Respect the Thing
Yeah, more Doctor Who. I've seen "Flesh and Stone" now, and I'm starting to see what all the fuss is about.
The interesting thing about this episode is that the Angels went from being the main antagonist to being a subplot about halfway through, but nobody told them, unfortunately. But let's stick with the Angels for a second, shall we? There was definitely more Angel action going on this episode than last. On the whole, though, I don't think I care much for the new "rule" they added to Angel behavior this time...you have to look at the Angels, but you can't look them in the eyes? Good thing that wasn't a problem for Sally Sparrow, but I don't know why not. In fact, I would have been a lot more skeptical of the "brain angel" thing if Karen Gillan hadn't sold it so well. There's no particular reason why the brain angel would be counting down to takeover, but she made it sound so natural that I was willing to buy it.
The reversal from their first appearance, from "don't blink" to "don't open your eyes" was pretty clever and well-handled, I thought. Of course, that means they can't do a third variation, but that's not a bad thing. The Angels actually moving was...odd. I was immediately struck by the creepiness of it, seeing them move when you've never seen it before, but...we know they move, right? They just move lightning-fast, when you're not looking. So while it was initially creepy, that wore off rather quickly, and just seemed odd.
And then...poof, Angels all gone. I gotta say that the gravity trick was pretty darned amazing the first time, at the open of the episode, but the second time it seemed a bit anticlimactic. And rather convenient that they had just enough Angels to close the Crack, but like I said, they became a plot point in their own episode. shiny_bauble took that scene to mean that the entire Angel race is gone, or more, never existed, which would invalidate "Blink," as it happens, but we're starting to get timey-wimey here. In any event, I'd be happy not to see the Angels again. Moffat proved he could successfully bring them back, but they're starting to stretch belief now.
I'm starting to believe in the new Doctor more as his own character, and not just somebody reading a script that was written for Tennant. This guy's definitely more vulnerable, making mistakes all over, and pretty much admitting he doesn't have a plan (that said, "I'll do a thing" is pretty much the most honest explanation he's ever given). By my count, though, he's lost his cool and yelled at somebody who's trying to help him in every story so far. He seems to be jumping to the "no win, gotta sacrifice myself" scenario a lot more quickly than previous Doctors would have; we'll have to see how that plays out.
OK, moving on to the timey-wimey...very interesting! I'm glad that the Crack isn't going to be just another "Bad Wolf" that's going to follow us around until the very end of the season. Clearly this is serious business, and the Doctor knows it, even if nobody else does. Something very, very odd is going on here with time, and although my head is filled with speculatey thoughts, I'm not sure I want to admit to any of them. Moffat's been pretty amazing in taking plots where I didn't expect them to go in the past, so I'm just going to buckle up and enjoy the ride on this one.
No, wait, I lied. I admit I picked this up from various online sources, but I have to mention it. If you have it recorded, go check out the scene where the Doctor goes off with River and leaves Amy behind with the soldiers. He tells Amy he'll be back, says "Later," pats her on the head, and runs off, telling River he needs her computer. You can hear his voice moving away as he says that line. Then, poof, he's back in front of Amy, in a really tight shot, telling her to trust him, and remember what he told her when she was seven. Except! He's wearing his jacket in that scene, and he rather obviously lost his jacket to the Angels a few minutes prior. Simple production error? Maybe, but I don't think so. It's odd that he'd reassure her, leave, and then suddenly come back to reassure her some more. The speculation, and I think this may be valid, is that this is a Doctor from a different point in time (with a jacket), popping back into this episode to give Amy a message. Which makes me look at all the other episodes cross-eyed. When Amy left herself a message in "Beast Below," was she just talking about the whale, or something more? If it were any other writer, I'd say the evidence is too slim for it to be anything important...but not Moffat.
Also, I simply love the fact that the "duck pond with no ducks" might actually be a plot point.
The interesting thing about this episode is that the Angels went from being the main antagonist to being a subplot about halfway through, but nobody told them, unfortunately. But let's stick with the Angels for a second, shall we? There was definitely more Angel action going on this episode than last. On the whole, though, I don't think I care much for the new "rule" they added to Angel behavior this time...you have to look at the Angels, but you can't look them in the eyes? Good thing that wasn't a problem for Sally Sparrow, but I don't know why not. In fact, I would have been a lot more skeptical of the "brain angel" thing if Karen Gillan hadn't sold it so well. There's no particular reason why the brain angel would be counting down to takeover, but she made it sound so natural that I was willing to buy it.
The reversal from their first appearance, from "don't blink" to "don't open your eyes" was pretty clever and well-handled, I thought. Of course, that means they can't do a third variation, but that's not a bad thing. The Angels actually moving was...odd. I was immediately struck by the creepiness of it, seeing them move when you've never seen it before, but...we know they move, right? They just move lightning-fast, when you're not looking. So while it was initially creepy, that wore off rather quickly, and just seemed odd.
And then...poof, Angels all gone. I gotta say that the gravity trick was pretty darned amazing the first time, at the open of the episode, but the second time it seemed a bit anticlimactic. And rather convenient that they had just enough Angels to close the Crack, but like I said, they became a plot point in their own episode. shiny_bauble took that scene to mean that the entire Angel race is gone, or more, never existed, which would invalidate "Blink," as it happens, but we're starting to get timey-wimey here. In any event, I'd be happy not to see the Angels again. Moffat proved he could successfully bring them back, but they're starting to stretch belief now.
I'm starting to believe in the new Doctor more as his own character, and not just somebody reading a script that was written for Tennant. This guy's definitely more vulnerable, making mistakes all over, and pretty much admitting he doesn't have a plan (that said, "I'll do a thing" is pretty much the most honest explanation he's ever given). By my count, though, he's lost his cool and yelled at somebody who's trying to help him in every story so far. He seems to be jumping to the "no win, gotta sacrifice myself" scenario a lot more quickly than previous Doctors would have; we'll have to see how that plays out.
OK, moving on to the timey-wimey...very interesting! I'm glad that the Crack isn't going to be just another "Bad Wolf" that's going to follow us around until the very end of the season. Clearly this is serious business, and the Doctor knows it, even if nobody else does. Something very, very odd is going on here with time, and although my head is filled with speculatey thoughts, I'm not sure I want to admit to any of them. Moffat's been pretty amazing in taking plots where I didn't expect them to go in the past, so I'm just going to buckle up and enjoy the ride on this one.
No, wait, I lied. I admit I picked this up from various online sources, but I have to mention it. If you have it recorded, go check out the scene where the Doctor goes off with River and leaves Amy behind with the soldiers. He tells Amy he'll be back, says "Later," pats her on the head, and runs off, telling River he needs her computer. You can hear his voice moving away as he says that line. Then, poof, he's back in front of Amy, in a really tight shot, telling her to trust him, and remember what he told her when she was seven. Except! He's wearing his jacket in that scene, and he rather obviously lost his jacket to the Angels a few minutes prior. Simple production error? Maybe, but I don't think so. It's odd that he'd reassure her, leave, and then suddenly come back to reassure her some more. The speculation, and I think this may be valid, is that this is a Doctor from a different point in time (with a jacket), popping back into this episode to give Amy a message. Which makes me look at all the other episodes cross-eyed. When Amy left herself a message in "Beast Below," was she just talking about the whale, or something more? If it were any other writer, I'd say the evidence is too slim for it to be anything important...but not Moffat.
Also, I simply love the fact that the "duck pond with no ducks" might actually be a plot point.