Doctor Who Season 2 Episode 4 “Lucky Day” was probably the most frustrated I’ve been with this show in a while. And it’s for a multitude of reasons, one more complex than the other. Nevertheless, it was a necessary episode. Too necessary.
Firstly, this episode left me frustrated because of the tidal shift after Doctor Who Season 2 Episode 3 “The Well,” arguably the most terrifying and entertaining episode of this franchise in years. That episode was a perfect blend of allowing the new companion to understand a little bit more about the kind of life she could have with The Doctor with horror elements. And at the same time it offered a flashback to the David Tennant era of it all, a reminder that the past ripples into the future in unexpected ways.
MORE: Ncuti Gatwa and Varada Sethu talk with Fangirlish about Season 2 of Doctor Who.
Secondly, this episode left me frustrated because there was barely any of Ncuti Gatwa and Varada Sethu. They appeared for a couple minutes in the beginning and only The Doctor appeared at the end. With us having a short season already, it almost feels like a waste of time to dedicate so much screen time to something that felt like a filler episode. And it’s not me saying that Ruby herself is filler. She isn’t. But a little bit more balance was needed to make this an episode of Doctor Who and not a UNIT spin-off jumping off point.
And lastly, the most complex reason why this “Lucky Day” frustrated me to bits: it was too real. At the center of this episode we had Ruby having this sweet romance before the rug is pulled out from underneath her in the same vein as Hans in Frozen. I was shook then. I was shook now. But unlike Frozen, which is a make-believe world, what happened in “Lucky Day” felt like looking at a reflection of our current lived reality of insecure and money hungry individuals who would exploit their gran if it meant commanding the stage and influencing others to follow in their delusion, especially if it sows discord and distrust.
And it’s not like I don’t know what show I signed up for.
MORE: Learn more about the Doctor Who spin-off with UNIT titled The War Between the Land and the Sea.
Doctor Who has covered multiple themes of colonization, war, destruction, and racism over the years. This episode shouldn’t come as a shock. But it does because we all know someone like that douche of a “boyfriend” who I’m just going to call Hans for now. We all know a Hans who will have so much conviction in their righteousness and point of view of the world even when faced with the thing that they call a lie. Those people are real and would face an actual timeless being like The Doctor and not be bothered because they don’t care about reality. The only thing that matters is what they believe and if they can make you believe it too.
The monster in “Lucky Day” wasn’t the Shreek. The monster was Hans aka Conrad and how he didn’t care if he seriously hurt someone, destroyed the lives of countless families in UNIT, or faced an actual alien being who wanted to rip him to shreds. And it’s loser behavior because your mommy didn’t pay attention to you when you were a kid and now you’re making it everyone else’s problem. Whomp whomp. Instead of putting so much energy into making Ruby out to be the bad guy, Conrad could actually be doing something like enacting actual change in people’s life like better job prospects, housing, or medical care. But Conrad doesn’t care about people’s actual lives and bettering them. He cares about being right. And he’s a loser for it.
MORE: Revisit where this season started in our review for Doctor Who Season 2, Episode 1 “The Robot Revolution.”
Everything that I have written above is also exactly why we need an episode like Doctor Who Season 2 Episode 4 “Lucky Day.” We all know a person like Conrad. And if sci-fi is going to be social commentary that speaks to our world, “Lucky Day” did a great job at that. Real people are suffering the consequences of cruel men like Conrad. Real families and communities are torn apart by men like Conrad. And if you walk away bothered by this episode, maybe it’s time for a little self reflection. Because the show is setting up Conrad as the evil that lurks if Mrs. Flood freeing him is any indication. So if it’s an evil to be challenged in the show, it’s also an evil to be challenged in real life.
Ultimately, Doctor Who Season 2 Episode 4 “Lucky Day” is a necessary moment of reflection to remind people that while they’re escaping within the world of Doctor Who, this show lives and breathes in a world that has something to say and reflects our actual lived reality. It always has.
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Loved it! ❤️🫶
I’m kinda used to DWLite eps once or twice thru a ses so that doesn’t bother me if the ep is good anyways and I loved this ep (even tho I’m not the biggest Ruby fan 🙈).
And I love Kate Lethbridge-Stewart (& her Dad) sfm so I’m always glad when she pops up. 🥰🥰🥰
But ugh, you’re 💯💯💯 percent correct on Conrad and people like him. 🙃😭