A Pulse-Pounding Mystery Results in One of the Modern Era’s Best Moments

Editor’s note: The below recap contains spoilers for Doctor Who Season 2 Episode 2.

After a solid character introduction in a perfectly serviceable season opener, Doctor Who is back this week with one of the best episodes of the modern era. Weaving in more Pantheon lore into a dazzling and deeply moving episode that also reads like a love letter to both fans of the series and filmmaking itself, “Lux” is Russell T. Davies at his best. Directed by Amanda Brotchie, this episode also features another pair of top-notch performances from Ncuti Gatwa and Varada Sethu as their chemistry truly begins to shine. “Lux” blends animation and live-action in a story about the god of light set in a haunted movie theater in the 1950s. The episode highlights many beautiful elements of the art of filmmaking while also delivering a captivating, compelling, and very Doctor Who piece of television.

‘Doctor Who’ Delivers a ‘Scooby-Doo’ Meets ‘Galaxy Quest’ Movie Mystery

We open in a 1950s movie theater with patrons watching a flashy reel about the advent of the nuclear bomb. The theater isn’t exactly full, but there’s a range of people inside: some couples, a mother and her child, a teenage boy, an older woman selling popcorn and “caramel water,” all of whom are white, because we’ll later be reminded that this is the 1950s and most establishments are segregated. The episode deftly deals with the fact that racism was rampant at the time, while having the Doctor and Belinda push back against it in small but effective ways.

In the back of the theater, the projectionist stirs his tea before fatefully leaving his spoon face down on the table and leaving the room to go get the next film reel. He replaces the nuclear bomb film with a cartoon animation called Mr. Ring-a-Ding, a gangly-looking little blue creature (voiced by the incredible Alan Cumming) who says “don’t make me laugh” and falls into a little dance while the projectionist puts the other reel of film back into the storage closet they’re kept in. This time, while he’s gone, a mysterious stream of moonlight creeps into the room, bouncing off his spoon and a poster before it slinks onto the reel of film and into Mr. Ring-a-Ding himself, bringing him to life in an unsettlingly menacing fashion. He turns on the theater patrons, talking to them directly. When one man notes that this particular video seems odd, they realize that the cartoon is actually speaking to them, staring in terror as Mr. Ring-a-Ding climbs out of the screen and once again insists that they don’t make him laugh.

Back in the TARDIS, the Doctor is manically tinkering with the console, trying to figure out why they keep bouncing off of May the 24th. Belinda tells him to take it back to planet Timelordia and just get it fixed, but he avoids telling her why he has no intention of going back to Gallifrey today. Instead, he jumps to getting to know her better, asking if she has a “boyfriend, girlfriend, or other friend” back home. She says no, but elects to tell him about her parents, whom she’s very close to: her mum is in an orchestra and her dad is an accountant who does not have a musical bone in his body, and she would very much like to see them again. While she was talking, the Doctor managed to put together a large device he’s calling a “vortex indicator” or a “vindicator” for short. He explains that they can use it to triangulate themselves in time and space by landing, and using the data they collect, pull themselves back home on the right date.

To do that, however, they have to land (a few times at least) and their first stop is Miami, Florida, in 1952. Belinda is excited to see and experience a different time before she realizes she’s in her pajamas. The Doctor leads her out of the console room for a stunning ‘50s makeover that plays like an homage to the same ‘60s makeover he gave Ruby in Season 1. When they walk out of the TARDIS, they’re surrounded by gorgeous neon lighting, palm trees, and a soft ocean breeze in the middle of the night as the Doctor explains that it’s 4 AM. He notes that that’s probably a good thing, subtly acknowledging the faults of American segregation. The Doctor goes about setting up the vindicator while Belinda has some thoughts about the surrealism of time travel, musing about the life of movie star Rock Hudson, whose name is up in lights at the movie theater, and acknowledging how strange it is to be present during his heyday, knowing that he will one day die of AIDS.

While the little machine is doing its thing, they have a look around and come upon the curiously chained-up cinema from the beginning of the episode. Along with the strange chains, there are flowers lying at the foot of the door with “I love you, please come back” notes left for the patrons left in the theater when Mr. Ring-a-Ding, and a notice that says the theater was closed by city ordinance. Before they go any further, however, the vindicator beeps, and Belinda is perfectly happy to hop back in the TARDIS and head to their next triangulation destination. However, the Doctor being, well, the Doctor, he cannot resist a mystery, insisting that they at least stay for a coffee. She gives in, calling him Scooby-Doo, but, naturally, he insists he’s Velma.

They enter the diner across the street from the Palazzo theater, and a young soda jerk tells them about the mystery surrounding the establishment. He explains that one day they all went missing, and everyone has their own theories about what happened, but no one really knows the truth. The only other patron in the diner happens to be the mother of one of the missing people. She says she’ll happily talk to anyone about her missing son if the soda jerk will “bend the rules.” Belinda is confused, before the Doctor explains that the diner is segregated, meaning neither of them is technically allowed to be here. Belinda is naturally upset and begins to question why the Doctor allows such things, but he explains that he’s toppled many worlds; sometimes he waits for the people to topple their own worlds, and in the meantime, he simply lives in those spaces and shines anyway.

They speak with the mother, and she explains that her son, Tommy Lee, loved nothing more than going to the movies, and she waits for him in this diner all the time. She says she believed that the authorities and everyone had given up hope as the months since the disappearance stretched on, until our favorite blue police box arrived outside. The Doctor asks if that box gives her hope, and she says that it does. He offers his hand to her, and, surprising maybe even herself, she takes it, as the Doctor promises that hope can change the world, and he’ll do whatever he can to find her son. As Belinda and the Doctor leave the diner, they can hear spooky noises coming from the theater. The young soda jerk explains that the old caretaker still lives there; he was arrested for the disappearance, but they had to let him go without evidence. At night, he still plays movies for the empty house. Willing to head back to the TARDIS if she insists, the Doctor makes one last pleading puppy-dog face at Belinda before she decides to be the Fred to his Velma so they can investigate.

‘Doctor Who’ Goes Animated in “Lux”

The Doctor sonics the lock, and he and Belinda approach the haunted building from the bottom of the theater, in a break between films. In the back room, Mr. Reginald Pye, the projectionist, is attempting to will them to leave, but they can neither see nor hear him. Belinda gets in a quick quip about introducing him as “just the Doctor” being ridiculous, while Pye quietly begs the all-powerful being not to hurt them. Suddenly, Mr. Ring-a-Ding begins tap dancing on the stage behind them. The pair walk around him and approach with a hearty mix of caution and wonderment — they’re looking at a sentient cartoon, after all. “Lux” incorporates some very cool filmmaking techniques to layer the hand-drawn 2D animation into the live-action scenes of the episode. As the Doctor tries to figure him out, clocking that he’s light come to life, Mr. Ring-a-Ding tells them a sob story about how he’s all on his own and there’s nothing else in the world like him, set to his own weepy soundtrack.

When the Doctor asks directly about the fifteen people who went missing, the musical score hits a record scratch, and Mr. Ring-a-Ding attempts to explain it away by saying that they simply disappeared when he appeared. If the Doctor can figure out why, he just might be able to bring them back. Mr. Ring-a-Ding once again repeats not to make him laugh, and when the Doctor asks why, we hear the terrifyingly familiar arpeggio giggle associated with the Toymaker and the gods of the pantheon. He introduces himself as Lux Imperator, the god of light at the heart of the Pantheon, the dazzle in the eye of the mad.

Pye gives the Doctor and Belinda an escape by playing the Mr. Ring-a-Ding cartoon and thusly trapping the animation in the dance, but the reel only lasts a few minutes — just long enough for some handy exposition! The Doctor explains that as a god of the pantheon he has to adhere to the rules and speak the truth (though, as we’ll quickly learn, that doesn’t mean the truth can’t be delivered in a riddle). When The Doctor asks Pye why he stays playing movies instead of fleeing the theater, he reveals his own heartbreaking tale and the beautiful side of Lux’s powers. Pye’s wife, the love of his life, died a few years ago, but through the magic of film and light, Lux brought her back to him. Doctor Who weaves in more gorgeous filmmaking here with a beautiful sequence that sees Pye dancing with his late wife as she turns from a grainy, black and white image in his arms to a very warm and real person he can touch and hold.

As the cartoon finishes playing, Mr. Ring-a-Ding climbs the stairs to reach them, but it’s taking him a while as he regrets learning the rule of perspective, making him too small to bound up the stairs. The Doctor tells Belinda that when the gods look down on creatures like them, their very reality is in danger — something that may be important to keep in mind, as the season finale is titled “The Reality War.” He puts together that Mr. Ring-a-Ding didn’t kill the missing people, but he has trapped them all on film, forever frozen in that moment of terror in which they disappeared. Ring-a-Ding finally slips under the door and threatens to burn the reel of film keeping Pye’s wife alive, pointing out that the material is highly flammable. The Doctor distracts the creature by asking more questions, and, while Ring-a-Ding quips that you can’t expect backstory from a 2D character, the Doctor knows that he does have to tell them how to defeat him as part of the rules. Ring-a-Ding recognizes the Doctor as the one who defeated his friends, calling him the enemy of the Toymaker, the decomposer of Maestro, the killer of the god of death.

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When pressed, Ring-a-Ding delivers a riddle, asking the Doctor to figure out what he doesn’t do, and in the answer lies the key to his defeat. Before the Doctor can put the pieces together, however, Ring-a-Ding turns the projectors on he and Belinda, zapping them into animated characters. It’s a gorgeously animated sequence by Ian Spendloff and the animators at Framestore, perfectly replicating classic cartoons like Scooby-Doo. The Doctor realizes he can’t think as clearly as he normally can because he has a 2D brain, but when Belinda expresses her fear that she’ll never be able to get home, she pops into 3D animation. They realize, as they express their emotions, they gain depth, telling each other they’re sad and scared. The Doctor even reveals he’s the last of the Time Lords, and finally, they poof back into live action.

They are, however, still “framed” inside the animation — to get ou,t they need to break the frame. For a moment they appear to have succeeded, getting back inside the theater, only to be apprehended by an approaching police officer and the woman from the diner. Her entire demeanor has changed as she attempts to have them arrested for being suspicious and snooping in a segregated space. Belinda is understandably outraged, reminding the woman that the Doctor is trying to help her, but the Doctor has already seen through the ruse. This is another Ring-a-Ding trick, as he points out that the officer is wearing an NYPD uniform in Miami. They escape the frame again and realize they won’t get anywhere by scrolling up and down on the reel — they have to go out through the screen.

Love Saves the Day, as Always, on ‘Doctor Who’

When the Doctor and Belinda press on the screen in front of them, they walk right into the living room of a trio of Doctor Who fans who delightedly proclaim, “This is so Galaxy Quest!” They take some time to sit and chat with the Whovians who’ve actively been watching the episode up until now in a wonderfully meta moment that lightly teases the stereotypical Doctor Who fan, before ultimately bringing the audience to the brink of tears just a few minutes later. As the Doctor, Belinda, and the fans discuss their favorite episodes — it’s always “Blink” — and whose reality is real or fictional, the fans also provide some advice by noting that the ending seems pretty obvious given that Ring-a-Ding told them old film stock is highly flammable. The Doctor says they can’t blow him up, but Robyn, one of the fans, reminds him to solve the riddle: what does Ring-a-Ding not do?

They won’t give the Doctor an answer, and Lizzie stands up to say she knows they’re annoying for not giving it away, but it’s okay because she’s realized that if the Doctor is real, then they aren’t. Hassan and Robyn also chime in, admitting that they’re just another part of the plot to keep the Doctor distracted. Belinda doesn’t quite realize what’s happening as the fans tell them they have to go back, but the Doctor explains that once they leave, Lizzie, Hassan, and Robyn will cease to exist. Then, with Murray Gold’s incredible and devastating score in the background, the fans tell the Doctor and Belinda that it was worth it just to meet them, and after all, they met their best friends thanks to Doctor Who — something that anyone who’s been in fandom will instantly understand. They’ve all accepted their fate, bravely sending the Doctor and Belinda back to defeat Ring-a-Ding with all the love in their hearts and the simple request that they spare a thought for them from time to time.

Filled with a newfound determination to defeat Ring-a-Ding, the Doctor and Belinda realize the only way out is to stop the reel and burn up the piece of film they’re trapped in. They finally break free and fall to the stage, and when Belinda asks if they’re really back in the theater, the Doctor confirms this is their reality by showing her a burn on his hand from where they stopped the film. Instantly jumping into nurse mode, Belinda attempts to take care of his injuries, despite knowing doctors make the worst patients. However, he doesn’t need any help as he shows her he can use some extra regeneration energy to heal himself. She wasn’t the only one paying attention, though, and Ring-a-Ding/Lux has decided he wants that very special regeneration light for himself. He ties up the Doctor with reels of film, pinning him to the back of the theater, calling him the greatest story ever told. Ring-a-Ding finally explains that he never goes outside, because the outside is filled with the most savage light, before beginning to drain the Doctor of his regeneration energy.

The Doctor asks Belinda if she trusts him, and at this point, she wholeheartedly does, so he tells her to run because he knows what time it is. As she leaves the inner part of the theater, she realizes the sun has come up, and they can escape by blowing a hole in the building to let the daylight in. Ring-a-Ding is getting more and more horrifically detailed as he pulls more energy from the Doctor, while Belinda bangs on the locked door of the projection room, asking Pye to give her his matches. Inside, his late wife appears to him, handing him the matches; he tells her he loves her and misses her, and she tells him to come find her. He realizes what he has to do, telling Belinda to run because he’s going to burn the reels himself, likely dying in the blast in the process, to reunite with his wife. Pye sets all of the film on fire — a moment of beautiful irony, as many episodes of classic Doctor Who that only existed on film were routinely destroyed to make space at the BBC, a common practice for networks at the time.

As the explosion goes off and Ring-a-Ding is hit by the light of the sun, he releases the Doctor and shifts back into 2D as he gets bigger and bigger, floating right out of the theater, into space, and then into the ether. The Doctor and Belinda watch him disappear, as she muses that Lux has now become even more godlike by being infinite, invisible, and intangible. Moments later, all the trapped theatergoers emerge, delighting the local townsfolk, especially Tommy Lee’s mother, who can’t believe she had finally gotten her boy back. The Doctor says they should head out, hinting at America’s penchant for racism, especially in the ‘50s. Belinda agrees, and takes a moment to stop him and remind him that all the things they said when they were scared are still true, but they can face them together.

Mrs. Flood appears among the crowd, blending in easily and insisting that if they want to see a good show, they should watch the TARDIS disappear. However, it’s a limited run, ending on May the 24th, setting her up as the final boss of the season, and the thing stopping Belinda and the Doctor from getting home. As the credits roll, we’re treated to one last scene as Lizzie, Hassan, and Robyn all finish watching the episode in their living room, realizing that they’re still alive — leaving us with the feeling that Doctor Who, and most things really, will never end as long as they’re loved.

New episodes of Doctor Who premiere Saturdays at 12 AM ET on Disney+ and the BBC iPlayer.

Doctor Who

Doctor Who Season 2 Episode 2 delivers a pulse-pounding mystery with a dastardly villain and a whole lot of heart.

Release Date

December 25, 2023

Network

BBC

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

Pros & Cons

• The animation and filmmaking techniques used to make this episode are fantastic.
• This episode highlights how beautifully the Doctor and Belinda work together as a team; they really are Fred and Velma.
• All of the emotional moments of the episode feel earned, with a sense of depth giving every character importance.
• The return of the Pantheon gods continues to be exciting and sets up another mysterious big bad for the season.
• The meta inclusion of the Doctor Who fandom could have played as cringey, but by leaning into that and subverting it with sweeping emotion, it comes out beautifully.

• Your mileage may vary with how the episode handles period accurate racism. The Doctor navigates it smoothly, but it may still be jarring for some to watch the Doctor suffer and dismiss that reality.