Doctor
Who 11.03 'Rosa' Review
The third episode of series 11. A rather good episode, and rather
topical considering the world today. Like others there was a fear
that the TARDIS crew would be encouraging Rosa. But the story was
more about confronting a future racist who wants to prevent Rosa's
moment of defiance from occurring. Motivation? His bigotry is all the
motivation he needs for what he was trying to do. However it is also
about Rosa, and her fight against the system of oppression that the
Deep South was built on.
Landing in Montgomery, Alabama, they quickly find themselves subject
to the bigotry and prejudice of the era, when Ryan attempts to return
a dropped handkerchief to a white guy. There are also the scenes in
the 'whites only' motel. The Doctor's “There's no one here who has
no right to be here,” to the policeman is very apt. The
conversation between Yas and Ryan behind the dumpster shows that
there is a long way to go in fighting ethnic and religious prejudice
in all their forms. Present day Britain is still far perfect in that
regard.
(As is present day Australia...) However, the TARDIS crew also find
that the future racist, Krasko, was attempting to change history by
preventing Rosa's protest via the butterfly effect. The efforts of
the Doctor and her friends trying to counteract Krasko's efforts was
well done. E.g ensuring that James Blake was driving the bus,
ensuring that the bus would actually run, making sure that the bus
was not blocked. Krasko was simplistic, but he didn't need to be. The
focus was where it should be, on the Doctor ensuring that history
would play out.
The pivotal scene where Rosa remains seated and Blake calls the
police was done very well indeed. Showing the bigotry of Blake
opposed by Rosa's defiance in a way that in unmistakeable. The pain
of the Doctor and her friends having to witness this moment in
history was done rather well also. The only misstep may be the song
over the end credits, but an episode well worth seeing. 9.25/10.
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