NOTE: There are many speculating “leaks” ahead of the series launch floating around online – they will not be discussed in this review unless they have happened in the show already. If you want to talk about the leaks for future episodes, please use spoilers.
Lucky Day is an interesting, odd episode from Pete McTigh, writer of Kerblam – with its infamous centrist policies that had The Doctor supporting an Amazon-type entity. This time we’re back in 2007 with The Doctor and Belinda travelling to Earth in new years eve where The Doctor meets a young Conrad and gives him a 50 pence piece. Conrad is entranced; spellbound – but ultimately, left behind. Thus is the case of what happens to a would-be companion who’s not worthy – and there’s a reason why he’s not worthy. It’s ultimately a RTD Adam 2.0 creation; someone to show what makes Ruby and Belinda special and not everyone who has what it takes to travel with The Doctor.
It’s also a commentary on the online sphere of the alt-right and misinformation. Conrad creates a mystery so enticing for Ruby that she can’t help but summon UNIT – and then, UNIT unmasked, on camera and exposed for the whole world to see – aliens aren’t real he says, aliens are frauds – it’s UNIT spending public funds on employing children and extravagant affairs beyond their means. It’s a teaser for The War Between the Land and the Sea, the upcoming spinoff – and it’s a case of asking us how right-wing think tanks would react to finding out that there was an anti-alien taskforce established. Conrad even interviewed at UNIT once, right before Kate left. It’s a fascinating tale of what could’ve been, but there’s enough hints about him that he’s dangerous and they pay off in grand fashion, offering an enemy similiar to Alan.
Ruby Sunday has a rotten luck with her solo episodes; she needs a nice relaxing beach day. This is the second time after 73 Yards where she’s had an intense, traumatic character-defining episode, being manipulated by Conrad into playing a part in allowing him to expose UNIT. It was all a lie, their relationship, he says – and Millie Gibson plays that heartbreak brilliantly. As great as Belinda has been as a companion I do wish we had more episodes with Ruby and this is a reminder of why, even as much as Ruby’s absence was felt heavily here. If only we had the thirteen episode count of RTD1.
McTigh’s politics are famously centrist and this episode very much had the “we can’t question the paramilitary organisation; they’re actually the good guys”; but as an anti-vax allegory rather than an authoritarian one his heart is in the right place, if a bit misguided. He does attempt to address this by having Kate go too far in maybe, one of the best characterisations of her era yet – where she’s allowed to operate of her own accord away from The Doctor and display some ruthlessness after Conrad Die-Hards his way into the building with an alt-right think tank and talking points that would make Nigel Farage proud. Conrad questions Kate’s father – the beloved Brigadier – and of course, you know he’s scum. This era is good at making hateable characters hateable – Lindy Pepper-Bean from Dot and Bubble is a textbook example of this, and Conrad reaches levels of scumminess not seen in an age.
It’s why it’s so good to see Ncuti Gatwa flip out like he does. The Fifteenth Doctor hasn’t yet had a big “Good men don’t need rules” moment yet and let’s be real, he may not get one, yet to see him dish out his punishment to Conrad of telling him how he’s going to die was the coldest Gatwa has been. Real chills – it could’ve been good for him, but he decided to go the other way. He decided to brutally tear down Ruby Sunday and poke fun at her name when it means so much to her. I find it hard to believe that anyone in the Whoniverse would – especially when there’s so much evidence of Torchwood running around – deny aliens existence completely, but it takes a special kind of warped mind hellbent on jealousy and betrayal. I think previous Doctors, Smith and Capaldi especially, would’ve flipped out and put Conrad in a harsher prison, but Gatwa gets his big moment.
And then it all changes. Conrad is rescued by Mrs. Flood. Again. We are still no closer to learning who she is – Omega, the Rani, a God? The Master? Susan? Arsenal’s long-awaited striker? All the speculation is up in the air and time is running out. Leave your theories below. I haven’t actually watched the next time trailer yet – so it’ll be fun to go into a new episode completely blind for a change. I’m just happy we finally got a Doctor Who UNIT episode that finally fleshed out Kate Stewart and made her do things The Doctor wouldn’t do. “If The Doctor was here, he might even stop me,” is a hell of a line.