Warning: Spoilers ahead forDoctor Whoseason 15, episode 2, “Lux.“Doctor Whoseason 15, episode 2, “Lux,” introduces a villain initially referred to as Mr. Ring-a-Ding, but there is far more to the sentient cartoon character than there appears to be on the surface. That said, the concept of a living animation in the real world is already pretty fascinating, but showrunnerRussell T. Davies finds a way to make Mr. Ring-a-Ding even more compelling. Not only does Mr. Ring-a-Ding have a connection toDoctor Who’s Pantheon of Gods, but he opens the door to one of the biggest fourth wall breaks ofDoctor Who’s Disney era.
“Lux” welcomes Alan Cumming to theDoctor Whoseason 15 castas the voice of Mr. Ring-a-Ding. It’s also the first adventure with Fifteen (Ncuti Gatwa) and Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu) since the realization at theend ofDoctor Whoseason 15, episode 1, “The Robot Revolution,” that the TARDIS can’t take Belinda home. Their visit to 1952 Miami is part of a larger effort to triangulate the temporal and spatial coordinates that will allow Belinda to return to 2025. However, as is tradition,the Time Lord and his new companion find more than they bargained for.
Mr. Ring-a-Ding Is Really Lux Imperator, The Pantheon’s God Of Light
Lux is part of the same group of villains as Sutekh
Although he has the aesthetic appearance of an in-universe cartoon character called Mr. Ring-a-Ding, Cumming’s character is really the God of Light, a being named Lux Imperator. Often referred to only as Lux, the God of Light is a member of the same organization as other Pantheon members - likethe Toymaker, the God of Games (Neil Patrick Harris),Maestro, the God of Music (Jinkx Monsoon), andSutekh, the God of Death. (Gabriel Woolf).
“I am Lux. Lux Imperator, the God of Light! I am the dazzle at the heart of the Pantheon, and the glint in the eyes of the mad. I am the last thing you see before you fall into the abyss.”
Lux inDoctor Whoseason 15, episode 2, “Lux.”
Lux is an example of Davies creating an entirely new character to add to the Pantheon, rather than rounding them up fromDoctor Who’s classic eraand retconning them into being Gods. Maestro (or arguably Trickster) was the first instance of an original Pantheon God. Appearing only as an animated character, even to those within the world of the show,Lux is a drastic departure from hisDoctor Whopredecessors. Although it initially seems he will be a standalone villain, the return of the musical laugh from “The Giggle” confirms his Pantheon membership in a surprising twist.
How Lux Comes To Life & What His Goal Is
The God of Light enters the story in a moonbeam
Before the events of “Lux,” Cumming’s character had never been mentioned or made an appearance. So, it begs the question of where Lux has been all this time. The “short” answer is that he’s been in another universe, and he’s only able to arrive in “Lux” after the damage caused to the fabric of reality thanks to David Tennant’s Fourteenth Doctor invoking a salt-based superstition at the edge of the universe. So,Lux has managed to cross over intoDoctor Who’s primary universe. However, he doesn’t have a corporeal form at first.
Because celluloid is purpose-made to capture light, this acts as the perfect bridge for Lux to take form.
The moonbeam at the beginning of “Lux” is how the episode’s title character enters the fray. After shining through the projection room’s skylight and bouncing off the spoon and other reflective objects,Lux finds his way to an active roll of film being used to show a Mr. Ring-a-Ding cartoon. Because celluloid is purpose-made to capture light, this acts as the perfect bridge for Lux to take form. The one catch is that he’s restricted to images imprinted onto the film, so he duplicates Mr. Ring-a-Ding’s physical appearance, which just so happens to be that of a 1950s cartoon.
Lux’s goal is to bring himself even more into the physical realm by acquiring a bodythat would survive away from the movie theater and in the outside world. Because of the footage he’s seen in Palazzo, he knows about the various sources of light sitting outside its walls, including nuclear bombs. In his form as the animated Mr. Ring-a-Ding, such immense levels of light would be too much for him to handle, so he aims to fortify himself against the risk.
What Lux’s Powers Are & How The Doctor Beats Him
Light is Lux’s number one weapon (& his biggest weakness)
Put simply, Lux has the ability to manipulate light. This includes light in the fairly uninteresting sense, like the kind that would come from a lightbulb, but light is almost everywhere. As such, it makes Lux a fearsome villain with incredibly fantastical powers. One of the more fascinating displays of Lux’s powers is when he essentially resurrects the late wife of the Palazzo’s projectionist, Mr. Reginald Pye.Lux pulls Mrs Pye from the black-and-white footage owned by her husband and brings her into the physical realm.
Lux’s “Don’t make me laugh!” catchphrase is inherited from the Mr. Ring-a-Ding cartoon.
It’s not actually Mrs. Pye, but her husband can scarcely tell the physical difference, especially after she gets the technicolor treatment. Lux also has the ability to send characters the other way - from the real world into the realm of light. This is displayed whenFifteen and Belinda are sent on a journey through Lux’s domain, where they experience life as 2D animated characters, and also meet a group ofDoctor Whofans who have watched all the Time Lord’s adventureson a TV screen.
Formidable though he is, Lux must replicate whatever is happening if a Mr. Ring-a-Ding film is played. This is used against him in “Lux” when Mr. Pye is trying to buy the Doctor and Belinda time to escape. Plus, he can’t go outside as Mr. Ring-a-Ding - at least at first.
Perhaps most importantly,Lux can draw out the regeneration energy inside the Doctor. The God of Light is fascinated by the Time Lord’s ability to build himself a new body, which is exactly what Lux is trying to do for himself. After restraining the Doctor, Lux draws the regeneration energy out and absorbs it. As he becomes more three-dimensional, the Doctor grows weaker. Thankfully, Belinda picks up on Fifteen’s coded message to destroy the picture house’s back wall so that Lux is exposed to direct sunlight.
As the Doctor explains, when Belinda is confused, humans are mostly water and can still drown - and the same is true of Lux and light.
Although coming into direct contact with sunlight may seem as though it would work to Lux’s advantage, it proves too much for him to handle. Instead of growing more powerful,Lux absorbs more and more of the sun’s light. He grows and grows without end until he leaves Earth’s orbit and starts to draw in energy from the light of other celestial bodies and the universe at large. As the Doctor explains, when Belinda is confused, humans are mostly water and can still drown - and the same is true of Lux and light.
Lux is done for now, but could always come back
The implication at the end of “Lux” is that Alan Cumming’sDoctor Whocharacter is dead. Interestingly, that doesn’t seem to be the case, at least not in the traditional sense. As Belinda points out,Lux now boasts pretty much all the traits of a God. He has no physical form, and he’s everywhere all at once, as well as also being most things. He becomes at one with the universe, detached from most other desires or concerns.
BELINDA: “So, he’s actually a God now. Infinite. Invisible. Intangible.”
THE DOCTOR: “Amen.”
Doctor Whoseason 15, episode 2, “Lux.”
Lux doesn’t die, but he at least stops being a threat. That being said, there’s no reason why he can’t return someday.It doesn’t seem likely that a Pantheon God can actually die forever. The Doctor has managed to defeat several members of the Pantheon so far, but the Toymaker and Sutekh have both come back after their apparent fall in the show’s classic era. So, even though Lux Imperator seems to be done for now, his resurgence inDoctor Who’s future remains a possibility.
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“The Story and the Engine”
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