YMMV / Doctor Who S38E5 "Fugitive of the Judoon"

• Character Rerailment: After a transphobic line in the Torchwood episode "Greeks Bearing Gifts", trans fans were delighted at Jack's happily excited reaction to the Doctor being female.
• Fridge Horror: The way it's always worked is that when two Doctors (or Masters) meet, the earlier incarnation cannot retain any memories of the time they spent together. If this holds true, the Fugitive Doctor will suddenly find herself in her TARDIS, alone, with no memories of how she got there, and the last thing she'd remember was being on Earth, with her devoted Companion as her husband. She'd have no idea he'd sacrificed himself so she could escape, and no memory of killing her former boss or why. All she'd know is that her hiding place and the one who helped hide her were gone, and possibly she'd discover all too quickly that a particular Judoon was taking the hunt for her very personally!
• Jerkass Woobie: The Doctor snaps at her companions, and has a "you don't know me" diatribe that, while true, is essentially her own fault for keeping them at arm's length, but is torturing herself by going to Gallifrey on her own and is just shattered from the Trauma Conga Line that Series 12 has been for her so far.
• Shocking Moments: Jack returns unexpectedly after a decade, and then we're introduced to a new incarnation of the Doctor, called the "Fugitive Doctor", whose very existence raises scores of questions.
• Trapped by Mountain Lions: Graham (and later, Yaz and Ryan) get whisked away by Jack as the latter tries to teleport the Doctor onto his stolen ship, while the Doctor deals with the A-plot figuring out what's going on on Earth. Of course, the reason Jack's doing this is to give her a message about the Lone Cyberman, but his attempts to capture her keep failing for various reasons.
• Unexpected Character: Jack Harkness is back, having not been seen in the main series since the Tenth Doctor's run ended, and not seen on television in any capacity since Torchwood: Miracle Day, with his only appearances since then being video games and audio dramas.
• Viewer Gender Confusion: Pol-Kon-Don, the Judoon captain, is female, as indicated when the Doctor offers to talk to her "woman to woman" and confirmed by Millennium FX. However, aside from the Mohawk, she is indistinguishable from any other Judoon.
• Visual Effects of Awesome: The new Judoon animatronics for Pol-Kon-Don look great with more expressions, head movement, and better lip flap.
• Win Back the Crowd: Frequently considered to be the best Thirteenth Doctor episode; those not convinced by Resolution or Spyfall were often convinced by this one. Between the Judoon, Jack Harkness coming back, a hint at a nefarious Cyberman plot, and a secret incarnation of the Doctor, fans considered this to be a return to form for Doctor Who. Even those who disliked the later reveals this episode sets up agree that this episode is well made in its own right.

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