Warning: SPOILERS for Doctor Who season 15, episode 4 - "Lucky Day"!Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) is handling herself after parting ways with the Doctor – which in her case is pretty well until disappointment and heartbreak arrive from an unexpected source. "Lucky Day", penned by Pete McTighe and directed by Peter Hoar, is the first episode of the season almost entirely without Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor – as well as the first one without showrunner Russell T. Davies’ direct screenwriting input. As such, it feels unfamiliar in the best way, even as it treads familiar ground for both Ruby and the audience.
This week’s Doctor Who starts by introducing us to Conrad Clark (Jonah Hauer-King, The Little Mermaid), a podcaster who invites Ruby onto his eponymously titled Lucky Day podcast to discuss her Whovian adventures. He once had his own run-in with the Doctor as a child, as well as having witnessed him and Ruby on one of their previous adventures, and he seems like a fellow devotee who would bond with Ruby and help provide both excitement and now that she’s navigated mundane problems like her reunited family and job rather than her old intergalactic ones.
Unfortunately, he is soon revealed to be straight out of the conspiracy-pushing manosphere, leading an anti-alien group called Think Tank. He purposely targeted Ruby to “prove” that UNIT and the Doctor, as well as the monsters and aliens they battle, are nothing more than the government’s tools to keep good folks down. Perhaps most surprising is that at no point does the Doctor come to the rescue; instead, Ruby and Kate Lethbridge-Stewart forces to fend him off and send him to jail.
But a successful face-off against a Sheek and justice served against an ex do not a broken heart mend, and ScreenRant interviewed Gibson to discuss how she got herself into her latest Doctor Who scrape. Gibson also shared her take on Ruby’s life without the Doctor and teased where her next return to the series (in just a few short weeks!) would take her.
Ruby Sunday Isn’t Quite Herself Without The Doctor In “Lucky Day”
Doctor Who Season 15, Episode 4 Presents Quite A Challenge for Her
“Lucky Day” highlights a post-Doctor Ruby, which is a phase of life known to give some companions the blues. Thankfully, she has her loving family to rely on and the joy of having recently reunited with her birth mother. “That bit of her is whole. She's complete. She's got her two moms and her beautiful gran, who are just comedy gold as always,” Gibson gushed, before amending, “I do think that she's never happy. Now, she's got her two moms, but she's waiting for the Doctor again.”
It’s more than just nostalgia and boredom, though. On top of that, “She's on edge from her whole year beforehand and everything that went down. It was the end of the world at every moment. She's got a bit of PTSD going on,” Gibson explained, which is only natural for a young woman who recently faced down Sutekh, the God of Death. “That's where she's at right now; reeling from past events.”
In season 1, she was like, ‘Hi, how are you? What's your favorite color?’ But now she's like, ‘Hi, I don't know if you are going to kill me.’
This is not Ruby’s first episode almost entirely without the Doctor, but it strikes a different tone from "73 Yards". Nevertheless, there are parallels for Gibson to draw between the character and the actor in both. When filming last season’s episode, “I'd just moved to Cardiff after living in Manchester my whole life, and I was still really young. It worked for all the scenes, like the pub scenes. It was like, ‘I don't know where I am. I don't have any friends.’ It was an easy way to introduce myself to Ruby, and it was a great acting opportunity.”
How did returning as Ruby feel, then? “It's Millie coming back to the Who-niverse, and I've grown from my experience in season 1, same as Ruby. I think there's a more mature layer to her that I wanted to explore. I want to say she's monotone, but it's not so much that she's really glum all the time. She's a bit more reserved. I don't think she trusts people as much. In season 1, she was like, “‘Hi, how are you? What's your favorite color?’ But now she's like, ‘Hi, I don't know if you are going to kill me.’”
“She's different, but she still has those glimmers of humor and love for everyone around her,” Gibson insisted, pointing to the character’s signature sass. “I think that's what's special about her character.”
Conrad Was A Little Too Perfect For Ruby – Making The Betrayal Hit Harder
“It's Been A Distraction Because She's Been Waiting For The Doctor Still”
Ruby is so secure in herself, surrounded by a strong family unit and friend group, that it’s hard to imagine her falling prey to the likes of Conrad. But he is presented in such a different light, and it coincides with exactly what Ruby needed at the time. “I think the fans are going to see an Amy and Rory vibe to them,” Gibson said of their early interactions, adding what she thinks makes Conrad’s lies easy to believe.
“She eventually lets her walls down for him and opens up to him because she feels really seen by him for the first time.” The desire to believe is a strong motivator when folks fall for scams. “I think having someone like Conrad come into her life, bond with her, and just really hear her out has been a really nice change for Ruby. It's been a distraction because she's been kind of waiting for the doctor still. She misses her buddy, so it was nice for Conrad to be there for her.”
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Of course, that made the betrayal sting so much harder – a feeling Gibson herself went through when she learned of it. “When I read that script, it was like, ‘Okay, just rip my heart out of my chest,’” the actor itted. “Even when we did the read-through, I Ncuti being like, ‘I don't think I've had a chance to read this episode...’ We were just turning the pages until I heard Ncuti's reaction. I'll never forget it. The gasp he gasped was just insane. I was obsessed! I hope everyone else has the reaction that Ncuti had.”
Despite being “as heartbroken as Ruby was,” Gibson had nothing but praise for Hauer-King’s performance as Conrad. “That switch was great! Jonah plays Conrad so goofy that you never see it coming. ‘He's Prince Eric! He will never betray us.’ That's what you think. Jonah just plays it beautifully. That speech where he is like, ‘I've had to listen to your tedious piano solos!’ Ugh, it's perfect.”
Millie Gibson Teases What’s Next For Ruby, Mrs. Flood, And Maybe Even Belinda
Gibson Is Back For The Last 2 Episodes Of Doctor Who Season 15
The final scene of the episode proves we haven’t seen the last Conrad, but the question remains whether Ruby will cross paths with him again. “Even though she's so dramatic, like, ‘I need to find somewhere just by myself, alone with no one,’ she's back.” Gibson copped to her return, but was tight-lipped on any plot details. “She comes back in 7 and 8, so that was really exciting. I don't think I can say too much more than that. However, I was very honored to come back for the finale.”
Those final moments of “Lucky Day” also rain even more questions about Mrs. Flood, who appears to release Conrad from jail and call herself the Governor. Does Gibson already know her identity and ultimate role in the story? “I do know!” the actor confirmed, though she acknowledged that she didn’t manage to guess before it was revealed to her. “My theories prior were completely off, if that tells the fans anything. However, Doctor Who fans are so much cleverer than I am, so they probably will hit it right on the head. I was like, ‘Oh!’”
“Anita Dobson is incredible, for one, so whoever she turns out to be would be iconic.” Gibson added. “But I've always loved Mrs. Flood. I think she's such a chaotic neighbor. If she lived next to me in real life, I'd be like, "I'm doomed." It's just her vibes. And I love how she's Belinda's neighbor, as well. I think that's thrown everyone off. It's really clever.”
Speaking of Belinda Chandra, this week’s Doctor Who episode did not give Ruby the chance to cross paths with the newest companion, but Gibson was effusive about their pairing regardless. “I mean, it's the doctor and the nurse. They're like a power couple.” As for what Ruby would add to the dynamic? “I think Ruby just slots in and absolutely is in awe of her wit and wisdom. Ruby's just adding the Northern humor in there, as always. I think Belinda would be a bit of a big sister vibe to her; that's the vibe I get.”
Gibson teased that she would be working with Verada Sethu in the near future, and that she loved every minute of it. She added, “If we went on an adventure together… I'd love to go shopping in the 1800s or something and bring corsets. We're both like, ‘What do you want to wear to the ball?’ Verada can be in a sequel to "Rogue." It has to happen.”
UNIT May Provide A Career Path For Ruby Post-Doctor Who
“If Her Band Gives Her Some Time Off…”
One of the most exciting aspects of “Lucky Day” is Ruby getting to team up with Kate Lethbridge-Stewart and UNIT again. Ruby proves herself capable once more, leading me to question whether a future career at UNIT is in the cards. “If they'll have me!” Gibson agreed enthusiastically. “I think if her band gives her some time off, she could totally just go to UNIT. But I love the gang there. Kate Lethbridge-Stewart is probably my favorite character. I love her so much. I love Jemma Redgrave. She makes me feel so safe and nurtured, same as Ruby with Kate.”
Gibson even shared her head canon that “whenever Ruby has a problem, she calls Kate.” More importantly, “I'm the same with Jemma. It's a really nice dynamic they've got going on, so I'm really glad they were able to explore that a bit more in episode 4, for sure.”
New episodes of Doctor Who air Sundays on BBC and are available to stream at 12pm PT/3am ET on Disney+ the same day.
Doctor Who
- 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
Cast
The Doctor
Millie GibsonRuby Sunday
WHERE TO WATCH
The latest Doctor Who series introduces the Fifteenth Doctor, ed by new companion Ruby Sunday.
- Writers
- Russell T. Davies, Dave Gibbons, Kate Herron, Steven Moffat
- Franchise(s)
- Doctor Who / Whoniverse
- Creator(s)
- Donald Wilson, Sydney Newman
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