Is Lux Still Alive After Doctor Who Season 15, Episode 2? The Villain’s Future Explained

Warning: Spoilers ahead for Doctor Who season 15, episode 2, “Lux.”Lux Imperator makes his debut and apparent exit in Doctor Who season 15, episode 2, “Lux,” with the installment’s conclusion leaving it unclear whether Alan Cumming’s character can return. Cumming’s addition to the Doctor Who season 15 cast begins as an animated character named Mr. Ring-a-Ding. The 2D figure becomes the avatar for the God of Light – another addition to Doctor Who‘s Pantheon. He’s a fearsome villain who can manipulate the Doctor’s very physiology, but the Time Lord ultimately comes out on top at the end of their encounter.

“Lux” is unlike any Doctor Who episode I’ve ever seen. It’s full of meta moments and fourth-wall breaks, even more so than is typical of Doctor Who‘s Disney era. Similarly, Cumming’s character is an incredibly compelling villain that comes packed with complex lore and leaves the show under pretty ambiguous circumstances. Having him appear as a 2D animated avatar may seem like a massive gimmick, which it is, but it also works very well within the world of Doctor Who.

Lux Isn’t Exactly Dead, But He’s No Longer A Threat

The God of Light becomes one with the universe

The Fifteenth Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu) give Lux exactly what he wants at the end of the episode by exposing Cumming’s character to light from the Earth’s sun. The problem for Lux is that this happens before he has a corporeal body that’s capable of withstanding the solar rays. As such, he grows and grows and grows without end and becomes at one with the universe.

“The light of creation! I am everything, and I am nothing. Goodbye.”

– Lux Imperator, at the end of Doctor Who season 15, episode 2, “Lux.”

Exposure to so much light at once causes a cascade effect within Lux, which ultimately leads to him being an intangible being once more. He seems more than happy, and almost euphoric, with this revelation. So, the Doctor didn’t kill Lux, but rather made it so that the God of Light left petty things like violence and destruction in his past as he ascended to another plane of existence. So, Lux won’t be bothering anyone anytime soon.

It’s Unlikely Than Any Pantheon God Can Die Completely

Gods aren’t defeated quite so easily

The respective returns of villains from Doctor Who‘s classic era, like the Toymaker (Neil Patrick Harris) and Sutekh (Gabriel Woolf), stand as evidence that members of the Pantheon are incredibly difficult to permanently defeat. They can be slowed down, or even contained, but it’s unlikely the Doctor would ever find a way to make sure they could never ever be a problem again. This includes Lux, although he has been taken care of about as effectively as any member of Doctor Who‘s Pantheon can be.

Doctor Who

5/10

Release Date

December 25, 2023

Directors

Douglas Camfield, David Maloney, Christopher Barry, Michael E. Briant, Barry Letts, Michael Ferguson, Richard Martin, Peter Moffatt, Pennant Roberts, Lennie Mayne, Chris Clough, Ron Jones, Paddy Russell, Paul Bernard, Michael Hayes, Timothy Combe, Morris Barry, Gerald Blake, Graeme Harper, Waris Hussein, Rodney Bennett, Mervyn Pinfield, Hugh David, John Gorrie

Writers

Russell T. Davies, Dave Gibbons, Kate Herron, Steven Moffat

Franchise(s)

Doctor Who