‘Doctor Who’ Season 2 Episode 4 Review: Twists, Turns and Betrayals

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Doctor Who Season 2, Episode 4, “Lucky Day”.

It’s truly wonderful that Doctor Who continues to get better and better each week, surprising fans with a Doctor-lite episode that proves itself to be better than “73 Yards.” We’ve now made it halfway through the season, and it’s looking to be one of the best installments of Doctor Who we’ve gotten in the last 10 years, and it feels great to get continuously well-written and -directed episodes back to back.

This time, the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Belinda (Varada Sethu) step back as we follow Conrad Clark (Jonah Hauer-King), who has been searching for the Doctor after interacting with him many years ago. Once Conrad comes in contact with Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson), he attempts to live a similar lifestyle to the Doctor. Still, deep down, something sinister is going on with Conrad and his history with UNIT.

Jonah Hauer-King Continues ‘Doctor Who’ Season 2’s Tradition of Strong Supporting Characters

The most that fans knew Jonah Hauer-King coming to Doctor Who is that he was going to be the boyfriend of previous companion, Ruby Sunday. What really helps “Lucky Day” shine is that the episode hides a lot of its story from all the marketing. The official synopsis for this episode also reads, “Ruby Sunday faces life back on Earth without the Doctor. But when a dangerous new threat emerges, can Ruby and UNIT save her new boyfriend, Conrad, from the terrifying Shreek?” But it’s not Conrad that will need saving; instead, it’s Ruby and UNIT.

Conrad first runs into the Doctor and Belinda in 2007, where he’s gifted a coin by the Doctor, who tells him it’s his “lucky day.” 18 years later, Conrad bumps into him once more, but this time with Ruby Sunday, showcasing an adventure that happened offscreen between “The Devil’s Chord” and “Boom,” and silencing the fans who questioned “Boom” being their third adventure together. With the Doctor and Ruby facing off against a new enemy — the Shreek, an alien race who mark their targets and hunt them for sport — Conrad finds himself marked while digging his nose where it doesn’t belong.

“Lucky Day” begins to feel like a more solid and altogether better-written episode than “Love and Monsters”; both episodes involved civilians who were fascinated with finding out about the Doctor, but “Lucky Day” quickly goes down a path that’s truly unexpected as tensions and stakes begin to rise. While it may seem like the Shreek have come for Conrad, we soon find out they’re actors, all part of Conrad’s crew, “Think Tank,” who plan to expose the lies of UNIT.

It’s a twist that takes the episode in a whole new direction and sees it move at a rapid pace as Conrad commits unforgivable acts. Jonah Hauer-King is one of the greatest additions to NuWho and delivers an unforgettable performance that puts him in the ranks of some of the show’s greatest human antagonists.

Ruby and Kate Lethbridge-Stewart Are Reigning Queens in ‘Doctor Who’

Ruby Sunday said goodbye to everyone in “Empire of Death” when she stayed on Earth to spend time with her birth mother, Louise Miller (Faye McKeever). Now she’s back in yet another Doctor-lite episode, which she gets to lead once more. It’s rare in Doctor Who for the viewers to get a look into a previous companion’s life without the Doctor for a whole episode, when usually we only get so much as a glimpse. It’s the driving force of this episode, and Pete McTighe does an excellent job of reviving the character of Ruby and making her interesting once more after what felt like an assassination with her storyline last season.

McTighe also plays around with the people in Ruby’s life and how they support her in situations where the Doctor would usually play a role. It is not only a unique way to tell a story surrounding a previous companion, but it also offers a different perspective on how people live and the repercussions that take place once the Doctor is no longer in the equation. With how well Pete McTighe handles this script, it makes you wonder why Doctor Who hasn’t experimented with a storyline such as this before, but that could simply be because a lot of his companions have had tragic endings.

Kate Lethbridge-Stewart (Jemma Redgrave) makes a return after also last appearing in “Empire of Death.” Kate and UNIT have had a greater presence in Doctor Who, making them both feel like they have an impact on the world’s universe. While as fans, the aliens in Doctor Who seem ever so real, do the civilians believe in it, and does UNIT have the people’s safety in their best interest? There are claims thrown around, such as UNIT using taxpayers’ money and getting actors to dress up as aliens, and even as far as claiming that Shirley Bingham (Ruth Madeley) claims benefits while lying.

Conrad is ruthless, but with no Doctor to stop Kate, she’s even worse. Jemma Redgrave relishes in her best performance yet as Kate, giving fans a closer look into her dark side as she sets the Shreek free to attack Conrad. McTighe’s script gives Kate dialogue to work with that feels closer to her Big Finish counterpart of the character, with Redgrave leading with a strong, dark, and vicious performance that complements the writing.

Ncuti’s Darkest Moment As the Doctor Comes in ‘Doctor Who’ Season 2

The Doctor returns for one final moment as the episode begins to close, as he decides to pay Conrad a visit behind bars by materialising the TARDIS around him. He explains how only people who are special are invited to the TARDIS, with Conrad being special for all the wrong reasons. It’s in this moment that we’re reminded how protective the Doctor is of his companions, even when he’s no longer with them. Ncuti’s Doctor has yet to receive an “I’m the Doctor” moment, but Pete McTighe brings us closer with a monologue that radiates the same energy. It’s revealed in this moment that the Doctor has yet to meet Belinda Chandra after Conrad mentions her name, causing the Doctor to “spoil” his death for him.

The writing for this season feels like it has truly been outlined, unlike the previous, as we also get the reveal that Conrad is the reason why the Doctor goes searching for Belinda in “The Robot Revolution.” While Ncuti, similar to Jemma Redgrave, gives a brutal performance with his monologue, hinting at the dark sides of the Doctor, none of it seems to affect Conrad as he rejects that future and tells him to “get off his world.” The Doctor returns him to his cell with a click of his fingers, only solidifying how badass the Doctor is.

It wouldn’t be an episode of Doctor Who Season 2 if Mrs Flood (Anita Dobson) didn’t make an appearance. Here, we see her as the Governor as she tells Conrad it’s his “lucky day” and frees him from prison, quickly changing the future that the Doctor just revealed to him. This will likely all play a huge part in the two-part finale, “Wish World” and “The Reality War,” where we will possibly see Conrad’s return.

Doctor Who Season 2, Episode 4 “Lucky Day,” gives us yet another Doctor-lite episode, but instead of focusing on characters without any connection to the Doctor, Pete McTighe highlights how an old companion, such as Ruby, operates in a world that’s out to get her. With great direction once more from Peter Hoar, a well-written script from McTighe, some of the best performances the show has seen yet from Jemma Redgrave and Ncuti Gatwa, and only four episodes left of the season, Doctor Who highlights why it deserves a space in the talk for best sci-fi series.

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