The series’ first tour de force in years is in fact a deceptively simple tale of intolerance writ large across the ages. Former Children’s Laureate Malorie Blackman and incumbent showrunner Chris Chibnall couch the famous tale of Rosa Parks and her world-changing line-in-the-sand in the classic Who scenario of a rogue time traveller looking to subvert history. But the Devil is in the detail, and though the formula may be familiar, here it is the detail that sets this episode apart. The Doctor and her friends aren’t charged with putting great wars or natural disasters back on track this time – their concern is incredibly focused and specific. Their role in “Rosa” is intimate and mundane, yet still immeasurably important - they just have to make sure that a hard-working and kindly seamstress gets her usual bus, that the bus in question is full, and that its usual despotic driver is behind its wheel.
Vinette Robinson, who’s no stranger to Doctor Who, having played Abi in the Chris Chibnall-scripted “42” more than a decade ago, gives a beautifully restrained performance as the put-upon Mrs Parks. The script depicts Rosa as a righteous, God-faring woman - but not one that you would expect to change the course of history, were it not for your foreknowledge. When we meet her, the “coloured” community in Montgomery is still reeling from the murder of Emmett Till (and the acquittal of the two white men widely believed to have murdered him), and as the events of the story unfold we see Rosa increasingly tested by the inequality all around her. Robinson brings a sense of weariness to the part that’s unexpected, but really helps to make the character resonate as person as opposed to a cultural icon, thus making her fateful act of defiance all the more inspiring.
“Never give them the excuse.”
The script adroitly serves each member of the Doctor’s “gang” too, affording each the chance to develop. In the cases of Yaz and Ryan, who, thanks to the colour of their skin, find themselves instant social pariahs, “Rosa” gifts each character a fascinating opportunity to reflect on how different their lives would have been had they been born just sixty years earlier. Both are given chance to vocalise their anger at not only the injustice around them, but their continuing struggles in the present day – and, crucially, without it ever coming close to breaking or provoking them. They share stories of narrow-mindedness from 2018 as the institutionalised bigotry of 1955 forces them to hide behind bins, but there is not a moment in the episode when either character fails to rise above the hatred.
Another strength of the script is its refusal to give the baddie of the piece, Krasko, any sort of motive beyond basic racism. It would have been all too easy for Blackman and Chibnall to paint a picture of a man once hurt or wronged by a “coloured” person and now looking for macroscopic revenge, but I find their image of a man who just wants to stop black people ever “getting above themselves” altogether uglier, and altogether bolder. Krasko is exactly the villain that “Rosa” needs, and Joshua Bowman plays the part with just the right sort of smug spite – his permanent, superior sneer and righteous exasperation will be all too familiar to many viewers. 
Perhaps most importantly of all, though, the Doctor enjoys what feels like her first full episode as herself. Hyperactive and ultramodern, Thirteen is down with the kids (“You’re killing the vibe, Graham!”), playful (“You’re not Banksy!” / “Or am I?”), and seems to share the second Doctor’s penchant for lulling opponents into a false state of security – her silly, almost ner-ner-ner-ner-ner, sonicing of Krasko as she apparently retreats from him is a case in point. At her core though, she is still the unwavering moral force who will always do what must be done, no matter the personal cost to her. The part that she, Graham and Yaz must ultimately play in Rosa’s story is absolutely gut-wrenching, and Whittaker sells it all with just a few looks. It’s a heartsbreaking performance from the series’ leading lady.
My only minor grumble with what is, undoubtedly, the finest episode of Doctor Who in a decade, concerns the often overbearing nature of Segun Akinola’s score. Admittedly, watching shows like Better Call Saul I’ve becoming accustomed to hearing the drama speak for itself, but particularly with “Rosa” it feels like loud music is – needlessly – trying to dictate how I should be feeling. You’ve got an intimidating looking teddy boy lurking round the TARDIS and stalking Rosa Parks – you don’t need to deafen me with sinister strings to suggest that he’s up to no good. I get it. My seven-year-old gets it. It’s there on the screen. 
Nonetheless, “Rosa” is an episode that ticks every box. It walks that pixel-thin line between being recognisably Doctor Who, and being something brand new. It’s the first episode of the series that I’ve watched more than once since “The Day of the Doctor”, and on the second viewing in particular it really struck me just how well this season – and this episode in particular – reflects the zeitgeist. Yes, it’s that word again, but for me it encapsulates this new era. Recently I showed my eldest daughter “Rose”, and I could tell from her expressions that it seemed as ancient to her as black-and-white Who did to me as a child. I showed her “Rosa”, though, and she was rapt. Not behind the sofa, but on the edge of it.
If I had any lingering doubts, then “Rosa” crushed them utterly. Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor has arrived.
The new series of Doctor Who airs on Sunday nights on BBC One and this episode is available to stream or download on BBC iPlayer in the UK, where the preceding 148 episodes are also currently available. A series pass is available from iTunes for £23.99.
Review by Lottie (age 7)
“It was good. We did about what Rosa Parks did in assembly and I liked that it showed you the full story of Rosa Parks. And it made me laugh when the Doctor got the year wrong.”
