‘Doctor Who’ Recap: ‘Rogue’

6/8/2024

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Ncuti Gatwa and Jonathan Groff as The Doctor and Rogue in Episode 1406 of ‘Doctor Who’ – ‘Rogue’. (Photo Courtesy of Disney/BBC/Bad Wolf.)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 1406 of ‘Doctor Who’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.

One particular danger that has been explored often in the world of storytelling, is the danger of losing oneself within fantasy realms, such as stories. For there are some real psychological dangers that accompany just immersing oneself in a tale that someone else created. For we begin to struggle with what is real and what is not in the world. But above all, we lose our grip on what matters most… the real world. Where there are people that love us, where we can do good and where we have responsibilities and those stories truly do hammer home the importance of finding balance in enjoying the stories that give us joy and living a life that is fulfilling and wholesome.

If anything, getting lost in the story really is the darkest danger of all when it comes to this problem, and while it does indeed create some serious strife and some financial burdens potentially, thankfully no one is every really at risk for physical harm or worse. But in that moment, those trying to help that confused soul worry and ponder upon worst case scenarios that never come to light and are oft forgotten. Such as… what would happen if their obsession with a story became dangerous in nature? Because then we would deal with some scary scenarios and a fight to pull someone back from a strange brink and ironically… stories are where we find answers to those questions. Courtesy of shows like Doctor Who on Disney+, who dove right into this concept in ‘Rogue’.

A feat that it accomplished by having the Doctor and Ruby arrive in the 1800s, to get their own version of Bridgerton on and well, they were having a fabulous time, until… something odd caught the Doctor’s attention. In that, there was another alien present in this moment and a short while later, the Doctor came to learn that everyone was in grave danger in this out of the way mansion. For the alien that the Doctor met, was nothing more than a handsome bounty hunter, named Rogue, that had arrived here to bring down a mean and nasty shapeshifter that consumed the people it wanted to resemble. And after mistaking the Doctor for that very monster, they were able to team up and come to learn… that it was more than one shapeshifter, and they were… obsessed in an unhealthy manner.

Millie Gibson as Ruby Sunday in Episode 1406 of ‘Doctor Who’ – ‘Rogue’. (Photo Courtesy of Disney/BBC/Bad Wolf.)

For somehow, they had discovered our entertainment and found our world fascinating and wanted to straight up cosplay humanity and just enjoy the experience of being us. Which prompted them to jump into the lives of so many and once they were done here… they had machinations on cosplaying more powerful beings and just writing their script for the future of humanity. Which of course, brought about an epic fight to stop these monsters, and they were defeated… at the cost of Rogue’s future. All of which, took this exploration of obsession to a whole new level, where we came to learn that if one had the right resources and the wrong temperament with a story… they could do a lot of damage and harm a lot of people, and that served as a fine ‘what if?’ lesson, one that also offered up concern regarding at the modern cosplay community as well.

Since that has been quite toxic as of late, and perhaps is in its own realm of fantasy that needs grounding. But while those made for some fascinating lessons… and one entertaining tale, there was more wonder to be found in this story. After all, it was also a love story at its core. Because the Doctor and Rogue had that electric chemistry and fell in love before our eyes. Which made Rogue’s sacrifice for love, all the more powerful and moving, and it gives the Doctor something to work toward now in addition to his time with Ruby. Because that connection those two shared was deep, and undeniable and something the Doctor clearly wants more of, and it was just amazing to see the Doctor fall in love here. Since it’s something we haven’t seen for some time now.

In the end however, this was just… a delightful episode through and through. One that offered up one incredible adventure for Team TARDIS. Wherein, Ruby also got to shine since she was able to handle her own for the most part in this tale. But that aside, this one also deeply immersed itself in the spirit of fun that this show is grounded in, and the plot was indeed quite engaging and filled with the right mix of tension and laughter and well, now that this particular adventure has come to an end, it’s onto the next one. Which according to the preview… may finally answer the question as to who exactly Ruby’s mysterious neighbor is. The one that knows the TARDIS and has been appearing often in their adventures. Until next time.

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