Written by Malorie Blackman And Chris Chibnall
Directed by Mark Tonderai
Graham: "I don't want to be a part of this."
The Doctor (re Rosa): "We have to, I'm sorry. We have to not help her."
I had my concerns about this episode before it aired and to be fair, I think a lot of fans did as well. This is an episode that even with the best of intentions had the potential to maybe go wrong and while there are certainly moments that will feel preachy to people, it's also the first episode in this new era that is likely to go down as a classic.
We start with a moment in 1943 Alabama, where seamstress Rosa Parks (Vinette Robinson) is chastised for not getting on the bus in the way that she was told to by a rather horrible bus driver. Twelve years later our current TARDIS arrive in Montgomery and they're delighted to meet Rosa, even though Ryan himself is less familiar on her history compared to everyone else.
The joy soon disappears though when it becomes apparent that there's Artron energy surrounding Rosa and that someone else is also in 1955 and their presence is a less than friendly one. Introducing Krasko - a possible rogue Time Agent and a most definite mass murderer and all round racist, he's popped up in order to nudge history the opposite way around and prevent Rosa from making the profound impact she's made on history for his own pleasure.
As villains go, I don't think this episode actually needed one and I was appreciating the lack of aliens in this episode but I guess Chibnall and Blackman felt another humanoid baddie was essential. I get the feeling that Krasko is potentially being set up as an ongoing threat in Jodie's era and he's suitably nasty enough as Joshua Bowman does his best to give the guy enough menace in his scenes with both the Doctor and Ryan before the latter is outsmarted by Ryan in a rather abrupt way.
As I said, I don't think this episode needed Krasko in it and if he's going to be an ongoing threat, they probably should've picked another one to feature him in. The episode itself had plenty of human monsters as we saw the TARDIS team not only unable to change Rosa's outcome but also forced to witness it first hand in a rather harrowing scene beautifully played by all.
In terms of performances, there isn't a single actor who doesn't put a foot out of place. Three episodes in and Jodie Whittaker just is the Doctor. It's not even up for debate anymore, she just is. Then there are Bradley Walsh, Tosin Cole and Mandip Gill - all three of them were exceptional this episode as both Yasmin and Ryan talked about the racism they've suffered themselves while Graham was reminded about Grace and horrified by having to witness Rosa being manhandled off the bus by James Blake (Trevor White) as the episode ended with the Doctor showing the gang the legacy Rosa has left on the universe. Asteroid 284996, anyone?
As for Vinette Robinson - she did an incredible job as Rosa Parks. Perfectly getting her nuances down to a tee and delivering an emotive performance throughout the entire episode. The guest cast have been strong this series and even though there's eight more episodes to go (including Christmas of course), Robinson is easily the standout guest actor this series. Rosa is not an easy role to get right but Vinette did so with aplomb and definitely deserves all the praise for this performance.
- Vinette Robinson previously played the role of Abi Lerner in the episode 42. Morgan Deare who played Arthur in this episode also appeared in Delta And The Bannerman as Hawk.
- References this week were made about Frank Sinatra, Elvis, Banksy and Steve Jobs. The Doctor and Graham even pretended to be inventors of a smartphone at one point in this episode.
- Krasko is from the 79th Century and was a prisoner in Stormcage until a neural restrictor was implanted in his head. He must have met River at some point, yeah?
- I didn't expect the cameo appearance from Martin Luther King (Ray Sesay) but I loved Ryan's reaction to meeting him as well as the mention of Emmett Till as well.
- Standout music: Andra Day's Rise Up, which was an incredible way to end the episode.
- Chronology: December 1st 1955 Alabama. Next week, though back to 2018 Sheffield.
Considering two major news items in the media this week, the timing for Rosa as an episode couldn't have been more spot on. I did worry about this episode potentially but my fears were alleviated. This was an incredible tour de force in terms of writing and acting from everyone concerned. This will undoubtedly go down as a classic episode and it's an honour that's deservedly so. Incredible.
Rating: 10 out of 10
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