Doctor Who Series 11 Episode 3 - Rosa - Review

Starring: Jodie Whittaker, Bradley Walsh, Tosin Cole, Mandip Gill & Vinette Robinson

Written By: Malorie Blackman & Chris Chibnall

Directed By: Mark Tonderai

Back when Series 11 was still being filmed, one of the earliest set photos that found its way online was of the famous Montgomery bus where Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat for a white passenger. The photo suggested that the rumours of Chris Chibnall's first series taking the show back to its educational, historical roots, similar to stories such as 'Marco Polo', 'The Crusade' and 'The Gunfighters', may have weight to them. While 'Rosa' isn't a pure historical, it's been a long time since we had an episode with such a heavy historical basis. But it definitely seems to have worked, with 'Rosa' being met with critical acclaim. So does the episode itself live up to the hype?

While attempting to return Graham, Ryan and Yaz back to present-day Sheffield, the Doctor instead ends up bringing them to Montgomery, Alabama in 1955. The TARDIS detects unusual traces of artron energy nearby and the group decide to investigate. On their investigations, they meet civil rights activist Rosa Parks, and experience first-hand the racist, hateful society of the 1950s American Deep South. They also discover that history itself is under threat, when a convicted criminal from the future has travelled back to ensure that Rosa Parks never has the chance to influence the civil rights movement.

One of my main gripes with last week's episode was that despite the Doctor and friends arriving on a planet made cruel, it had nowhere near the sense of danger and threat that it really needed. However, this week's episode flips that problem completely on its head, and racially-segregated Montgomery ends up feeling more dangerous than Desolation ever did. 'Rosa' drops us right in the middle of an ugly period of history, and presents an uncompromising look at racism. 'Doctor Who's trips into the past haven't exactly overlooked historical racism in episodes like 'The Shakespeare Code' and more so in 'Thin Ice'. But whereas it was mostly brought up in conversation with Martha and Bill, here the TARDIS crew have barely been there for five minutes when Ryan is smacked for simply handing a dropped glove back to a white woman. Wherever the Doctor, Graham, Ryan and Yaz go, Ryan is referred to as a "Negro", Yaz is mistook as Mexican, they face judging stares, are asked to leave restaurants, have to hide from the police for simply being in a motel room etc. It may not exactly be racism to the extremes of 'Roots' or 'Django Unchained', but for a prime-time family show going out at 7:00PM, it doesn't do much sugar-coating. 

I mentioned in last week's review that while the Doctor and Graham continued to impress, I felt as though Yaz and Ryan took a step back by comparison. However, the dangers that this period of history brings to the two, and the way they react to them had them back in my good books. I loved that scene of them hiding behind the motel and discussing their experiences with racism in the present day. Ryan has an understandably cynical approach to modern day race relations, contrasting with Yaz's more optimistic outlook, but despite their differing views, the two characters feel so real in that moment. It's the best Ryan has been so far this series, and while Yaz still feels worryingly underdeveloped, she too gets some great scenes this week. I liked how she instantly became the police officer diffusing the situation as Ryan gets hit, and a particular favourite of mine was Yaz being unsure where to sit on the bus - should she sit in the seat for white or black passengers? It's a wonderfully subtle way of showing not only the bone-dead stupidity of segregation, but stressing that simplistic labels just can't work. Just like gender and sexuality aren't binary, neither is race - there are so many different races that functional segregation is both pointless and impossible.

But of course let's not forget the titular lady herself - Rosa Parks. Without doubt, Vinette Robinson gives the best guest performance of the series so far. Not only does she nail the Southern accent and in costume bares quite the resemblance to the real Rosa Parks, but Robinson gives a dignified, subtle performance that I think someone like Rosa required. I got a great sense of quiet bravery from the character, as well as the sense that this is someone who just wants to live a normal life like everybody else. And although the story of Rosa Parks' bravery is relatively well-known, the episode isn't too worried about hiding its educational side, with our main characters quite literally listing everything they know about Rosa at one point. While this approach might not be for everyone, I don't mind 'Doctor Who' getting educational every now and then (after all, it wasn't uncommon in the show's early days). Heck, I even learnt a couple of things about Rosa's story that I previously had no idea about, such as the fact that she encountered the same bus driver, James Blake, twelve years prior to 1955. Thankfully 'Rosa' also avoid a potential problem I was slightly apprehensive about, and that's tampering with what Rosa Parks actually did for the civil rights movement. Especially being such a recent significant event in history, by having the Doctor show up and interfering only serves to lessen the impact of said event. However, the episode avoids this pitfall by having our main characters mostly limited to the fringes of history, and rarely do they interfere with established events. Interestingly enough, it's actually their job to keep history on its course, and I like the emphasis put on how tiny details are so influential. And it all leads up to one incredibly powerful ending (Spoiler Warning!) My heart broke for Graham when he realizes he has to be one of the white passengers on the bus, and become part of events. The look on his face, and Bradley Walsh's delivery of the line "I don't want to be a part of this" is absolutely flooring. It's an emotional, moving ending and while I know a lot of people took issue with the song 'Rise Up' being played as Rosa is taken off the bus, its status as a unofficial anthem of the Black Lives Matter movement only stresses the fact that the story of Rosa Parks is still 100% relevant to this day.

Despite the acclaim 'Rosa' has received there is one aspect of the episode that's faced some criticism, and that's the time travelling criminal, Krasko. Krasko brings with him the few sci-fi elements of this story, and I'll admit that at first, he may appear underdeveloped and generic. But for me, Krasko is an effective villain for an episode of this nature. A while ago I was discussing this episode with a friend, and he argued that Krasko was a weak antagonist. My response to this was that yes, he is weak and underdeveloped - that's the point. In a story with Rosa Parks, one of the most important figures of the 20th Century, the space racist doesn't get the spotlight. His story does not deserve to be heard when there's something so much more important going on. My friend responded to this by saying that if we refuse to listen to someone like Krasko, his story and what shaped such a racist mindset, then we become just as bad as him. Now a couple of years ago, I probably would've agreed with this, and would've tried my best to hear everyone out. But if there's one thing I've seen and learnt over the last couple of years, especially being part of a marginalized group myself, due to my sexuality, it's that some people cannot be helped and do not deserve to be heard out. Difference of opinion is perfectly fine, but when one side of the divide literally would rather you didn't exist, it's hard to be fair and have to listen to what they've got to say. In the context of the story, let's just look at some of Krasko's actions: he's responsible for and shows no remorse for two-thousand deaths, has made an active effort to travel back to a specific point of history where he can damage and stunt the growth of the civil rights movement, and is a self-admitted racist and supremacist, telling Ryan he doesn't want his "kind" getting above themselves. With all that, I don't give a flying f*** what led him to this - with such an imminent danger present, you neutralize it. It's why I'm fully behind the Doctor in her confrontations with Krasko, and she holds herself incredibly well. I got genuine chills when she tells him so directly "Don't threaten me", and again the way she smashes his vortex manipulator and barely flinches when he tries and fails at choking her, I love when this Doctor's more serious side emerges. I'm all for trying to help those who are prejudiced overcome their prejudice, but when they're as far gone as someone like Krasko, there's little to nothing left you can do. If I'm just as bad as Krasko for not giving two s***s about his backstory when there's someone far more compelling like Rosa Parks in the same episode, then feel free to mark me up as one of those pesky SJWs.

On less of a serious note and before I wrap up this review, it would be a disservice to mention yet again how fantastic this episode looks. 50s America has a very distinctive feel and style about it, and things like the motel, the café, the park, the cars, together with the great attention to detail in the costumes and hairstyles, all make 'Rosa' feel highly authentic. Even Segun Akinola's score seemed to contain a few nice nods to the time period. As was the case with 'The Ghost Monument', this week also featured more location shooting in South Africa, and although the two episode obviously look very different, both look fantastic in their own way. It gives 'Rosa' a lovely, golden sunny glow which juxtaposes nicely with the darker themes at play. We also have Mark Tonderai back in the director's chair for the second week running, and I'm really in love with his distinct visual style. That same way of framing two characters in confrontations using tight close-ups and offsetting them is back again and put to even better use this time around, especially in the scenes between the Doctor and Krasko. There are just so many memorable shots in this episode - the Doctor and Krasko standing on top of the fuel tanks; when the Doctor answers the door at the motel, with the cast shadow of the police officer on the door; or even that shot of the Doctor in the foreground as Rosa is asked to stand. In that single shot, and with the expression on her face, you can just tell that she is fighting against every one of her instincts to intervene.

Every now and then 'Doctor Who' has these stories that tackle important, relevant topics such as radicalization in 'The Zygon Inversion', or even though I'm not a great fan of the episode itself, depression and mental health in 'Vincent & The Doctor'. And now we have 'Rosa', the show's most assured statement on race to date. Not only is it by far the best episode of the series so far, its a modern classic: beautifully told and realized, and no holding back in looking at what is still a hugely relevant topic. Like Ryan says, although her act helped change the world, it's not like Rosa Parks wipes out racism forever, and it's amazing to think that even on a show as progressive as 'Doctor Who', Malorie Blackman is the first non-white writer to pen an episode of the show. In a time where the modern face of racism is becoming so scarily normal and acceptable again, be it under the guise of online videos shouting about "SJW" agendas whenever a non-white character happens to be on screen, or in the press, or from those who are tone-deaf enough to continue wearing MAGA caps, an episode like 'Rosa' hits home.

Rosa

9/10