Rogue – This episode of Doctor Who begins in 1813. Lord Galpin (Maxim Ays) and Lord Barton (Paul Forman) argue about Barton dishonoring Galpin’s sister. Barton refuses to marry her. Instead, he invites Galpin to challenge him to a duel. Galpin calls him a snake before referring to himself as dull. He admits he’d rather be Lord Barton. He kills him and takes on his appearance. After the intro, The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) dances with Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson). The Duchess of Pemberton (Indira Varma) comes over to greet them. She thinks the real estimation of an evening is in the matches made. The Duchess tells Ruby that she needs suitors. Ruby ends up experiencing feedback.

The Doctor thinks it’s sonar interference. He says he’ll handle it before Ruby leaves with the Duchess. The Doctor uses the signal to pinpoint a man above him. The Duchess tells Ruby that Lord Barton is approaching. He quickly upsets Ruby who leaves. Ruby asks Duchess about a painting of the Duke’s late mother who happens to be Susan Twist. Lord Barton is with Miss Emily Beckett (Camilla Aiko). When the Duchess leaves, Ruby follows Emily and Lord Barton. The Doctor confronts the man upstairs and speaks to him. He suspects the man is keeping an eye on the exits because he’s expecting trouble. The man eventually says his name is Rogue. Seconds later, Rogue (Jonathan Groff) invites The Doctor outside. The Duchess confronts Lady Wallace to complain about her dress. She wonders what her housekeeper is doing outside.

The housekeeper (Debra Baker) says she made a stupid mistake choosing to be staff. She eventually kills the Duchess. Ruby overhears Emily saying she thinks about Lord Barton every waking hour. Lord Barton admits he relies on his aunt’s favor and she would never approve of them being together. Barton refuses to marry her. He says she still tempts him. They almost kiss until Ruby causes a scene. Barton leaves before Ruby apologizes to Emily for interrupting. Emily worries she’s ruined since they’ve been caught together. The Doctor finds a shoe and suspects something is wrong. Rogue watches as The Doctor uses his device near the Duchess’s body. Rogue says it’s obvious this is a murder far beyond the technology of planet Earth. They blame each other for the crime before Rogue pulls a futuristic gun on The Doctor.

Ruby tells Emily that Lord Barton is an idiot. She invites Emily to go dancing. Rogue believes The Doctor is a Chuldur or a shapeshifter. Rogue is a bounty hunter so he’s going to take The Doctor to his ship. The Duchess returns to the party where she speaks to Lord Barton. He says he should’ve scented her. Barton wanted to be the Duchess next. The Duchess picked her outfit for the wedding and it’s going to be Ruby because she seems so different. The Doctor looks around Rogue’s ship and tells him he needs company. Rogue traps him in a tri-form. He explains it works as a transport gate so the Doctor will be sent to the incinerator. The Doctor tries to turn off the tri-form but it doesn’t work. He notices rolling die nearby and suspects Rogue is a fan of Dungeons and Dragons. The Doctor annoys Rogue by playing music.

Once the music stops, The Doctor tries to prove that he’s not a Chuldur. He shows Rogue that he’s a Lord of Time from the lost planet of Gallifrey. The Doctor tells him they have work to do. Ruby tells Emily she can do whatever she wants without Lord Barton. Emily says she’ll marry someone lesser and smaller. They find a dead body. The Doctor shows Rogue the Tardis. He tells Rogue that he can’t let him kill the Chuldur. Instead, they’ll transport it to a random, barren dimension. The Doctor suspects Rogue lost someone. Rogue admits they traveled together and had fun until he lost them. He asks if the Doctor ever wonders why they keep going. The Doctor says they have to because they can’t. He offers to let Rogue travel with him. Rogue thinks The Doctor should travel with him. The Doctor thinks they should argue across the stars. They nearly kiss until the console beeps to confirm the trap is ready.

They go inside where they speak to Ruby and Emily about what’s been going on. The Doctor says the Duchess is a shapeshifting Chuldur. Ruby asks why anyone would kill these people. The Doctor thinks it’s the emotion and cosplay. He goes on to explain that the Chuldur is cosplaying. The TV signals beam out across the stars. They want to lure her outside using a scandal. The Doctor dances with Rogue since he believes that’ll get the Duchess’s attention. The Doctor says they need a big fight so they can storm out and draw the Duchess outside. Rogue gets on his knee and gives the Doctor a ring. The Doctor says he can’t before storming outside. Rogue chases after him. Barton and the Duchess follow them. The Doctor and Rogue find out that there are multiple Chuldur. They run away together. The Chuldur search for them. While hiding, the Doctor and Rogue learn they’re getting ready for a wedding.

The Chuldur plan to go to London so they can play their games on a magnificent scale. They’re going to cosplay the planet to death. The Doctor thinks he can make the transport gate carry four. There might be others so he can do it for six. The Doctor says this can only work once so they have to get it right the first time. Ruby tries to calm down Emily. He tells her that she came from the future. Soon, Ruby learns that she’s a Chuldur and she wants to be her. The Chuldur return to the party and scare everyone. Rogue warns The Doctor that this is the endgame and they’re going to slaughter everyone. When Ruby comes out with a Chuldur, the Doctor worries they got her. The Doctor remembers his conversation with Carla (Michelle Greenidge) who wanted to make sure Ruby would be okay.

He promised to keep her safe. The Chuldur kill the Vicar. Rogue tells the Doctor that the Chuldur have a lifespan of 600 years. The Doctor is glad they’ll suffer for a long time. He interrupts the wedding of Lord Barton and Ruby. The Chuldur want to be the Doctor who tries to trap them. He traps them all including Ruby who tries to prove it’s really her. She explains she cosplayed and used battle mode to deal with the Chuldur. Emily arrives and shows everyone what Ruby did to her. The Doctor has to decide whether to press send and send Ruby with the Chuldur. Rogue rushes in to take care of Emily before urging the Doctor to press the button. Ruby tells the Doctor it’s fine. The Doctor admits he can’t do it. Rogue kisses him. Rogue grabs the trigger, runs into the trap, and pushes Ruby out. He tells the Doctor to find him before pushing the button.

The Doctor sends the ship into orbit around the moon so it can wait as long as it takes. Ruby asks about using the Tardis to find him, but he admits that would be very difficult. The Doctor is ready to move on. Ruby hugs and comforts him. The Doctor tells her it’s good to have her back. He still has the ring Rogue gave him. The Doctor puts it on his finger.

 

Doctor Who Review

In this episode of Doctor Who, the Doctor and Ruby traveled back to 1813 where they attended a party thrown by the Duchess of Pemberton. They soon learn that something is amiss. Ruby hangs out with Emily who is in a failed romance with Lord Barton. The Doctor meets Rogue as they learn some of the guests have been overtaken by Chuldur.

While trying to send the Chuldur to a barren dimension, the Doctor falls for Rogue but it’s not meant to be. The episode played heavily into the Bridgerton theme. In a way, it felt more like a copy of Bridgerton than authentic 1813.

The performances were stronger with the Doctor being a little more grounded. There didn’t seem to be a message here or a bigger point when all was said and done. Truthfully, the success of the episode will likely depend on the viewer’s opinions about the relationship between the Doctor and Rogue. Personally, it felt a bit rushed and lacked oomph.

There just wasn’t enough time for that to develop and turn into anything emotionally impactful. This wasn’t a bad episode although it didn’t click with me on an emotional level. The relationship should’ve been developed over a few episodes to make it matter more. The episode scores a 6 out of 10.

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