At a time after we’re all determined to get to know the brand new Staff Tardis, and with treasured fewer episodes than earlier than to must do it in, two Physician-lite episodes in a row was an enormous ask for the viewers. As terribly good as they had been, 73 Yards and Dot & Bubble had been excruciating of their distinct lack of the present’s latest star, though I’m positive they’ll be standout treats as soon as the field set is out.
That is all to say that in case you’re lacking Ncuti Gatwa’s playful, eminently watchable tackle our favorite Time Lord, Rogue places him proper again within the centre of the body, giving him ample probability to shine within the excessive society of Regency Tub. And shine he does. Because the aforementioned earlier episodes demonstrated aptly, Gatwa doesn’t want a lot display time to impress. If he was a airplane, he’d be a Harrier soar jet: able to hovering with none runway to talk of.
Reducing a fantastic determine in interval garb, he flits mesmerizingly by a lavish nation property which is clearly designed to evoke Netflix’s Bridgerton however is equally harking back to the traditional dance scene in Delight and Prejudice, which is my principal cultural touchpoint for all of the regency stuff right here as a result of I’m previous and never younger. It additionally places one in thoughts of The Woman within the Fire, a standout quasi-historical from method again in sequence two, which is a really cosy affiliation certainly.
With out giving an excessive amount of away, as a result of we’re not allowed to, this can be a bodysnatch homicide thriller that feels extraordinarily classically Russell T. Davies, proper right down to the working, the goofy one-shot monsters, and an thrilling however iffy conclusion that we’re not meant to consider an excessive amount of. It’s so evocative of sequence two that I feel the episode may have labored simply as effectively for Tennant and Piper with out an excessive amount of tweaking. Which, once more, is excessive reward – to be clear, I take into account that sequence to be the unassailable gold customary of Physician Who, so something that hits these highs is welcome.
And there’s the titular character, Rogue, performed by Hamilton alumni and Mindhunter lead Jonathan Groff as a part of a blinding solid (Obsession’s Indira Varma can also be right here, pulling double obligation as a Georgian madam and Cartoon Villain – ever get the sensation that RTD watches quite a lot of Netflix? Like, quite a bit?). Groff’s casting places me in thoughts of one thing ol’ Russ stated about Neil Patrick Harris throughout final 12 months’s specials: that they wanted somebody who may match David Tennant’s expertise and power, and that there’s a really brief record of actors who can achieve this. It strikes me {that a} comparable thought course of led to Groff as Rogue. Few performers may go toe-to-toe with Gatwa: you want Broadway royalty. And with a silent “lovable” implied forward of his identify, this can be a character whose intentions are doubtful, however whose distinctly American attraction is irresistible. Remind you of somebody?
The sheer RTDness of all of it shines by regardless of the writing duties having been handed over to Briony Redman and Kate Herron, in any other case referred to as the important thing artistic crew behind the primary (and solely good) season of Disney’s Loki. A present so Physician Whoey that it comes as little shock that they’ve completely nailed the transient right here. If anybody at BBC Studios is questioning who on earth could possibly be the following showrunner after RTD’s inevitable departure, I’d earmark a few of that Disney money to make a suggestion to this pair. No matter it takes.
Sure, I feel this episode is an actual assertion of intent. It appears designed to remind you of why you fell in love with this superb, dorky, daft as hell present within the first place. Following some actual off-piste stuff in current weeks, maybe a number of the most leftfield Who has ever been, Rogue returns revival-era Physician Who to its most snug, default setup, reasonably just like the reset buttons that Russell is so keen on. A traditional historic with alien baddies, rammed to the brim with acquainted parts and callbacks to eras previous. And a tender blink-and-you’ll-miss-it revelation which may have keyboards clacking furiously over on Gallifrey Base for years to come back.
If this season’s mission parameters could possibly be distilled down to at least one common phrase, it might be “we’re so again”. With no additional development of this season’s huge arc, and with its throwaway villains who’re about as convincingly menacing as The Absorbaloff, some could also be tempted to name this unessential. But it surely’s a unprecedented showcase of the expertise exuding from either side of the digicam, and with hints of tales to come back far past this primary run for Fifteen, it stands confidently as a present that is aware of itself once more.