September 5: "Fugitive of the Judoon"

Promotional photo for "Fugitive of the Judoon" (from BBC One - Doctor
Who, Fugitive of the Judoon gallery) ©BBC
The TARDIS intercepts a Judoon warning transmission regarding 2020 Gloucester, so the TARDIS fam heads down to investigate and stop the Judoon from wreaking havoc on the planet. But why do the Judoon seem interested in two seemingly normal people? Who really are Ruth and Lee Clayton?

Well. I think it's a measure of the kind of episode "Fugitive of the Judoon" is that the surprise return of John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness (for the first time since Torchwood: Miracle Day in 2011 -- or "The End of Time Part Two" in 2010 if you don't count the spinoffs) isn't even the most exciting part of the proceedings here. (And it was a surprise: like Sacha Dhawan being the Master in the series opener, this was a secret that they managed to keep under wraps.) This episode, written by Chibnall and Vinay Patel (who, you no doubt recall, wrote one of last series's standout stories, "Demons of the Punjab"), is full of surprises.

I like the way it starts relatively small; we're introduced to a married couple, Ruth and Lee, who don't seem particularly out-of-the-ordinary, while in the TARDIS the Doctor is brooding about the Master and Gallifrey. "Is that where you go, when you leave us to explore and you say you'll be back in an hour but you never are? Are you out looking for him? Where do you go?" Yaz asks. But rather than dwell on that, that Judoon signal comes through and it's off to the main storyline. And it does feel like this will probably be a smaller episode at first: it's not the fate of the planet at stake but just a couple people, while the Doctor tries to stop the Judoon from going too nuts. And it's fun to see the Judoon back for the first time since "Face the Raven" (where they had a small cameo), looking more or less the same save for the addition of the short mohawk on the top of their heads. Oh! And they've brought back Nicholas Briggs for the voice, and Paul Kasey to play the lead Judoon (returning to the show for the first time since "Deep Breath"), which is really quite lovely. But yes, the Judoon are here, looking for their fugitive, who may be Lee Clayton; at least, the owner of the bar/café Allan seems to think so -- although he's creepily pining after Ruth (a married woman, don't forget), so it's hard to get worked up about what he thinks. And I like the way that Graham unknowingly takes the piss out of Allan, after he sees the cake that Allan has ruined for Lee on behalf of Ruth's birthday with the message "You Can Do Better": "Look at the state of that! That's the worst cake I've ever seen!" And then suddenly Graham vanishes, to be joined with Captain Jack.

"Ha! You missed me, right?" ("Fugitive of the Judoon") ©BBC
And make no mistake, the return of Jack is genuinely thrilling. Hearing his voice, especially if you didn't know he was returning, is an exciting moment, even if it ultimately ends up being little more than a cameo and a tease for an upcoming episode. Jack's a little older-looking but it's still the same old Jack, ebullient and loving life even as it's going to pot around him: "Ship's security is fighting back. You gotta be kidding me! Anti-theft attack system? Well, now I'm offended." And the way he gives Graham a big ol' kiss, mistaking him for the Doctor, is also great -- although Graham's "Ah" after he realizes the mistake Jack has made may be even better. And I love the little interaction with Ryan, after Jack scoops him and Yaz up as well ("Seriously? Three of you?"): "Listen, kid, working with some low-rent equipment here," Jack says. "Why doesn't that surprise me?" Ryan replies. "Oh, she likes them mouthy, then, huh?" Jack snarks. "Yeah, one up from cheesy," Ryan fires back, taking in Jack's whole shtick. "Okay, he's my favourite," Jack says. Really, it makes you wish there were more Jack, either in this episode or later on in series 12, but regrettably this is all we get. But a little Jack Harkness is better than nothing, especially when it's unexpected, and so I'll still take it.

But as I said at the top, the return of Jack isn't even the biggest surprise of the episode. That, by far, is the introduction of Jo Martin as Ruth Clayton. Because it turns out Ruth isn't as human as she first appears. The initial fake-out with Lee, with all the suspicion falling on him, is well played, but no, it seems Ruth is the one the Judoon are really after -- and the scene in the cathedral, where Ruth turns into a fighting machine, is also orchestrated really well. The first time around I'd guessed that she was a Time Lord who'd been altered by a Chameleon Arch (as seen previously in "Human Nature"/"The Family of Blood" and also "Utopia"), but I definitely didn't guess who she really was. "Let me take it from the top," 'Ruth' says to the thirteenth Doctor. "Hello, I'm the Doctor." And given that she has a TARDIS that looks like a police box, it seems likely that she's telling the truth -- something that's confirmed when Thirteen scans them both with her sonic screwdriver. But the mystery still deepens, as neither remembers being the other:
RUTH: And how did I end up like... that? All rainbows and trousers that don't reach?
DOCTOR: What? No. How did I end up like you?
RUTH: You don't. You're in my future, not the other way round.
DOCTOR: I've never been anything like you. Trust me, I'd remember. Especially that shirt.
RUTH: So would I, if I'd ever been you, which I haven't. ...
DOCTOR: No, this doesn't make any sense. Either I should know you or you should know me.
RUTH: Agreed.
DOCTOR: So why don't we?
And while there are clues that suggest that Ruth is indeed from our Doctor's past (the look of the TARDIS console room (although, possibly significantly, it's a little different from the classic look), the fact that the Ruth Doctor doesn't recognize the sonic screwdriver, and the fact that Gat, the one pursuing Ruth, is a Gallifreyan -- which should be impossible given the Master's actions at the start of this run), there's nothing definitive to place her somewhere in the Doctor's timeline. "She said she was my past, but I know my past, and she's never been me," Thirteen later says. It's certainly an interesting and unexpected hook for the episode, even if it doesn't get resolved here.

Promotional photo for "Fugitive of the Judoon" (from BBC One - Doctor
Who, Fugitive of the Judoon gallery) ©BBC
Really, if there's a complaint to made about this episode it's that this is an episode designed to fit into a larger storyline, rather than being a largely self-contained episode. There's no resolution to events here of any sort, which means this is all pure setup for something else. Consequently, it feels like it would be a bit difficult to enjoy on its own, in the way you could with, say, the Capaldi episode "Oxygen" (which has larger ramifications for later on in series 10 but still manages to tell its own independent tale). That's definitely a departure for how Chibnall has been doing things so far, and really even for the show as a whole -- I can't think of an ostensibly standalone episode, other than maybe "Mission to the Unknown", that exists purely to set up another story down the line (acknowledging things like "Face the Raven" or "Utopia" that are kind of sort of standalone but in many ways feel like the first part of a multi-part story that immediately follows said episode). So that does weaken the overall effect a little bit. (There's also the potential concern that you need to be a fairly dedicated follower of the show to understand or care about what's happening here -- note the way the Chameleon Arch isn't really explained at all, or the way it's assumed we should just automatically care about the mystery of where the Ruth Doctor "fits".)

But if you're a fan of the show and you don't mind the occasional unresolved moment, this episode is a real winner. It's built up well from something seemingly minor to something major (again, the structure is really well done), the reveals that we get are handled and spaced out well, and everyone does their very best -- Jo Martin in particular is fabulous both as the kind, slightly confused Ruth and the less cuddly, firmer, slightly more dangerous Doctor (oh, and we should also note that this makes Martin our first black Doctor (and therefore first black female Doctor as well), which is pretty damn cool). Overall, "Fugitive of the Judoon" is an excellent example of what this show can do when it's firing on all cylinders.

Oh, and I really like the little pick-me-up speech at the end too:
RYAN: We do know who you are. You're the woman that brought us together, the woman that saved us and loads of other people. You're the Doctor. Whoever you were in the past or are in the future, we know who you are right now. Right?
YASMIN: Right.
GRAHAM: The best person we know.
YASMIN: And whatever is coming for you, we'll be here, 'cos we're your mates.
GRAHAM: Well, not just mates. Family.
Written by on
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)