When it was announced Pete McTighe was returning to Doctor Who, I was very happy. Whilst I found his last episode Praxeus underwhelming, Kerblam! was a brilliant instalment in the Chibnall era and his work on the Collection minisodes has been impressive. Even so, I didn't really know what to expect from Lucky Day. This episode, and The Story And The Engine are the two stories from this season that have seen the least amount of leaks. Lucky Day could have been about literally anything, and what we did get was great.

The main focal point of Lucky Day is the romance between Ruby and Conrad. Millie Gibson and Hauer-King have a lot of chemistry, and it really helps to sell you on their relationship before the twist regards Conrad's true intentions. You see how much Ruby falls for Conrad, and trusts him.

It makes the reveal that Conrad was just using Ruby to learn information about the Doctor and manipulate the public against UNIT hurt all the more. Conrad is easily one of the most unlikable characters in Doctor Who. He's one of those people you just love to hate, especially because of how endearing Millie Gibson is as Ruby. This awful excuse for a human being not only leads Ruby into believing he has feelings for her before cruelly labelling their relationship a "chore," but purposefully spreads misinformation that UNIT create fake alien invasions, and even implies Shirley is a benefits scrounger. He's such a brilliant antagonist, as he shows that sometimes the threat isn't always alien but can be closer to home.

It leads to easily the Fifteenth Doctor's best scene, when he rants at Conrad about how he purposefully spreads misinformation to profit from it. This moment in the TARDIS is one of this incarnation's darkest so far, even going as far as to tell Conrad he'll die at only 49 years of age in his prison cell, and Ncuti Gatwa performs it fantastically. My personal view is that Ncuti Gatwa is at his best in these scenes where he can show the Doctor's inner darkness, and I hope we get more of these going forward into the Fifteenth Doctor's run.

I don't think Kate has been better either. Previously, I've seen her as a bit of a bland UNIT leader, defined more by the connection to her father than her own personality. Here, however, she really shines. Her decision to let the Shreek loose to show Conrad and his followers the 'truth' as opposed to the lies they are spreading is a superb way to demonstrate how far Kate will go when the Doctor isn't around. She will take the kind of measures the Doctor would not, to protect UNIT, her staff, and her friends. Hopefully we see more of Kate's more brutal methods in The War Between The Land And The Sea.

If there's one drawback to the episode, I do think it's a shame we see so little of Belinda. Whilst it's nice to have the mystery of who told the Doctor about Belinda resolved, it feels a bit random that Conrad brings her up. He only met Belinda once as a child, and it seems as though Conrad knows somehow that the Doctor hasn't met Belinda when he meets the Doctor again. It could be his own educated guess if he brought Belinda up to Ruby and Ruby said that she never met Belinda Chandra, but it would have made it clearer how Conrad was able to tease the Doctor about whether he's met Belinda if there was a scene showing Conrad befriending her. Alternatively, one of the most interesting aspects of Varada Sethu being confirmed as a companion last year was when the announcement teased a TARDIS team of 15, Ruby, and Belinda. So why not meet the audience halfway, and show Belinda as being a friend of Ruby's? Especially as one of the promotional pieces of the episode involved Millie Gibson and Varada Sethu discussing the episode together.

Mrs Flood's cameo feels random this week too, posing as the prison governor. It's not clear as to why someone as powerful as Mrs Flood seems to be would even be remotely interested in Conrad (although this could be answered in the finale) and it feels shoehorned in as set-up for the two part Season Two finale. It's a strange choice when Mrs Flood is already established as Ruby's neighbour, giving her a natural place for her to cameo.

Overall, I'd give Lucky Day an 8/10. It's a great character piece, showing Ruby's love for Conrad and ultimate tragedy when he turns out to be a manipulative conspiracy theorist. Conrad is one of the most detestable human villains, and Ncuti Gatwa shines brighter than ever in the final scene. However, the episode is let down by Belinda's disappointingly brief appearance, and Mrs Flood's cameo feeling forced rather than a natural part of the story.

Sean The Mondasian Psychic

@WhoPotterVian

Conrad, and trusts him. It makes the reveal that Conrad was just using Ruby to learn information about the Doctor and manipulate the public against UNIT hurt all the more. Conrad is easily one of the most unlikable characters in Doctor Who. He's one of those people

Continues a great run of episodes.

The first thing to mention has to be Ruby - another incredible performance from Millie Gibson. After 73 Yards last year, I was so impressed, and this just continues to show it. This story also works so well in adding some great depth and complexity to her character. Throughout, she blew me away, and I couldn't start my review in any other way then praising that.

Conrad throughout I loved as a villain, such a slimy, nasty character performed so well - the hatred for him by the end is testament to how well the story utilised him. As a villain alongside the Shreek, this story really grabbed me in.

I am aware of some people's concerns with the story, and I do acknowledge the optics - yes, I can see how some people perceive it as a story telling people not to question authority - and I can see why some people are critical of this, and it did take me out of it for a split second. But, as I thought more, I do see how clearly that this was not the intent. This was entirely a criticsm of the spreading of misinformation to develop a platform when you know that it is misinformation - and this is such a rising problem, that I am pleased to see it addressed in the story. I do think the RTD2 era stance on UNIT has made this presentation more messy, especially with the increasingly less ethical practices of Kate, but I know the message this episode set out to portray, and just like McTighe's other misunderstood episode, Kerblam!, I do think that it's an unintended but misfortunate handling.

This does perhaps sound like I wasn't a fan, but I absolutely was. I was gripped throughout in an episode handling things so uniquely, in a story that I am so happy with. And I am excited how this is going to lead into the finale.

What an odd episode; the optics of this one are botched at best.

UNIT, a heavily militarized organization that mirrors real-world military and police, was simply not the correct vehicle to tell this story. In-universe, it makes sense! Because aliens are real, and they are a threat—thus the right wing conspiracists are pushing the agenda that aliens are not real. But as a viewer, it was quite uncomfortable to be expected to immediately and easily side with the armed military organization that literally was pointing guns at unarmed people in a village. Kate’s decision at the end was an attempt to add a bit of challenge to the expected audience reaction (siding with UNIT and Ruby) by offering a moral quandry: should Kate kill this man? That was one of the better parts of the episode, and my favorite Kate moment in the show (this is actually the only episode where I’ve actively enjoyed her presence). That was a genuinely interesting beat in the story, and I wonder what the end result of that scene would have been had Conrad not been livestreaming. However, that single scene does not outweigh the poorly thought-out delivery of the story as a whole.

I did, however, love the character work in this one. The depth and texture given to Ruby was excellent. Her explicitly bringing up PTSD, and having those feelings and reactions be clear and obvious in the choices she makes, was really refreshing to see. I appreciate when the Doctor’s impact on past companions (and others) is brought to the forefront; it really makes the story and characters feel more tangible. Millie’s performance was great as always, too.

I also loved the Doctor’s speech at the end of the episode, absolutely one of 15’s best moments for me. Ncuti has been shining this season, really hitting his stride in this role—which is why I am disappointed that this was the third Doctor-lite episode in his currently short run. But he was incredible for the few minutes he was onscreen in this one.

Overall, there’s a decent amount to like about Lucky Day, but its muddled messaging and the bad taste of its optics sours the experience.

A brutal watch, poor Ruby deserved far better

McTighe does it again! (derogatory)

A story that has it's heart in the right place accidentally ends with a pro-establishment/government message with almost no self-reflection on the message it's sending out. In short, it's Kerblam 2.0. Enjoyable though