“Rogue” is a whirlwind delight with an all-timer guest star.
Warning: thisDoctor Whoreview contains spoilers.
This episode is delightful.
Thanks for reading, see you next week!
OK, obviously theres more to it than that.
But if youre after thetl;dr, delightful really does the job.
The writing by Kate Herron and Briony Redman, is sharp, full of funny lines and clever misdirects.
The costumes naturally look sensational because the BBC can do this stuff with its eyes closed.
The whole thing is just a really good time.
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So, where to start?
Perhaps with a question that has been hanging in the air ever since Ncuti Gatwas casting was first announced.
The first question, you could say, hiding in plain sight.
A question that really comes to the fore in this episode.
Is it possible for the Doctor to betoosexy?
In terms of pure physical attractiveness, the answer is probably no.
Fans will no doubt make fierce arguments for the relative sexiness of any of the modern or classic incarnations.
The point is, a sexy Doctor is not inherently ground-breaking.
Theyre not Han Solo, after all.
AndMatt Smiths Doctor, while arguably more explicitly horny, was still more gawky teenage boy than smooth-talking lothario.
With Gatwa, however, it certainly seems as though the series has been actively leaning into the sexiness.
And Rogue takes it much further than the series has so far.
This is weapons-grade flirting, a new tool in the Doctors arsenal that he deploys with palpable delight.
But then it starts to get real… and the Doctor hesitates.
None of this is to say that the Doctor has to be asexual.
Were long past the days of no hanky panky in the TARDIS, thank God.
They can cosplay at flirtatious screwball comedy, but when it gets serious, they get flustered.
Of course,Jonathan Groffis also a big part of why this relationship works.
Its an all-timer guest performance, nicely understated, with zero need to showboat.
HesCaptain Jack Harknesswithout… well, without the John Barrowman of it all, really.
A version of Captain Jack with whom the Doctor could actually travel as equals.
Its a genuine whirlwind, and one that carries us along just as it carries the characters.
We also get that lovely, quiet scene between Ruby and the Doctor after Rogue disappears.
Their pairing may not have the complicated, subversive edge of e.g.
Twelve and Clara, but its emotionally rich nonetheless.
So, a delightful episode, with a delightful guest star.
They have to bring Rogue back, surely?
The petition for Rogue to return starts here.
Hang on, judgement?
Like you get in atrial?
As in trial… of a Time Lord?
Weve cracked it, lads.
Shes not Susan Foreman.
