Doctor Who’s latest episode takes us back into the Regency era and “Oh, my Bridgerton!” is it a fun romp in the past. Ruby and Fifteen head back to 1813 for a little fun at a ball. Things get rather spicy with some human scandals, the villainous Chuldur’s plans to take over bodies for evil cosplay fun, and the Doctor’s interactions with Rogue, played by guest star Jonathan Groff. Many fans were curious about Groff’s Doctor Who character and how he would play into this universe. And boy, does this episode shake the show up in a way we haven’t seen before.
The Doctor encounters Rogue, a space bounty hunter from the future who accosts him after a very funny meet-cute. Rogue believes the Doctor is a Chuldur, a shapeshifter that he’s been hired to find and chuck into some incinerator to a death sentence. Rogue brings the Doctor to his ship and the latter can’t help but act, well, like the Doctor. He’s making jokes about the inferior vessel (nothing is better than the TARDIS) and Rogue getting his name from Dungeons & Dragons.
The funniest part is when he pokes fun at Rogue by turning up his music. Guess what song is playing? Kylie Minogue’s “Can’t Get You Out of My Head.” (Fun fact: Kylie was in the 2007 Christmas special Doctor Who episode “Voyage of the Damned.”) Rogue is clearly annoyed by the Doctor and his little screwdriver at first but that soon fades away after a scan reveals that the Doctor is not Chuldur. The duo end up liking each other. And I mean liiikkiiinnnngggg each other, nearly kissing in the TARDIS before the ongoing mystery interrupts.
While Ruby is off being nosy and having a good time, Rogue essentially becomes The Doctor’s companion. They work together to devise a plan to send the Chuldur to a random barren dimension so they cannot kill everyone on Earth. They also cannot help but flirt throughout their plan to lure the Chuldur. This includes dancing “scandalously” in front of a crowd and (fake) arguing like a real couple.
Ruby ends up on the transporter after she has to pretend to be a Chuldur to stay alive. Rogue kisses the Doctor and takes Ruby’s place, instructing the Doctor to find him. The Doctor is obviously heartbroken but he quickly pushes his emotions aside and moves on with Ruby.
Give me Rogue and Fifteen fanfic please. We don’t know if we will ever see Rogue again. (Probably not.) But perhaps his barren dimension adventures will come to Big Finish one day. Until then, we can smile about the Doctor finding love with someone who feels like his equal, even if it is only for one night.