Doctor Who blog: Flesh and Stone

“Amy, you need to start trusting me, it’s never been more important.”

“But you don’t always tell me the truth.”

“If I always told you the truth, I wouldn’t need you to trust me.”

Last week’s episode marvellously weaved together two of new Who’s most interesting creations and was a real return to form for the series. However, one amazing episode does not a classic two-parter make, so this week’s ‘Flesh and Stone’ had a lot to live up to to fulfil the promise of ‘The Time of Angels’.

This episode had some unbelievably stunning moments. The scenes with Amy wandering around the forest, unable to open her eyes but having to walk like she could see, were some of the most tense the series has produced in a long time. The inversion of the audience’s expectations of the Weeping Angels was an interesting idea and the sense that Amy still doesn’t trust the Doctor to return (and his awareness of this) was brilliantly played in a really touching scene by Gillan and Smith.

I also loved the Doctor’s unwavering pragmatism in this episode. This was the Doctor stripped down, thinking his decisions through, not able to even offer Amy comfort because it lessened the chance that he’d work out a way to save her. Smith does angry speeches very well, particularly his fury that the Angels are just having fun with Amy. The mystery surrounding River is building up nicely (who did she kill? Could it be the Doctor?) and it was lovely to see the Doctor warming to her despite himself.

But one scene stands out from the rest for me. Octavian’s death was beautifully written and played by both actors. The heartbreak at having to leave such a good man to die was plain to see on Matt Smith’s splendid face, while Ian Glen easily matched him as the noble and courageous Octavian. When the Doctor tells him, “I wish I’d known you better” and Octavian replies, “I think, sir, you know me at my best”, it’s the simplicity of the exchange that makes it all the more moving.

If I did have a problem with this episode, it’s in how the Weeping Angels are dealt with. Turning the whole thing on its head and forcing Amy not to look at them is an interesting idea, but it also takes something away from the power of the Angels. A big part of the reason they worked so well in ‘Blink’ is the simplicity of the idea: look at them, or you’ll die. Changing that and widening it out was necessary for the story, but as a nerdy fan, I felt it took something away from them as a monster. Another reason that Octavian’s death worked so well was that it’s back to the roots of the Angels: once the Doctor is no longer looking at the Weeping Angel, Octavian’s dead.

The scene in Amy’s bedroom at the end of the episode was rather out of the blue, but since it seemed to be mostly set-up for next week’s episode and the overall mystery, I’m reserving judgement. It certainly wasn’t enough to ruin what was, despite my fannish worries, a brilliantly tense and moving episode that continues to prove just how good new Who can be.

So, next week’s episode, written by the creator of the magnificent Being Human, is called ‘The Vampires of Venice’. I think the title says it all, really.

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