Doctor Who meets Bridgerton in this week's enchanting episode, "Rogue"

Dear gentlest reader, this week we are coming to you with a charming episode of Doctor Who sprinkled with the extravagance of Bridgerton. This week's episode, "Rogue," features a guest star appearance from Jonathan Groff. It is a fun, light-hearted, ridiculously zany story with a queer love romance that we are so here for.

"Rogue" puts you on the edge of your seat with all its hilarity and ridiculousness, but still delivers emotional gut punches. This may be a new era of Doctor Who, but boy does it feel like we're taken it back to the good 'ol days.

We have a lot of things to cover about "Rogue," so without further ado, let's get right to it!

A trip to the Regency era

The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) find themselves in the middle of a Bridgerton episode as they travel back to 1813 in Bath, England. A ball is taking place and everything feels more or less normal.

That is, of course, until we see two men arguing with one another. It is a fight reminiscent of the one that took place between Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) and the Duke of Hastings (Rege Jean Page) in Bridgerton season 1. Things take a Doctor Who turn when one of them turns out to be an alien shapeshifter that decides he wants to take on the persona of a confident 'rake', aka a scoundrel.

Everyone inside is enjoying the ball, including the Doctor and Ruby, who are wearing jewelry that gives them the ability to know all the ballroom dances. Um, where can we purchase this device? I would love one.

The Doctor and Ruby are enjoying themselves while the Duchess (Indira Varma) descends upon them to chat. They are after all new faces. Ruby is immediately taken away by the Duchess because she is a single lady at the ball, and there are a lot of prospects. For the Doctor, however, his eye is caught by a mysterious man standing in the balcony...

A love story gone wrong

While Ruby tries to shake off the intolerable rake, who unbeknownst to her is actually the alien, the Doctor gravitates towards a man that calls himself 'Rogue.' Apparently, he is a bounty hunter looking for the shapeshifting aliens (known as the Chuldur), and mistakes the Doctor for one.

As he whisks the Doctor away to his ship, we learn that the Duchess is also killed by the aliens who want to take over her form. These guys are trying to cosplay as the people they encounter.

On their way to the ship, the Doctor and Rogue find the Duchess' body and quickly assume that the other is the villain they have been looking for. Their interplay is cute, but they also have jobs to do.

While Ruby is still living her best Bridgerton life inside the ball, the Doctor finds himself trapped inside of a trifofrm transporter. Once it is charged, he will be sent to the incinerator at the push of a button. The Doctor does his best to convince Rogue he is not a shapeshifter, even though the Rogue's system is telling him otherwise. In a very cool moment, the Doctor reveals that he's not that kind of shapeshifter, but has been many other versions of himself before. We see a holographic reel with all the Doctor's past faces, which gave me goosebumps.

After Rogue is convinced that the Doctor is not a Chuldur, they head to the TARDIS and have a *moment* that is cut too short. You see, they need to trap the Chuldurs in the triform transporter, and just as they're about to kiss, the transporter beeps that it's ready to go.

Their love story has to take a back seat, because they need to fill Ruby in on the plan. But they soon learn the Chuldur may have gotten to her already...

Ending of Doctor Who Season 1, Episode 6 explained

In an effort to get the attention of the guests, the Doctor proposes that he and Rogue partake in a dance. It is oh so *scandalous,* but it works. A queer romance in this era, especially one this public, is not anyone's cup of tea, but it accomplishes what the Doctor was hoping for: it creates a scene.

Unlike the Doctor, Rogue isn't well-versed in how to be dramatic, so he eventually gets down on one knee, unsure what else he was supposed to do. The Doctor runs out of the ballroom as all the Chuldurs follow right behind. Of course they want to cosplay as these two, right? I mean, who wouldn't?

It becomes clear very quickly that there aren't just one or two Chuldurs roaming around the ball, but many. This becomes a problem because the transporter can only carry so many. What's worse, it appears that Ruby's body has been snatched by a Chuldur impersonating the lady she'd been hanging out with all evening.

This is an absolutely devastating moment for the Doctor, who realizes he has lost his best friend, the one he promised he would always take care of. Gatwa's acting in this moment is so visceral and palpable. But the Doctor must set those emotions aside because he needs to trap the Chuldurs in the transporter. He does so successfully, and gets a surprise: Ruby wasn't actually dead, she was pretending to be a Chuldur.

If all of this wasn't dramatic enough, we get one final Bridgerton-esque moment between the Doctor and Rogue as Rogue sacrifices himself and replaces Ruby. He knows the Doctor won't push the button for the transporter because Ruby is there and killing her is the last thing the Doctor wants.

It's quite a beautiful, grand gesture, and it warms your heart while simultaneously breaking it because Rogue is gone. I mean, how romantic was that kiss between them as Rogue grabs the remote and pushes himself in place of Ruby? Ugh, my heart.

The kiss shared between Rogue and the Doctor is absolutely amazing for this series. It's such a refreshing aspect of this season of Doctor Who, and I truly appreciate the way this series has progressed so far.

The episode comes to a close with Rogue gone, and the Doctor and Ruby heading off into their next adventure. There is a semblance of hope in the Doctor's eyes as he clutches onto Rogue's ring that he left behind. Maybe, just maybe, one day their paths will cross again.

Doctor Who reviews

• Episode 1, "Space Babies"
• Episode 2, "The Devil's Chord"
• Episode 3, "Boom"
• Episode 4, "73 Yards"
• Episode 5, "Dot and Bubble"
• Episode 6, "Rogue"
• Episode 7, "The Legend of Ruby Sunday"
• Episode 8, "Empire of Death"

To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and Twitter account, sign up for our exclusive newsletterand check out our YouTube channel.