The last episode of “Doctor Who” has a little precious doctor, and he does not present a large part of his current companion Belinda. Instead, it is a story linked to the earth according to the former companion Ruby (Millie Gibson) as it enters a relationship with a young man apparently nice named Conrad (Jonah Hauer-King).

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Conrad makes a strange first impression: his first scene shows him as a child who brutally tears up a piece of the doctor’s hand despite the fact that the doctor fortunately offered him. But when we catch up with Conrad in adulthood, he seems to have mainly matured. He started a healthy podcast on the doctor, and when he meets Ruby for the first time, he acts as a nervous fanboy.

For the first half of this episode, it seems that the writer of the episode, Pete Mctighe, aims for the same spark as another episode of famous doctor-liteist: “Love & Monsters”. Although this episode is (legitimately!) Displayed by fans for his terrible final act, it is easy to forget that his first two thirds were delicious. It was fun to see a bunch of normal humans united by their sense of wonder towards the doctor. It was nice to give the doctor a break for a week, to offer fans an overview of what the earth looks like when it is not there. Although “Love & Monsters” was a bust, the writers of “Doctor Who” intelligently realized that the Doctor-Lite aspect of this one was not to blame. They gave us Classics like “flashing” And “turn left” shortly after.

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But instead of trying to capture the spirit of “Blink” or “Turn to the left”, this last episode focuses on giving “Love & Monsters” a dark restart. Like “L&M”, “Lucky Day” shows how the doctor can have an impact on a random human. A forgettable adventure for the doctor can involuntarily change the whole course of a random life of a passer -by, for the better or for the worst.

In the case of Conrad, at the beginning, it seems that it was changed for the best. Introduced as having an abusive mother, it seems that Conrad hung on to his sense of wonder towards the doctor as a kind of raft of emotional life. No matter how difficult his family life could have been, his hopes of knowing more about the doctor could always spend the day. Of course, the difference between “Love & Monsters” and “Lucky Day” becomes very visible in the second half of this episode. While “Love & Monsters” remained optimistic (even when he shouldn’t have), “Lucky Day” is deliciously deserved.

In the great turn of the episode, we discover that Conrad is not someone who kept his belief to the doctor despite the dismissal of his violent mother. Instead, it is essentially became His mother, finding the power to call other liars for believing what he did once. The entire Conrad’s relationship with Ruby turns out to be a ploy for him to expose it and unity to “lie” from extraterrestrials to the public. It is an incredibly cruel tip of Conrad; He acquired Ruby’s confidence and pretended to love him for weeks, while could see from the point of view of Ruby to what extent this new relationship meant for her. Conrad does not only reveal to Ruby that he lied all this time. He reveals that he hated it from the start and secretly ridiculed everything she told him. It reminds “73 yards” of last seasonwhere Ruby is thrown through an absurd amount of emotional disorders without a doctor to help him.

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Doing worse Conrad’s actions is how dishonest they are, not only towards Ruby but towards his disciples. His plan to “expose” the corruption of Ruby and unity proves nothing, but he and his friends of the conspiracy act like that. Social media algorithms and right -wing media are happy to follow its unreasonable victory tour, and Conrad uses this media boost to ruin Ruby’s life and undermine the work of unity.

This is the point of history where the absence of the doctor really shines. Without Tardis to flee, Ruby must endure Conrad’s abuses in real time. And without a doctor to solve the problem, we can see Kate Lethbridge-Stewart (Jemma Redgrave) take care of Conrad by herself. His decision to set an extraterrestrial after Conrad is cold, vindictive and undeniably cool like hell. I have never been impressed by Kate – I think that the show always builds her to be a hard to cook, but the plot forces her to be useless – but she is incredible here. “Lucky Day” gives us a version of Kate which is actually interesting, something that the episode could not have done if the doctor was there.

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Overall, “Love & Monsters” was a fun story about how Internet can help unite well -intentioned foreigners with common niche interests. “Lucky Day” concerns the way internet can encourage people’s worst instincts, and can allow people of bad faith to spread disinformation and hatred at a previously unimaginable pace. It is a reflection revealing the way our collective understanding of the Internet has embittered over time. Most of us no longer believe that the Internet makes us smarter or more kind, and “Doctor Who” no longer believes it. Maybe the doctor himself always believes it, but he is not there.

The decision to concentrate an entire episode on Ruby, someone who is no longer the current companion, is quite unprecedented. The parallel closest to ruby ​​in the Original era of Russell T. Davies Was Martha, who entered here and there throughout season 4 of Donna Noble. But during these episodes, Donna and the doctor were still the main objective. Martha’s inclusion was a fun bonus, but little more.

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What makes “Lucky Day” extra Strange is that he presents himself in a season that lasts only eight episodes, not the 13 episodes that the seasons appreciated. For fans hoping to get as many new companions as possible in our limited time with it, this detour could be a little frustrating. On the right side, “Lucky Day” seems to apologize for the way Ruby and the doctor’s dynamics were last season; The fans complained about the timing jumps between their adventures, but this episode goes up and gives us an overview of their lives between the episodes. “Doctor Who” compensates for lost time with Ruby and the doctor, but that does it to the detriment of Doctor and Belinda.

Of course, there is a chance that it will lead to an exciting season 3. I hope Belinda will develop his own taste for adventure and also choose to stay – it could lead to a very Fun season when it is Doctor, Ruby and Belinda partying in time and space together. Most of my favorite eras of the show have more than one companion in the Tardis, so if “Doctor Who” could succeed with Ruby and Belinda, I would certainly be on board.

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Unfortunately, the future of “Doctor Who” is not clear at the moment. It has not yet been renewed for a new season, and there is Rumors on the show going through another interruption. It’s a shame, because leaving Ncuti Gatwa’s doctor enjoying a third season with his two companions would be an ideal way for his time to go out. We did not have enough time with Ruby in her first season and now we have enough time with Belinda. One last season with the two in the Tardis would be enormous.