Doctor Who: Rogue Review

The one thing this season of Doctor Who is disappointingly light on is guest writers. It’s been a joy to watch Russell T Davies create masterpiece after masterpiece, but that extra flavor that comes from a variety of episode writers has been missing, with Rogue serving as an example of how much fun it can be.

Written by Kate Herron of Loki fame and Briony Redman of comedy fame, I came away from Rogue feeling giddy.

This season has had a great variety of brilliant episodes. Boom is a tense thriller, 73 Yards is a strange mystery, and Dot and Bubble is a harsh interrogation of society’s ills, but Rogue manages to stand out from all of them by being a more straightforward and breezy Doctor Who adventure. It may never have brought me to the edge of my seat or left me reeling for hours after the fact at what it all means, but I had a smile on my face from the word go that I couldn’t get rid of until it was over, and that’s just as powerful.

The titular character, Rogue, is wonderful, and no doubt what the episode will be remembered for. It’s true that Davies is cheating a little by just re-creating Jack Harkness, but when you have a character as strong as he was, I don’t mind pulling from that well again 15 years later.

Rogue and the Doctor’s chemistry is perfect, and while I typically don’t like Doctor romance stories, this episode does a masterful job of making their quick connection believable. I can see certain fans getting upset about this, but it’s not like this hasn’t happened before. It’s long been a recognized trope that the Doctor finds would-be companions that get themselves killed before the end of the episode – he’s even kissed a few of them.

Their initial misunderstanding allows them to bond in a unique way, as they both try to control the situation in an attempt to outwit the other, only to slowly discover the things they have in common. Knowing the Doctor as we do, it’s no surprise that he immediately becomes enamored by someone who travels the stars for the thrill of the adventure – even if it’s in a slightly darker context.

That momentum continues once they’re on the same page, with the beautiful scene in the TARDIS followed by a bit of classic running away from the monsters. Rogue slips perfectly into that companion role, but in a way where he feels more on the Doctor’s level than Ruby, which only furthers their connection.

Speaking of Ruby, her side of the story is fun, although it could’ve done with a bit more depth – in fact, the whole episode feels like it could’ve done with five more minutes. Still, she’s as bubbly as ever, getting absorbed into the Bridgerton-style drama and playing the girl out of her time perfectly, slipping modern ideas into the head of this woman from 1813. The woman’s simple joy at hearing the phrase “ok” for the first time is so endearing.

The episode leans into the comedic side of things too, but not in an overbearing way. It puts me in mind of the series from 2005 in the way it manages to weave jokes so seamlessly into almost every scene in a way that never undercuts the drama. The opportunity for a good joke is never missed, but it’s never at the cost of the plot.

This even plays into the overall plot of the villains, which is comedic in its premise, but sinister in execution. The idea that these are aliens who just like hopping around time playing out TV dramas is hilarious – and almost directly an idea out of Futurama. It twists the overall concept of the setting in a unique way too, as the Bridgerton connection isn’t just a cheap pop-culture reference, it’s actually the whole point of the aliens’ plot. The fact that they kill loads of people along the way is part of the fun for them, as it makes for good drama.

All of that comes to a head in the best way at the climax. It doesn’t take a genius to realize the switcheroo that happened with Ruby and her would-be killer, but it makes for tense dramatic irony as the Doctor fails to realize what’s happened until it’s too late. It is a little convenient that the Doctor’s complete guess at there being six monsters was the perfect number for things to play out like this, but you have to let something like that slide in this show every now and then.

The overall themes of the episode playing out like a Bridgerton-style drama make Rogue’s final sacrifice all the better. The way he steals the Doctor’s detonator with a kiss and puts himself in Ruby’s place is the perfect kind of cheesy sacrifice this episode needed to end on, but it still hits hard emotionally because the work was put in to make his connection with the Doctor so genuine.

Once again Ncuti’s acting is top-notch. Despite being such a fun-loving personality, he has consistently nailed the powerful emotional moments this season, and I particularly love the following scene where he chats with Ruby. After the end of The Giggle directly addresses the Doctor’s terrible way of dealing with his trauma, Ruby being able to see right through him when he tries to brush it off is perfect.

While the last few episodes of the season tried to do something unique, or somehow divert from the traditional Doctor Who formula, Rogue embraces the classic adventure. With a new character that completely enchanted me and a fun premise for the monster of the week, this is the kind of episode I’ll be putting on whenever I want to sit back for a breezy adventure and a laugh along the way.

Score: 9/10