Doctor Who Episode Details Reveal an Exciting Loki Connection

Doctor Who Season 14 (or Season 1 if you’re on Disney+) is doubling down on the pop culture references. Not only will this season contain a British invasion-themed episode featuring the Beatles, The Doctor singing a musical number, and Ruby Sunday tied up by musical notation, but there’s also a Regency-set episode that Ruby calls “SO Bridgerton” in the trailer.

But there’s more to this episode than just monopolizing on yet another smash hit British TV series, though it is worth noting Bridgerton stars Nicola Coughlan and Golda Rosheuvel both appear in other Season 14 episodes. One of the episode’s writers is responsible for one of the best Marvel Cinematic Universe shows — but she’s taking on a new role in Doctor Who.

Doctor Who revealed the titles of all eight episodes of the upcoming seasons, along with the writers and directors of each episode. Apart from several episodes written by returning showrunner Russell T. Davies and former showrunner Steven Moffat, one episode is written by a newcomer to Doctor Who — but not a newcomer to Doctor Who-style antics. Kate Herron, best known not as a writer, but as the director and executive producer of the first season of Loki, is credited as the co-writer for the sixth episode, “Rogue,” alongside Briony Redman. But despite being new to the BBC show, she couldn’t be a better fit.

Much like Doctor Who, Loki is a show about time travel, the mysterious workings behind the universe, and the mischievous, British, bisexual and genderfluid chaos agent running around and saving the day. It garnered countless comparisons to Doctor Who, from how it handles the rules of time travel to the very structure of the show. Herron has already proven she knows how a time travel show should look, but she didn’t write Loki Season 1 — Michael Waldron did. It will be interesting to see how she tackles the time travel genre as a writer, especially with a period drama genre.

The titles were featured in short video clips containing clues as to what each series could be about. Note: Every episode except “Boom” and “Rogue” is written by showrunner Russell T. Davies.

• "Space Babies" - The season will launch with a Look-Who’s-Talking-style adventure written by returning showrunner Russell T. Davies. Presumedly, they’re not actually babies, just aliens who look like babies.
• "The Devil's Chord" - This episode is the much-hyped Beatles story, which will send the Doctor and Ruby back to the 1960s to deal with a musical villain. Drag queen and Broadway actress Jinkx Monsoon is rumored to appear in this episode.
• "Boom" - Despite its incredibly vague title, this is arguably one of the most exciting episodes of the season. It’s written by Steven Moffat, the writer of classic Davies-era episodes “The Girl in the Fireplace” and “Blink.”
• "73 Yards" - There’s not much known about this episode, but the clip announcing the title shows it emblazoned on a sign outside a pub, suggesting a classic rural-England-set episode.
• "Dot and Bubble" - This episode looks to be the “Black-Mirror-esque” episode star Millie Gibson hinted at in an interview, focusing on a futuristic, technological world.
• "Rogue" - This episode is the Regency-set adventure and will feature guest star Jonathan Groff. The title was revealed on an invitation from the “Duchess of Pemberton,” who will presumedly be a character.
• "The Legend of Ruby Sunday" - Like any good season of Doctor Who, the last two episodes will be dedicated to the season-long arc of the Doctor and his companion.
• "Empire of Death" - The “of Death” title is a classic Doctor Who device, as past episodes have been named “The Robots of Death,” “City of Death,” and even the 1999 comedic short “The Curse of Fatal Death.”

As the only writers on the new season apart from seasoned Doctor Who veterans Davies and Moffat, anticipation is certainly high for what Redman and Herron can bring. Apart from Doctor Who, the duo are making a big splash in writing. Not only did they write “Rogue,” they also are attached to write the upcoming Margot-Robbie-produced The Sims movie, which Herron will also direct. This episode of Doctor Who will just prove she knows her sci-fi from both sides of the script.

Doctor Who Season 14 premieres May 10, 2024 on Disney+.