Written by Kate Herron And Briony Redman
Directed by Ben Chessell
Rogue: "So can you do it? Can you lose your friend to save the world?"
The Doctor: "No."
Rogue: "I know. Find me."
You know if there's something this season has lacked so far, it's a spot of romance and cosplay. Fortunately in Doctor Who does Bridgerton, you get both. Sorry, I meant Rogue. My bad of course.
Yes, the Doctor and Ruby deliberately visit Regency era Bath because the latter's a massive fan of a certain Netflix show and wanted to do some cosplay. Of course, Ruby wasn't the only one with that specific idea in mind. The main villains of the week are also fans of that show that got referenced enough times to be a drinking game.
The Chuldur were a bird like race, obsessed with cosplay and only too happy to slaughter people and assume their form. The likes of The Duchess (Indira Varma), Lord Barton (Paul Foreman) and the waifish Emily Beckett (Camilla Aiko) were all replaced by these creatures as the Doctor, Ruby and titular bounty hunter, Rogue (Jonathan Groff) were quick enough to discover.
Pivoting the conversation to Rogue. He's certainly closer to Vinder in terms of seriousness but there's a flair of Jack Harkness and River Song in the mix too. Jonathan Groff proved to be an excellent choice and he certainly played off Ncuti Gatwa perfectly. In fact, he might be Ncuti's best scene partner outside of Millie Gibson. It also does help that Togue was entirely a new character, which debunked theories on his true identity for now.
The back and forth bickering and flirting between the Doctor and Rogue was a delight to watch. Its no wonder fans were shipping this pairing long before the episode aired and its further proof that the Doctor's not an asexual character. You can argue the romance between the Doctor and Rogue was sped up but in the context of the story, I found it worked rather well.
What about Rogue's heroic sacrifice then? Was that the last we've seen of him? Honestly I doubt it tbh. Rogue strikes me as someone resourceful enough to eventually outwit the Chuldur, leave then to their fate and reunite with the Doctor. He was definitely set up as a character we'd see again. The fact that Rogue had no issue sacrificing himself so the Doctor didn't lose Ruby spoke volumes of his character.
Then there was Ruby herself. She got to mingle, almost made friends with Emily, faked being a Chuldur and nearly got banished had Rogue not stepped in. She also got to comfort the Doctor and seemed to be happy about the idea of him finding love. I guess I'm saying, I really have grown to love Ruby Sunday as a character.
- The episode rightfully had an In Memory to William Russell (1924-2024) during the end credits.
- The Doctor had a scene with Carla in flashbacks about keeping Ruby safe. She nearly got banished here and the finale will definitely have her in danger.
- Rogue not only got to see the previous fourteen Doctors but also the War, Fugitive and Shalka versions too. He absolutely loved the TARDIS.
- Susan Twist literally popped up as The Portrait for this episode. At least we're going to finally find out who or what she is next week.
- Standout music: Orchestral versions of Billie Eilish's Bad Guy and Lady Gaga's Poker Face. Rogue liked Kylie Minogue's Can't Get You Out Of My Head.
- Chronology: 1813 Bath for the entirety of the episode, bar that scene with Carla in 2024.
I absolutely loved Rogue. Yes, I've been very positive about this series but the episode was amazing. The cosplay taken to a murderous level plot worked, the Chuldur finally gave us a great villain outside Maestro and the Doctor/Rogue romance more than exceeded my appetite here. An absolute triumph of an episode.
Rating: 10 out of 10
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