Doctor Who: Flux Review: Chapter 4: Village of the Angels (Season 13 Episode 4)

It’s all starting to make sense on Doctor Who: Flux Season 13 Episode 4, “Chapter 4: Village of the Angels.”

After a Weeping Angel hijacks the Tardis, the Doctor, Yaz, and Dan find themselves outside Devon where her sonic starts freaking out. It brings us back to Claire, the woman who was attacked by a Weeping Angel on Doctor Who: Flux Season 13 Episode 1, “Chapter 1: The Halloween Apocalypse,” and she has a story to tell.

“Village of the Angels” combines the most interesting parts of Doctor Who Season 3 Episode 10,”Blink,” and kicks it up a notch. Not only is there an army of angels on the hunt, but there’s a layer of intrigue with another “angel in her mind” type storyline, ala Doctor Who Season 5 Episode 5, “Flesh and Stone.” 

The unyielding persistence of the angels on this episode is what makes this episode so strong. It’s the first time we’ve ever seen this many angels in this many mediums appear in a single episode, and it’s genuinely terrifying. Watching hands appear out of stone and the angel attempt to come out of a drawing or the EKG machine adds a layer of suspense that we have come to expect from the angels. 

The moments when the angels are still and looking at Mrs. Hayward are some of the most haunting moments of the episode. Watching Peggy interact with herself in 1901 and 1967 feels reminiscent of Doctor Who Season 7 Episode 5, “The Angels Take Manhattan,” when Rory finally sees Amy again. 

But this episode is more than just a historical siege with the Weeping Angels. It also needs to bring in the flux, and even though it seems incongruous to have the two side by side, “Village of the Angels” makes it work. 

As the story peels back the layers of the siege and the Doctor starts to work out why the angels are supposedly there, it feels like we’re starting to get some answers to the Doctor’s past. 

The news that the rogue angel inside Claire is a former division operative feels like a revelation we should have seen coming. The Weeping Angels are the perfect weapon for hunting down those you want disappeared and so the fact that they are used as tools for the Division makes perfect sense.

The climactic scene where the Doctor stands in the courtyard filled with angels before she’s recalled by division carries all the weight you would expect it to. The Doctor has come into contact with the Weeping Angels before and she knows how they operate, but the fact that they don’t seem interested in sending her back to 1901 was curious.

Of course, remember the Doctor had already been sent back in time by an angel once, so it’s possible Peggy’s comment of “No one survives it twice” could apply here. 

The moments after the Doctor is recalled are sublime. Watching the Doctor transform from her human form into a stone angel is a fantastic sequence, but it left me asking why. 

Why is this the method the Division uses to recall the Doctor? From what Peggy was saying it sounded like maybe the graveyard was a ship. It could still be, but that may be what we explore next week.

Meanwhile, Doctor Who: Flux is keeping up-to-date on Bel and Vinder with a low-key b-plot. 

Bel is still on the search for Vinder and goes to the planet where the two planned to honeymoon. Her notes to him feel so genuine and heartbreaking, and it’s an interesting perspective to have on the events of the world post flux.

The fact that Azure happens to also show up on the planet with a Passenger is another strong tie-in to what we know so far. Bel’s comment also gives us a little more context about who The Passenger is and what it does. While so much of Azure and her brother Storm’s intentions are still unknown this type of sinister worship gives us insight into their characters.

The fact that Bel then feels the need to go after them is a good sign that whatever is happening can’t be good, but seeing these threads all come together feels like a solid payoff. 

Overall, this episode is one of the strongest of Whittaker’s run so far. It evolves the Weeping Angel mythology and starts to tie in the threads of the storylines we’ve been following for the past few episodes.

Plus, now that it looks like the Doctor is starting to get answers, maybe we’ll finally know why she can’t remember some parts of her past. Even if the specifics have yet to be revealed.

Stray Thoughts:

• Professor Jericho’s one-liners on this episode are my favorite and it’s impossible to rank them. His determination to not blink in the face of an army of angels is the type of comic relief we really needed.
• Why do I feel like there will now be a lot of fanfics of the Doctor playing epic games of Scrabble now?
• Gerald got what he deserved, but Jean deserved better.
• Dan and his dry eyes may be one of the best responses to being told to stare at a statue that Doctor Who has delivered thus far.

What did you think of this episode of Doctor Who: Flux? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Doctor Who airs Sundays at 8/7c on BBC America.

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