Doctor Who: Lucky Day Review - 7 Ups & 3 Downs
2. UP - Kate Stewart The Badass
Jemma Redgrave gets some of her best material in Lucky Day, particularly in the climax. We've seen Kate Stewart consider genocide twice in Doctor Who, but her solution for Conrad in Lucky Day somehow feels more brutal. If the Shreek does get hold of Conrad, it'll rip him limb from limb. In a way, it's similar to the situations in The Day of the Doctor and The Zygon Inversion – a life-or-death game of chicken to see who blinks first, her or her foe.
It's a stand-off, Kate daring Conrad to deny the existence of aliens while a very deadly, very hungry Shreek stalks him around UNIT HQ. It's a moment that shows us who Kate and Conrad are as characters. Kate Stewart is the person willing to make the hard decisions to protect those close to her – after all, isn't her decision to unleash the Shreek rooted partly in her desire to avenge Ruby?
Meanwhile, Conrad is just an adult version of the scared little boy who got a clip round the ear from his boozy mum on New Year's Day 2007. It's easy, therefore, to draw a line between Conrad's abusive mother and his desire to tear down the legacy of Kate's father.