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Rosa Parks (Vinette Robinson), the day before she makes history.
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THE PLOT:
The TARDIS materializes in Montgomery, Alabama on November 30, 1955, where the Doctor detects an unusual amount of artron energy. Investigating, she and her companions have an encounter with Rosa Parks (Vinette Robinson) - the future Civil Rights icon whose arrest for refusing to give up her bus seat for white passengers kicked off the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Or will do, at least; Rosa's arrest will occur the very next day.
The Doctor discovers that Rosa is being stalked by a mysterious man named Krasko (Joshua Bowman), a man also very much out of his time. Krasko is armed with time displacement technology, a vortex manipulator... And a determination to change history. "Tiny actions change the world," he sneers. He intends to prevent Rosa's arrest, thus preventing the bus boycott and changing the course of the American Civil Rights movement... Leaving it to the Doctor to make sure that history stays on course, even if it means she has to create the circumstances of a historical injustice to do it!
THE DOCTOR
This is the episode that sold me on Jodie Whittaker's Doctor. The Thirteenth Doctor has thus far been characterized by a fairly goofy, almost bubbly persona. As soon as she realizes where and when they are and what that means for two of her companions, that goofiness is dialed back significantly. She is immediately protective of her new friends, urging them to return to the safety of the TARDIS. "It's easy for me here," she tells them, "It's more dangerous for you." I suspect some still very recent losses are on her mind, and she's determined to be more careful of her friends moving forward... Though she is happy of their help when they insist on staying.
Whittaker gets to finally show some steel in the encounters with Krasko. I can take no credit for this observation - which I read from an online forum - but it seems to be valid that the Thirteenth Doctor only shows the harsher parts of her nature when her friends are not around, almost like she's trying to protect them from herself. Confronting Krasko alone in the bus depot he has made his lair, all the jokiness vanishes and the smiles become thin and grim. She addresses her adversary with open contempt, daring him to lose control, warning him to stay out of her way. It's just a glimpse - The scene only lasts a few minutes - But it's the first proof that "The Doctor of War" is still very much present, and not to be taken lightly.
On a lighter note, I absolutely love the look she gives Graham when, while posing as her husband, he lays a hand on her shoulder. You can practically hear, "Yeah, don't do that" in her expression.
CHARACTERS:
Graham: Bradley Walsh cements his "season MVP" status. When Graham reflects on how Grace idolized Rosa Parks and how he wishes she could be with them now, you can see him deflate just a bit, a haunted look settling in the back of his eyes. He doesn't let his grief stop him, but it's still just beneath the surface. His interactions with, and manipulations of, bus driver James Blake (Trevor White) are enjoyable, showing the audience Graham's distaste for the man, while remaining subtle enough that we aren't wondering why Blake doesn't notice it. And his stricken expression at the end, as he realizes that he has a very unwanted role to play in this piece of history, is perfection, even before he speaks.
Ryan: Heedless of the realities of history, Ryan behaves exactly as he would in modern-day Sheffield. When a woman drops a handkerchief, he picks it up and taps her on the shoulder to return it - Only to be immediately struck by her husband for daring to touch a white woman. He doesn't initially connect the name "Rosa Parks" to historical events, having paid little attention in school because, "she's American." This gives a perfectly in-character opportunity for the script to deliver the needed historical context. Later, when he spends time with Rosa and Martin Luther King (Ray Sesay), he is suitably impressed, insisting on addressing the future icons by their full names, and pausing to grin at the wonder of where he is. This is all well-played by Tosin Cole, who delivers by far his best performance to date.
Yaz: Actually gets some good material! She is appalled when Ryan doesn't recognize who Rosa Parks is, and takes him to task for it. Later, they share a flirty moment while sneaking into the Doctor's hotel room through the window (the hotel is "whites only"). Hiding from a police officer, she and Ryan have a thoughtful conversation about the casual racism they encounter in the modern day, but Yaz stays determinedly positive in her outlook, pointing out how much better things are in the present vs. the past.
Rosa: Vinette Robinson gives a good performance as Rosa Parks. She carries herself with dignity, but it's clear in her interactions with white characters that she very much "knows the rules" of her society. Her ability to navigate within those rules allows her to defuse a potentially violent misunderstanding between a white pedestrian and Ryan, while her ramrod-straight posture points to the defiance that will lead to her famous moment. For the story's purposes, Rosa is more plot device than character; but there's enough characterization present for her to feel like a fully-rounded individual, which makes the ending all the more effective.
Villain of the Week: Giving credit where it's due, actor Joshua Bowman does a good job with his material. Krasko has just enough low cunning to be a legitimate adversary for the Doctor, even though she has him clearly outclassed. He radiates hostility in a nearly wordless encounter with Rosa, and in the confrontation with the Doctor we can sense the violence within him. Krasko remains the weakest element of a very good story - But Bowman gives his all, and puts a lot more into this carboard baddie than is there on the page.
THOUGHTS
I'll be honest - On first viewing, I dreaded this episode. "Time traveler meets famous Civil Rights icon so that we can learn the very important lesson that Racism Is Bad, mm'kay." It's the kind of episode that shows tend to do very, very badly - Usually served with a hefty side of condescension and self-righteousness. It hardly increased my optimism that this is an episode of a British show centered around an incident in American history.
So it was with my guard up that I watched the opening scenes. My guard stayed up for a good 10 - 15 minutes on first watch. And then, I think around the hotel room scene, I felt myself relax as I realized that this actually, genuinely was going to be a good episode.
Props to writers Marjorie Blackman and Chris Chibnall for the expert story structure. This is the first episode of Series 11 that has no fat on it. Every scene advances either plot or character. Series 11 is not, on the whole, the fastest-paced season of new Who. But Rosa moves along briskly, one scene leading to the next, every scene and every exchange advancing the overall story.
While it's emotionally effective, it doesn't forget to be entertaining. Even in the early scenes, establishing Montgomery as hostile territory for Yaz and Ryan, we get bits of humor. Confronted by a waitress who informs him, "We don't serve Negroes," Ryan cribs from Muhammed Ali in replying, "I don't eat 'em." Yaz is referred to as a "Mexican," which becomes a minor running joke for the rest of the episode. Jodie Whittaker's small stature is used to amusing visual effect as the group makes plans in the hotel room, with her standing on the bed to stand (just barely) above the others. Oh, and Graham briefly becomes Steve Jobs. In short, the script remembers that even an "Issue Episode" needs to be entertaining.
The one misstep, for me, is in how Krasko is ultimately dealt with. He's dispatched in a way that feels cheap and lazy - "We're ready for our emotional climax, better get rid of the baddie now." The scene was jarring to me on first viewing, and remained so this time around. I'd have preferred the Doctor and company got him on the bus (perhaps incapacitated?), so that he would fill that last empty seat, prompting the driver to demand Rosa move. Almost anything would have felt less "off" than the resolution he receives here.
That one misstep is significant enough to keep me from giving this full marks - But it remains an excellent episode overall. I liked it on first viewing; I actually liked it even more on re-watch.
Overall Rating: 9/10.
Previous Episode: The Ghost Monument
Next Episode: Arachnids in the UK
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