Editor’s note: The below recap contains spoilers for Doctor Who Season 2 Episode 4.
After three episodes of nonstop action and pulse-pounding twists, Doctor Who is taking a breather with a Doctor-lite episode and throwing it back to last year’s companion, Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson). “Lucky Day” takes the rare opportunity to catch up with a previous companion after she’s left the TARDIS. While we’re certainly missing the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Belinda (Varada Sethu) — and bummed to not see this trio in the TARDIS together — “Lucky Day” stands on its own and even does some groundwork to read the franchise’s upcoming UNIT spin-off. Gibson delivers a lovely performance that highlights how much Ruby has grown since we last saw her. We get some delightful updates on her family after she was reunited with her birth mother in the Season 1 finale, and a glimpse at what it’s like to attempt to live a normal life after traveling with the Doctor.
Directed by Peter Hoar and written by Pete McTighe, “Lucky Day” also features a standout performance from Jonah Hauer-King, who spends the first half of the episode making Ruby, and the audience, fall in love with him before taking a villainous turn and finding himself going up against The Doctor, UNIT, and a new monster called the Shreek. While he’s only in a pair of scenes, Gatwa still delivers a fantastic performance and even gets to flex the Doctor’s darker side. “Lucky Day” also features the now-standard cameo appearance from Anita Dobson’s Mrs. Flood, who suggests we may not have seen the last of Hauer-King’s dastardly Conrad.
‘Doctor Who’ Takes a Break From Your Regularly Scheduled Programming
The episode opens with the Doctor and Belinda managing to land on Earth again. A little boy watches them as they bicker about when they’ve landed while the doctor sets up the vindicator. Fireworks are going off overhead, and the Doctor reckons that they’ve landed on New Year’s Day — a day the Doctor loves for all its possibilities. When they spot the little boy named Conrad, they ask him what year it is. Unfortunately, they’re a whopping 18 years away from their destination, as it’s only 2007. The Doctor offers the kid a coin and tells him that today is his lucky day. Baffled by what he’s just witnessed, Conrad runs back through the crowd to tell his mother, but she doesn’t really care and is quite irritated at him for interrupting her with nonsense. Now, in 2025 (presumably before May 24), Conrad has grown up to be a man with a microphone, and he’s got none other than Ruby Sunday appearing on his podcast.
For context, after the opening credits, we jump back slightly to sometime in 2024, when Conrad sees the TARDIS again for the first time in 17 years. When he hears a snarling creature inside an abandoned mall, he goes in to investigate. The creature darts around the mall and even marks Conrad with a smelly green goop, stalking him like prey. Suddenly, the Doctor sonics the monster, called the Shreek, back to its home dimension, and he and Ruby fall into their familiar cheeky banter, unaware that they’re still being watched. Ruby was also marked with the green goop, and the Doctor explains that the Shreek did mark her as prey, but there’s no need to panic as the Doctor has the antidote (which does not taste like candy floss, and will knock the drinker out for a full night’s sleep).
As they walk back to the TARDIS, laughing about hanging out with the Beatles, Conrad snaps a picture of Ruby that he later posts online, asking if anyone has seen her. She shows up on the doorstep of his recording studio herself and agrees to speak on his podcast. We’re treated to a little montage of people all over London going about their days and listening to their conversation as if they’re live on air rather than a pre-recorded conversation. Ruby calls the Doctor her best friend, and while there’s not a lot she can say, legally, she goes on to hint at her fantastical adventures. Ruby also sings the praises of the good people at UNIT, despite Conrad’s (at the time) innocuous mention of internet trolls who believe it’s all a hoax. Ruby gently reminds him that we all know aliens are real at this point, given how many times London has been invaded in Doctor Who canon, something that people like Conrad tend to forget until the next invasion.
After they finish the podcast, Conrad mentions he’s been trying to get UNIT’s attention for years, but no one ever returns his calls. He awkwardly asks Ruby out on a coffee date in a clumsy, bumbling way that immediately endears him to her. While there, she shows him a video of the Shreek, which has apparently returned for its prey: him. She reveals that if UNIT hadn’t been there to capture it, it probably would’ve gotten him too. Ruby explains how the Shreek hunt their prey in a very ghost story-like way, explaining that first it messed with the lights and then it makes sure you see it, just a little, just out of the corner of your eye, just enough to get your heart racing, before it hunts you down, because it likes the taste of your fear.
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Welcome back, Ms. Sunday.
She gives him the antidote and tells him to drink it before bed, and we all know he is not going to be doing that. He tells her about the time he met the Doctor, showing her the coin he now wears on a necklace and explaining that that meeting is what got him into strange tech in the first place. He dials up the charm offensive to eleven, and tells her that he thinks today is actually his lucky day because he’s met her. He asks her out on another date, and she agrees. We’re treated to a lovely little glimpse of Ruby’s home life — she still lives with her mother Carla and her grandmother Cherry, though now they all have a relationship with her birth mother Louise too. Carla snaps a pic of Ruby to send to Louise before her date, and Cherry stalks Conrad’s Instagram. After the finale, it’s reassuring to see that Doctor Who didn’t upend the only family Ruby’s ever known, but instead allowed her family to grow in a very natural way.
On Ruby’s date with Conrad, they bond over her wacky family, and he tells her a (fake) sob story about his mother dying of liver cancer. He apologizes for not being as cool as the Doctor, but Ruby thinks he’s lovely anyway. When Conrad asks if the Doctor was her boyfriend, Ruby jokes that he’d be more likely to flirt with him if he were here. She tells him about the TARDIS and relishes in the ability to finally talk about her adventures with someone who doesn’t think she’s crazy. He walks her home, and she reveals that she’s told him things she’s never told anyone else. He’s really laying it on thick, telling her she’s not crazy, she’s amazing. They share a sweet kiss, making it all the more devastating to know that Ruby is very much being played by this man.
Ruby Sunday Channels Her Inner Doctor When Friend Turns to Foe
A few weeks later, Conrad has a spot on the fridge among the pictures of Ruby’s family and the other foster kids that have lived with them over the years. Ruby is headed out the door for a weekend away with him and her moms and grandma all joke about how their relationship is moving along. As much as they tease her, they’re glad to see her happy, and once she’s gone, Carla mentions that she hasn’t spoken about the Doctor in weeks. When Ruby slips and calls what they have a relationship, Conrad asks if he’s her boyfriend. Ruby says she’ll make that decision depending on how the weekend goes, but Conrad is already over the moon about it and seemingly delighted to show her off to all his friends.
As they enter the village and later in the pub, Ruby notices strange flickers of electricity, immediately putting her on high alert for another run-in with the Shreek. Just in case, Ruby phones up Kate (Jenna Redgrave) at UNIT to make sure that the creature hasn’t escaped. She was aiming for Mel (Bonnie Langford), but Doctor Who uses this moment to tee up some drama for the upcoming spin-off, The War Between the Land and the Sea, revealing that Mel is away dealing with something strange in Sydney harbor. Kate explains that she doesn’t mind the call, and she enjoys working late, making eyes at Alexander Devrient’s beefy agent Ibrahim, picking up on a thread from last year’s finale, and hinting at a relationship we may see more of in the spin-off series.
Kate tells Ruby that there’s no sign of suspicious activity in her area and promises that the Shreek is still locked away safe and sound. Advising her to try and relax and enjoy her night, Kate suggests that it’s likely just a case of PTSD — she goes down to confirm the Shreek is still there with her own eyes, and we get a solid little jump scare out of it. When Ruby re-enters the pub, she emotionally explains the trauma she’s working through to Conrad, who promises nothing bad will happen while he’s around — which again seems particularly cruel given that he’s the one exploiting her trauma. When the lights in the pub go out entirely, everyone gets scared, and it appears that two Shreeks have somehow appeared outside out of nowhere. Conrad finally reveals that he did not take the antidote Ruby gave him out of sheer audacity, thinking he could be as brave as the Doctor — as if bravery has anything to do with scientifically being marked as prey for an alien species.
Ruby immediately jumps into action, as she’s the only one here actually capable of doing what the Doctor would do. She calls on UNIT, and they dispatch a team to her location. She tells Conrad to stay inside, but naturally, he does not listen to her, following just a few moments behind her, despite Ruby’s warnings that the creatures are hunting him. Just when they think it’s too late, finding the shoe of one of Conrad’s missing friends, UNIT arrives like the cavalry. However, as they search for the escaped aliens, none of their scientific readings make sense, and something feels very off. The pair of Shreeks terrorizing the pub emerges from the shadows and reveals themselves to be a pair of losers in costumes.
As they take off their masks, they ask, “How’d we do, boss?” and the other shoe finally drops as Conrad reveals he’s actually a toxic, macho influencer who doesn’t believe in science and thinks UNIT are essentially knock-off cops wasting taxpayer dollars on made-up enemies and aliens. He goes above and beyond to make sure we really hate him by hitting all the worst beats he could pack into one personality, being ableist to Shirley (Ruth Madley) and going out of his way to be cruel to Ruby, claiming that the weeks he’s spent dating her and getting to know her have been the most disgusting chore of his life. UNIT has him and his friends arrested, and poor Ruby is humiliated.
‘Doctor Who’ Tackles Toxic Influencer Culture
Another montage sees Conrad using the arrest for his own gain and going on a veritable press tour with his rage bait. The public is falling for his misinformation as he appeals to the disaffected youth of the UK and somehow pushes a debate about UNIT’s validity into parliament. Meanwhile, he’s the one committing actual crimes by doxxing UNIT’s employees and encouraging harassment. “Lucky Day” plays into how easy it is to radicalize people with social media, whether you have actual proof to back up your claims or not. Conrad just continues to get worse, as Shirley reveals that not only is his mother alive and well taken care of, but the guy doesn’t even pay taxes, adding a real sense of irony to his claims that UNIT is wasting the public’s money.
Conveniently, the containment chamber for the Shreek is on the helipad outside the main office at UNIT, for reasons they’re chalking up to their security being downgraded thanks to Conrad’s social attack. They discover that someone inside is sending Conrad information, and find that one of their new analysts has multiple ties to radical organizations and toxic podcasts, making one wonder how he even passed the background check to work at UNIT in the first place. Meanwhile, he’s actively letting Conrad into the building and even getting himself shot by the guy for all his hard work. Kate insists on letting Conrad come to them because she’s had enough of this nonsense, and she’s ready to end it here and now.
He arrives on the floor live-streaming and holding a gun, waving it about and claiming that he’s here to expose the truth. When Ruby calls him a lying little boy who can’t handle being called out, he has the audacity to point his gun at her, which Kate immediately takes issue with, jumping in to protect her and knock Conrad down a peg. Years ago, he applied for a job at UNIT and was rejected; Kate reveals that she knew even then that he couldn’t be trusted. He goes on, proving there’s no low he won’t stoop to, insulting the legacy of Kate’s father before they discover that he shot the analyst who let him in the building. He goes for his Master’s in gaslighting, claiming he did no such thing and asking where their previous Doctor is now.
Kate tells Conrad he’s actually lucky the Doctor isn’t here because he would’ve stopped her from showing him the truth. As requested, Kate gives Conrad a front row seat to a real monster by letting the Shreek out of containment so that it can actually stalk its prey. It’s a bold move given that Conrad is still live-streaming and Kate takes it a step further by broadcasting all of UNIT’s cameras to his social media too, showing the world their toxic bro hero panicking as he’s hunted down by an alien from another dimension. Ruby even asks Kate to help him, but she refuses, waiting until the last possible minute to make sure Conrad understands the very real danger that only UNIT and the Doctor are capable of stopping. Even when Ruby steps in and tasers the creature to save his life, Conrad smarts off again about all of it being fake before he’s promptly bitten on the arm.
Later, Ibrahim tells Kate that both the analyst he shot and Conrad will make a full recovery. He tries to warn her about having gone too far, saying that Geneva will have something to say about it, but Kate doubles down and says it’s fine. She goes to comfort Ruby, who explains that she thinks she may need a very different change of pace somewhere off on her own to fully process everything that’s happened to her. Are those companion meetings still a thing? Can Ruby not talk to Yaz (Mandip Gill) or Donna (Catherine Tate) or any of the other companions still kicking around London, people who actually know what she’s going through? Kate promises that Ruby can always call her if she needs help, and Shirley makes a delightful little joke about Ruby already having two moms and starting a collection of them at this point.
Elsewhere, we catch up with Conrad, who’s recovering in prison. We hear the TARDIS land outside, and the Doctor snaps Conrad inside for a little chat. The Doctor explains that he only invites special, chosen people into his TARDIS, and Conrad is special for all the wrong reasons. The Doctor delivers a pretty banger monologue about how people like Conrad just make relentless noise by weaponizing lies, turning fear into currency, and exhausting good people by wasting our time and wearing down our patience. Unfortunately for Conrad, the Doctor has nothing but time and is fully prepared to let this man rot. Conrad tries to flex by acting nonchalant and asking if he’s met Belinda yet — this version of the Doctor has not — but the Doctor isn’t having it. He tells Conrad that if he’s so desperate for spoilers, he can know exactly how he dies: in prison at age 49, alone and unloved, and the world is a better place without him. It’s cold and it’s cruel and it’s actually delicious to get to see Gatwa play into this darker side of the Doctor that comes out on rare occasions.
Conrad rejects the Doctor’s reality and tells him to get off of planet Earth. The Doctor snaps him right back into prison with a look of disgust. Back in his cell, we get our customary closing scene with another appearance from Mrs. Flood, who now appears to be recruiting for her war against the Doctor. Jangling the keys to his cell and calling herself the mayor, Mrs. Flood tells Conrad that today is his lucky day, bringing the episode full circle. With Conrad saying he rejects the Doctor’s reality, and the finale of Season 2 being titled “The Reality War,” it’s possible we haven’t seen the last of him.
New Doctor Who episodes arrive on Saturdays at 3 AM ET on Disney+ and BBC iPlayer.
“Lucky Day” puts Ruby Sunday in the hot seat in a Doctor-lite episode about toxic influencer culture.
- Release Date
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December 25, 2023
- Network
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BBC
- Millie Gibson holds her own as the main heroine for this episode.
- We get some interesting set up for the upcoming UNIT spin-off.
- Jonah Hauer-King does an excellent job as both the doting boyfriend and the toxic influencer.
- Belinda and the Doctor’s absence is disappointing after hoping we would see the trio together.
- Some of the messaging is a little mixed as Kate goes too far to prove her point.
