion to her story:

Moffat: I was trying to work out what we could do. We had all those Christmases, and I thought logically, well, we should have the first one as well, shouldn’t we? And then I thought, well, oh, hang on. And so I then created a whole plot around the star seed so that somebody, the case could be flown in.”

Originally I thought they’d just detonate the star and get rid of it. But then I thought that just made the star a great big explosion. It should be the loveliest star ever. It’s a star that exudes love, and when people look up at it, they feel changed and uplifted. You actually see a star, and it changes how you think and feel. So I thought, well, Joy should become the star and go from being a sad woman who draws unhappiness to her into becoming the star that radiates joy and actually launches every Christmas after that and then saves her mom at the end.”

Coughlan later praised Moffat’s writing for creating a story that is wild and eccentric, but emotional, especially through Joy and the Doctor’s respective journeys. Check out Coughlan’s response below:

Coughlan: It’s a tribute to Steven Moffatt’s writing that he can fit in this kind of adventure, the humor, dinosaurs, and then real heartbreak all in a one-hour special. But I feel like it’s a very relatable thing, what he’s written about. And it’s that thing at Christmas, it boils down to all that really matters is the people we love. And both Joy and the Doctor feel that in different ways.”

How “Joy To The World” Will Impact Future Doctor Who Adventures

Gatwa Has Had To Lower His Walls To Let People In Once More

“Joy to the World” isn’t the first time that Doctor Who has talked about the Nativity myth. Both David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor and Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor have referred to being present in Bethlehem for the event, but the 2024 seasonal episode is the first story to reveal that the Time Lord had a hand in creating the guiding star. However, it can be argued that the episode’s story is exactly what the Time Lord needed the most.

Through his adventure in the Time Hotel, the Doctor was able to process his worst habits and past traumas. Season 14 left him reckoning about his impact on the universe after being made into a tool for Sutekh’s (Gabriel Woolf) plot and forced to become his worst self. However, his year on Earth with Anita (Walley) and adventure with Joy saw him relearn what it means to let people into his life, and that the pain doesn’t have to scare him. With Millie Gibson’s Ruby set to return in season 15 alongside Varada Sethu’s new companion Belinda, the Doctor will take Joy’s words to heart with a renewed sense of hope.

Our Thoughts On Gatwa’s Hopeful Doctor Who Christmas Adventure

The Episode Gave The Doctor A Much-Needed New Perspective

With 2023’s Christmas special “The Church on Ruby Road” acting as an introduction to the Fifteenth Doctor and Ruby, “Joy to the World” was a welcome adventure that explored the depth of Gatwa’s Doctor. A core underlying element of his character since his first full 2023 episode was him questioning what his impact on the universe was, with season 14 placing him in several adventures that tested his impact on others. In particular, Ruby and the rest of the universe were placed in harm’s way by his decision multiple times.

As such, “Joy to the World” is a welcome and hopeful moment for the Time Lord after a testing season that is befitting for the holiday. As Doctor Who heads into season 15 in 2025, many may wonder how the Doctor’s new lease on life will shake up Gatwa’s second season.