‘Doctor Who’ Season 2 Episode 2 Review: Russell T Davies Delivers a Groundbreaking Episode

After dealing with robots and the AI Generator on MissBelindaChandra last week, we return for another episode of Doctor Who, and one that’s thankfully an immense improvement from its premiere episode. In true Doctor Who fashion, the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) runs into some problems trying to get Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu) back home. Belinda is a companion who knows what she wants, and that’s to return home back to her parents, and her job. Unfortunately, although the time fracture was fixed by the Doctor, the TARDIS, for unknown reasons, keeps bouncing them away from May 24, 2025.

Russell T Davies already seems to be providing the audience with a storyline that rivals the Ruby Sunday mystery of Season 1. While the writing may lead us to believe that we’re in for an adventurous and mysterious ride, there’s still a small chance that it can all fall apart with how the storyline wraps up. That’s not something to worry about now, as “Lux” shows that RTD still has the capability to make Doctor Who fun while also breaking boundaries with what’s possible in a show where almost everything you could think of has happened.

‘Doctor Who’ Breaks the Boundaries of Storytelling

Doctor Who is a series that has told its story through many different mediums, such as novels, comics, audiobooks, and even animated shows — if you remember Dreamland during David Tennant‘s time as the Tenth Doctor. It has experimented with all the different manners of storytelling, but, for the first time, Doctor Who has taken a new approach to how it tells the story in this episode, and it does so in a way that will have you watching the majority of the installment in disbelief at what you’re witnessing.

The Doctor and Belinda land in 1952 Miami, and explore an abandoned cinema that continues to play movies to an empty house. As they explore, they come to discover the villain of the week, Mr. Ring-a-Ding (Alan Cumming). What makes this character different from any villain that’s appeared in Doctor Who is his striking appearance. He’s animated, and by that, we don’t mean he’s a CG creature such as the Adipose; Mr. Ring-a-Ding is an animated cartoon character in the realm of the living. This has never been seen before in Doctor Who and it allows for such unique interactions between the Doctor, Belinda, and Mr. Ring-a-Ding. It also allows RTD to try various ways of connecting with the audience.

We’ve had characters such as Maestro (Jinkx Monsoon) and Mrs. Flood (Anita Dobson) (who makes another appearance in this episode) break the fourth wall, but RTD takes that to a whole new level, and it never seems ridiculous or out of touch with the show because there’s already a living cartoon that’s heavily involved with the story. There are many callbacks to previous Doctor Who episodes that fans will be able to spot and even a Murray Gold track from the Eleventh Doctor’s Series 5 that loyal fans of the show will be able to recognize. This episode is for Doctor Who fans and somewhat feels like a thank-you letter to those who have stuck around through the toughest times of the series.

‘Doctor Who’ and Segregation

In the past, the Doctor has had many companions who have been people of color, and in those times, they’d travel to periods where it was looked down upon for people of color to walk about freely. The Doctor was always ready to defend his companions when he needed to and these were great moments because the writers never let the series’ sci-fi roots impede on any racial messaging it set to deliver. It was always expected that with the Doctor now being played by a Black man, we were going to get an episode that dealt with racism, and RTD delivered that last season with “Dot and Bubble.”

It would be very easy for a writer — especially one that isn’t a person of color — to think they’ve now ticked a box and to never return to that issue. But that’s not realistic, and it should be expected that the Doctor would still run into these issues. With the Doctor and Belinda traveling back to Miami in 1952, there are expectations that they’re not going to have the easiest time. Yet, RTD ensures that his writing covers the prevalent segregation of the era. There are several mentions of it throughout the episode, with a diner and cinema being “White-only” locations that are, at times, used at a disadvantage to the Doctor.

“Lux” Signals a Greater Role for Mrs. Flood

Mrs. Flood makes yet another appearance in the second episode of Doctor Who Season 2, making it likely that we might see her in every episode, similar to how we saw Susan Triad’s (Susan Twist)  face show up in several episodes last season. From the Christmas Special, where Mrs. Flood warned us that the Doctor’s story was going to end in “absolute terror,” to then showing up as Belinda’s neighbor in the previous episode. “You ain’t seen me,” is what she said to us in the last episode, and all the fans have done is continue to create theories surrounding her.

It’s safe to say that whatever Mrs. Flood is up to will be of some relevance to the finale and overall story arc of this season. Fans will be rushing to talk about her appearance in this latest episode, as it leads us to believe that maybe her teases are more connected to what’s going on with Doctor Who in the real world than we have originally been led to believe.

Doctor Who Season 2, Episode 2, “Lux,” is the most fun that Doctor Who has been in a long time. Russell T Davies lets loose with his ideas and breaks the boundaries of what’s possible by combining animation and live-action. With the episode being as fun as it is, RTD doesn’t forget the realism of the show and continues to effectively write about the social issues that the Doctor and Belinda must deal with when traveling to certain periods in time. While it’s still an early start to the season, RTD has stuck to Belinda’s wish to go home, and although she can’t help but partake in the antics, she makes it very known that this is not the life she wants to live. Let’s hope the future episodes of Doctor Who make for some interesting discussions between the Doctor and Belinda.

Follow Agents of Fandom on socials for all the latest entertainment news and reviews.