How Doctor Who’s “Lucky Day” exposes the devastating impact of emotional manipulation and viral exposure on Ruby Sunday

Doctor Who never misses an opportunity to critique real-life occurrences through its mantle of sci-fi and fantasy. When Ruby Sunday thought she was finally moving on, after having left the TARDIS and trying to rebuild her life, she met Conrad Clark, a young man who apparently was no more than a charming podcaster who seemed genuinely interested in her.

However, we should have paid attention to his actions as a child when he first met the Doctor. The phrase "lucky day" might be more unfortunately ironic than it seems at first. The child was desperate for attention, and that was shown in glimpses when Conrad first entered the scene. Would it be possible that as an adult he would grow nice? Spoiler: He did not.

In Doctor Who's "Lucky Day," Conrad is not the prince charming he seems to be. Rather, he is a cunning opportunist hoping to use Ruby Sunday for his own benefit. Conrad ruins Ruby's reputation and breaks her faith in others by making her a viral sensation and employing her to strike the UNIT, so isolating and destroying her more than ever. Conrad's careless behavior releases effects far more hazardous than he ever expected as the turmoil unfolds.

The perfect target: How Conrad exploits Ruby’s trauma to gain her trust

Ruby Sunday has been through more than most people could handle. After everything she faced while traveling with the Doctor, she’s struggling to find stability. Conrad Clark enters the picture as a nice, supportive guy who appears to care about her deeply at the precise correct moment. However, he is not acting in good faith.

Because of her ties to the UNIT and his perception of her emotional fragility, Ruby Sunday becomes Conrad's chosen target. She's the ideal prey because she's been hurt and left alone before. He meticulously shapes his image to be the perfect partner by demonstrating empathy, care, and attentiveness. There is a determined strategy to win Ruby over and tap on her awareness of the UNIT behind every romantic gesture and compliment.

Ruby lets her defenses down in her search for normalcy and connection. Conrad uses her frailty to his advantage, establishing the groundwork for his grand scheme through their blossoming romance. The following live-streamed plot will ruin Ruby's life and bring shame onto the UNIT.

A staged nightmare: The grotesque dinner scene and its impact on Ruby

Conrad’s plan to humiliate Ruby begins with a seemingly innocent dinner in a remote village. He invites her to join him and his group of conspiracist friends, presenting it as a casual evening out. The dinner, however, is anything but casual.

Conrad and his friends stage a grotesque spectacle, dressing up in alien costumes and using eerie lights and sound effects to simulate an attack. The supposed threat is a creature called Shreek, a monster they claim the UNIT has been hiding from the public. Ruby, who trusts Conrad and has no reason to suspect foul play, becomes the perfect target for their twisted performance.

As the staged attack unfolds, Conrad live-streams the entire event. He frames Ruby as a reluctant insider, allegedly exposing the UNIT’s supposed corruption. Her fear and confusion are captured and broadcast to a growing online audience, turning her into a viral spectacle.

Public shaming and viral humiliation: How Conrad weaponizes Ruby’s pain in Doctor Who's ironically titled episode "Lucky Day"

Ruby never imagined that her private fears would be used against her on such a massive scale. Conrad’s live stream of the staged alien attack becomes a viral sensation, turning Ruby into the center of a fabricated conspiracy. He frames her as a whistleblower, manipulating her terror to fit his narrative.

The internet reacts instantly. Ruby’s name and face flood social media, with people mocking her, calling her a liar, and branding her as a traitor. Conrad fuels the chaos, feeding off the attention while Ruby is left defenseless. What was once a moment of vulnerability is now a public spectacle, with her reactions replayed, remixed, and twisted beyond recognition.

Instead of recovering her sense of self, Ruby finds herself more lost than ever. The public shaming affects more than her reputation. It leaves her questioning her identity.

A fractured sense of self: How Ruby Sunday’s identity is weaponized against her

Conrad tears apart Ruby’s identity piece by piece, using every detail against her. During the live stream, he mocks her name, calling it ridiculous and branding her as nothing more than a punchline. The name Ruby Sunday becomes a viral joke, stripped of any meaning beyond the spectacle Conrad has crafted.

For Ruby, who’s already struggling to define herself outside of her time with the Doctor, this is a devastating blow. Her life becomes a meme, her name synonymous with deception and foolishness. Conrad’s narrative paints her as a puppet of the UNIT, a clueless girl who supposedly confirmed a grand conspiracy.

Ruby’s sense of self shatters. She starts to believe that maybe Conrad was right, that maybe she really is nothing more than a gullible, naive girl who fell for the wrong guy and lost everything in the process.

Destroying the hero: How Conrad’s actions damage the UNIT’s reputation

Conrad’s live stream doesn’t just target Ruby. His real objective is to dismantle the credibility of the UNIT. By framing the organization as a corrupt entity that fabricates alien threats to siphon money from the public, he crafts a narrative that the internet is all too eager to believe.

Throughout the broadcast, Conrad twists Ruby’s words to suggest that the UNIT is a fraudulent organization, using fearmongering tactics to maintain power. He accuses them of creating false crises and keeping supposed alien threats under wraps, all while exploiting public funds.

For an organization that has protected Earth from countless alien invasions, this portrayal is catastrophic. The UNIT’s long-standing reputation as humanity’s shield is shattered. Citizens who once trusted the organization now see it as a scam, a government-funded hoax orchestrated to control and deceive.

When the lie becomes the truth: The Shreek reveal and its consequences

Conrad thought he was orchestrating a harmless spectacle, a staged alien attack designed to discredit the UNIT and turn Ruby into a scapegoat. However, it is quite a delight to see when his plan backfires spectacularly.

While infiltrating the UNIT, Conrad continues his live stream, and he sneaks into a restricted area, expecting to find nothing but empty corridors to fuel his fabricated narrative.

Instead, he encounters the real Shreek, the very creature he pretended existed to manipulate Ruby. The sight of the creature sends the live stream spiraling out of control. Viewers who had been laughing at Conrad’s antics now witness an actual alien, confirming the existence of a threat far more dangerous than anything he imagined.

Conrad is arrested, but the damage is irreversible. The UNIT’s reputation is in ruins, Ruby is a viral pariah, and the consequences of Conrad’s actions may only be the beginning.

Bonus: The Blink connection — How “Lucky Day” mirrors a classic Doctor Who episode

Before the events of "Lucky Day," the previous episode, "The Well," makes a pointed reference to "Blink," one of the most iconic episodes in Doctor Who history. Even though the Doctor makes a brief appearance in that episode, the tension is kept high as regular people confront out-of-the-ordinary threats.

"Lucky Day" is structured similarly. With the Doctor out of the picture for the most part, we can keep our attention on Ruby Sunday and the nightmare that Conrad sets up for her. The psychological and emotional devastation caused by a deceptive human, rather than extraterrestrial invasions or temporal loops, is the main source of the tragedy.

Conclusion: How Ruby Sunday’s story reflects the devastating cost of betrayal and public shaming

Ruby Sunday thought she was moving forward. She trusted Conrad Clark, let herself believe in the possibility of love, and tried to rebuild her life after everything she went through with the Doctor. Nonetheless, Conrad turned her vulnerability into a weapon, using her for his own gain and leaving her reputation in ruins.

The aftermath of Doctor Who's "Lucky Day" is a harsh reminder of how easily a person’s life can be destroyed in the digital age. Ruby is left isolated, discredited, and emotionally wrecked, while the UNIT’s once-heroic image is now tainted by Conrad’s viral conspiracy, even though the real threat is revealed.

The damage isn’t just public. It’s deeply personal. Ruby’s sense of self is fractured, her faith in others shattered. As far as the UNIT and real threats go? The consequences of Conrad’s actions may only be the beginning.