Doctor Who: Rogue Review - 7 Ups & 3 Downs
4. UP - Kate Herron and Briony Redman
Rogue is the first episode of Doctor Who not to be written, or co-written by an incumbent or past showrunner since The Haunting of Villa Diodati in 2020.
So it's very refreshing to have some new blood in Doctor Who after four years. Kate Herron brings some of that Loki season 1 energy to Rogue, particularly in the dynamic between the Doctor and the titular bounty hunter.
Meanwhile, Briony Redman's background in comedy is a boon for Russell T Davies' Doctor Who. RTD's approach to comedy can often be very on-the-nose, leading to actors clunkily signposting the joke.
Like Steven Moffat before her, Briony Redman understands how to deliver jokes in Doctor Who in more subtle ways that feel like genuine character beats.
Most refreshingly of all, Herron and Redman just get Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson as performers, and give them some excellent dialogue.
There's a zippiness to the Doctor and Ruby in Rogue, which may be due to their increasing chemistry over the weeks and months of shooting.
However, it's more likely that in the hands of younger writers, a younger Doctor and companion get dialogue that lets them fly.