Doctor Who - Recap: Taking Care of Business

It's kind of a shame, actually, that the threat of the week isn't nearly as interesting as the character conflict at its center, but that was to be expected. The Skovox Blitzer is a unique enemy, and its menace is established early on when it completely evaporates a befuddled police officer. Faced with the possibility of world destruction, The Doctor decides to go undercover at the source of the problem: Clara's school. As "John Smith", The Doctor investigates the arrival of the Skovox Blitzer while attempting to remain inconspicuous -- and failing spectacularly, since he's The Doctor, and he can't really help but make a scene everywhere he goes. These are among the more amusing moments of the episode, as The Doctor clearly has trouble convincingly portraying a human, and it actually somewhat reminds me of William Hartnell's First Doctor. The Twelfth Doctor will protect humanity, but he seems to have that residual layer of contempt for them as well, and it makes for a darker, more compelling portrayal, as we're not entirely used to The Doctor being this openly disdainful. He has an edge to him now that he hasn't had for a good, long while. Case in point, when Danny inadvertently foils The Doctor's plan to chronologically displace the Skovox Blitzer a billion years into the future, The Doctor is absolutely livid. It's hard enough for Danny to process everything he's seen without having The Doctor practically jumping down his throat, and not even Clara can do anything to calm the Time Lord. The threat and menace of the Skovox Blitzer compels the character conflict at the heart of the episode, in a lot of ways.

Credit: BBC

However, this menace doesn't exactly carry over into the rest of the episode, as the creature comes across as less of the world-threatening force The Doctor insists it is, and more of an inconvenience to these two men who are warring over Clara's affections. Granted, their respective affection for Clara is different: Danny's is of the romantic sort, while The Doctor has adopted an almost fatherly concern for his companion. This is the episode where Danny is finally brought into the fold, learning all about The Doctor and his partnership with Clara, so it's unsurprising that The Doctor doesn't exactly like Danny. Nor is it surprising that Danny doesn't particularly like The Doctor either. As the episode rolls on, we come to realize that Danny is bothered not just by how much danger Clara is frequently put in, but also by the lies she frequently tells him, many of which are prompted by her partnership with The Doctor.

Credit: BBC

Danny comes to feel that his relationship with Clara is subservient to her relationship with The Doctor, and it's something he can't allow, if the pairing is to continue. Similarly, we discover that The Doctor doesn't like Danny because he initially doesn't believe Danny is good enough for her. It all builds to a climactic sequence in which The Doctor must trick the Skovox Blitzer into thinking he's its commander, since the creature is an unthinkingly loyal soldier. The Doctor fashions a device that will allow him to pull off the deception, but he has trouble getting it activated, and both he and Clara are faced with certain death when they're cornered in the Caretaker's shed. Enter Danny, hidden in plain sight thanks to The Doctor's invisible watch. The ex-soldier comes charging into the room, performing an absolutely badass forward flip over the top of the Skovox Blitzer, drawing its fire away from The Doctor and Clara, and giving them time to recalibrate The Doctor's device to prevent the creature from self-destructing and killing them all. Thankfully, it's not nearly as exhausting as it sounds, as this was a pretty great conclusion.

Credit: BBC

As the episode comes to a close, The Doctor takes one of the students from the Coal Hill School out on a ride in the TARDIS, while Clara and Danny come to an agreement about their relationship: no more lies, and Clara must tell Danny if The Doctor ever pushes her too far. This has to be a setup for a clash between The Doctor and Danny somewhere down the line. Not a physical clash, necessarily, but a conflict of ideals. It should make for interesting television if/when it comes. The same could be said for the inevitable reveal about Missy, and whatever the deal is with Heaven/The Promised Land, as the vaporized police officer from earlier arrives in the mysterious place and is greeted by a chipper interviewer who lets him know that Missy has pressing matters. What is she up to? And what is the nature of this place? It's a great hook to compel viewership, although I hope we get some sort of answers (or at least better hints) soon. Regardless, "The Caretaker" was a decent episode in what has overall been a solid season so far for Doctor Who.