#I don't think any of this season has bumped off Church on Ruby Road as my favourite Fifteen episode yet

[being-of-rain]

I really enjoyed Rogue, and it's been great to see so many people love it too! Time to write down my reactions.

I'll start with the negativite thoughts. This may be an unpopular opinion (though I know I'm not the only one to have it) but the Doctor and Rogue's romance could've been done a lot better. It felt like Gatwa was doing a lot of the heavy lifting chemistry and charisma-wise, and I was really confused by the Doctor winning Rogue's trust by simply doing an 'I am the Doctor' speech and showing a bunch of his other faces to a guy who already thought he was a shape-shifter. I really enjoyed the romance plot, it was really fun, but its premise and novelty were probably just as big a part of that enjoyment as anything on-screen.

Also, I continue to be a bit baffled about 'I have no one' being probably Fifteen's most common emotional beat after his introduction. Like, I'm glad we get to see him be more emotionally expressive (I like how much he's been crying, it makes a nice change to 20 years of the Doctor stoically looking into the middle distance while they repress everything). And I know that you have to work continuously on your mental health, there's not just a one-and-done fix (although I don't think that message is what the TV show has been going for). But it felt like 'I lost everyone' is specifically the attitude that got addressed in The Giggle. What was the point of giving Fourteen his contrived ending if it didn't even have the effect on the show that it explicitly said it was going to have ("I'm fine because you fixed yourself"), and the Doctor immediately went back to talking like it's 2008?

Anyway. Positives: Rogue was such a fun episode. Lots of fun banter (even if Bridgerton was namedropped perhaps once too many times). The last 15 minutes of the episode felt like it was really taking advantage of being right before the finale by making me worry about what was going to happen to Ruby. The reveal that she'd activated battle mode was very entertaining to me. And the ending was a little contrived (the molecular bond lets you exchange people?) but a friend of mine said that since it's a regency romance, "the plot doesn't need to be strong, just dramatic" and I think she's right. Oh and I loved how the Chuldur looked. Owls in regency costumes isn't something I knew I needed.

The decision to put Richard E Grant in the lineup of Doctors was bonkers, and I love it. I don't think there was much thought put into the decision beyond 'this will entertain the longtime fans,' but I guess you can now just handwave a lot of stuff with the timeless child theory (even though I think the Shalka Doctor makes as much sense being pre-Hartnell as the Fugitive Doctor does. They didn't have the phone box or the compassion yet, and I'll die on that hill.)

The next episode is the start of the series finale! And it might be the episodes of the season I'm looking forward to the least 😂 I've said it before and I'll probably be annoying and say it again, but I don't think RTD is very good at endings. His finales aren't all bad, but I'm skeptical and The Giggle sure lowered my standards even more. I also wonder if there's going to be much point in Mel being there this time. Despite all that, I'll be curious to see how the many arcs resolve/develop.