Even though The Hungry Earth was a disappointment I still held out hope that the story as a whole could be redeemed if this episode were better. Sadly this did not turn out to be the case.Problems are present at the episode's opening when we get a CGI shot of Earth in space while a portentous voiceover talks about the way the Earth changed. This is near identical to the beginning of part one of The End of Time. There it was forgivable because that was the Tenth Doctor's farewell episode and such an event deserved portentousness. Here it is happening in a middle episode of the series and seems like it is trying to make the episode seem more impressive than it actually is.
After they were kept in the shadows last week, we get to see more of the redesigned Silurian. I'm still not keen on the more humanoid design, but I like the fact that the armour and the guns are reminiscent of the Sea Devils. The episode seems to have trouble getting to grips with the ethical issues surrounding the Silurians. In Warriors of the Deep the Doctor stupidly claimed that all the Silurians ever wanted was peace. For some reason, in this episode, when Restac asks what happened to the other colony, the Doctor replies that 'the humans destroyed them all'. That's ignoring half the story. The original Silurian story was about bigotry on both sides. You had people like the Young Silurian and Major Baker. It's also strange that we're supposed to sympathise with the Silurians even though one of them is dissecting the humans.
Sadly, the much vaunted peace between Silurians and humans is ruined when the warrior Alaya is killed. The Doctor is suddenly able to use the sonic screwdriver like a weapon and blow up Silurian guns. So basically nothing will ever be a threat to him again. The peace plans are put on the back burner as the Nasreen and Tony are kept in stasis underground. Its annoying because this episode is meant to take place in the future, so they could have been a bit more fantastic.
The other major moment is Rory's surprise death as he is swallowed by a crack in time. It is annoying that Amy conveniently forgets him, even though she could remember the space ship crew. It's almost like Steven Moffat didn't want to deal with the emotional repurcussions of the incident. Still, the way it is unresolved makes me think that we have not seen the last of him. It is the only time that we see Amy show any kind of compassion for him.
The only other development is the Doctor's discovery that the cracks in time may have been caused by an exploding Tardis. It's probably the only interesting thing in this episode.
There's not much to say Matt Smith as he continues to be the best thing about the story despite getting some weird lines like 'squeaky bum time'. There's nothing for Smith to sink his teeth into liek the Alaya confrontation in the previous episode but he soldiers on and gives us a decent performance.
As I said in my previous article, Amy Pond continues to be a series of quips. She is made a representative of Earth but she gets bored during the Silurian conference and seems unfazed a lot of the time. The moment where she is upset by Rory's death would be more emotional if the character wasn;t forced to forget about it some time later. The fact that she's forgotten Rory's death means she won't develop anyway.
Poor Rory. It can be hoped that he will somehow reappear later in the series. It is good that he is the most morally upright people in the group of humans. He also proves he is not a coward as he is prepared to take the body of Alaya back to the Silurians even though this could put him in danger. It is a testament to Arthur Darvill that the character's absence at the end of the tale makes the Tardis feel emptier. I hope we have not seen the last of him and the ring remaining in the Tardis suggests that this is so.
This was, not a particularly great episode. Series 5 started out with a lot of promise but it has now started to dip down. The next few episodes will have to be a lot better in order to redeem this series.
5/10
Next: The Doctor and Amy meet Vincent Van Gogh. I am really trying to get the urge to care.
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