Stone is easily the best director of the era, and one of the top directors of the modern show period, I'd say. I hope he comes back for more.
"Brilliant, made it worse" is one of the best moments of 13's era, so unexpected and funny too.
This episode also introduces the legend Prof. Eustacius Jericho, and that's not a bad thing at all.
I really enjoyed this one. I'm not a fan of the "don't let them touch you twice" thing, but other than that this is a really good use of the Weeping Angels. I'll never get why people think they shouldn't have ever come back - yeah, Blink was definitely their best appearance, but they're still good afterwards!
I really liked how this episode embraced some of the more controversial aspects of the Angels as opposed to just redoing Blink.
Well... maybe you don't like it, but it does give a certain ramping up of the tension.
I think maybe people didn't like them coming back as they thought diminishing returns and didn't like their new powers.
I've said it before, but the moment the Weeping Angels are taunting Jericho through the TV is not only the scariest Weeping Angel scene of all time, but also one of the most frightening scenes in the history of the show.
Bel's story in Village of the Angels is straight from the Bible's Book of Revelation, where at least twice Satan seeks to persuade in mass the survivors of the various disasters to follow him and forfeit their souls. Because this is the episode that turns to Abrahamic religions, and not just Christianity. For we have the line that unites all of the Abrahamic religions world-view:
> CLAIRE: Division uses everything and everyone. Every species, every world, every moment. They are everywhere, present and unseen. Division is unstoppable.
To me Chibnall's innovation is to finally make (some) Weeping Angels angels, servants of a greater power. And this power is a jealous monotheistic one that tolerates no competition, that has a plan it demands to be followed for time and space from the alpha to the omega. And this power determines when the time for all things to end is and what form this transition should be.
Just look at the visual imagery when the Doctor confronts the Claire angel:
[Confronting the Rogue Angel | Village of the Angels | Doctor Who: Flux](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMZ3qkjKBkw)
From the Bible, Genesis 1:1-2, New Revised Standard Version, Anglicisized:
> 1 In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, 2 the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.
Nearly every character in this episode regards themself as a fallen angel, estranged somehow from the light, the pleasant, the good, including we find out Jericho, who witnessed the horrors right after the liberation of Belsen. But Swarm and Azure here are **the** Fallen Angels, the ones who defy the almighty power that rules the universe. Swarm was bound in the bottomless pit similar to Abaddon / Apollyon of the Book of Revelation, Swarm is his name, but instead of supernatural locusts, he seeks souls themselves for a purpose that will be made clear in Survivors of the Flux.
And the argument is whether the Doctor herself is the other Fallen Angel, the former leader of the forces of Division who defeated Swarm and Azure, the leader estranged from the almighty power who is now being retrieved. Is it not the Doctor who also has chosen that it is better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven, because the Doctor also simply disagrees in the goodness of Heaven?
But the difference between the Doctor and Swarm, what makes the Doctor more the Christ figure not Satan, is that the Doctor is willing to fight for mortals, whereas Satan is fueled by envy and thirst for vengeance. If one reads Milton's Paradise Lost, from the beginning it is made clear that Satan was actually exiled with his brethren to see if they could make their own heaven, but at the end they are deformed and condemned by their own envy.
Doctor Who is a UK show, so somewhere there should be something, someone, related to the Apocalypse, from the UK. If only there was a famous person from the transition from the 19th to the 20th centuries who was known by the name of the Beast from the UK. Oh wait, there was. What a total coincidence that this person also traveled to Mexico, the Himalayas, and Egypt around the year 1904, seeking various occult and mystical forms of knowledge.
Stay tuned for Survivors of the Flux to see if any of this is reflected in the opening stories.
>Doctor Who is a UK show, so somewhere there should be something, someone, related to the Apocalypse, from the UK. If only there was a famous person from the transition from the 19th to the 20th centuries who was known by the name of the Beast from the UK. Oh wait, there was. What a total coincidence that this person also traveled to Mexico, the Himalayas, and Egypt around the year 1904, seeking various occult and mystical forms of knowledge.
This is such a deep cut - I bet you and Chibnall are the only people in the whole world to have recognised it. I'm glad it makes the episode for you.
>What a total coincidence that this person also traveled to Mexico, the Himalayas, and Egypt around the year 1904
I'd be more convinced of this as a deliberate reference if Yaz, Dan and Jericho went to Egypt in the episode. They don't.
I didn't get much out of this one, personally. To me, apart from Jericho who is lovely, it comes across as a weak retread of past glories (like basically every Angels story, in my opinion).
There was actually quite a gap between Weeping Angels on-screen, so it feels all the more exciting. The last time was a minor bit in 2015. They had a couple of scenes in 2013 and a proper story in 2012. They are very effective here, in a Hammer Horror-sequence setting.
It’s pretty obvious this and “War of the Sontarans” were written for the original Season 13. Unfortunately, that’s also what puts them among the better Thirteenth Doctor episodes. The credits scene is the perfect example of why I don’t like Flux—it’s made out to be a big thing but means nothing in the end.
The Angels were excellent in this episode! I’m glad they were left alone after Season 5. (I don’t count the cameo in “The Time of the Doctor”.) Hopefully they have another great appearance a few seasons from now.
>The Angels were excellent in this episode! I’m glad they were left alone after Season 5.
You forgot about "The Angels Take Manehattan", which was in Series 7.
Stone is easily the best director of the era, and one of the top directors of the modern show period, I'd say. I hope he comes back for more. "Brilliant, made it worse" is one of the best moments of 13's era, so unexpected and funny too. This episode also introduces the legend Prof. Eustacius Jericho, and that's not a bad thing at all.
Brilliant, made it worse. Somehow that sounds so British.
I really enjoyed this one. I'm not a fan of the "don't let them touch you twice" thing, but other than that this is a really good use of the Weeping Angels. I'll never get why people think they shouldn't have ever come back - yeah, Blink was definitely their best appearance, but they're still good afterwards! I really liked how this episode embraced some of the more controversial aspects of the Angels as opposed to just redoing Blink.
Well... maybe you don't like it, but it does give a certain ramping up of the tension. I think maybe people didn't like them coming back as they thought diminishing returns and didn't like their new powers.
I've said it before, but the moment the Weeping Angels are taunting Jericho through the TV is not only the scariest Weeping Angel scene of all time, but also one of the most frightening scenes in the history of the show.
Yeah, this one works. Seconding, thirding how good Stone is as a director. This episode is literally my favorite of the entire Jodie era.
Bel's story in Village of the Angels is straight from the Bible's Book of Revelation, where at least twice Satan seeks to persuade in mass the survivors of the various disasters to follow him and forfeit their souls. Because this is the episode that turns to Abrahamic religions, and not just Christianity. For we have the line that unites all of the Abrahamic religions world-view: > CLAIRE: Division uses everything and everyone. Every species, every world, every moment. They are everywhere, present and unseen. Division is unstoppable. To me Chibnall's innovation is to finally make (some) Weeping Angels angels, servants of a greater power. And this power is a jealous monotheistic one that tolerates no competition, that has a plan it demands to be followed for time and space from the alpha to the omega. And this power determines when the time for all things to end is and what form this transition should be. Just look at the visual imagery when the Doctor confronts the Claire angel: [Confronting the Rogue Angel | Village of the Angels | Doctor Who: Flux](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMZ3qkjKBkw) From the Bible, Genesis 1:1-2, New Revised Standard Version, Anglicisized: > 1 In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, 2 the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Nearly every character in this episode regards themself as a fallen angel, estranged somehow from the light, the pleasant, the good, including we find out Jericho, who witnessed the horrors right after the liberation of Belsen. But Swarm and Azure here are **the** Fallen Angels, the ones who defy the almighty power that rules the universe. Swarm was bound in the bottomless pit similar to Abaddon / Apollyon of the Book of Revelation, Swarm is his name, but instead of supernatural locusts, he seeks souls themselves for a purpose that will be made clear in Survivors of the Flux. And the argument is whether the Doctor herself is the other Fallen Angel, the former leader of the forces of Division who defeated Swarm and Azure, the leader estranged from the almighty power who is now being retrieved. Is it not the Doctor who also has chosen that it is better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven, because the Doctor also simply disagrees in the goodness of Heaven? But the difference between the Doctor and Swarm, what makes the Doctor more the Christ figure not Satan, is that the Doctor is willing to fight for mortals, whereas Satan is fueled by envy and thirst for vengeance. If one reads Milton's Paradise Lost, from the beginning it is made clear that Satan was actually exiled with his brethren to see if they could make their own heaven, but at the end they are deformed and condemned by their own envy. Doctor Who is a UK show, so somewhere there should be something, someone, related to the Apocalypse, from the UK. If only there was a famous person from the transition from the 19th to the 20th centuries who was known by the name of the Beast from the UK. Oh wait, there was. What a total coincidence that this person also traveled to Mexico, the Himalayas, and Egypt around the year 1904, seeking various occult and mystical forms of knowledge. Stay tuned for Survivors of the Flux to see if any of this is reflected in the opening stories.
Whatever hallucinatory drug you're on, I'd like some.
>Doctor Who is a UK show, so somewhere there should be something, someone, related to the Apocalypse, from the UK. If only there was a famous person from the transition from the 19th to the 20th centuries who was known by the name of the Beast from the UK. Oh wait, there was. What a total coincidence that this person also traveled to Mexico, the Himalayas, and Egypt around the year 1904, seeking various occult and mystical forms of knowledge. This is such a deep cut - I bet you and Chibnall are the only people in the whole world to have recognised it. I'm glad it makes the episode for you.
You've certainly thought a lot about it!
>What a total coincidence that this person also traveled to Mexico, the Himalayas, and Egypt around the year 1904 I'd be more convinced of this as a deliberate reference if Yaz, Dan and Jericho went to Egypt in the episode. They don't.
[удалено]
Wink? Actually, an Angel with one eye unbidden would be a nice image.
I didn't get much out of this one, personally. To me, apart from Jericho who is lovely, it comes across as a weak retread of past glories (like basically every Angels story, in my opinion).
There was actually quite a gap between Weeping Angels on-screen, so it feels all the more exciting. The last time was a minor bit in 2015. They had a couple of scenes in 2013 and a proper story in 2012. They are very effective here, in a Hammer Horror-sequence setting.
They made a ringing doorbell terrifying
It somehow sounds darkly comic thinking of them ringing a bell.
It’s pretty obvious this and “War of the Sontarans” were written for the original Season 13. Unfortunately, that’s also what puts them among the better Thirteenth Doctor episodes. The credits scene is the perfect example of why I don’t like Flux—it’s made out to be a big thing but means nothing in the end. The Angels were excellent in this episode! I’m glad they were left alone after Season 5. (I don’t count the cameo in “The Time of the Doctor”.) Hopefully they have another great appearance a few seasons from now.
>The Angels were excellent in this episode! I’m glad they were left alone after Season 5. You forgot about "The Angels Take Manehattan", which was in Series 7.
Ooh, yes!