Village of the Angels [TV/2021.11.21]

★★★★☆

  A standing ovation for everyone involved. Village of the Angels is a triumphant return of the Weeping Angels, in a slice of television absolutely dripping with atmosphere and ideas. Inside the tried-and-true structure of base-under-siege, Jodie Whittaker's Doctor and her gang get to show how truly comfortable they are with their characters, and the production team get to flex their muscles and impress everyone how Doctor Who could be gorgeously made (even in a worldwide pandemic; now this is a miracle).

  The Flux series has, by far, shown the resilience of Who. In a pandemic two years strong by now, they've decided not to reel their ambitions in but expand it — make a universe-spanning epic about temporal catastrophes and the Doctor's hidden past! It clicked in this episode (specifically for me because I haven't continued Flux in quite a while) just how far Whittaker's come in being comfortable in her own shoes. She's always been a delight, a cut slightly above how Peter Davison was during Season 19, but she was very much finding her own ground in Series 11. Now, with the monumental revelations of her character under her belt, she's on fire. Whittaker was always handed these long expository speeches that have, for better or worse, become a trait of her Doctor; she's the kind that doesn't need a companion to look doe-eyed and ask questions, she's gonna rattle on on her own! Even up to Series 12, she still seemed to struggle with it; in this episode, she's completely in character, talking big concepts and taking even bigger risks. She's always there to stop the monsters, good with gadgets strewn from her dimensionally transcendental pockets, and will throw herself in danger for an innocent. Is it just me, or did they dial down a bit of her breathlessness as well? I'm not saying it was bad, but it was clear Whittaker's own vision for her Doctor was a bit calmer, while still being wide-eyed for the universe. Probably why her performance in Village of the Angels might be one of her best. 

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ  

  Practically everything is done well, the visuals are simply gorgeous (the new standard, too — how lucky are we?), and the Weeping Angels are as terrifying as before. Jodie Whittaker and co. pour their hearts to a delicious script, and Jamie Magnus Stone brings it to life in style. Out of the first four Flux installments, this is undoubtedly the best.