October 4: "Rogue"

On 3 June 2024, between the broadcast of "Dot and Bubble" and this, William Russell, who played Ian Chesterton, passed away at the age of 99.  Rather sweetly, the British broadcast of "Rogue" was dedicated to his memory.  (Not the Disney+ or the home video release, however; the dedication must have been added after those versions had been locked and distributed.)  It's interesting, though, to reflect on just how different an episode "Rogue" is from the stories of Russell starred in back in the early to mid '60s.  This is an episode about aliens cosplaying as real people in 19th-century England, while the Doctor has a romantic attraction to the main male guest star.  There's no way William Hartnell would have ever agreed to such a thing, but here in 2024 it's a completely reasonable thing for the show to do.

But yes, cosplay!  Apparently we have time-traveling bird aliens (the Chuldur, not the sort-of-similar-looking Jacondans from The Twin Dilemma) who wanted to dress up as Bridgerton characters (or the equivalent) not by having a convention but by going to the original time and place and taking over the forms of real people (killing them in the process) and pretending to be them.  When you stop to think about it it's an incredibly daft idea, but to the credit of new-to-the-series writers Kate Herron (of Loki fame) and Briony Redman, they make it work.  Of course, it doesn't hurt that there are other plotlines moving along to distract you, lest one become too silly at a given moment, but they do a good job of properly balancing all the strands and then making them come together.

Rogue meets the Doctor. ("Rogue") ©BBC

One of the most interesting strands is the titular character, a bounty hunter named Rogue.  He's here in 1813 Bath on the trail of the Chuldur, and when he encounters the Doctor, who isn't particularly hiding the fact that he's Not From Around Here, he jumps to the perhaps not unreasonable conclusion that he is in fact the Chuldur.  Jonathan Groff, playing Rogue, is clearly having a lot of fun in the role, and his chemistry with Ncuti Gatwa is palpable.  There's a charge in every scene they share, and it's a joy to watch.  The Doctor is in full flirt mode, critiquing Rogue's ship, listening to Kylie Minogue through his sound system, and working out his name comes from Dungeons & Dragons.  Even when Rogue is preparing to incinerate him, the Doctor feels like he's in charge, tossing his psychic paper against some controls to prove he's not a Chuldur, with images of all the previous Doctors, including the Fugitive Doctor and... is that Richard E. Grant?  Did the show just canonize the Shalka Doctor?  Outstanding.  Rogue and the Doctor feel like equals in a way we've rarely seen on the series -- the closest equivalent might be River Song, which feels appropriate.

And while the Doctor and Rogue are showing off to each other -- complete with each asking the other to travel with him -- Ruby is enjoying the dance and eavesdropping on a couple having a quiet but anguished debate: "I will not marry you," Lord Barton says to Miss Emily Beckett.   "Not now.  Not ever."  "Then go," Emily replies.  "You stole my heart, now leave me my reputation."  And even when Ruby accidentally interrupts, causing Lord Barton to leave, the basic scenario continues.  "Oh, this is so Bridgerton," Ruby exhales.  Of course, we know that Lord Barton is one of the Chuldur, along with the Duchess (played by Indira Varma, who you might remember as Suzie from Torchwood), so there's an undercurrent of danger that Ruby is unaware of.

But even with this danger, and the fact that we've seen multiple people killed by the Chuldur, the overwhelming sense throughout "Rogue" is one of fun.  Despite the joy that the fifteenth Doctor exudes, this has generally been a pretty solemn season, with racism, war, and ghost stories on display.  So this is a welcome contrast, a rollicking adventure that acts as a release of tension.  It's good to have a more typical Doctor Who tale, and it gives Gatwa the opportunity to blossom.  His storyline with Rogue soon takes center stage, with a glorious little moment as the Doctor decides to set a trap.  "We need to get the Duchess outside, on her own," he says, "and if there's one thing that attracts her, it's scandal.  And outrage and plot twists.  So, come on, Rogue.  Shall we?"  "I don't see how us dancing will create a scene," says Rogue, bemused.  "Then you should have researched this era a little more," the Doctor replies happily, "because we are scandalous."  This leads to the Doctor and Rogue dancing together, causing some ripples, presumably due to two men dancing together -- especially when they move into a tango.  Then they up the ante with the Doctor claiming offense, and Rogue, apparently not comfortable with improved dialogue, wordlessly moving to his knee in a sign of a proposal, causing the Doctor, who seems genuinely caught off-guard, to leave the room.  It's such a well-done scene, beautifully shot and acted, and both Gatwa and Groff do a great job of making us uncertain just how much they mean it.

"Find me." ("Rogue") ©BBC

There's so much joy in the Doctor, in fact, that it's a bit of a shock to see just how vengeful he is when he thinks the Chuldur have killed Ruby and taken her form.  "How long do they live for?" the Doctor asks Rogue about the Chuldur.  "They have a lifespan of 600 years," Rogue replied.  "Good," the Doctor says darkly.  "Good.  That's a long time to suffer."  But maybe that shouldn't be surprising; the fifteenth Doctor seems to be the most emotionally open of any of the Doctors we've seen, from the way he hugged the fourteenth Doctor in "The Giggle" to the rage he screamed out in "Dot and Bubble" to the many, many times we've seen this Doctor moved to tears.  This is a Doctor who feels things deeply, who's furious at the Chuldur for (he thinks) killing Ruby -- watch the incredibly sarcastic way he sets the triform trap around the Chuldur before telling them, "for the desecration of Ruby Sunday, you deserve only this" -- and who, when he learns Ruby isn't dead but is trapped, cannot bring himself to lose Ruby again, even though it put the Earth in tremendous danger.  And so Rogue does it for him, distracting the Doctor with a (really nice) kiss and grabbing the controller away before replacing Ruby with himself.  "Find me," he tells the Doctor as he presses the button, exiling both the Chuldur and himself to some unknown place and dimension.  Except the Doctor doesn't even know how to start looking for him, which makes it a sad ending.  The only thing the Doctor has is the ring Rogue gave him when he proposed.  (And what do you want to bet that will be significant if they do decide to bring Rogue back?)

So yes, a rather sad ending, but overall the mood of "Rogue" is one of fun.  It's a blast to watch the Doctor and Ruby in Regency-era dress, navigating through a fancy dance while dealing with shape-shifting bird aliens -- and meanwhile the chemistry between the Doctor and Rogue is so electric, you could happily watch them banter with each other forever.  It's a bit unusual, even now, over 60 years after the show debuted, to give the Doctor a romantic arc, but in this case it works really well.  "Rogue", quite simply, is a delight.