Did Doctor Who Just Debunk a Major Fan Theory?

Doctor Who‘s latest season has offered plenty of surprises, between massive overarching plot twists and the deeper dynamics between characters. Along the way, fans have been eager to see how Doctor Who might fold in more of its previous franchise lore, which has provoked a whole slew of fan theories and speculation. One of the most popular has concerned whether or not Glee and Knock at the Cabin star Jonathan Groff might be playing a new incarnation of Captain Jack Harkness — and the events of his debut episode may have complicated that even further. Spoilers for Season 1, Episode 6 of Doctor Who, “Rogue”, below! Only look if you want to know!

Set amid the backdrop of a 19th Century party, “Rogue” sees the Fifteenth Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) strike up a conversation with Groff’s character, a cosmic bounty hunter who is only referred to as Rogue. The pair’s dynamic starts out on a complicated footing, as The Doctor flirts with Rogue, while Rogue views him as an adversary (and, potentially, a member of the shapeshifting alien race the Chuldurs, which he is trying to apprehend. Eventually, the pair begin to bond, as The Doctor reveals his true identity to Rogue, and also discerns that Rogue got his name from Dungeons & Dragons. Outside of references to losing his former partner and his new boss in the bounty hunting world, Rogue’s backstory is left unexplored, to the point where even he acknowledges that The Doctor doesn’t know his real name. The Doctor and Rogue eventually realize they have feelings for each other, kissing and even faking a marriage proposal later on in the episode. But Rogue sacrifices himself in the episode’s third act in order to save Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson), placing himself on a portal that will throw him and the Chuldurs into another dimension. Rogue tells The Doctor to find him, but The Doctor later insists to Ruby that it’s impossible, given how many universes and dimensions exist.

At this point, there’s no telling if Rogue will return to Doctor Who, much less be revealed to be a new version of Captain Jack — but it’s not completely impossible. Originally portrayed by John Barrowman across Doctor Who and its subsequent spinoff series Torchwood, Jack’s history has been fleshed out in some ways, but is still left open to further exploration. It wouldn’t be impossible for Rogue’s career as a time-traveling bounty hunter to somehow have a connection to the canonical Time Agency, which Jack worked at throughout his original appearances on the show. The fact that Rogue doesn’t yet recognize The Doctor’s gimmick could mean that he’s a younger version of Jack than when he was first introduced in the 2005 episode “The Empty Child,” or that he is simply a version of Jack from another universe (something that the episode does acknowledge, with regards to The Doctor himself). This would create an avenue to eventually confirm that Rogue is Jack and set up a new canon of adventures for him, all while leaning more heavily into his strong bond with The Doctor.

Granted, there’s an equal possibility that Rogue definitely isn’t Jack, but is being introduced to fill a similar sort of role. While Barrowman most recently reprised the role onscreen in the early 2021 episode “Revolution of the Daleks”, allegations of his inappropriate behavior surfaced in the ensuing months, leading to the cancelation of both an audio drama and comic book involving Jack. Maybe Doctor Who showrunner Russell T. Davies (who created Jack during his original tenure on the show) wanted to help fill the void of the character’s absence by introducing Rogue as a newer and slightly similar character. Given how many questions the episode “Rogue” posed about its eponymous protagonist, here’s hoping we’ll get an answer sooner than later.

New episodes of Doctor Who air Fridays at 7pm ET on Disney+, followed by a debut on BBC iPlayer at 12am GMT on Saturdays, and a broadcast premiere on BBC One later that day. If you haven’t signed up for Disney+ yet, you can try it out here.

Note: If you purchase one of the awesome, independently chosen products featured here, we may earn a small commission from the retailer. Thank you for your support