Doctor Who – Lux Review

Okay, Russell T Davies, I can appreciate that fun bit of trolling at the expense of fans and critics you slotted into “Lux.” Meta callouts don’t always work for me, but this one? Yeah, I chuckled. Especially because “Blink” really is the best episode of the modern run of Doctor Who. But you know what? “Lux” was a fun bit of writing, some very cool special effects work, and a great engaging guest star turn from none other than Alan Cumming (whose American accent still needs a touch of work but was pretty solid).

While The Doctor and Belinda are still trying (and failing) to find their way back to May 24, 2025 – the day the Earth disappeared – we’re treated to a trip back to 1952. A time when the Cold War was raging, segregation was still very much a thing in the American South (of which Florida is very much a part, despite what some might think), and Rock Hudson was a very closet movie star. Not the greatest climate to throw this incarnation of The Doctor into, but once again he’s able to roll with the punches and figure out a way for Belinda to make it through her first true adventure as his companion. Of course, it helped that Belinda was the one to get the means to save the day. She might not want to be a full-time companion, but she’s definitely great in a pinch.

And how great was Cumming, who has the amazing ability to be charming and sinister in a single voice acting performance. One of our finest true chameleon actors, he was the perfect option for a character like Lux, someone who is incredibly powerful but needs to manipulate in order to achieve his personal end goal. Bringing back one of the Pantheon of the Gods was also a smart move by Davies – I felt that whole series of gods in the Tennant run was a tad rushed, so tapping back into that series of villains makes it clear that things didn’t just snap back to normal with the end of that mini-arc. They’re still out there ready to make mischief.

I will say, this episode felt much more balanced and thought out than the season premiere last week. We got great interaction between Belinda and The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa and Varada Sethu have wonderful chemistry and bounce off each other so well) and a story that allowed them to work together rather than be at loggerheads. This is the kind of Who tale that brings out the best in The Doctor and the companion, letting each shine in their own way. I was really happy to see that these two characters can balance each other out so well and work together as well. Plus, Gatwa and Sethu are true pros – they can hit a home run every time if they get a chance. And in this outing? The absolutely did.