Written by Vinay Patel & Chris Chibnall
Directed by Nida Manzoor
The Fugitive Doctor (to the Doctor): "Let me take it from the top. Hello, I'm the Doctor. I'm a traveler in space and time and that thing buried down there is called a TARDIS. Time and relative dimension in space."
And that's how you drop a massive bombshell in an episode that not only brought back the Judoon and Captain Jack Harkness. I guess you can say both of those almost pale in comparison to Ruth Clayton (Jo Martin) being another version of the Doctor.
I said a few weeks ago the Timeless Child storyline could make or break this series and here, I don't know which it will be. The bombshell alone was needed after two weeks of sweet FA happening within the show but is Chris Chibnall really willing to mess with established lore? I can't blame fans for being concerned with the idea that he might but at the same time - how flipping amazing was Jo Martin's performance here?
Throughout the episode we assumed that she was a just a tour guide from Gloucester named Ruth Clayton. An ordinary woman with a slightly suspect husband in Lee Clayton (Neil Stuke) and an unwanted admirer in All Ears Allan (Michael Begley) but as soon as the Judoon made their presence known in the quiet town, things suddenly took an interesting turn.
Poor Lee though. He was assigned to protect Ruth but ended up dead as a result of the Judoon's employer, a Gallifreyan named Gat (Ritu Arya), who certainly has a grudge with this Fugitive Doctor and came close enough to killing her until the latter tricked Gat into taking herself out of the equation. This Doctor - she's a bit cold, definitely can command a room and had zero problem in ripping the piss out of our Doctor to boot.
But which Doctor is she though? Right now, I think she's clearly connected to the Timeless Child if now the very thing itself. She could be an Unbound or Parallel world/multiverse Doctor or Chibnall really could go there and make her the actual original Doctor prior to William Hartnell, which I'm hoping he'll avoid doing. Either way, I want to see more of her and I assume she'll show up again during the finale.
As for the other big thing this week - the hell is the Lone Cybermen about? Following a sabbatical of oh say, seven series and a decade, John Barrowman finally got his wish and briefly returned as Captain Jack Harkness in this episode. He mistook Graham initially for the Doctor and then got excited over the idea of his friend now being a woman while also introducing himself to Yasmin and Ryan before nanogenes kicked him off the ship he stole.
I complained about the last two weeks being bereft of anything meaty and going into the latter of the series, the Doctor and companions are going to have to deal with the Master inevitably escaping his latest prison, another Doctor, the Timeless Child and the Lone Cyberman. To that, I say: bring it on. Oh and no doubt Jack might be back a lot sooner than expected again. Either way, we're finally getting some meaty material to work with and it's about time.
- I noticed one of the Judoon was called Pol-Con-Don as a tribute to Paul Condon, which was a lovely gesture on the show's behalf.
- The Fugitive Doctor buried her TARDIS under a grave near a lighthouse where breaking the glass inside activated her back again.
- I was wondering when we'd get a same sex snog in this era and low and behold, we had Jack kiss Graham. The latter didn't seem too put off by it either tbh.
- It's great that the Doctor was honest with her companions about looking for the Master but she's gonna have to have that awkward conversation about Gallifrey before we get to the finale though.
- How lovely was the Fugitive Doctor's TARDIS? A little bit Hartnell-ish but with different lighting. She's also not a fan of Thirteen's sonic screwdriver though.
- Chronology: I'm assuming 2020 Gloucester. The episode also ended with a lead in to Praxeus as well.
Fugitive Of The Judoon was a massive step in the right direction and it does make me wonder why do we have to suffer some unbelievably mediocre episodes to get the goods like this. Let's see - the arrival of a new, mysterious Doctor, the welcomed returns of both the Judoon and Captain Jack, the current companions being useful, our Doctor getting a bit darker, the overall pacing and more arc related material. Easily a favourite of this current era.
Rating: 9 out of 10
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