Doctor Who: Lux (15x02)

I liked this one, though I had a couple of pacing objections?

Cons:

The scene where Doctor Who is a TV show and the fans are meeting the Doctor and Belinda in their living room was cute, but it felt very strange from a pacing perspective. There's really just the one scene, and they talk to them for a bit, and then there's this whole big sad goodbye where they don't really exist and will cease to be once the Doctor and Belinda leave. I really wanted to feel impacted by that scene, but instead it felt a little unearned because it was happening all within five minutes of meeting these characters. I wish there had been a way to introduce them a bit earlier in the episode, have them materially assist in the mission, with Belinda believing they're coming along to help, but then the moment of realization that they can't. Just an extra scene with these characters before their sad goodbye could have done a lot. Also, whenever creators do a meta thing about the fans of their own property, do they have to throw in a couple comments about how annoying they find their fans? This one was like "we love our fans so much, despite how annoying you are" and it's like... gee, thanks Russell. I feel so seen.

In terms of Belinda and the Doctor's friendship, I kind of feel like Belinda's reluctant sidekick thing could be re-balanced juuuust slightly? I wanted her to be a little more frustrated and genuinely mad at the Doctor for wanting to investigate this mystery. Like maybe a single character beat where she angrily says she'll stay by the TARDIS and wait for the Doctor to be ready to get her home, and then the Doctor starts poking around and Belinda is curious so she tentatively joins... or the Doctor goes in alone and doesn't come back out and Belinda follows because she's scared and then gets pulled into helping him. Something more to emphasize that she really truly is motivated by getting home, and not by adventuring with her new buddy. I like that aspect of her character and I don't want it to fall by the wayside!

Pros:

This was a fun and interesting episode, though, I did generally enjoy it! I thought the villain was great, continuing to build on the mad gods theme that seems to be this era of Doctor Who's signature big bad. The animators obviously had a ton of fun with the cartoon aspects, I loved seeing Belinda and the Doctor in multiple styles of animation.

I also felt like this episode had a really excellent suite of guest characters, who all made a pretty big impact in a small amount of time. I already mentioned I could have done with a bit more of the three friends watching the show, but there was also the grieving mother who lost her son in the movie theatre, and the (obviously gay) waiter who let the segregation laws pass to let the Doctor and Belinda in the diner, and then the projectionist, with the tragic story of losing his wife. They all felt very grounded and real and like there was more depth to them than we had a chance to explore, so that was lovely!

In particular, Reggie the projectionist was such a beautiful and tragic figure. His story is one of letting go, accepting a terrible loss, in order to do the right thing. The gift of being able to dance with his wife again after losing her was so sweet and it made our villain all the more sinister for manipulating him in that way.

I want to give a shout-out to the costuming, I love how much the Doctor is just like... into fashion, as a character, it's so goofy and sweet. And Belinda looked AMAZING in yellow, wow!

This wasn't a story about the Doctor and Belinda dealing with prejudice, but I appreciated that the subject came up and was treated seriously even though it wasn't the main thrust of the narrative. The Doctor reacts with calm to the fact that he's not supposed to be allowed in the diner or the cinema, while Belinda, with less experience with this type of thing, is more horrified and uncomfortable. The Doctor basically has a moment where he talks about picking his battles. He's this long-lived super powerful alien from another place, he's a Time Lord, he gets to decide how much he wants to engage about this stuff. I thought that was a nice little point to address.

So there you have it - a fun second episode with Belinda. Creepy old lady is back at the end, reminding us that the season ends on the same day that the TARDIS can't travel back to for some reason. I'm intrigued by all this, wondering where it's going!

8/10