The Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone

Anything that contains the image of an Angel, can become an Angel.

Steven Moffat cited the contrast with Alien and Aliens when asked about The Time of Angels and Flesh and Stone in comparison to the introduction of the Weeping Angels in Blink and his comparison is quite apt. One is the slow, tense creeper and the other is a scary, action fest; and like the aforementioned movies, I enjoy the Angels two-parter immensely.

I will admit that I was middling on these two when I first saw them, especially Flesh and Stone and there is still one part of it that I don't like. But upon watching it a second time, I find that it is a lot better and if you let the creepiness wash over you it becomes even better. Of the two I like The Time of Angels a bit better, mostly due to the fact that the Angels remain the primary antagonist and it turns from a seek and destroy mission to a run for your life mission. Flesh and Stone, while still good, brings in the crack as a secondary danger that takes away from the Angels a bit. They must still get away from the Angels but the Angels themselves are now distracted by the crack and a little bit less of the urgent threat they were. The crack itself is now also offering a source of danger (previously not seen) that dilutes the danger from the Angels.

And that brings me to the part of Flesh and Stone that just bugged me. After her protectors have been swallowed by the crack, Amy must walk through the woods amidst the Angels with her eyes closed, but still making the Angels think she is watching them. This is a very tense set up and it should be a near high point of the episode. But the director couldn't help himself and after Amy stumbles, we actually see the Angels move. They then advance slowly on Amy until she is transported away by River right before the Angels get her.

On the surface, that would seems like a brilliant shot full of tension. But it plays exactly opposite of everything we have seen and been told. The Angels never move naturally that we see. They move so fast that it's a series of frame jumps between one position and the next. The the firefight in the corridor at the beginning of the episode, the Angels appear to advance in a strobe light effect that leaves the viewer on the edge of their seat. But in the forest, the Angels revert to a more human speed. They look around and observe like a normal person would. They also creep up on Amy like a conventional monster. If this had been a conventional monster, this scene would have been fine and I wouldn't have had a problem with it. But it's the Angels and when they act in a manner that is seemingly opposite of what we've had before to both create artificial tension and yet ensure the main character is spared, it just feels wrong.

Despite this bit, Flesh and Stone is still very good. It just happens to contain a flaw that is all the more noticeable when compared to the near perfection that is The Time of Angels.
One last bit before my final score. There is one little bit that always bugged me about the story in relation to the relationship between River and the Doctor. In Silence in the Library, River asks the Tenth Doctor if he remembers the crash of the Byzantium, which is the story contained in this two-parter. Yet, shouldn't she have been able to know that he hadn't done it yet because the Doctor's face was different? I know Steven Moffat wasn't projecting that far when he wrote Silence in the Library but it's just something that bugs me, knowing that Moffat could have created a new adventure that River did not mention. But, given the quality of episode we got, this is why he writes the episodes and I just watch them.

Overall personal score: The Time of Angels - 5 out of 5; Flesh and Stone - 4.5 out of 5