We’re almost at the end of Season 14, and it has been a phenomenal first run for Ncuti Gatwa‘s Fifteen. Now, with Doctor Who 14×06 “Rogue,” we have a solid contender for the best episode of the season. In fact, the bittersweet Bridgerton-riffing adventure might be the best Who episode in years.
Welcome to Bridgerton… Sort Of
Doctor Who 14×06 brings us to 1813 England, where two men are arguing over the honor of one’s sister. It’s all very Bridgerton… until one murders the other and morphs into him. This is our introduction to the Chuldur, the invasive shapeshifters who will be our monsters of the week.
Back inside the ballroom, Ruby and the Doctor (in full period garb) are having a blast on the dance floor. Ruby marvels at how her psychic earrings are letting her perform dances she doesn’t know. Those same earrings alert the Doctor to sonic interference, and while Ruby is whisked off to meet suitors by our hostess, the Duchess (Torchwood and Game of Thrones vet Indira Varma), the Doctor traces the interference to a man (Jonathan Groff) observing the ball from a balcony.
The mystery guest tells the Doctor his name is Rogue, and there’s instant chemistry in their banter: Rogue, trying to remain stern and irritated; the Doctor, playfully flirtatious. Both men clock each other as being out of place (and time).
Meanwhile, Ruby stumbles across an apparent illicit encounter between two lovers. The woman, Emily (Camilla Aiko), rattles off some stilted exposition as to how the situation is ruinous for her. Ruby reassures Emily that her secret is safe, and promptly teaches her some modern ideas and slang. We’ll come back to this…
Doctor Who 14×06 Introduces a Season’s-Best Guest
Like some of the best Who episodes, Doctor Who 14×06 hinges on a connection between the Doctor and a guest star. Gatwa and Groff’s chemistry is off the charts. The Doctor and Rogue’s outdoor conversation is interrupted by their discovery of a dead body. They immediately accuse the other, but Rogue gets the upper hand and forces the Doctor back to his ship.
There, he reveals a little more about himself. He’s a bounty hunter, on a mission to find and kill the Chuldur — and he thinks the Doctor is his target. Trapped by Rogue’s tech, the Doctor tries to convince Rogue that he’s got the wrong man. Although he can’t free himself, the Doctor uses his sonic screwdriver to learn more about Rogue. Spotting some multi-sided dice, he figures out that Rogue took his pseudonym from Dungeons and Dragons. He nudges Rogue into conversation, where they briefly bond over losing their past “companions.” He then overrides the ship’s sound system to play Rogue’s music, which turns out to be Kylie Minogue. It’s hilarious to watch Gatwa gleefully lip-sync and wink while Groff’s Rogue tries in vain to gain the upper hand.
It’s still not enough, and the Doctor is seconds away from being sent to his death. In a last-ditch effort, he tosses his psychic paper to the scanner, which reveals all his previous faces. (It also previously showed the Doctor’s thoughts to Rogue: “You’re hot”). Rogue finally believes him, and now they’re allies.
A Plot Twist or Two
Upon entering the TARDIS, Rogue marvels, “I’m in love… with this machine.” Just kiss already! Actually, they almost do, but the reconfiguring of Rogue’s tri-form trap interrupts them. They plan to use the device to trap the Chuldur and send it to a barren, far-flung, random dimension (rather than Rogue’s plan to just kill it). In the dreamiest line of the episode, the Doctor proposes that he and Rogue “argue across the stars” once this is all over. And oh, every Who viewer just got a sinking feeling along with the romantic butterflies.
Of course, we know something they don’t: there are multiple Chuldur. Another Chuldur has since killed the Duchess and stolen her appearance, and her next target is Ruby.
It turns out that the Chuldurs’ motivation is, essentially, violent and grand-scale cosplay. They murder and replace the humans who are the “characters” they want to “play.” The Bridgerton references weren’t just playful — the Chuldurs literally want to re-enact the show’s romance and scandal. Metaphor for overzealous fan culture? Possibly! This season hasn’t been shy about its allusions, and Doctor Who 14×06 is no exception.
To draw out the Chuldur, the Doctor and Rogue start a scandal. They dance together, then fake a lovers’ quarrel in full view. The Doctor does the shouting, but he’s floored when Rogue escalates by kneeling down and offering a ring. As expected, the Chuldur follow them, but they soon realize there are four Chuldur. Hand-in-hand, they flee through the gardens. Meanwhile, Ruby discovers that Emily is a Chuldur, and it appears Emily kills Ruby and steals her body. No wonder Emily’s dialogue was so expository earlier — she’s been playing a part!
A Doomed Romance
The Doctor and Rogue interrupt the “wedding” staged by the Chuldur, trapping them all in the triform device. They only get one shot at it, since there are so many Chuldur to transport. That’s when “Ruby” reveals herself to be the real Ruby — she used her psychic earrings to fight off Emily. Now, the Doctor is stuck: he can’t free Ruby without freeing the Chuldur, who plan to “cosplay” Earth to death.
Rogue throws Emily into the trap, then tries to convince the Doctor to go through with the plan. He reminds the Doctor that, if the Chuldur go free, Ruby will die anyway. “Can you lose your friend to save the world?” he gently asks. The Doctor can’t, and he cries as he tries to find a solution. Rogue brushes away his tears and kisses him — a sweeping, romantic, well-earned kiss. When he pulls away, he’s taken the trigger. He pushes Ruby out, takes her place, and just before pressing the trigger, tells the Doctor, “Find me.”
In the aftermath, the Doctor tells Ruby that he’s sent Rogue’s ship into orbit to “wait” for his return. Unfortunately, they can’t go find Rogue — there are an infinite number of possible dimensions, and they don’t even know Rogue’s real name. The Doctor tries to brush it off and be “fine,” but Ruby is having none of it. She wraps him in a comforting hug. In the last moments of Doctor Who 14×06, the Doctor reveals he still has the ring Rogue offered him. He slides it on his pinky finger and smiles sadly up at the sky.
Throwbacks Galore
The tragic romance of Doctor Who 14×06 draws connections with some of the best moments of the Whoniverse so far. The setup of two men dancing romantically in a past era evokes the penultimate episode of Season 1 of Torchwood. In that episode, our Captain Jack meets the 1940s officer he stole his name from, and they share a tender dance (and an epic kiss) despite being doomed.
I also noticed some parallels with the Season 3 Doctor Who “Human Nature”/”Family of Blood” arc. At the end, the Doctor punished the villains by trapping them eternally, knowing that would be a worse punishment than death. Here, after believing Ruby dead, the Doctor asks Rogue how long Chuldur lives are. When Rogue replies that they live for 600 years, the Doctor chillingly replies, “Good. That’s a long time to suffer.” It’s a great reminder that the Doctor is kind, but also fearsome — something that’s been easy to forget in this breezier incarnation.
Most of all, though, Doctor Who 14×06 “Rogue” evokes the iconic “Silence in the Library” episodes. In that arc, the Tenth Doctor met River Song, with a budding and mysterious romantic connection ending in tragedy — yet without her actually dying. That heartbreak, plus the symbolism of Fifteen putting on Rogue’s ring, will definitely feel familiar by the end of “Rogue.” It’s a showcase for both Gatwa and Groff, and a stellar episode that touches the heart, not just the head.
TARDIS Log
- Doctor Who 14×06 went to great lengths to mimic Bridgerton‘s vibe. My personal favorite? Using Bridgerton‘s signature style of orchestral covers of pop songs. Billie Eilish’s “Bad Guy” provides a red-herring underscore to the Doctor and Rogue’s first meeting, and, in a truly bonkers and fabulous choice, Ruby’s one-on-one fight with the Chuldur is set to Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face.”
- In a lovely touch, the psychic paper shows more than just the “main” Doctors who have been the show’s protagonists. The faces of Jo Martin’s Fugitive Doctor and Richard E. Grant’s alt-universe Doctor(s) from canon-adjacent content are also included.
- Susan Twist doesn’t show up in person this week, but she’s seen as a painting. The preview for next week suggests we’ll finally learn who she really is!
- Who, exactly, is the “new boss” Rogue mentioned? We know by now that no line is truly a throwaway. Could it be related to the “boss” the Meep mentioned in the holiday specials?
- Rogue loves listening to Kylie Minogue music. Minogue guest-starred in the Tenth Doctor adventure “Voyage of the Damned.” Coincidence? Reference? Paradox? Discuss!
