Doctor WhoJust Flipped Its Entire Script

Last dark ’s Doctor Whowas meant to be , like much of time of year 12 so far , a reminder of its more conversant self of the retiring few years in the Wake Island oflast season ’s sheer experimentswith the tone and scope of the show . Familiar alien stalk familiar Earth streets , a monster - pack romp just like the good old days . And then dead … it was n’t .

Do n’t get me wrong , “ Fugitive of the Judoon ” was definitely a throwback toDoctor Who ’s quondam days . There were intimate aliens — the titulary Judoon themselves , making their return for the first proper prison term since the rhino - space - cops appeared in time of year four ’s “ The Stolen Earth / Journey ’s close , ” itself a season on from their more real unveiling in “ Smith and Jones . ” Putting said Judoon on the streets of Gloucester , jubilantly hunting down a mysterious butt in contemporary England as they cataloged humans , felt rip right out of the very good of Russell T. Davies ’ “ aliens among us ” oeuvre . They even grimly put to death a few civilian after their mandatory “ here ’s a scene explain my life just so you feel a minuscule sad when I get mercilessly hit ” screentime !

And then John Barrowman depict up out of nowhere , and it really felt like an sequence of Davy ’ Who .

The Doctor and her friends have no idea what they’re about to get into.

The Doctor and her friends have no idea what they’re about to get into.Image: BBC

But even beyond that initial jolt — the return ofquasi - immortal demode - companionandoccasional spinoff vehicleCaptain Jack Harkness has been something both Barrowman and multiple showrunners of advanced Doctor Who haveattempted to teasefor some time—“Fugitive of the Judoon ” was not just a callback to those twenty-four hour period of yore ( as much as 15 years ago can be considered the day of yore , that is ) . In fact , it was only just getting start , as the episode very cursorily revealed that , really , it was n’t all that interested in the Judoon at all .

The mystery of their butt was n’t , as the instalment ’s first one-half leads you to think , a tightlipped husband named Lee ( Neil Stuke ) hiding a strange , alien trinket in his home from his befuddle wife Ruth ( Jo Martin ) . Abandoning all pretense by its halfway mark , the episode reveal itself not to be a recall to the sort of playfulness , romp - y broadside teras episode that defined the early twenty-four hour period of the Doctor Who relaunch in 2005 . If anything , the show hadjust done thatlast calendar week anyway , so it was likely for the best .

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Poor Marcia. First, nine months of knitting evaporated, and then she gets zapped by a containment field.Image: BBC

Instead , it was a callback to something older , and weirder , and in many ways far more exciting : the sort of uncivilised , fourth dimension - and - space - and - psyche - bring out navigations of Doctor Who ’s long and wrick history that defined the show ’s wild years , particularly the spinoff novel of the Virgin New Adventures series . Those novel primarily followed the continuing adventures of theSeventh Doctor and Ace , carrying on as if the show had never give-up the ghost off the air .

But the longer they continue , the bolder they let with the complimentary - sovereignty , budgetless imaginativeness books provided a show as fat as Doctor Who , and deeply settle down themselves in an esoteric serial arc , pep up by scrapped idea for the Hellenic era of the show , thatexplored darker pathsfor the Doctor , give Ace a harsher edge , and plunge late into blot out mysteries at the heart of Time Lord society . Sound familiar yet ?

That ’s even before we get to the fact that the Virgin New Adventures also gave us Paul Cornell ’s “ Human Nature”—a storey of the Seventh Doctor living on Earth biologically altered to be disguised as a human being with no recollection of his rightful nature , an thought eventually adapted in the 2007 season of the show with David Tennant ’s Doctor . It ’s a storey of huge import to “ Fugitive of the Judoon ” because the material target the exotic police force were seeking was n’t Ruth ’s shifty hubby , but Ruth herself . And Ruth harbor a Thornton Wilder secret than even she knew : She was the Doctor , altered by her Chameleon Arch into believe herself to be a human being , hiding off on Earth from a cabal of Time Lords hunt her down in the name of glorious Gallifrey .

Image: BBC

Poor Marcia. First, nine months of knitting evaporated, and then she gets zapped by a containment field.Image: BBC

This “ Ruth ” Doctor does n’t just provide us with a seemingly endless plethora of questions — we’ll get to that in a minute — but also a fascinating mirror to the current flight of our Doctor . Similar to our current Doctor in the wake of the Master ’s take , this new version is distant , ostensibly traveling alone and very eager for people not to be inside her TARDIS . She ’s grown harsh , whether to her own multitude or otherwise . She ’s willing to commit acts of shocking violence — even run around with a gun , and commit act of murder , while sneakily preserve her custody unclouded of the actual act . For all the mystery of just where in the Doctor ’s timeline this special Doctor is intend to lie in , she feels like a born evolution of the tempestuous way the Thirteenth Doctor is incite herself on — and would continue to have done so if not reminded that , unlike this other Doctor , she still has friend in the form of Ryan , Yaz , and Graham to support her through these dreary times .

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For now , those questions of character are left to linger in the face of a barnstorming mystery that is in adequate part heart - racing . Just when you mean the pulseless footstep of this installment could n’t hurl another crook at you , its flood tide build to its biggest braid of all : The occult guest the Judoon were acquiring Ruth Doctor for is working with a woman nominate Gat — and not just any woman , but another Time Lord , feverishly acting in the name of Gallifrey . A Gallifrey that , for both Gat and the Ruth Doctor , still be , and is n’t a burning ruin laid low by the Master .

Image: BBC

“Did ya miss me?”Image: BBC

Like the existence of the Ruth Doctor , this is a Book of Revelation that threatens to tear the Thirteenth Doctor ’s current flight aside . Aside from the obvious confusion that even she has no estimate when the two Doctors are actually from in terminus of her timeline , as the encounter between them and Gat recreate out aboard the Judoon ship , our Doctor face up a sea of emotion that peril to consume her . It ’s not just being confronted with a version of herself that could be a mark of thing to do that is so shocking for her , but the duple horror of being confronted with another come through Time Lord . One that does n’t just hate her , but adjudge her hatred of the Doctor in the name of the homeworld she recently determine burn mark .

It ’s a bit of massive crisis for the Doctor that is so draining — the fray , aimless way she wanders around Gloucester after being dropped off by her other self is utterly heartbreaking for a hero usually so defined by their gumption of purpose — that it takes Ryan , Graham , and Yaz reminding her that she ’s not at alone to snap her out of it all . It plays a digest part to the shock of these big mystical set ups and twisty reveals , but it ’s a vital part of these moment to play ; without them , and without Whittaker turning in a truly impressive carrying out , these import would feel like twists for the saki of twists . Exciting twists , sure , but what reach them matter is the clean-cut and visible encroachment they have had on our Doctor , rather than their seeming impact on Doctor Who’stwisty , turny , ever - malleablesense of canyon .

Speaking of those interrogation , though , decently now , it ’s genuinely toilsome to tell what Doctor Who is trying to do here . There is an audacity to this kind of storytelling that is implausibly admirable — this is perhaps the most thrillingly shocking the show has been in old age , pulling out three season - finish - tier twists before the season ’s even half over . And yet in a way , for all the challenging character opportunities it has laid out so far , there ’s something almost concerning , too — especially when counterpoint with the radically different musical note and approach Chris Chibnall ’s launching season as showrunner went in .

Photo: BBC

The Umbrella Academy’s Ritu Arya as Gat.Photo: BBC

How did we go so quick from a season that barely spoke of its past , to one that so profoundly enmeshed itself in the messily elated delights of that past ? How long can this sort of bluff energy be sustained before it feels like Doctor Who is flinging fanservice at the wall in an endeavour to see what joystick — or is leaning back way too hard into the season - controlling spark and internal umbilicus - stare enigma thatcame to defineSteven Moffat ’s version of the show , alternatively ?

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We ca n’t say yet . We ’re just five episodes into this season , and at this point , it ’s very unmortgaged there are a lot more mystery story leave to expose , on top of the peck we ’re already waitress to see if the show can stick the landing on . But one thing can be certain , in this ocean of Time Lords , quondam friend , and new mysteries : it ’s exciting as all heck to watch it blossom forth .

Image: BBC

Oh, just the Doctor and her new friend, the Doctor.Image: BBC

Assorted Musings

I ’m sorry , I cerebrate it needs to be restated : They bought back Captain Jack Harkness and it was n’t even the openhanded thing of this installment . That ’s still so wild to me , even a little wasteful . But if Doctor Who can yield to do so , does that have in mind we ’re in for even Billy Wilder moments before this time of year is done ?

Jack ’s mission in this episode also throws up a bunch of questions . It ’s clearly a edition of him that know of the Doctor , so it ’s not Time Agent Jack — who is the mysterious alignment he now works for ? Why ’s he being track from stolen ship to steal ship , and who are the aggressor ? Was the plus air to help fight the apparently last Cyberman in existence this obscure Doctor , or is her being on Earth and hunted by Gat just a mussy , unexpected coincidence ?

It ’s weird to feel distressing for blank space rhinoceros fuzz , but I do feel sad for the Judoon give the limelight taken away from them . Maybe in another few year ’s time they ’ll get the chance to have their own episode and not be upstaged by the overwhelming gammon - superpower of John Barrowman and some Time Lord twistiness .

Image: BBC

Maybe next time we can get a platoon of Judoon near a lagoon. Perhaps looking for something to festoon. Maybe a teaspoon? In exchange for some doubloons? While on a honeymoon! I’d swoon.Image: BBC

Shout out to Jo Martin ’s outfit post - Chameleon Arch though . Brobdingnagian “ If someone asked you what Doctor Who was meant to look like , this is it ” energy . That shirt . Those cuffs . Delightful .

speak of mode in time and quad : Gat ’s headstall - thing was also gorgeous . If she ’s from some faction of Time Lords , I hope that ’s almost a replacement for the old - shoal extravagant cowl and berm pads that defined Classic Who Time Lord esthetics . nerveless blank space fashion for everyone !

Another play affair from old - school Who borrow here : barrelling flat into the events of the next episode properly at the terminal ! It was a fun , fugitive beguilement from the revelation of this episode , but a need one , even if it make everything on Doctor Who palpate like it ’s hunt down a zillion miles a minute decent now .

Argentina’s President Javier Milei (left) and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., holding a chainsaw in a photo posted to Kennedy’s X account on May 27. 2025.