Doctor Who series 12 has seriously knocked it out of the park with these first 5 episodes! “Fugitive of the Judoon” was heavily hyped-up by the BBC America social media in the week prior to the episode airing, and rightly so. The ups, downs, surprises, and twists were incredible. And that surprise guest star? That alone was enough to make this a favorite episode amongst fans. This was the most exciting and mind-boggling episode of the series. Again, we are left with more questions than answers! Before we go any further, here is the regular warning: this article contains spoilers. Do not read any further if you have not seen the episode.
Setting the stage in “Fugitive of the Judoon”
“Fugitive of the Judoon” starts off happy. It’s always a pleasure to see such a happy beginning. However, this usually means something terrible is coming. We see a happy couple, Ruth (played by Jo Martin) and Lee (played by Neil Stuke), getting ready to celebrate Ruth’s birthday. Ruth is a tour guide for her city, and she is off to do her job. When she goes to the cafe for her birthday coffee, the man behind the counter, Alan, tells her that she deserves better. Clearly, he loves Ruth. He goes further and tells her that her husband cannot be trusted. He has a whole file on Lee. Someone has been doing his research…that isn’t weird at all. It’s always hard to believe that sort of sentiment when this other man is in love with someone else’s wife.
Moments later, we see a Judoon platoon ship hovering over Earth. They fire a beam down to the city! This creates a perimeter around the city so that whoever they are looking for cannot leave. The Judoon are inter-galactic police for hire that look like giant rhinos. We first see this race of alien in series 3, in the episode “Smith and Jones.” The tenth Doctor (played by David Tennant) meets his companion Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman) for the first time in this episode and they encounter the Judoon who are looking for a non-human fugitive on Earth.
In this episode, we see the Doctor (played by Jodie Whittaker) looking distracted and distressed at the TARDIS console while her friends sit and watch her. Graham (Bradley Walsh) wants to know who or what she is looking for. Of course, she lies at first. But her friends have been with her long enough to know when she is lying. She is looking for the Master, she admits. According to Yaz (Mandip Gill), the Doctor has been leaving for an hour (or longer) on her own. And in that time alone this is what she’s been doing: looking for the Master. She has been traveling home to Gallifrey. Alone. A Judoon warning signal is heard in the TARDIS. The Doctor is wondering why there is a Judoon platoon near the moon. (First, it was a Judoon platoon ON the moon…)
Judoon platoons sent to Earth
Then, the Judoon are sent down to surround the humans and catalog them. Just like the last time we saw them in series 3, they are scanning for non-human life forms. The fugitive they are looking for is hiding among humans. Lee comes looking for Ruth, and when he goes into the coffee shop, he mutters “humans” under his breath. So, is he the one the Judoon are looking for? He is obviously not human. When he leaves, the Judoon comes in looking for the fugitive. Alan gives them his file on Lee, and this seems to please the Judoon. However, Alan assaults the commanding officer and is executed. Oops.
The Judoon surround Lee and Ruth’s flat. Lee still will not tell Ruth that he knows more than he is letting on. He tells her to pack her bags so they can get out of there. The Doctor approaches the Judoon and uses her psychic paper to gain authority over the Judoon’s investigation. I love that the psychic paper is back. It tells the Judoon that she is an imperial regulator, so they allow her to go in and arbitrate. According to Earth law 12, which she just made up, she can do that. Oh, that clever Doctor. Even Yaz, the police officer, agrees with it. So, the Judoon allows them to go find out what is going on. Lee is still stubborn. He will not give them any helpful information. The Doctor’s sonic isn’t picking up anything non-human, so she has Yaz and Ryan search the flat.
In the meantime, Graham has been teleported! He’s on a mysterious ship. The voice sounds familiar. It’s CAPTAIN JACK (played by John Barrowman)! He thinks Graham is the Doctor and ends up complimenting him on the new regeneration look and kisses him. Graham is terribly confused, but boy did I love every moment of that. Seeing Captain Jack back was a huge, wonderful surprise. When Graham corrects Jack and explains that he is not the Doctor and in fact, the Doctor is a “she,” the smile on Jack’s face was priceless. This is something he needs to see for himself!
Piece of the puzzle start coming together
Yaz and Ryan find a small box in the back of Ruth and Lee’s bedroom. That is what isn’t human. What is it? Lee still won’t talk. He knows what it is and tells everyone they need to leave. Yaz and Ryan head down and distract the Judoon so the Doctor can take Ruth somewhere safe. The Judoon have given them enough time to “regulate” with the fugitive. Once Yaz and Ryan leave, they also get beamed up by Jack. The Doctor takes Ruth to safety while Lee stays and tries to talk his way out of getting arrested by the Judoon. Lee sends a text to Ruth, and he says that he is fulfilling his promise. What promise?
Yaz, Ryan, and Graham are now all together on Captain Jack’s stolen ship. Jack thinks Yaz is the Doctor, but again he is mistaken. He does hit on all of them, of course, as that is the classic Jack Harkness way. Ryan is his favorite, and Ryan doesn’t know what to think. Apparently, due to the Judoon’s seal around the city, Jack cannot get a proper lock on the Doctor. The universe is in trouble, and Jack needs to get an urgent message to her.
Back in Lee and Ruth’s flat, a woman shows up mentioning that Lee faked his death. Who is he? The Judoon are there to arrest him, but she ends up killing him. Then, we see the Judoon surround the Doctor and Ruth in what looks like a cathedral. The Judoon say Ruth is the fugitive! Something clicks within Ruth, and she starts to fight the Judoon. She goes so far as to speak their language, rip off the commanding officer’s horn, and then sends them back to their ship! However, she has no idea where that came from. She fully believes she is human Ruth, married to Lee, does tours for a living, and who is celebrating her 44th birthday. Ruth gets the text message from Lee. It says, “Follow the light. Break the glass. Happy birthday.” When she had read that, that was when she started fighting.
Why is Ruth the Fugitive of the Judoon?
Before we get into Ruth, we flash to the TARDIS fam on Jack’s ship. He says that the Doctor needs to “Beware the lone Cyberman.” Talk about a menacing warning. The ship he stole is attacking him, so he has to leave. I am really hoping we see him again. It was so good to have him back, even if it was only for a few (brilliant) moments. Before he leaves, he sends the Doctor’s friends back down to Earth.
Ruth and the Doctor are headed to a lighthouse. Supposedly, this is where Ruth was brought up as a child. She is seeing and hearing other things, but she wouldn’t tell the Doctor what she was thinking. The Doctor always knows when you’re keeping something from her. Apparently, Ruth’s parents are buried out at the lighthouse. When they get there, the Doctor looks around for clues. The Doctor finds the gravestone, but it’s blank. That doesn’t make sense. She scans it, and it isn’t a grave. So naturally, she starts digging. Ruth hears voices and sees a spot on the wall that says “break the glass.” She breaks it, and REGENERATION energy comes out! What does this mean? As the Doctor is digging, she sees the unimaginable. Her TARDIS! Wait, what does THIS mean? Ruth comes out and her-introduces herself. She says, “I’m the Doctor.” HOLD THE PHONE.
When Ruth (the Doctor?) takes the Doctor (the true Doctor) inside her TARDIS, it looks very classic. The true Doctor is beyond confused. Of course, so are we. How is this possible? Neither of them remembers the other. Ruth says she is the Doctor from the past because she doesn’t remember being “rainbows and trousers that don’t reach.” Nice burn, Ruth. The Doctor scans them both, and sure enough, it’s true. Ruth is her. They are the same person. Gat (played by Ritu Arya), as we find out was the woman with the Judoon, has been looking for Ruth for a long time. Lee was Ruth’s protector, which means Lee must have been a Time Lord!
The Doctor(s?) face Gat and the Judoon
Gat pulls Ruth’s TARDIS onto the Judoon ship. Ruth told the Doctor to stay quiet, but we all know that isn’t going to happen. The Doctor asks who they are working for. The Judoon were hired to find Ruth, but Gat is fighting for the glory of Gallifrey. She’s a Time Lord, too? Where are they all coming from? The Doctor shows Gat what happened to Gallifrey, that is is in ashes. Gat doesn’t believe her. The Judoon blaster Gat is holding backfires on her and ends up killing her. Ruth and the Doctor are able to return to the Doctor’s TARDIS, where Ryan, Graham, and Yaz have been returned.
Graham relays Captain Jack’s message. The Doctor explains that the Cybermen are some of the universe’s most dangerous beings aside from the Daleks. They are always somewhere, waiting. When the Doctor explains who Ruth really was, she says that time is swirling around her. It clearly is. First, the Master comes back. Now, we have a past Doctor we don’t know. She can feel something coming for her. She tries to push away her friends. This is a classic Doctor move. The whole “I’m dangerous, you don’t know who I am or what I’ve done” monologue. Her friends will have none of that. Ryan told her that they know who she IS. She is the Doctor, the one who brought them all together. She is the one who has saved so many people. Yaz and Graham agree they aren’t going anywhere. They will be there for her.
More thoughts on “Fugitive of the Judoon”
This was by far my favorite episode of the series so far. The Master coming back was a huge twist, but I feel like seeing more of the Doctor’s past coming up is so incredible. Everything she knew was a lie, that we see for sure. Is Ruth possibly from before the War Doctor or 8th Doctor era? Maybe this is a different, alternate universe Doctor regeneration? How did Gat, another Time Lord, escape Gallifrey and not know it was destroyed? This episode, again, leaves us with so much speculation! It was incredible, and I was on the edge of my seat the whole time.
Here is the trailer for the next episode. Doctor Who airs Sundays at 8:00 pm on BBC America.
Fan Reactions
*JAW DROPPED* #DoctorWho
— Katelyn (@KatelynMilly) January 27, 2020
The Judoon have a better hand stamper now #DoctorWho @DoctorWho_BBCA
— mrbvb (@mrbvb) January 27, 2020
😱 What a special #DoctorWho episode indeed, loved it from the first second to the last! #FugitiveOfTheJudoon The surprises, the pacing, the incredible plot twists and more questions! No matter where it will lead to, I'm totally looking forward to it! 🤩💙 pic.twitter.com/cyDYnaAV3p
— Ulysses (@UlyssesDraco) January 26, 2020
For more Doctor Who coverage:
Doctor Who Series 12, Episode 4 “Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror”
Doctor Who Series 12, Episode 3 “Orphan 55” is a thrilling adventure
Temple of Geek Podcast – Discussing Doctor Who’s Series Twelve Return
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A great write-up as always! “A platoon of Judoon near … that lagoon”. The Doctor can’t seem to resist the urge to rhyme “platoon” and “Judoon”!
Thank you!! I did love the rhyming. It totally felt like she couldn’t resist. It felt like a great connection between 13 and 10. The continuity we are getting already in this series is brilliant.