Following the review is a detailed recap. Both contain spoilers for 2.04, "Lucky Day"

In this week’s all-new Doctor Who, which just premiered on Disney Plus, Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) tries to adjust to life without the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa), when she meets podcaster Conrad Clark (Jonah Hauer-King), who is eager to have her share the stories of her adventures. But when the terrifying Shreek has its sights set on her new boyfriend, she and UNIT must work to save him as well as reveal some truths to the world before irreversible damage can be caused by a devious prank.

I really feel split about this episode. While I liked the way it fell in the timeline and it was nice to see Ruby back in action, as she was an enjoyable companion, I would have preferred to see her go on an adventure with the Doctor and Belinda (Varada Sethu). While scheduling conflicts may have been unavoidable, in a season with only eight episodes, having one that is Doctor-lite was rather disappointing, and also cutting out Belinda almost entirely made it only more so. That being said, it was great to see Ruby team up with Kate Lethbridge Stewart (Jemma Redgrave) and the gang, who it’s always a treat to see. I’m excited for the upcoming UNIT spinoff and am always happy to see them involved, whatever the alien threat may be.

Following the review is a detailed recap. Both contain spoilers for 2.03, “The Well.”

The newest episode of Doctor Who, “The Well,” which was just released on Disney+, starts off with the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Belinda (Varada Sethu) venturing to a planet in the distant future after the TARDIS has once again bounced off of Belinda’s timeline. Immediately it throws them in the middle of the action when they are forced to jump out of a moving spacecraft, leaving them sans TARDIS for the next five hours. Joining a rescue mission to a planet where contact was lost with a group of people mining Carbon 46, they arrive to find everyone dead, surrounded by broken mirrors, except for one woman, Aliss Fenly (Rose Ayling-Ellis), who has somehow been spared from an enemy the Doctor met a long time ago. The other problem? No one has heard of Earth or the human race.

“The Well” is classic Doctor Who creepy. How can you defeat something you can’t approach, that you can’t even see without it attacking?

I like that the story brought back an alien from a previous story, that of “Midnight,” and loved the build up of the reveal that the Doctor has met the creature before, because it was unexpected and packed a punch. As a fan, I appreciate that it didn’t feel spoon-fed to me. The Doctor doesn’t recognize the antagonist at first either. It’s only when you hear about Xtonic radiation and that the planet’s surface was once diamonds that something clicks. Where have we seen this before? The mention of carbon was there to clue you in early on from the beginning, but like the Doctor, I saw it only in hindsight, yet I knew what the original name of the planet was before Shaya (Caoilfhionn Dunne) even said it.

***The following is a detailed recap of the episode "Lux,” and it contains major spoilers for the episode. You can also read our spoiler-free review here.***

In 1952, the pre-film clips play in the Palazzo cinema of the latest atom bomb test on the Gaumont British News as a few people in the audience watch. Up in the projection booth, a man (Linus Roache) stirs his drink and leaves the metal spoon on the table. He goes into the other room and chooses a film reel which he then sets up to play. It’s a cartoon featuring Mr. Ring-a-Ding (voiced by Alan Cumming). A blue-skin cartoon character is approached by a female character with yellow skin (voiced by Millie O'Connell) who asks who he is. He says, “Don’t make me laugh!” He then starts singing that he’s Mr. Ring-a-Ding. The moonlight shines down through the skylight in the projection booth and hits the spoon on the table, bouncing up onto a poster then floating like dust into the light from the projector and down onto the screen. Mr. Ring-a-Ding asks the girl her name, and she says it’s Sunshine Sally. He says not to give him sunshine, because he’s more interested in moonlight, that icy cold beam of Heaven touching his sole and giving him life. He asks people in the audience what they think and then talks directly to a man in the audience. He says if he won’t tell him he’ll have to find out for himself. He says they are going 3-D as he climbs out through the screen and repeats again not to make him laugh.

The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) talks to Belinda (Varada Sethu) as he works under the console of the TARDIS. He questions she left Earth May 24, 2025, which is the one time the TARDIS can’t reach. He tries to move them again, and they bounce off the date. She questions he can’t get it fixed and says that he’s a Time Lord, to “take it back to Time Lordia; they must have garages.” He says he wishes it was called that, but Gallifrey. She says to go there, and he just says not today. The Doctor says he never asked her, but who does she have: a girlfriend, boyfriend, other friend? She says she has her mom and dad. Her father works in taxes and her mother is a violinist in the orchestra.