“There has to be a loss”: Doctor Who showrunner breaks down the devastating War Between the Land and the Sea death

Doctor Who killed Colonel Christofer Ibrahim in episode 3 of The War Between the Land and the Sea, and Russell T Davies has been clear as to why this death had to have happened.

“Sadly there has to be a loss.”

Speaking in the show’s behind-the-scenes documentary, he said the story could not deal with a real-world issue like damage to the oceans and still keep everyone safe.

The death was written as a consequence, not a twist. Ibrahim’s end comes right after his relationship with Kate Stewart is confirmed, which makes the impact personal as well as political.

Why Russell T Davies said Doctor Who needed a death to feel real on The War Between the Land and the Sea

Russell T Davies addressed a really important scene/decision in a behind-the-scenes documentary meant for The War Between the Land and the Sea, and he does not sugarcoat what he means.

“Sadly there has to be a loss.”

He then explained why this Doctor Who story could not avoid tragedy. He said,

“The problem at the heart of The War Between is real. Never mind your fantasy creatures from under the sea, what we’ve done to the oceans is real, so the drama has to get a patina of reality that you wouldn’t necessarily put into every episode of Doctor Who - it kinds of just opens us up to the fact that someone’s got to die.”

This was not just about Sea Devils, now called Homo Aqua, but about a conflict that mirrors the real world. If the problems are that serious, the consequences cannot be light, and by killing Colonel Ibrahim, the Doctor Who spin-off series makes it clear that this fight between land and sea does leave a solid sense of damage behind.

Kate Stewart and Christofer Ibrahim: A romance that ended soon

The death comes to be even more sad because of what had just started between Kate Stewart and Colonel Ibrahim. Jemma Redgrave shared her reaction to reading the scripts.

In the documentary, she said,

“I felt, when I read the scripts, that she didn't know quite how much she felt for him. She never allowed herself to really know how deeply she loved him. The loss of him, in that moment, she knows everything she didn't allow herself to know. It's life-changing for her.”

Kate is someone who is driven by duty and Redgrave also told Radio Times that the age difference and power imbalance made the relationship complicated. She said she did not think Kate believed it had a future, mainly because of the age gap. There was also barely any time for them. Work, for her, always came first.

Alexander Devrient admitted he and Redgrave were unsure if the romance would even continue. He pointed out the hierarchy within UNIT, the age gap, and how tricky it all was.

But he said that once they saw what Russell wrote, they decided to fully commit. In the middle of chaos, they played a connection built on respect and loyalty. That is what makes the ending sting.

Russell T Davies did not mean to frame the death as shock or cruelty, but rather he wanted to show it as a necessity. By tying the conflict to real environmental harm, he argued that someone had to die for the story to carry weight.

Ibrahim’s death forces Kate to confront feelings she avoided and permanently shifts her arc. The War Between the Land and the Sea chose consequence, and this defines this Doctor Who storyline.

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