✅44/50 = Great! = Highly recommended!

Thworping through time and space, one adventure at a time!

NOTES & COMMENTS:

What a classic cold open—there's some real Bridgerton (no, I haven't watched that show) action here, followed by a tease of yet another shape-shifting alien terror.

It's a bit weird how we get no TARDIS arrival scene here. We are just instantly thrown into the ball with the Doctor and Ruby in full regalia. Ruby is introduced to the lords and ladies of the house while the Doctor investigates some alien interference. Why aren't we getting any scenes in that new, big, expensive TARDIS set?

The costumes and sets are superb. This is easily one of the finest examples of a 19th century story that Doctor Who has ever done. The VFX is also solid, making this a very visually appealing episode.

Indira Varma returns to the Whoniverse having appeared in Torchwood back in the day (with a few turns in Game of Thrones and Andor along the way), playing the Duchess, and doing a great job out of it, especially in her Chuldur form.

It's a joy to see Ncuti and Millie so clearly excited about this era and all the costumes and dances. The focus is on the Doctor again, and Ncuti takes great advantage of this, showing his sexier and softer side.

American actor Jonathan Groff (of Glee, Frozen, and Hamilton fame) is the title character, a Captain Jack-esque dashing bounty hunter who hits it off with Ncuti instantly. He can be dangerously charming, and you never quite know if he's good or bad until later in the episode. And he has the same wit as Jack, so he's definitely a potential fan favourite.

Murray Gold provides a wonderfully atmospheric score, especially during the tenser moments. The orchestral renditions of Poker Face and Bad Guy are fun additions.

Some of the deliberately Bridgerton-like relationship drama feels very artificial.

I like how the Doctor is involved with the creepy alien mystery while Ruby gets to experience 1813 through the people and the dances and gets the biggest share of the comical parts.

Okay, so the joke "My name is Bond, molecular Bond" is incredibly hilarious.

The entire sequence on Rogue's ship is fun. The dancing to Kylie, the psychic paper joke, and Rogue believing the Doctor to be a shapeshifter. Richard E. Grant's casual portrayal as one of the Doctor's past incarnations is also noteworthy.

Given how frequently it has appeared on Who, the shapeshifter plot almost feels like an afterthought. The Doctor/Rogue relationship and Ruby's fangirling get a lot of attention, so the alien threat takes a backseat until the third act, and even then it barely makes a dent.

Written by MCU writers Kate Herron and Briony Redman (of Loki fame), it makes it fun to see more shapeshifters and queer romance as a kind of homage to their previous work.

The aliens here are the Chuldur. They look cool (the makeup work is impressive) but aren't very deeply developed. They could have been Zygons, Chameleons, Slitheen, or any other shapeshifter race.

That being said, it's fun that these Chuldur are apparently a family, so they all have distinct appearances. Their most interesting (and silly) aspect is that they get kicks out of cosplaying humans at big, fancy parties and events.

I was just thinking that Ruby's part in the episode is going nowhere when they reveal that she's been with a Chuldur all along. Nice twist!

The episode's second half is filled with excitement as the Chuldur unleash their destructive powers. This is where the Doctor is devastated by the apparent loss of Ruby and decides to furiously fight back. And then he realises his mistake, as Ruby only faked her fate and is put in real danger by the Doctor.

I have to say that Rogue's final little trick to save the day is a very stylish way to end this episode. I wonder whether we'll see him again, since the ending seems to make it possible.

Next week, it's all about Susan Twist and who she really is! I am very excited to see where this goes!