TV Review – ‘Fugitive of the Judoon’ (Doctor Who)

SPOILERS ALERT!!!

Hello everyone! 🙂

Welcome to ‘Bradley’s Basement’ blog and WHAT THE HECK’S GOING ON?!!!

Okay, okay, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be jumping ahead of myself here, but I’ve seen the most insane ‘Doctor Who’ episode ever on TV! There were twists, turns and surprises in every corner of this episode. I expected this to be a mundane Judoon TV episode with the Thirteenth Doctor and her team.

Clearly it was something else entirely! I’m not sure what to make of it. I’ve heard positive things said about it and whilst I’m excited from seeing the episode, I’m also nervous too. The episode leaves you wanting to know more about what’s going to happen next, yet you have to wait until the season finale!

‘Fugitive of the Judoon’ is an episode by Vinay Patel and Chris Chibnall. Vinay Patel wrote for ‘Doctor Who’ before in the Series 11 episode ‘Demons of the Punjab’ and he has written a story for ‘The Target Storybook’ called ‘Letters from the Front’. This episode would have been mundane just by Vinay Patel.

But with Chris Chibnall co-writing the episode, a lot of mind-boggling and challenging revelations take place especially following some surprise revelations in ‘Spyfall’. It seems to be the tone of what’s going to happen in the rest of the season and it could all connect to the mysterious Timeless Child going on.

Anyway, let’s talk about the episode. It takes place in Gloucester and focuses on the characters of married couple Jo Martin as Ruth Clayton and Neil Stuke as Lee. Neil Stuke has done a ‘Doctor Who’ Big Finish audio before this. In that, he played ‘The Crooked Man’ with Tom Baker and Louise Jameson.

Ruth happens to be a tour guide in Gloucester and it also happens to be her birthday on this particular day the episode takes place. Very soon, the rhino-like Judoon descend upon Gloucester as they put the city in lockdown with a forcefield around it. The Judoon start hunting for a fugitive within the area.

I was excited about the Judoon coming back to ‘Doctor Who’. I enjoyed them in the TV series and lately in the Big Finish audios. Chris Chibnall clearly liked them from the Russell T. Davies era. It was great to have them voiced by Nick Briggs again. I believe the Judoon leader is a female this time round.

Whilst the Judoon are invading Gloucester, the Doctor is in her TARDIS with Graham, Ryan and Yaz. The Doctor is in one of her moods again as she’s on the hunt for the Master since the last time in ‘Spyfall’. She believes that he may have escaped from that Kasaavin realm. This is most likely, I believe.

I liked it when Graham, Ryan and Yaz notice the Doctor’s moodiness and they raise their concerns to her. The Doctor is reluctant to give away too many answers, especially concerning what she saw with Gallifrey now seemingly destroyed. But the Doctor’s three friends will have to wait their answers later.

The TARDIS stumbles upon a Judoon transmission and the Doctor sets the ship on its way to Gloucester. They arrive there where the Judoon are searching for their fugitive and are gunning down any people who may resist them. Even an old lady and a cafe owner get killed in the process! WHOA!!!

I know the Judoon are trigger-happy, but even I was shocked by their reactions to people being afraid of them and lashing out on them. I liked it when the Doctor intervened and confronted the Judoon regarding their tactics in this matter. She passes herself off as an ‘mediator’ when she meets the rhinos.

I love Jodie’s performance as the Doctor in this episode. She stands out extremely well, balancing both the seriousness and wittiness of her character, confronting Judoon and such. Jodie gets to portray some darker aspects of her character, especially as she discovers a disturbing truth regards something.

The Doctor sees the Judoon are about to attack Lee and Ruth Clayton at their apartment whilst she and her friends Ryan and Yaz try to stop them. Where’s Graham though? I’ll get back to him in a bit. I did like it once the Doctor used her psychic paper to stall the Judoon and Ryan and Yaz supported her.

Once stalling the Judoon, the Doctor, Ryan and Yaz question Lee and Ruth. For a while, it did seem like Lee was the fugitive on the run. But as the episode progresses, it turns out to be more than that. Lee was actually Ruth’s protector as she was on the run from the Judoon. But who is she? More on this later.

Anyway, back to Bradley Walsh as Graham. Unbeknown to his friends, he was teleported to a stolen spaceship. Piloted by whom you may ask? I was not expecting him to appear in this episode! I really wasn’t! Okay, maybe I did. Anyway, the pilot happens to be…John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness!

WOW!!! Captain Jack’s back! I haven’t seen him for a long while. He hasn’t been in ‘Doctor Who’ for some time! What’s he doing in this episode? And how come he’s piloting a stolen spaceship! He hasn’t changed a bit! Okay, maybe a little. But still, it was amazing to see Captain Jack back in ‘Doctor Who’!!!

Captain Jack mistakes Graham for being the Doctor as he kisses him. Oh dear! Graham’s re-living ‘The Good Doctor’ all over again! 😀 It was funny to how Graham reacted to meeting Captain Jack and learning how he knows the Doctor. I’m so curious who’s attacking Captain Jack in his stolen spaceship.

It can’t be the Judoon. It must be somebody else. Tosin Cole as Ryan and Mandip Gill as Yaz also get teleported to Captain Jack’s spaceship and meet him along with Graham. I’m not sure why Captain Jack teleported Graham, Ryan and Yaz to his ship. He gives them a message before sending them back.

The message is to ‘beware’ of the ‘lone Cyberman’ and not to give it what it wants. I’ve no idea what that means but it’s foreshadowing something that’s happening in the season finale. At least we know the Cybermen are coming back already in the series. The Judoon weren’t teased before revealed here.

I was disappointed Jodie’s Doctor never got to meet Captain Jack in the episode, due to the stolen spaceship not being able to teleport her due to the Judoon’s shields in Gloucester. Jack’s ship also has an anti-theft system put in place. But it seems Captain Jack will return to meet the Doctor again. Great!

Anyway, whilst Graham, Ryan and Yaz have been meeting Captain Jack, the Doctor has been escorting Ruth Clayton to safety. Lee got killed by the Judoon’s employer, Rita Arya as Gat, when he surrendered himself to them. I did wonder what Gat’s angle was watching the episode. I was shocked by the reveal.

Escaping into a nearby church, the Doctor and Ruth are soon surrounded by Judoon. Ruth then suddenly tackles the Judoon, including breaking off the horn from its leader. The Doctor is shocked by how Ruth can do that. Ruth also receives a text message from Lee on her phone and it triggers a memory.

The Doctor with Ruth in her car soon ends up at a lighthouse where Ruth used to grow up. As the Doctor investigates what’s going on in the area, Ruth finds an alarm box and breaks the glass. Ruth gets engulfed in energy and…let’s be honest…it leads to the most insane; most shocking of revelations.

(deep breath) Here we go! The Doctor discovers the TARDIS buried outside…and I mean her actual blue police box TARDIS…and it gets revealed Ruth is revealed to be…the Doctor! I’m not kidding here! Ruth introduces herself as an unknown incarnation of the Doctor! WOW!!! I did not see that coming!!!

I was perplexed and surprised by what was going on from hereon. The Ruth Doctor teleports herself and the Thirteenth Doctor into her own TARDIS, which looks very different to the Doctor’s we know and love. The Ruth Doctor doesn’t seem to be a future incarnation of the Doctor. She is a past Doctor!!!

But Jodie’s Doctor doesn’t recall being the Ruth Doctor. So…what does that mean? Does that mean Ruth’s Doctor was an incarnation before William Hartnell? Is she an Doctor from a parallel universe? Is she a spawn from the Doctor’s timeline? Like a clone or something? Is she the Timeless Child here?!!!

Perhaps Ruth’s Doctor is the Timeless Doctor or something! Maybe Ruth isn’t the Doctor at all! Maybe she’s the Rani disguised as the Doctor or something? Maybe she’s the Lone Cyberman! I’ve no idea what’s going on!!! This completely challenges my perception regards how I’ve been watching the series.

Where was I? Oh yes! The Ruth Doctor and Jodie’s Doctor are taken aboard the Judoon ship where Gat is waiting for them. Gat confronts the Ruth Doctor but Jodie’s Doctor, against the Ruth Doctor’s demands, reveals her identity to Gat. It turns out that Gat is a Gallifreyan herself. Really mind-boggling!

According to Gat, Gallifrey still stands. But the Doctor tells Gat and shows her a vision that Gallifrey was destroyed twice over, both by the Time War and by the Master himself. Gat is shocked by this and she is about to shoot Ruth whom she was ordered to bring back to Gallifrey. But the gun backfires!

That the Ruth Doctor’s doing. She brought the gun with her from her TARDIS and gave it to Gat, warning her not to shoot with it before she soon did and gets killed. Yeah, the Ruth Doctor has guns! I was shocked by this! The Doctor would never use guns! I did wonder if the Ruth Doctor was really the Doctor.

The Ruth Doctor and Jodie’s Doctor leave the Judoon’s spaceship, angering the Judoon since they were contracted to kill the fugitive which happened to be the Ruth Doctor all along. The Ruth Doctor returns Jodie’s Doctor back to Gloucester as they part ways. There’s clearly tension between these two Doctors.

Jodie’s Doctor, distracted and disturbed by what she’s been through, soon reunites with her companions Graham, Ryan and Yaz. They tell her they met Captain Jack and give their message from him to her. Jodie’s Doctor is stunned that they met Captain Jack and is confused by what is happening.

Jodie’s Doctor shares to her friends who Captain Jack is and how she knows him as well as pondering what’s going on regarding the Master, Captain Jack, the Ruth Doctor and such. Jodie’s Doctor senses something’s coming for her and Graham, Ryan and Yaz support her as they stand by her in this.

This episode has been insane to watch. I’ve no idea what’s going on and what will happen in the rest of the series. It’s geared me up to watch more in the rest of Series 12. I hope we’ll get some satisfactory answers to some disturbing questions that concern the Doctor’s past and who this Lone Cyberman is.

Next week’s episode is called ‘Praxeus’ by Pete McTighe and Chris Chibnall.

Thanks for reading!

Bye for now!

Tim. 🙂