After the brilliance of the last two episodes, I had surprisingly low expectations about “Closing Time,” mainly because my final opinion on “The Lodger” (31.10), the last episode to guest star James Corden as Craig Owens, was that it lacked depth but that the naked shot of Matt Smith was much appreciated. This episode comes close to duplicating my previous concerns, but it does have a great cliffhanger and doesn’t lack depth at all.

The plot of “Closing Time” is fairly basic: the Doctor pops in to say goodbye to Craig on his way to Lake Silencio and discovers a Cybermen plot at a local department store. Cue Craig, along with his baby son, helping the Doctor foil the Cybermen. Having looked back at my review for “The Lodger,” there are similar criticisms I can make about “Closing Time” namely: James Corden’s believability as Craig, making fun of Craig as a character, and the Doctor operating in the human world. The latter really occurred to me in the scenes where the Doctor has gotten a job at the department store and has managed to make friends with all the staff so quickly. It’s very reminiscent of the scene at Craig’s work in “The Lodger” and just doesn’t ring true from a characterization perspective. The Doctor isn’t good at interacting in a normal setting -- that’s why he has the Companions -- yet here again, that’s ignored to make fun of Craig.

Making fun of the character in “The Lodger” felt too much like bullying the overweight kid at school for my liking. Luckily, while the ‘making fun’ element remains, the target of the fun is limited to Craig’s Daddy skills and not-being-the-Doctor while everything else about his Craig -- his ordinariness, his settled life with Sophie and Alfie, is shown as being something the Doctor envies. It rather takes the sting out of the rest of it and so isn’t as detestable as it was in “The Lodger.”

Moreover, whereas last time I had a hard time buying into Corden’s performance as Craig, here I was bought in the majority of the time. There’s really only the scene at the end where Craig and the Doctor are battling the Cybermen that it all looks a little too much like ‘yes, we are acting that we are in a fight for our lives.’ Otherwise, Corden delivers a nicely understated performance for the most part.

There is a great scene in Craig’s living room between the Doctor and Craig as the Doctor contemplates Craig’s trust and his own failings, and Craig attempts to comfort him. It adds depth to the whole piece in a way “The Lodger” never achieved. It shows just how much events have played on the Doctor’s psyche and his inner fears and emotions. Corden is excellent in the scene and Smith is magnificent in it.

In fact, without his usual cohorts, Smith is truly left to carry the episode and he manages to do so with great aplomb. He’s brilliant particularly in those moments where he’s contemplating his own demise, wrestling with his own mortality and whether he’s done good in his life. The scene where he leaves Craig’s house intent on travelling to his destination, intent on sticking to his decision only to place his head against the TARDIS as he gives into the inevitable need to help was incredibly moving.

The other star of this episode is Stormageddon, AKA Baby Alfie. Mostly the character of Stormy comes through the Doctor’s translation of his baby-speak. But I loved the notes of Craig being ‘Not-Mum’ and everyone else being peasants; of the papoose because Alfie believes his Dad doesn’t come quick enough when summoned. The scene in the baby’s room where the Doctor turns the lights into actual space with all the stars is wonderful.

What is less wonderful is the ‘Cybermen blown up by the power of parental love’ note, although the special effects were good. The whole scene isn’t particularly believable to me but what did resonate was that this has been the theme running through this season’s episodes: parents and children. “The Curse of the Black Spot” (32.03) had a father/son relationship as the sub-plot whereas in “Night Terrors” (32.09) it was at the heart of the plot, and of course, there’s been the whole issue of Amy’s pregnancy and the birth of Melody Pond. It’ll be interesting to see how this theme plays out in the season finale along with the idea of clones and multiple versions of people.

Speaking of themes, the other theme of the season has been the solidity of the relationship between Amy (Karen Gillan) and Rory (Arthur Darvill). Here they are mostly absent except for a brief shot of the Doctor spotting them in the department store from a distance. It’s a lovely heart-breaking moment as he restrains his desire to just go to them.

What is also great is the ending as the Doctor retrieves the envelopes he’ll use to invite everyone to Lake Silencio and Craig gives him the Stetson. The set-up with Doctor River Song being placed into the astronaut’s suit nicely brings things full circle back to the beginning of the season and the opener “The Impossible Astronaut” (32.01). I love the symmetry in time travel stories.

So, on the whole, I rather enjoyed “Closing Time.” It was much, much better than “The Lodger” to the extent that I probably wouldn’t wince as much as I did this time if Corden was brought back again. It’s also a great set-up though for the finish and I can’t wait for the next episode.
  
   -- Rachel Day