Rogue is the closest thing we’ve had to a ‘normal’ Doctor Who episode all series. I’m not criticising there – I’ve loved the experimentation and the changes in format – but at the same time, a classic period romp with a big camp monster and star-studded supporting cast isn’t going to go amiss, and we haven’t had an episode like this in a while. Therefore, that’s probably why I had a tremendous amount of fun with Rogue, even if I think the script is lacking in depth and spark in some places.
This return to traditional Doctor Who fare feels even more like an anomaly when you realise this is the only script this series written by people who’ve never written for Doctor Who before. Rogue comes to us from Kate Herron and Briony Redman, with Herron being a main creative talent on Loki, and it’s certainly unusual to have a new duo writing for the show, especially since co-writing credits are often given to the showrunner. What makes more sense though is the episode’s familiarity, since Herron and Redman are going off of the Doctor Who they know best, and they do the historical alien romp pretty damn well.
Much like the rest of the series, Rogue really plays up the exuberance and the fun of Ncuti’s Doctor. If this has been annoying you, then Rogue will really piss you off, because Ncuti gets some amazingly witty moments and exudes so much swagger here. Never did I think I’d see the Doctor thrusting away to Kylie Minogue just to annoy Jonathan Groff, but it’s here still, and I love it. Perhaps my favourite bit here though is how he sings Pure Imagination when Rogue enters the TARDIS and marvels at its obvious qualities. At this point I’m seriously debating whether Ncuti is my favourite Doctor, but to avoid saying something too controversial, I’ll say that he’s the perfect Doctor for modern times – a free-spirited, liberated and confident soul who doesn’t let the trauma of their past bring them down.
Millie Gibson also really gets to exercise her comic timing here. She has some fantastic modern retorts to some of the outdated comments made by the lords and earls at this swanky ball, and her facial expressions when eavesdropping on a conversation between two troubled lovers are really funny too.
Now we must of course discuss the most notable member of the guest – Jonathan Groff. Here he plays the titular mysterious Rogue, an alien bounty hunter who has infiltrated this swanky party to capture the Chuldur, an alien race of shapeshifters who in their true form look like humanoid birds (and I must say the make-up for them is fantastic). Groff is possibly the biggest get of the whole era so far, even bigger than Yasmin Finney and Neil Patrick Harris in the specials last year. He’s an astounding Broadway talent who owns every single second of Hamilton that he’s in, and let’s face it, he’s not even in it that much. Every single scene between him and Ncuti here is pitch-perfect. Groff’s got a quiet swagger, some amazing inflections and facial expressions, and a Doctorish personality to him that has all the potential to be built upon further because yeah, we definitely haven’t seen the last of him.
In an especially cool story development, the villains are essentially cosplayers. The Chuldur have clearly been intercepting TV signals and watching a bit too much Bridgerton (saying that, there’s a few too many references here), and even Rogue has been modelling his identity from other things. As the Doctor notices 20-sided dice on his console, he realises that Rogue must be into D&D.
Shame I’ve just found that out now, he would’ve gone down a storm in our D&D club at school.
Was definitely an episode we needed. It’s a return to a fun historical runaround with some quirky scary aliens and a great guest appearance.
So this episode’s core elements are really, really great. But there’s not that much more than this. Rogue is a really fun time, but it had the opportunity to be a truly great one. I don’t think it’s the fault of rushed storytelling, something that this series so far has done a good job of jettisoning, but I do think there were many opportunities to really dial the episode up to 11, that Herron and Redman sadly don’t exploit.
The big one for me is the developing bond between the Doctor and Rogue. For those who were annoyed at the lack of progress on the Thirteen-Yaz romance, an attempt at a queer relationship that never went further, then this should probably satisfy them more. With that said, it’s like Herron and Redman have looked at the criticism that Chibnall got for delaying the romance, and have overcompensated here – the Doctor and Rogue are strangers at the start, and by the end Rogue apparently feels enough to kiss the Doctor before “sacrificing himself.” By the way, British media, this is far from the first same-sex kiss in Doctor Who history – do your bloody research.
Gatwa and Groff have phenomenal chemistry together, but trying to make Rogue seem like a genuine romantic interest of the Doctor’s in 45 minutes is a bit of a tall order. If this was spread over several appearances by the Rogue in future, then brilliant, but the episode doesn’t do quite enough to sell the audience on this romance, especially for a character like the Doctor that can be really romantic or firmly asexual depending on the incarnation. Say what you will about the underwhelming Thasmin plotline, but Yaz was there for every single episode of Thirteen’s era. We’ve known Rogue for less than an hour.
I also wish Jonathan Groff was given more opportunities to act and show off his Broadway campness. When the Doctor and Rogue begin dancing together, I wanted it to go further. A musical number would have been amazing, but I would have settled for some big Shakespearean-y soliloquies between the two of them. Ncuti’s done Shakespeare before and Groff has been prolific on Broadway for half of his life – let them do something theatrical. The dance itself felt a little easy.
The final ten minutes also bring the energy down a bit. I loved Ncuti’s acting when he thinks Ruby’s dead or that he’ll have to sacrifice her (his line that the Chuldur lifespan is “enough to suffer” is probably his coldest yet), but the direction becomes a little pedestrian, with all the main players just standing there, and the kiss didn’t feel emotionally earned. The Chuldur themselves just kind of fizzle out as villains in the end, which is a shame as I think the shapeshifting cosplayers idea could’ve gone a long way.
I think Rogue was definitely an episode we needed. It’s a return to a fun historical runaround with some quirky scary aliens and a great guest appearance. It lets Ncuti act, gives Millie some great comedy and emotion to sink her teeth into, and continues to show the impressive production design of the Disney+ era. However, it misses out on the small things it could’ve done to really pop and become one of the best period pieces of the modern era. As it stands, I think it’s definitely going to be rewatchable. I don’t know if it’ll be known as a classic.
Doctor Who (2024) Rogue is available to watch on BBC iPlayer
