In Review: Doctor Who (S2 – EP2) Lux

Synopsis: In Lux, the Doctor tries to return Belinda to the day she left Earth. But a mysterious force keeps making the TARDIS bounce off course, and one of those bounces takes them to Miami, at four in the morning in 1952. “Things are different at night,” says the Doctor, aware of danger from the moment they arrive.

The Story

When the Doctor and Belinda arrive in 1952 Miami at 4 a.m., they find themselves immediately caught up in a mystery. The local cinema has been shut down after fifteen people vanished without a trace. Initially, authorities blamed the projectionist, but without solid evidence, the charges didn’t stick.

Intrigued, the Doctor and Belinda head to a nearby diner, where they meet a woman whose son is among the missing. The Doctor promises her he’ll find him—and just like that, the adventure begins.

Using his sonic screwdriver to break into the closed cinema, the Doctor and Belinda find the place eerily empty, yet somehow still playing films. The only person around is the projectionist, who warns them to leave. Then they hear it: rhythmic footsteps, like tap dancing. They call out, but no one replies. Suddenly, they’re confronted by a 1950s-style animated character named Mr. Ring-A-Ding.

The Doctor, ever curious, questions the cartoon figure about who—and what—he is. A bit of back-and-forth banter follows, going nowhere until Mr. Ring-A-Ding repeats the phrase, “Don’t make me laugh.” That’s when the Doctor pieces it together and urges Belinda to step back.

Mr. Ring-A-Ding is revealed to be none other than Lux Imperator, the God of Light—another member of Doctor Who’s Pantheon of gods. This powerful group includes beings like the Toymaker, the God of Games (Neil Patrick Harris), Maestro, the God of Music (Jinkx Monsoon), and Sutekh, the God of Death (Gabriel Woolf).

As the story unfolds, the Doctor and Belinda find themselves trapped inside film stock, transformed into two-dimensional animated characters. But as they begin to express emotions, they slowly revert to their true forms. Even so, they must still find a way to escape Lux’s twisted trap—and stop him before more people disappear.

The Acting

Ncuti Gatwa and Varada Sethu continue to build on their chemistry, and this story gives them the perfect platform to do just that. Belinda’s desperate desire to return home feels like a deliberate nod to Classic Doctor Who companions like Sarah Jane Smith, from an era when the Doctor seemed to have little to no control over where the TARDIS would land. The plot device of a mysterious force preventing the TARDIS from taking Belinda home is very much a callback to those earlier days of the show.

Alan Cumming—who many of us know best from GoldenEye, X-Men 2, and countless other genre TV and film roles—completely steals the show as Mr. Ring-A-Ding. I loved the way he revealed himself as Lux with the line: “I am Lux. Lux Imperator, the God of Light! I am the dazzle at the heart of the Pantheon, and the glint in the eyes of the mad. I am the last thing you see before you fall into the abyss.”

There’s an obvious clue there about how the Doctor will ultimately defeat him—but you’ll have to watch to find out how it all plays out.

Overall

A fairly tightly written episode that expands on some of the mysteries surrounding Doctor Who’s Pantheon of gods. There’s also some fun fourth wall-breaking, with the Doctor and Belinda suddenly finding themselves in the living room of three enthusiastic Doctor Who fans. Naturally, their favourite episode is Blink, which leads to a great gag where Gatwa’s Doctor tries—without much luck—to get them to mention one of his episodes instead.

Of course, the fans turn out to be part of Lux’s illusion of light… or are they?

On top of that, we get a delightful cameo from Anita Dobson as Mrs. Flood, casually telling some folks in 1950s Miami about Doctor Who—in so many words. It’s a moment that’s bound to get fans speculating all over again about who Mrs. Flood really is.