Doctor Who: “Rogue” Spoilery Thoughts

*Spoilers, obviously!*

Let me start by saying that this is just my own opinion based on my own experience. I know a lot of people celebrated "Rogue" and really love the Doctor/Rogue dynamic—I'm not contradicting them or trying to downplay the significance of seeing the Doctor in a same-sex romance, especially after the show seemed to hold back with the Doctor and Yaz. I get that this episode was a big ol' "happy Pride to us!" moment for a lot of fans, and they have every right to feel that way. I just want to talk about why I, an aroace who views the Doctor as being on the asexual spectrum, had a hard time fully embracing it.

From the moment I heard chatter that Fifteen was going to be drawn more to men than women, I was fine with it. One of the fun things about Doctor Who aspec headcanons is that each regeneration feels ace in different ways. Most of the new Who Doctors are some flavor of romantic, and plenty of them have been neutral or receptive to men flirting with them. It's all good. I just hoped that a male/male-leaning Doctor still felt ace to me, the way that male/female- and female/female-leaning Doctors have. I was hoping not to get, "The Doctor is gay now, and he's DTF!"

In my view, when the Doctor is drawn to someone, it's always primarily about who they are and what they do, not what they look like. The Doctor does use words like "beautiful," "gorgeous," and "sexy," but they're far more likely to use them in reference to a machine/creature/constellation than to a person. The Doctor forges deep soul connections in their romances while also giving just as much weight and respect to their platonic connections (love you forever, Fifteen and Ruby!) The Doctor's version of "flirting" is usually just being themselves, which people can't help falling in love with, and they're often slow to realize other people are flirting with them. Different Doctors have different reactions to kissing, but 1) they're often the one being kissed, not the other way around, and 2) they often find themselves surprised by kisses. When it comes to sexual references/propositions, their responses usually range from uncomfortable to confused to "does not register at all that there is something sexual here."

• Nine when Jackie gives him the old "there's a strange man in my bedroom, anything could happen": “...No.”
• Ten when Lilith tries to seduce him: “Now, that’s one form of magic that’s definitely not going to work on me.”
• Eleven when Craig says to give him a shout if he needs privacy with a girlfriend or boyfriend: “Oh, I will! I’ll shout. Yes, something like, ‘I WAS NOT EXPECTING THIS!!’”
• Twelve when River points out that he has no idea whether or not she looks "amazing": “Well, you, you’ve moved your hair about, haven’t you?”
• Thirteen when Yaz's mum asks if they're dating: “...I don’t think so. Are we?”

Now, I get that the show doesn't owe me an asexual Doctor, but what it's given me so far has pretty much always fit into that headcanon nicely. I love that this show is led by a brilliant, imaginative, compassionate hero who has boundless love for their friends and doesn't really seem to care about sex.

That's the energy I was hoping for with Fifteen, and "Rogue" doesn't really deliver it for me. I'm not saying that an aspec person can't respond to Rogue the way the Doctor does, but to me, it just feels off compared to how the Doctor usually is in romantic situations.

• When Rogue invites him for a walk outside, the Doctor remarks, "Fast mover," before following him. Would any other Doctor take that as a proposition?
• Just generally, the Doctor leads with the physical here: handsome strangers, commenting on how good Rogue looks in his jacket, "you're hot" on the psychic paper, etc. Again, I've seen the Doctor fall for people based on their bravery, their kindness, their intelligence, their skill in a crisis, etc. They usually are hot, in the way that most people on TV are, but that's not why the Doctor likes them. And with Rogue, that seems to be the very first thing the Doctor notices about him. What qualities of his is the Doctor actually drawn to?
• The Doctor also takes more of a lead when it comes to overt flirtation. Given that Rogue is kind of a brusque, prickly loner, he likely wasn't going to start it off, but it feels weird to me to see the Doctor take the reins on a romance that isn't some kind of pretense (a la Ten proposing to Queen Elizabeth because he's trying to prove she's really a Zygon.)

I'm not about to say this episode is blatantly sexualized or "think of the children!" or anything like that. And honestly, Fifteen's portrayal here isn't drastically far off from previous characterizations of the Doctor. But there are just lots of little things that, if I was writing it, I'd have nudged slightly to put the Doctor's reactions to Rogue more in line with how they reacted to Rose/Reinette/River/etc.

I’d open with the Doctor intrigued by the mystery of Rogue and how he ended up in that time and place. I’d have Rogue make clever observations or ask Excellent Questions early on to pique the Doctor’s interest. I’d show the Doctor’s disappointment when he learns that Rogue is a bounty hunter. I’d give Rogue flickers of conscience/consideration that show the Doctor he’s not unreachable. As the two start to open up to each other, I’d have Rogue be the first one to clock that there’s a vibe between them while the Doctor misses signals that are visible from space. I’d make Ruby the one to comment on Rogue’s good looks. I’d include fewer pregnant pauses and smoldering looks, and more surprise as the Doctor finally starts to get clued in—first to the fact that he might be catching feelings for Rogue, and second that Rogue might be into him as well. I’d still have them dance, and the climax would still end with a kiss.

(Also, this has nothing to do with ace stuff, but I'd set the last scene between the Doctor and Ruby in the TARDIS, with Ruby comforting the Doctor after walking in on him aggravated that he's tried numerous options and can't lock onto a way to track Rogue. Doctor, the last words this guy says to you are, “Find me.” At least try!)

But I don’t know. Equality doesn't equal equity. Maybe if the Doctor's romance with Rogue had a similarly light touch as some of their male/female connections, people would be arguing that it wasn't really a romance. That the Doctor "clearly" wasn't into Rogue like Rogue was into him, or that the show was pulling its punches with a "sanitized" same-sex romance. I can't speak to that experience, and maybe my version wouldn't come off well for reasons I can't see.

If you love the Doctor/Rogue, that's great. I'm glad that you got an episode like this during Pride, and I know I can't blame a show for not following my headcanon. I went into "Rogue" apprehensive but hoping I'd love it, and these are just my thoughts and reactions to the episode.