‘Doctor Who’ Season 2 Episode 2 Spoiler-Free Review: ‘Lux’ Offers a Chaotic Cartoon Caper

Mr Ring-A-Ding (Alan Cumming) | Photo Credit: Bad Wolf/BBC Studios/Disney+

The Doctor and Belinda’s quest to return home continues in “Lux”—a foray into mid-twentieth century Miami with an animated twist. Written by Russell T. Davies and directed by Amanda Brotchie, “Lux” sends Doctor Who down an all-new path, straight into a world where cartoons come to life. Packed to the brim with animated villains, a mystery worthy of the greatest of capers, and the continued evolution of the Doctor and Belinda’s frosty relationship, “Lux” delivers a chaotic, exhilarating adventure that’s equal parts controversial and breathtaking. It’s an episode that’s sure to get fans talking, for better or worse, that’s for sure.

Who Framed Doctor Who?

When an old cartoon character comes to life in an abandoned movie theater in 1952 Miami, the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Belinda (Varada Sethu) find themselves in a fight unlike any they’ve faced before. For how do you stop a cartoon character like Mr. Ring-A-Ding (Alan Cumming)? And what nefarious plans does he have in store for the real world? Take a dash of Who Framed Roger Rabbit, a smidgeon of last season’s “The Devil’s Chord“, and a healthy helping of Scooby-Doo, and you’ve got a pretty good sense of what “Lux” entails. Davies’ script delivers a cartoonish caper of the highest degree, the kind of genre-defying chaos only Doctor Who can pull off. In all honesty, it’s impressive how much this episode gets away with—but no spoilers here.

At its heart, “Lux” tells a pretty simple story. The Doctor and his still-reluctant-companion, Belinda, arrive in 1952, struggling to return to modern-day London, and discover an abandoned movie theater where fifteen moviegoers mysteriously went missing three months earlier. And, naturally, the Doctor can’t help but investigate. What they find involves a reclusive projectionist (Linus Roache) and an animated villain bent on world domination—a pretty standard premise for a Doctor Who episode, to be sure. But what stands out about “Lux” is the way Davies weds the world of Doctor Who with the old-school world of animation. The episode is every bit a love letter to the art of filmmaking and animation as it is a dangerous, thrilling Doctor Who mystery. It’s tightly-paced, bombastically adventurous, and remarkably emotional in all the best ways.

Animation Come to Life—And Vice Versa?

Much of the episode’s success revolves around Mr. Ring-a-Ding—both Alan Cumming’s breathtaking vocal performance (he gets to sing this time!) and the outstanding animation of the character itself. Though “Lux” never reaches the heights of films like Who Framed Roger Rabbit or Space Jam, it’s impressive exactly how well-realized Mr. Ring-a-Ding’s character is and how well he interacts with the world around him. For the most part, you never question the reality of his existence; this animated character feels real and is very clearly interacting with the Doctor and Belinda. He’s got a physicality that feels like a Hanna-Barbera character jumped off the screen and came to life, and it’s beyond impressive that Doctor Who pulls the effect off anywhere near as brilliantly as it does.

Similarly, the Doctor and Belinda find themselves trapped inside an animated world (as teased in some of the season’s trailers). Though the animation here feels intentionally wonky, evoking the cartoons of the 1930s with their jilted movements, it’s brilliant that Doctor Who can even venture into the world of animation like this. Truly, it’s breathtaking to watch the Doctor and Belinda travel through the history of animation in such a boundary-pushing sequence that’s sure to be the subject of tons of online discourse after the episode airs. And that’s honestly the case for the episode as a whole. Though many of its beats, when viewed in a vacuum, don’t feel all that special, the combination of them—and the very fact that the episode actually works at all—proves genuinely exhilarating.

Final Thoughts

Though “Lux” often feels more than a little bit similar to last year’s “The Devil’s Chord”, it nevertheless sends Doctor Who down an all-new path straight into the world of hand-drawn animation. Davies’ script really swings for the fences here in ways that may prove shockingly controversial. But most shockingly, underneath all the pomp and circumstance, “Lux” works brilliantly as a story. It’s a quick-paced thrill ride that manages to balance a palpably creepy atmosphere, an over-the-top villain, and some juicy character beats for the Doctor and Belinda. Their relationship remains truly enticing, the frostiness thawing a bit while leading to the kind of push-and-pull many wanted the Doctor and Ruby to have last season. Though Belinda may be warming up to life on the TARDIS, things certainly aren’t smooth sailing yet.

Put simply, “Lux” finds itself a contender for the upper echelon of Fifteenth Doctor stories – and we’ve still got six episodes to go this season, so the future is looking bright for the Doctor and Belinda Chandra.

Doctor Who continues with “Lux”, premiering Saturday, April 19th, at 3am on Disney+. New episodes of Doctor Who premiere on Saturdays at 3am on Disney+.