Saw this thread by @HandsAndStars on Twitter about how this season might have been better if Rogue and Devils Chord would swap places and I thought that this might be an interesting discussion here.
The twitter thread
Last week, I did a full (as one can do) rewatch of Season One with the order of Rogue and The Devil’s Chord SWAPPED, as an experiment.
The results were great, and I believe other people might find it worthwhile to give this a try too. Here’s why:
1/21: many thoughts!
Firstly, the reason I and many others have bemoaned the series order as-is is due to Ruby’s skipped six months of character development between SB and TDC: She leaves in Christmas, and by episode 2 she’s in June. This revised order fixes that by having the episodes
2/21
Rogue through to Dot and Bubble recontextualised as within those first six months. And it really works. Ever wonder how Ruby can suddenly co-ordinate an improvised piano dance with the Doctor in that episode? Answer: She’s put on her psychic earrings from Rogue.
3/21
Wonder why she’s so confident with her “Everyone knows a Janet” infiltration schtick? Because she’s done similar infiltrations before: see Rogue, Dot and Bubble, and (this shouldn’t count due to timelines but) 73 Yards.
The list goes on.
4/21
Secondly, tonally this order is much more satisfying. In the initial order, you get three consecutive increasingly-fun stories, three tense and upsetting stories, then a fun story that becomes upsetting, then a tense and emotional finale.
It’s a downhill slope without
5/21
much respite, which is at odds with the season’s generally-fun air.
Switch those two episodes, however, and you get three fun stories (the third devolving into a sad one), then your three dark tense stories, then a really fun relieving breather before the finale,
6/21
in which it seems Ruby might be taking him on this fun trip to cheer him up after the hard times he’s had recently. TDC feels a lot more fun and fresh and earnt when it’s later on in the season, I feel. 
7/21
Thirdly, new continuity. There are lots of little parts to this, so I’ll just bullet point some:
• In Rogue, when Ruby is proving she’s not a Chulder, she tells the Doctor her nan’s called Cherry and they met Space Babies. That’s their only two previous adventures.
8/21
• The Doctor recalls promising Carla he’ll keep Ruby safe. In this context, this conversation took place only at the end of the previous story when he visited for Christmas, making it sting more, elaborating more on their relationship before it’s mentioned again
9/21
in 73 Yards, and explaining why he didn’t get the same flashback (previously earlier) when Ruby died in Boom.
10/21
• The Doctor feels terribly responsible for Rogue’s banishment, in which his feet got glued to the ground and may have died. Ignoring this, he promises Ruby new horizons. The next episode, he is narratively punished by this guilt, seeing the “new horizons” are dirty
11/21
and horrid, as he himself is glued to the ground at peril. The day is saved by the eternal power of love being retained post mortem, as he concludes “What survives of us is love.”
Recontextualised, this is a great mini character arc of him facing his guilt over Rogue.
12/21
• In the opening scene of 73 Yards, Ruby reminds the Doctor she’s from 2024, making it the first episode confirmed to have a time jump for her.
• In Dot and Bubble, Ruby sees Susan Twist, saying “I’ve seen her somewhere else.” This could now mean The Portrait.
13/21
• The Devil’s Chord starts with the Doctor acting momentarily quiet, perhaps not in the best of moods. This might not be long after Dot and Bubble.
• He mentions seeing Ruby perform on December 23rd, in which we see he was wearing his outfit from Dot and Bubble, with
14/21
a hat added for the sake of disguise. It’s possible that this happened after that episode for him, as he either just wanted a bit of cheering up, or he might have started privately investigating the Susan Twist mystery after Penny Pepper-Bean.
15/21
• Maestro is the child of the Toymaker, and this is a more satisfying turn of events with a six episode gap between them rather than a two episode gap.
• They declare “The one who waits is almost here!” That’s very true; he’s in the next episode!
16/21
• “I have loved. And I have lost,” says the Doctor, now recalling his mini Rogue arc.
• The Tea Lady scene in The Devil’s Chord where they don’t notice her is far, far funnier when you know he’s investigating her at this point.
• Ruby bringing up Susan foreman
17/21
at the start of the finale feels a lot more justified, now that she found out about her only in the previous story.
• “A Twist at the End” features references to Rogue, 73 Yards, Boom, and Dot and Bubble. This is more satisfying as recollection, not foreshadowing!
18/21
Aaaand that is, about, everything that comes to mind that’s good about this order! Though there are a couple of negatives:
- Ruby glares the portrait vaguely racognising the Heckler, then doesn’t bring this up when she sees the Ambulances.
- The guest writer episodes
19/21
are consecutive, giving a longer chunk without any.
But I’d say the positives outweigh them. And it makes sense, it does seem the series was meant to be in the order it went out in, but I really liked this! :)))
20/21
(Other orders are available 
)
(Maybe I’ll do something like this again sometime!)
21/21
