Doctor Who Series 14, Episode 6
“Rogue”
Posted by Sage
Please know that if I am able to be at all coherent about this episode or manage to maintain even a sliver of critical distance, that it is the result of a herculean effort. Writers Kate Herron and Briony Redman plucked “Rogue” directly out of my subconscious; never has Doctor Who ever been more “for me,” and that includes the time there were two David Tennants.
Granted, a trip to Regency-era England for me would be more “oh, my Austen” than “oh, my Bridgerton” (1813 is the very year Pride and Prejudice was published, in fact), but it’s a setting I’ve been dreaming of regardless. And all the focus on the Netflix hit makes even more sense once it’s revealed that our monsters of the week have come to this time in pursuit of a living soap opera, not a deep dive into the socioeconomic pressures of being a woman in early 19th century Britain. Meanwhile, the juiciest storyline is playing out right under the Chuldur’s noses… er, beaks: “Rogue” gives us the gift of a fully fleshed-out, explicitly canon, gay-as-hell love story for the Doctor, and I am truly still pinching myself that it exists.
The magic trick of this episode all starts with Rogue himself, because for as emotionally (and probably physically) slutty as this Doctor is, he can’t be lusting after just anyone. Rogue is intriguing, cocky, and a little bit dangerous. He’s another traveler, another loner, and he’s got enough baggage for the Doctor to look at him as an equal, not as someone he could easily destroy. It’s true that there’s a lot of Captain Jack in his swagger and his circumstances, but Rogue isn’t the too-slick sweet-talker who had to win the Doctor over in their first meeting. He has his own agenda, and his initial mistrust of the Doctor leads to some crackling enemies-to-lovers-style banter. This isn’t somebody the Doctor has to save or take care of or pity – counter to the dynamics of many of the Tenth Doctor’s doomed flings. It’s just pure sexual tension, tinged with a little shared grief.
I am admittedly biased, but the casting of Jonathan Groff in this part is inspired. As someone who’s been a fan of his since Spring Awakening was in previews, it was a surreal joy to watch him run around the TARDIS and say things like “deadlocked” and “the ancient and fallen world of Gallifrey.” What a day to be both a theater kid and a Whovian. (We get so few!)
Being stage-trained like Ncuti, Jonathan also has presence, and the two of them have such an intense chemistry throughout. A leading man who also relishes character parts (hello, King George), he slots perfectly into this elevated world, playing an antagonist, an ally, and a love interest all at once. I love that even though the Doctor probably has billions of years on Rogue, Rogue looks a little older, which also makes it feel like they’re on an even playing field. We have to believe that the Doctor really and truly falls in love with this guy in the course of one night, and from the first POV shot of Rogue looking down on the ball from the balcony, I was like, yep, got it.
There is so much fanfic appeal in the setup here: Rogue and the Doctor initially suspect each other of killing the Duchess, and even after the Doctor learns why Rogue is on the scene looking like “the most serious man in history,” he has to prove that while he may be a shapeshifter (in a sense), he’s not the shapeshifter the bounty hunter is after. Because god loves us, he does this by both annoying Rogue and relentlessly flirting with him – intentionally and otherwise. The scene on Rogue’s boy room of a ship (again, welcome back, Jack Harkness) featuring Kylie Minogue’s “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” and the psychic paper blowing up the Doctor’s spot should be in the Library of Congress. (“Who’s hot, Doctor?” I need to be institutionalized immediately.)
On the heels of an era that was devoid of any kind of heat or expressed sexuality, “Rogue” is a breath of fresh air. We all have our opinions about what role sex and desire should play in Doctor Who, particularly in the Doctor’s characterization, but it’s been made very clear from the get-go that this regeneration, well, fucks. And “Rogue” doesn’t skimp on the emotional connection, either. The Doctor’s love languages are sharing the TARDIS and trauma-bonding, in that order, and it doesn’t take him long to spot that Rogue wasn’t always alone. They have the same M.O.: Do whatever it takes, keep moving, and don’t look back, otherwise the grief will swallow you. (“We have to live each day because they can’t.”) But Rogue isn’t looking to be saved, which just adds to the delicious push and pull of their dynamic. (“Let’s argue across the stars.” PLEASE.)
To fit all of this into an episode that also has an airtight villain plot and a solid B-story for Ruby is a feat. The Chuldur’s motivations are cheeky and meta without punching down to the audience. “Hostile cosplay” is a perfectly Doctor Who invention, and the inclination to play at being someone else is a very human thing. The inevitable progression of the Chuldur’s game will of course lead them to the three people who don’t belong at the Duchess’ ball, because they’re obviously the most interesting. But that the episode takes its sweet time getting there leaves plenty of room for the Doctor and Ruby’s actually quite Bridgerton-esque interpersonal dramas to play out. Also, what a treat to have the incomparable Indira Varma back in the Doctor Who universe, chewing scenery and speaking French in full bird make-up.
Even with the Doctor otherwise occupied, Ruby does not get short shrift in this episode, thank goodness. There are strong shades of Rose Tyler in her reaction to her surroundings – both her glee over the pageantry of it all and her loud rejection of the repressive norms of the time. Also very Rose to somehow latch onto the (seemingly) most vulnerable person in the room and not leave her alone until she starts believing in herself. The belated reveal that Ruby saves herself by initiating battle mode on her psychic earrings when “Emily” turns on her is easily predicted but wholly delightful, and Millie Gibson continues to have one of the most expressive faces in the business.
You know you’re getting a happy couple at the end of every Bridgerton season, while Doctor Who pretty much always guarantees the opposite, at least where the Doctor is concerned. And I was worried, because everything that makes Rogue an ideal match for the Doctor also seems to mark him for death. But the episode doesn’t dispatch him without validating what’s happening between them, and that was also a fear I had during my first watch. Their dance is strategic – the Doctor is drawing the Chuldur out with the stir they’re creating – but it’s also a proper romantic moment. It goes on and on, through a whole sequence of swoony choreography and with the lights going down around them, because for them, the room literally falls away. When it’s time for their staged fight (a classic fake-dating trope, it must be said), Rogue isn’t as prepared to play-act as the Doctor. Instead, he literally proposes, and I’m pretty sure I felt as overwhelmed as the Doctor when he pulled out that ring.
Thank god Rogue gets to survive on a technicality, and is only (only!) sent to a barren dimension with the very murderous family he was sent to prevent from taking over Earth. It happens in a flurry of activity after the Doctor mistakes Ruby for one of the Chuldur and locks her with them on Rogue’s triform trap. (“For the desecration of Ruby Sunday, you deserve only this!”) He’s paralyzed when he realizes this, and a pox on everyone who’s complaining on Twitter that Ncuti cries in every episode – it’s how his emotions come out, okay?? There’s so much unexplored backstory in how Rogue reacts: Does he know that the Doctor can’t sacrifice Ruby for the world because he couldn’t sacrifice his companion either? Or does he know because he did sacrifice his companion and he’s lived to regret it? Either way, like an absolute dream of a romantic hero, he takes the decision out of the Doctor’s hands by WIPING HIS TEARS, snogging him senseless to distract him and to say goodbye, grabbing the control, and shoving Ruby out of the way to take her place. What a welcome reversal to have the Doctor swept off his feet for once.
I don’t know whether Rogue will ever come back. I do know that Jonathan Groff has been on Broadway in Merrily We Roll Along since September and was therefore probably unavailable to film anything for Ncuti’s second season, even if they wanted him to reprise the role next year. But leaving the character’s story open-ended allows for all the emotion of the Doctor losing someone he’s come to care about without having to go full-scale tragedy – a tragedy we did not need during Pride Month! A little pining never hurt anyone, and I refuse to believe that there’s no biological material on that ring that the TARDIS couldn’t trace. Ruby also doesn’t seem inclined to let this one go. That she bore witness to it adds another layer to their friendship, and, as we see in the last scene, it prevents the Doctor from shutting down and shrugging it off.
As many others have said, “Rogue” is such a welcome inclusion in this season because it comes from new voices. I am always Team RTD, but it makes no sense to me to limit a show that can literally go anywhere and do anything by rarely inviting others to have their turn in the sandbox. (Steven Moffat doesn’t count for obvious reasons!) The allusions and influences here are so unique and different to what we’ve seen so far in Ncuti’s era, and still they make for classic, quintessential Doctor Who. Hopefully all the love this episode is getting will inspire the boss to loosen up the reins a bit.
Timey-Wimey Observations:
- For an episode to wholeheartedly embrace romance like this is so validating to a certain subset of fans who’ve been told over and over again that it simply doesn’t exist in this world or that we shouldn’t care about it even where it does.
- “Just try not to get engaged or accidentally invent tarmac. 1902 got away from me.” – says the man who gets engaged 35 minutes later.
- “Stilton?” “It’s a very difficult cheese.”
- Ruby following Emily and Lord Barton into the library with a glass of wine to watch their fight like she was at Sleep No More sent me.
- I need an explanation for the mutilated teddy bear on Rogue’s ship.
- “How long does a vexil last? Oh, that long.”
- I also need to know how many phone calls and texts Richard E. Grant got after this aired.
- The Doctor singing “Pure Imagination” from Willy Wonka could be a nod to everything those characters have in common or to Ncuti’s infamous text to his agent or both, but mostly I am still in awe of this new music rights budget.
- What is up with the TARDIS, she does not sound good.
- So much suggestive leaning in this episode. Joe Jr. would be scandalized.
- “Nice lady?”
- Whoever’s idea it was to have Indira Varma yell the phrase “live vivisection,” I salute you.
- “Madam. Your grace. Your birdiness.” So stupid. So funny.
- What was up with the eyebrows guy?
- Fascinating that Rogue is working for our assumed Big Bad, because it would seem like running the Chuldur off Earth would be a good thing for everyone? Unless The One Who Waits just doesn’t want anyone else in their way.
- It’s weird that people keep slagging off Loki and its depiction of a bisexual character to praise this episode when these are not one-to-one comparisons. They’re not operating under the same level of Disney control, and they’re also completely different stories with different story goals.
- FIND HIM, YOU FOOL.
Did “Rogue” also leave you swooning? Let us know in the comments!
Featured Image Source: Disney+
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