REACTION DOCTOR WHO 12x5 Gallifrey Gals Get Wibbly Wobbly S12Ep5, FUGITIVE OF THE JUDOON

Look at you.. A platoon of Judoon near... that... lagoon. That's right! The Judoon are back and... So is another familiar face? Who could that be?
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PAULA DEMING (She/Her)
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KATRINA ALYSHA (They/She)
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[@EForrest88]

Chibnall has a tendency for good ideas, launched well and landed clumsily. Fugitive launches this arc excellently, but where and how it landed was very divisive.

[@LabradorIndependent]

To this day I'm not sure it actually landed at all

[@chanceneck8072]

I hate it. I hate everything about the Chibnall era.

[@kateorgera5907]

As you pointed out, there are a lot of Tennant era parallels, particularly to Season 3: The Judoon show up, the Master returns, Jack returns, and the Doctor uses the Chameleon Arch XD. But it's also sort of inverted - last time, the Doctor using the Chameleon Arch foreshadowed the Master's return, but this time it was the opposite! And the Judoon, who everyone knew were coming back, beautifully obfuscated Jack's return, which in turn beautifully obfuscated Ruth's reveal. Ugh, this is such a great ep to rewatch for all the hints, and I love seeing people to react to it for the first time.

[@daloki349]

You're right, all the little hints and clues are great fun. I have to admit, I didn't pick up on most of them on first viewing but enjoyed them on the rewatch. Paula nailed the 'faithful companion' clue straight away - which was impressive.

[@Alexandrashepiro]

"The Ressurection of River song" sounds like a BF Audio story!

[@andrewpragasam]

So glad y'all are enjoying this wild twist-turny season as much as I did.

[@farview13]

It's always amazing how people can have such different feelings about what they like or don't like. For instance, I loved all of the Clara episodes and you had a definite distaste for those. In Chibnall's reign, I think I liked maybe 3 episodes and the rest left me feeling blah. I've rewatched them all hoping they would grow on me but they have not, so far. But that's okay, we are all different people and have different opinions. Glad you like the Chibnall run. This episode is actually one that I do like, so there's that.

[@NicoleM_radiantbaby]

THIS. I could've definitely written this comment, myself. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE all of the Clara stories, but am very meh about the Chibnall era ones. Definitely a flip side of the Gals. I was even hoping their squee would change my mind on rewatch...but it's actually gone in the opposite direction, I'm afraid: I actually like many of the episodes EVEN LESS (maybe because the first time around I had hopes I'd like things more later on, but now I have the fore-knowledge that I won't, so it takes that more positive anticipation away for me on rewatch). But yeah, as you said: different strokes for different folks. We're all going to like and dislike different things, as we all come from different perspectives -- it's what can make this fandom interesting (at least in more positive moments -- having went through all the vitriol against the Moffat era for many years when I was in love with it was a personal challenge, for example).

[@booradley8895]

Didn't like Clara, didn't like Capaldi. I don't rewatch his era and have maybe watched a couple of reactions from the girls or anyone else for that matter. I've enjoyed this era, and no I would not say it was the best but it's far from the worst. At the end of the day I will like what I like and that's the case for anyone. What I have not done unlike a lot of people is shit on any particular era. Have nothing nice to say then don't say anything at all.

[@whobp8]

In the Classic series the Doctor always seemed totally non-sexual. In the McGann movie and the modern series the Doctor is revealed to have a sexual side. And now it turns out that she's actually Dr Ruth! I don't believe that it's actually possible to ruin Doctor Who. You may dislike stories or eras or characters, but the show is so malleable and ever evolving that it kind of survives everything in the long run. It's been a black and white half hour serial with an educational focus, it's abandoned it's core concept of space/time travel to have the Doctor exiled to Earth for multiple seasons. In the era where Graham Williams was producer it devolved into outright camp. But it endures, like a shark, constantly swimming forward.

[@ComedicRick]

Fugitive is one of the best episodes of Chibnalls era. The twist is great, the music is on point. The only unfortunate thing was the return of Jack at the time was such a cool surprise and him not interacting with the actual plot at all was a bit of a letdown.

[@NicoleM_radiantbaby]

Yeah, Jack felt a bit like 'stunt casting' to me, unfortunately. You could easily take him out of the plot and the story would barely change. 🙁

[@ABrecher]

Also to keep the companions busy while the Doctor and Ruth were together on their own.

[@ftumschk]

​@@NicoleM_radiantbaby Indeed. Jack was basically only there to warn about the Lone Cyberman, and all Ryan, Yaz and Graham really did was convey that warning to the Doctor. All a bit pointless, really.

[@johna5635]

Does the ability to predict several lines before they are spoken make the reactor clever... or the script-writer dumb?!?

[@DotDotDott]

If the video essay talking about this era that you keep seeing is the Jay Exci video I'd love to hear the reaction to that video from someone that likes the era.

[@TheLibrarianOG1]

One of my absolute favorites from this era. The episode that changed the entire show and fulfilled some dreams, for some people and destroyed them, for others. I don't care, either way, I loved this entire arc, and this idea was something that began at the tail end of the 80s when the show was cancelled. I love how it is all handled, don't care what anyone else says. This is when my respect for Chibnall really began, in this era, I've always loved his work, but his era stood out in so many ways for me, and this story was a pivotal moment in achieving that. Don't care what the haters say.

[@joesmith8600]

👏👏👏

[@lastchristmas8153]

agree. His era received a lot of undeserved hate, especially series 11👀

[@TheLibrarianOG1]

@@lastchristmas8153 and I think I love Series 11 most of all, honestly.

[@lastchristmas8153]

@@TheLibrarianOG1 yep. i think series 11 is the best out of 3. and after re-watch i liked it even more.

[@TheLibrarianOG1]

@@lastchristmas8153 yeah a lot of the stuff from this era has great rewatch value, some of it, even more than the RTD and Moffat stuff, I love it

[@upg315]

A great episode and frankly a great season of Who. I think some of the hate comes from a place of prejudice, but a lot of it also comes from viewing the earlier seasons of New Who with rose colored nostalgia glasses because they watched it when they were eight and the nonsense in it seemed very grandiose and serious back then ... so when they are confronted with the same sort of nonsense now that they aren't children anymore, they give the old stuff a pass and harp on the animatronic frogs and campy vibes as if they were expecting Breaking Bad (god, what a tedious show I found that to be, but it's "Art," you know). They give the fart monsters from Season one (who served as the chief villains in three episodes, which is more or less a whole quarter of the season) a pass because "the show is still trying to find it's footing," failing to realize that it didn't need to find it's footing. It was already a 40 something year old show, and the bug eyed fart monsters are an integral part of its DNA, despite what that "Pop, Pop" guy had wanted. They had zippers on their foreheads! When they took their skin suits off, everyone just stood for like, presumably several minutes and WATCHED them do it, and they didn't even bother including an explanatory line about hypnosis or telepathic control. No, the actual DOCTOR just stood there and watched the Slitheen slowly peel his skin off! Doctor Who is the show where the titular character fights Robin Hood with a spoon and people get attacked by large plastic beanbags. And when it comes to Chibnall "messing with canon" first of all, watch Brain of Morbius ... if anything, he leans too hard into super specific and super obscure bits of existing canon discontinuities (in a clever way at that). Secondly, WHAT CANON??? It's Doctor Who. They add new nonsense to explain new ideas they have if and when it's convenient, and they have been doing so from the start. Originally, the Hartnell Doctor wasn't supposed to be a Time Lord. He was just a super smart human from the far future. They made him a Time Lord who could regenerate for the explicit reason of recasting. Timelords and Galifrey weren't even fully developed ideas until towards the end of Troughton's run, and even then sketchily. I am pretty sure the whole "12 regenerations" thing wasn't added until after The Brain of Morbius as a convenient plot device. And why can the sonic screwdriver do anything and everything in one episode and not nearly enough in the next??? How come the Doctor only seems to reveal their new powers, that would have been SUPER convenient previously, only when a particular writer suddenly wants them to. It's Doctor Flippin' Who, baby! Yeah! Doctor Who 100 years, all day Doctor Who forever 100 times! In any case, now that RTD is back and Jodie is apparently regenerating into ... *checks notes* ... David Tennant!? I guess folks will get to really have those good old days back nice and proper, huh ... ? PS: I've recently read that Grant Morrison has apparently been raring to go and run a season or two of the show, but it has never quite worked out yet. For god's sake, let the man have it! While we're at it, let's get David Lynch to direct! Let this show be weird as hell.

[@upg315]

Heh, "rose colored nostalgia glasses!" I am a genius without even knowing it! Get it? ... Rose ....?

[@ghostsurfer23]

When I tell you I lost my mind at this episode...I lost my gosh darn mind! Judoon coming back? Fine, that's cool; always love to see an established alien reused in a new way. Captain Jack coming back? Would have been amazing on its own. Knowledge about it was leaked beforehand, and I BELIEVE it was intentional as a kind of smokescreen for the real twist. Like, make people assume they already know what the deal is, only to then reveal A MYSTERY INCARNATION OF THE DOCTOR! I was especially thrilled, because the Chameleon Arch was one of my favorite concepts in all of Doctor Who, one I never expected to see again outside of maybe novels, comics, and audio dramas.

[@donaldb1]

I don't think the title need have been censored It is a brilliant piece of misdirection that gives no clue of what's actually coming.

[@bobjohnston1239]

This was the episode that made 50% of the fan base throw up their hands and go "Oh, come on!!!" I Am definitely one of those fans. This episode is the beginning of Chibnall throwing out 50+ years of continuity.. You will see what I mean when you watch the following episodes.

[@christianwise637]

I remember the first time I watched this episode, expecting a fairly standard straightforward romp involving Judoon stomping around modern day Gloucester, only to have my tiny mind blown by it. Sure, it may be the televisual equivalent of Chris Chibnall jangling his keys in front of my face, but I can't act like it didn't work, as it set me off wildly speculating about what the episode's revelations could mean and where this story was going. I won't go into how it ultimately got resolved come the finale (you know, spoilers and all), but I think "Fugitive of the Judoon" holds up really well, and is still loads of fun for an episode that is basically 90% teasing out the rest of the series. The main story is loads of fun, a delightful action-mystery romp which could not be more different from Vinay Patel's previous episode "Demons of the Punjab". The Judoon are characterised really well, getting some really fun moments as they march around Gloucester and bounce off the various residents of the city in their search for the Fugitive Doctor. Much like their previous appearance, they aren't very threatening or scary, but they're still a decently imposing menace and the much-improved prosthetics make their scenes feel even more engaging. There's some fun moments involving the supporting characters too, especially All-Ears-Allan, who joins the ranks of Salad Man as another bizarrely characterised yet oddly endearing Chibnall era character who gets killed off way too soon. It's not all fun and games however, the character drama involving Ruth is really compelling and makes for some really emotionally effective material. It's kind of a rushed version of the John Smith dilemma from "Human Nature", as you both mentioned, but it's still compelling stuff to see. Jo Martin's performance of a fairly ordinary person whose life gets turned upside down by these weird aliens is really well done, and the way the script slowly drip-feeds us information to reveal that she's more involved in this mystery than we're initially led to believe is a great touch. And then there's the ultimate twist, which is for my money one of the highlights of the entire Chibnall era. Yes, the reveal does result in a massive wrench being thrown into the show's preestablished canon, but since (a) I'm not really bothered about the intricate details of "canon" and (b) this whole thing is executed so well, I really don't mind. The entire episode had been fantastically directed, but the big reveal itself was fantastically staged, from the cross-cutting between the Thirteenth Doctor digging up the TARDIS and "Ruth" learning her true identity, to the gradually building swell of Segun Akinola's score (which I think is one of his finest pieces written for the show). And for the ultimate ace-in-the-hole, Jo Martin herself, who in these last 10 minutes does a fantastic job at differentiating Ruth from her incarnation of the Doctor, and just generally makes a wonderful first impression here. I almost feel bad for saying this, but she completely blows Jodie Whittaker off the screen as she brings way more charisma, confidence, authority and wisdom in these few scenes than Whittaker's managed to portray over the entirety of the last series and a half. You kind of get why she has to be written out by the end of the episode, because any more time spent with her and people are going to start wondering why we're not following her adventures instead. Still, let's be fair, Jodie Whittaker does have quite a few good scenes during this episode, from her initial attempts to negotiate with the Judoon, to her absolute confusion and shell shock upon realising the truth. Oh yeah, there's a B-plot as well isn't there? Much like in "Spyfall", we have to separate the companions from the Doctor so that she can do some vaguely interesting stuff while they can reenact the greatest hits of 2007, albeit with an actual character rather than a rehashed plotline. While I have soured on John Barrowman quite a lot recently, I won't lie, it's still loads of fun to see Captain Jack come back and get up to his usual antics again. Having been off screens for 10 years (or 9 years, if you count Torchwood Miracle Day) certainly helps make his reappearance feel like a big event. Unfortunately, there's not much that can really be said about this subplot because there's very little of actual substance here, and Jack's impact on the actual plot of the episode is really minimal. It's more than a little disappointing to bring this character back, only for it to turn out that they were only brought in to tease later episodes. Minor complaints aside, I do really enjoy "Fugitive of the Judoon", and I feel confident in calling it one of the era's strongest episodes. I think this was the point where I felt confident in calling series 12 an improvement over its predecessor - a compelling mystery with plenty of fun comedic moments, and a genuinely surprising twist that opens up a whole load of questions related to what happens next, and where the series could be heading

[@bananasaregood8655]

I love that paula is having a blast in the chibnall era. I am one of the many who dislike the era, however there are some good episodes thrown in there, including this one. Even tho jack is immortal he did say at the end of series 3 that he’s noticed the odd grey hair showing, confirming that he will still age a little. So it’s fine john barrowman looks older

[@AlanCanon2222]

It's more a sort of canal.

[@pouletnoir4441]

Such a great reveal! When the Doctor uncovers the buried... item... what a jaw dropper!

[@bill0162]

13:10 I had the exact same reaction to 13. I’ve started watching doctor who for the first this year. And when I came closer to 13’s era I’ve seen people’s feedbacks about it and I expected something really really bad. But honestly I had such a blast watching her seasons. After watching all her seasons I can honestly say, people are totally exaggerating with the hate for 13 and this entire era. Obviously there is a well deserved criticism but gosh people really go too far with it.

[@joshuajoshua2732]

I did enjoy this episode it was awesome to see both the Judoon and Captain Jack back but my main issue with this is the re-established canon if The Fugitive Doctor is supposedly before The First Doctor why is her TARDIS a Police Box? which im surprised not many reactors question? Because it was stuck in that shape when The First Doctor and Susan landed in 1960's london earth and been stuck ever since from "An Unearthly Child" to now also we saw The First Doctor steal the TARDIS and ran away so it makes no sense there as well.

[@Skeezer66]

This was a fun episode, and the fact that the return of Capt. Jack gets overshadowed says so much! The Chibnall era has 1 more story to tell, and maybe what Paula thinks now will be right? Who knows?

[@MrNickInc]

I liked this episode when airing. When watching this era with you guys I’ve liked it more even though I didn’t like this era first through. Still think the parts that most people dislike are yet to come.

[@nodroGnotlrahC]

[@joshuaoehler5796]

This was absolutely one of my favorite episodes of the Chibnall era. So good! Paula, don't watch that clickbait video. There are a ton of trolls out there in Doctor Who fandom and most of them hate Chibnall's work for petty and largely misogynistic reasons. Watching that video (and others like it) will only make you mad.

[@TheLibrarianOG1]

Yes, very true. I never read tweets or comments regarding most of Doctor Who anymore, for this same exact reason. Just tired of all the hate and I just wanna enjoy the show or be mad about it, only to make up with it, in peace. Reading about all that hate just leads to depression, honestly. Over the years, I've found that, Chibnall's work has the most rewatch value than most of the modern era, and where I hated a story or certain plot, on first watch, I find that, as I watch more, I get to understand his thought process more and the decisions that led to the stories he told and why he told them in the way he did, it even makes me appreciate 13's Doctor more and as someone who grew up in the 70s, with Classic Who, she very much feels like a Doctor made for that era and I love it. He didn't stick to the formulaic kind of storytelling that had become a characteristic of modern who since the RTD days, every series is different, and it not only celebrates and praises different parts of Modern Who, it also highlights some of the best parts of Classic Who, if people can pick up on it. This has been the most memorable era since the days of Series 4, to be honest and I think Jodie's final episode may be reminiscent of the tail end of that series 4 journey, or perhaps even surpass it, we'll see what they do with it. I certainly will miss the era, mostly Chibnall and Jodie, they have been brilliant, no matter what anyone else says, that's how I feel about it.

[@MalcolmWolf]

Unfortunately, there are a lot of videos that purposely generate hate and outrage that tend to get a lot of clicks, to the point there is a ton of incentive to manufacture contention when none really exists.

[@nickloschen2717]

I hate Chibnall's era but it has nothing to do with Jodie or Jo Martin they are both great actresses I just HATE the timeless child arc so much and the idea of pre Hartnell doctors

[@ihateunicorns867]

People had decided that this era of Doctor Who had ruined it before the first episode had even aired. There are valid criticisms to be had of Chibnall's tenure, but the main overarching issue is that people are sexist and don't like the idea of a woman playing the Doctor. Nothing more complicated than that.

[@donaldb1]

Yes, absolutely. This era is a long way from my favourite, but it definitely gets better as it goes on, in various interesting ways.

[@palisade32]

Some people certainly. While I admit that I never warmed up to Jody's Doctor it's not because she's a women. It's because of the writing, the weak (IMO) plotlines and the lack of character development with short seasons and four new people to get to know. I instantly fell in love with Ruth's incarnation however and would love to see more stories with Jo Martin as the Doctor. I prefer her 100% over Jody and would love to see more of her stories.

[@neolex001]

Completely disagree. A very vocal minority of selfish, racist and sexist ‘fans’ have painted the rest of us with legitimate beef with Chibnall as all one group. I praised Whittaker’s casting, as I have Gatwa’s. Chibnall should never have been given the reins, proven right back in Smith’s era when he ‘wrote’ (aka just re-wrote ‘The Silurians’) The Hungry Earth.

[@richardwilliams5387]

That's a huge part of it. My main issue was his first season where he went out of his way to separate the show from it's past. No returning writers or directors, and no returning monsters. He was trying to make the show his own but IMO went too far in that direction. But the subsequent seasons leaned into the show's history and were all the better for it.

[@NicoleM_radiantbaby]

Yeah, I hate being called sexist every time I share my issues with the Chibnall era. I was really, really excited about Jodie being cast and going into this era with not only one companion that was a POC, but two, had me very hyped. But maybe my hopes were just too high, because when all was said and done, most of the episodes just left me very, very underwelmed. 🤷 I've been watching Doctor Who since the mid-80s when I was in high school and have seen all of the Classic series (or at least the ones that are available and have supplemented the ones that are not with recons and audios) and honestly, I've never been so incredibly BORED with the series as I have been during Chibnall's era and I still, just one episode away from Jodie leaving, just have never connected with Jodie's performance (she's definitely at the very bottom of my list of Doctors -- and not because she's a woman, but because I just think she doesn't seem to 'get' who the Doctor is). So, it's definitely a YMMV thing. IDK. P.S. Speaking of female Doctors during Chibnall, on a positive note, I do have to say that Jo Martin OWNED this episode and I was 100% engaged with her as the Doctor immediately (when she got her memories back). Honestly, I'd trade Jodie for her in a minute and would LOVE seeing a series with her instead, but that's just me. Jo definitely got the memo and inhabited that character COMPLETELY, right of the bat, IMO. Sadly, I'm just still waiting for Jodie to engage me even an iota as much as Jo did.

[@darthsimian2196]

Great episode. Love your reaction. I love that you guys like this series. I am sick of the narrative that it wasn’t good. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Alternate universe is such a Star Trek explanation I love it.

[@geoffmason7215]

hit like immediately ...knew reaction would be GOLD....and it was

[@spencerd6126]

I would suggest watching the 5 hour video essay about the fall of doctor who after finishing series 12. I didn’t agree with everything in the video and overall I enjoyed the era, but it does bring up a lot of good points about why people don’t like it

[@ftumschk]

That video raises *some* legitimate points, but for me it's a self-indulgent nitpick-fest that goes on far too long. Drilling down to that obsessive level of detail, _with the express purpose of finding faults,_ could make just about anything look bad. It's bad enough when "haters" make that kind of content, so to find an otherwise decent WhoTuber outdoing them was deeply depressing and unhelpful, as it could only realistically inflame the already-toxic atmosphere surrounding Chibnall's Who. No doubt the NMDs lapped it up, and are still mining it for ammo. For a more balanced, mature and even-handed critique of Chibnall's Who, I vastly preferred the videos that Joe Brennan made, and wholeheartedly recommend them.

[@MsJule1981]

the makers of this video hate on almost everything. why spend five hours of your life on it? KZbin channels that hate everything, how horrible must those people's lives be? Or it's just clickbait?! Both options are terrible and should be avoided. You can criticise, but this is just ridiculous.

[@simongiles9749]

Jeez, who has time for that?

[@jaimie1938]

Another fun episode! This season is better than people give it credit for in my opinion, I'm so glad you're both enjoying it

[@mjm3091]

probably the strongest episode of this season

[@YouHaventSeenMeRight]

It's not this episode that people hate, it's what follows on from what is set out here. As someone else pointed out, good ideas, terrible landing. When I first watched this episode I was intrigued, but then Chibnall takes the axe to established lore in later episodes, where it wasn't needed. A little bit of tweaking would have made it fold in so beautifully with what came before, but for some reason he didn't want to do that or didn't see how to do it. And that is when he really raised the ire of the fan base. And this is all on Chibnall, he has no-one else to blame.

[@xscale]

I actually loved this one. If only there were more like it!

[@charlesfranze3571]

Doctor who series 12 is my second favorite series of doctor who and don’t get the hate for this era of the show I think some people may just judge it before one episode series 11 ever came out and they hate it no matter how good The show is

[@bustedsim]

I liked this episode because it felt a little more Doctor Who-y to me. What it leads to? I dunno how I feel about it still.

[@kateorgera5907]

The one thing I still don't understand is, why did the Ruth!Doctor's Tardis look like a police box, when it originally got stuck like that sometime during the "First" Doctor's era? Was that ever explained?

[@firefly24601]

I have many guesses, and the Tardis as a sentient being that sees all of time and space has a lot to do with them.

[@TheLibrarianOG1]

My theory was that since the TARDIS exists in all time and space, and since it has a perception filter and a chameleon circuit, it knows that one day it'll take the form of a police box, and that it actually appears however it wants to appear to any Doctor, so 13 could be seeing a police box, whilst Ruth sees something else completely, cause she hasn't caught up with the timeline. It could work, like that.

[@daloki349]

I just think if it could appear as a police box during the first Doctor's tenure, then it could also appear as a police box any time prior to the breaking of the chameleon arch.

[@MsJule1981]

I just think...who cares 😆

[@LightLMN]

I favour the theory that it's a part of "Season 6b," especially since the official website seems to have recognised it as official policy as far back as 2010/2011. There are _so many_ unanswered questions about early Classic Who, particularly around the episode 'The Two Doctors'. Questions like: How does Jamie know who the Time Lords were? How can the Second Doctor outright control the TARDIS remotely, to the surprise of the Sixth? At which point did Second use the backup control room? Why and how did Jamie end up working for the Time Lords willingly? and most importantly: What sort of timeline allows for all of this happen? Add in "Why does the Fugitive Doctor's TARDIS look like a police box?" and bringing all these unanswered questions together provides a possible answer: At least one incarnation of the Doctor can fit between Troughton and Pertwee and still make sense, as we never actually saw the regeneration between them. It answers all of the above questions, and taking it a step further, means the Fugitive Doc, being hunted and on the run from the Time Lords, is a great potential fit for a version of the Doctor that has circumvented their trial and avoided punishment at the end of The War Games, giving them a perfect justification for _being hunted and on the run._ I don't know if it's an intentional reference on Chibnalls part, but I think he's definitely got a mind for connecting the obscure past and present of Who. As much as I dislike about this era there are certain elements I could exposit and gush and delight endlessly and joyfully over, especially Jo Martin, (but anything else would be unfortunately spoilers up until the end of Series 13), so I'll just have to leave it there before I get carried away.

[@cutthr0atjake]

An alternative universe would make sense.

[@intrinsical]

The pattern with Chibnail is consistent. He has great ideas, but... I'd continue this once Paula gets to the rest of the episodes.

[@TwoMenandaCanoe]

I thought this was an extremely well executed episode. I really liked it. What I ultimately didn't like, in fact really didn't like, was the explanation for everything. I am very interested to see what you think. Can't wait.

[@inspectorhound7931]

As a person who posted a positive comment about Jodie Whittaker but added "pity about the scripts," I'll add that I was mostly referring to her first season (for comparison, I loathed Capaldi's first season as well). My issue with Chibnall is a failure to follow through (this will have to wait for further explanation later), and a tendency to have his characters talk in slogans. On the plus side, he has come up with ingenious plots. It will be interesting to see how you react to this season.

[@baeleth]

I absolutely love this episode and everything it leads to. some of the stuff coming has gotten me to revisit classic Who episodes I hadn't seen since I was a kid. I really think Chibnall was a kid during a slightly later era of the classic show and, like his predecessors, those are the episodes he's riffing on and revisiting. I'm excited for Paula's experience as this series goes on.

[@TheWyldKarde]

I can't decide what I'm looking forward to more, Paula's face when she recognises Jack's voice, or her reaction to the Ruby reveal.

[@joshuaoehler5796]

Ruby?

[@TheWyldKarde]

@@joshuaoehler5796 *Ruth. Haven't watched this since the original broadcast so my memory slipped.

[@AcornRiot]

I feel like RTD is going to retcon the Ruth storyline

[@AdamPurcell]

@@AcornRiot I highly doubt he will. He may make no reference to it (and need not) but he's always shown respect for those writers before him and I cannot see that changing now.

[@thelazygamer1639]

@@AcornRiot RTD says he liked The Timeless Child so I doubt he'll retcon it. Either he'll completely ignore it or talk about it a little.

[@nickferrazza]

Really interested to see what you think about how this storyline plays out. It seems to act as the biggest contributing factor as to whether people like this era or not. It's controversial.

[@dmmoctober]

Oh gosh here already … watch your views skyrocket lads …

[@StephanieMaireFaith]

John doe? It was John Smith

[@firefly24601]

Yeah, they figured it out in the full version.

[@ftumschk]

@@firefly24601 Katrina corrects herself in this shortened version, too.

[@stevehawkins1744]

I love this episode! 😃

[@deggsymarley]

Glad I watched this episode in real time , made my own mind up weather I like way story was going. Surprises & confusion

[@MeleeHellBot]

Jo Martin in this episode immediately took command and was The Doctor. It's one of my favorite moments from this whole era.

[@chanceneck8072]

4:41 Only moment that made me cry in this whole entire Chibnall era. My mom was a huge Captain Jack fangirl. So, the last time she saw him was in the series FOUR finale. She died a few weeks before this episode aired.............................. 😔

[@OldManFerdiad]

Can you imagine what it would be like meeting your younger self, like when you were an awkward teenager or a future self? It would be so uncomfortable and awkward for most of us, I think. For the Doctor, that's multiplied by centuries and lifetimes. Throwing my hat into the ring to say that Jo Martin is one of my favourite Nu-Who Doctors and that's not an underhanded dig at Jodie Whittaker. I've got really mixed feelings about Chibnall, but this is a great episode.

[@IsiahBradley]

I'm with Paula: The Fugitive Doctor is from an alternative universe. It would have been nice if Chibnall explained that :(

[@mjm3091]

Ok watching it properly this time to catch with Flux reactions. Still think this was the strongest episode of the season. It gave us mystery, great acting, callbacks and good pacing - Spy Fall was almost as good as this. I think the reveal is much more powerful here. I still dislike the Fugitive twist, but at least the actress is amazing, kinda even demolishing Jodie as the Doctor, here. Making you wonder, what if Jo was the first female Doctor actress and if she had the same writing as Fugitive gets. It would genuinely be totally different two seasons. I still blame it on Chibnail, I guess. I kinda wish we get Fugitive season at some point. That would be great. If not as proper past story - then maybe what they did with 14th Doctor. 2:20 I mean - could you imagine though. That would be funny. Also is that really a spoiler? I guess the alien is getting spoiled here. 8:00 They will meet again... Unless the actor gets cancelled for showing his man parts to whole cast.

[@davedove67]

"You can get excited now." Apparently, Captain Jack was supposed to be one of the people that the Doctor recruited for "A Good Man Goes to War", but there were scheduling conflicts.

[@abavendarlocke5455]

This was one of the few incredible chibnall era episodes. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm super interested in seeing how you react to the end of this season's story arc.

[@ZheToralf]

Ah yes, the big one. This one and it's fallout made a lot of people very angry. I liked it

[@ListerDavid]

Chibbs got so much hate for his time as show runner, yes some of it doesn’t land but what does is pure gold.

[@TheLibrarianOG1]

Yes true

[@TheLibrarianOG1]

And people forget that this is true for any showrunner, starting all the way from the 60s

[@danielwhyatt3278]

The return of Captain Jack in this episode totally helped to save this series a little bit for me. Absolutely love him.

[@MsJule1981]

I just love love love this episode. I love Jo as the Doctor, I love the twists, and Jack and everything. How can one not love this era? I mean its a matter of taste, but man its so good 😍

[@filton12]

Yeah, I love how her companion gets blasted by the Judoon and she never bats an eyelid.

[@DurgisFlak]

This was the only good thing Chibnal did for the Dr Who lore this season. Even then it was co-opted from fan theories.

[@NoelNole1221]

Personally I love Jodie’s doctor but her time as the doctor… my opinion is that there were some great ideas that just didn’t pan out as great as it seemed it was going to be. Enjoy as you continue on

[@Bonehead777]

There’s a lot to like about the Chris Chibnall era when they get it right. And this was right. Too many folks got caught up in all the negative stuff and just ruined things for themselves. Sure, there are a few stinker eps overall, but there are so many good ideas so far and to come.

[@booradley8895]

Which era didn't have stinkers?

[@ABrecher]

Not a Chibnall fan overall, but this one was...wow.

[@oktana5131]

would both of the doctor be traveling now, and not the doctor and the companion?

[@SawItComingNot]

Great reaction as always. Hope Paula's arm is okay 👍

[@palisade32]

This is my favorite episode of the Chibnall/Jody era. This era of Doctor Who is hard for me because I love the Doctor so much and I have two ways of looking at it. On the one hand, purely as a story this is fantastic and although I never warmed up to Jody's Doctor I _ADORE_ Ruth. I wish she was the main Doctor. It was great to see the Judoon again. Just fantastic. On the other hand I hate that this group of showrunners/writers seem to have _ABSOLUTELY NO_ respect for the established canon and lore of the last half century and therefore no respect for serious fans of the show. This show has always has a very loose canon as time is after all wibbly wobbly but there are limits.

[@leslieturner8276]

This is a great episode and thank you for a wonderful reaction. After this was originally broadcast there were debates for weeks about what the hell was going on WRT Ruth as a previous unknown Doctor.

[@adamturnsheel]

This was an excellent twist. And meeting Jo Martin at Gallifrey was such a Treat!

[@Tsuliwaensis]

I think that people who don't like this era of doctor who were just really determined to not like it when they started watching it and then they couldn't let go of that determination. you know, like idiots.

[@djashley2002]

The best episode of the season. Interesting factoid: apparently the production team deliberately leaked the return of Captain Jack to hide the bigger reveal (and it worked). Jo Martin absolutely owns the role of the Doctor from the reveal (not surprisingly Big Finish has got a box set featuring the Fugitive Doctor coming out).

[@bobhughes2290]

I was on the edge of my seat the entire episode waiting for the top of Paula's head to fly off. Every time I watch this episode over again I am more impressed with the writing, the acting and the direction. Maybe it goes too fast for some people to keep up.

[@alexsimpkin5620]

Loved the reaction to Jo Martin's reveal. My personal headcanon is that the Fugitive Doctor is between the 2nd and 3rd Doctors in the timeline, as we never see Patrick Troughton regenerate, and the Fugitive's Tardis is a Police Box (the Chameleon Arch became broken in the second ever episode).

[@NicoleM_radiantbaby]

Season 6B! ❤❤❤

[@alexsimpkin5620]

@@NicoleM_radiantbaby heck yessssss

[@DavidSmith-cx8dg]

My reaction to this was mixed and seeing yours makes me appreciate it a bit more . It felt a bit weird that as every doctor prior to Jodi was a man the fugitive doctor was a woman which ,as with much of the casting , seems to jar with the traditionalist. Having said that , Jo was great and really convincing with not a lot of screen time to work with and the performances through the series have all been good . It was nice to see Captain Jack with his mystery one liner.

[@craigoconnor6662]

This is a good episode and I like the next one too. You should watch other reactors losing their shit when Jack turns up. It's great.

[@donaldb1]

So, here's where it all kicks off. I feel like Chibnall must have gone, "What'll it be this week then? How about completely bonkers?" It's a bumpy ride from here on.

[@gluuuuue]

An' here comes the can o' worms.. 😆

[@SNMG7664]

This episode was the first time in the entire Jodie era I got that Turn Left / Stolen Earth, Heaven Sent deep-in-my-chest feeling

[@MAB_Canada]

This was my favourite episode of this season. Can hardly wait for your reactions to the rest of the season.

[@andymccurdy5029]

there is somethin to suggest this new fugitive doctor isnt from this universe, cos when 2 doctors interact they dont remember it jodi remembers it

[@TheLibrarianOG1]

What do you mean? That only happens for a Doctor who is from the past, the present Doctor always remembers in the right order. If anything, it's the fugitive Doctor who shouldn't remember the interaction

[@thisisadebrown]

Get ready for the end of the series that destroys canon. Welcome to the end of the series, but not only destroys cannon and what the first doctor was, but also loses most of the fans in the US according to viewing figures, and around the world loses about two-thirds of its fans. A sad time for all true Whovians, and the ones from the ideology that the producer and show runner, along with Jodie come from, I suppose they get a momentary bought of joy

[@Jamienomore]

This unfortunately was where Chibnall destroyed so much of the Real Doctor Who History. A Time Lord had a mission to Earth, met a Human Woman and they fell in love. When his mission was finished they both went to Gallifrey. She was altered to make her a Time Lord, they got Married and had a Son. That was the First Doctor, he was part Human. Chibnall destroyed that as well and he has not finished. Doctor Who Fans from the Classics hate Chibnall with a vengence.

[@TheLibrarianOG1]

Speak for yourself, don't try to put non-existent numbers behind you, to justify your opinion, make it clear that it's your own opinion and let it be that, you don't speak for everyone who watches the show, I myself started watching this show from the 70s and I know, for a fact that, the history of the show is malleable, at best, there are many things that were always changing, or being added on, and most of us have always understood, even from back then, that the Doctor's life is shrouded in mystery and ambiguity and that nothing is ever really set in stone, if you can't accept that, then that's your own problem to deal with, just don't try to tell us how the rest of us feel about it

[@ftumschk]

Which "real Doctor Who history" is that? Can't remember any of it appearing in the TV show proper. Let's face it - only a few thousand hardcore fans follow the spinoff media, but the TV show gets millions of viewers. Not only that, but it pre-dates Big Finish and the Virgin New Adventures (etc) by decades. It's thus both logical and fair that the "real" history are only those things which get "canonised" on TV.

[@TheLibrarianOG1]

@@ftumschk Thank you. And even that, is liable to change, as we have seen, over the years, especially if you pay attention, from '63 up to now.

[@Jamienomore]

@@TheLibrarianOG1 I have every Episode that still exists. As a Child I watched it on my Father's BBC Videos along with him. The only time in Classic Who a part of it's History changed was when the writer didn't know better. Remember one writer thought the Doctor's surname name was Who. All that was corrected. When I said Real Doctor Who Fans going right back to the Classics hated Chibnall with a Vengence, That was from a Poll that was taken. Chibnall did not leave the Show. The BBC Sacked him. You can call his Doctor Who a Spoof version or an Alternative version but it is NOT the real Doctor Who. May I also remind you in the Real Doctor Who, the Time Lords were Good, Benevolent People. In New Who they were the Opposite.

[@Jamienomore]

@@ftumschk The History of The Doctor, The Time Lords, Enemies, etc took years to create in Classic Who. New Who, especially Chibnall destroyed it all.