The modern era of Doctor Who, launched by Russel T Davies in 2005, brought back some of the classic villains like the Daleks, the Cyberman, and the Master, but it has also introduced a variety of new memorable species that included the shadowy Vashta Nerada, the militaristic Judoon, and the memory-wiping Silence. However, arguably the best and the most terrifying addition to Doctor Who's collection of monsters are the Weeping Angels.
Introduced by Stephen Moffat in season 3 of the new Doctor Who, the Weeping Angels are a stealthy and vicious species that feeds off people's temporal energy by sending them back through time with a single touch. Appearing as statues to the naked eye, they can only move when not observed — making a single blink deadly to the potential victim.
While the Weeping Angels were recurring monsters during Davies' and Moffat's eras, the current showrunner, Chris Chibnall, has introduced these villains only in "The Halloween Apocalypse," the first episode of his final season. Looking back at all the appearances of these deadly foes, these episodes featuring the Weeping Angels are widely considered by the 'Whovians' to be the best.
Blink (season 3)
This Doctor-lite episode features Weeping Angels for the first time and is considered by many fans to be one of the best in the show's history. It barely features the 10th Doctor (David Tennant) and his companion Martha (Freema Agyeman) and instead acts as a stand-alone horror story focused on Sally Sparrow (Carey Mulligan).
After Sally and her friend Kathy (Lucy Gaskell) stumble upon an abandoned house, Kathy gets touched by a Weeping Angel and is zapped back in time. She then sends a letter to Sally — that arrives moments after her disappearance — from the past, explaining what happened. Sparrow unknowingly picks up a TARDIS key and embarks on a quest of finding the time-traveling police box, guided by the clues left by the Doctor as Easter Eggs on several DVDs. Sally and Kathy's brother, Larry (Finlay Robertson), end up tricking the Weeping Angels, which were after the TARDIS from the start, by making them look at each other.
The episode that established the Weeping Angels as one of the most terrifying villains features compelling characters, genuine scares, and time-traveling mind twists and ends with an unnerving suggestion that the Angels are all around us masked as statues. "Blink" was a stepping stone in Stephen Moffat's becoming Doctor Who's showrunner, launched the Hollywood career of Mulligan, and is still consistently voted as one of the new era's best stories.
The Time of Angels (season 5)
This two-part episode introduces a disturbing idea that an Angel can inhabit whatever takes their image, from reflections to TV footage. In the story, the 11th Doctor (Matt Smith) and his companion Amy (Karen Gillian) get reunited with River Song (Alex Kingston) and are taken to the wreckage of the Byzantium, a ship carrying the last, supposedly dormant, Weeping Angel. That, of course, is a ruse, and by the end of the episode, it becomes clear that the crash was orchestrated to awaken an entire colony of starving Angels.
Interestingly enough, when writing "The Time of Angels," Moffat was inspired by Aliens, intending the episode to be an action-packed sequel to "Blink." It's a rollercoaster ride that expands the Angels' lore, features hilarious bickering between Doctor and River, and ends with a nail-biting cliffhanger.
Flesh and Stone (season 5)
The second part of the double episode ups the stakes and doubles the tension. The Doctor is chased by the Angels, Amy has to keep her eyes closed as she is slowly turning into stone after watching the recording of a Weeping Angel, and the familiar crack in the wall is back in play, leaking time energy and erasing from existence any creature that touches it. The Doctor ends up tricking the Angels into falling into the crack, therefore closing it and saving Amy.
"Flesh and Stone" cleverly integrates and develops several plotlines, drops elements that will neatly tie in with future episodes, at the same time keeping the viewers at the edge of their seats. With all the parts coming together, the episode is a stark contrast to the neat "Blink" but is loved by fans regardless.
The Angels Take Manhattan (season 7)
"The Angels Take Manhattan" bids farewell to the Ponds companions and is considered one of the most emotionally charged and heartbreaking in Moffat's era. It shows Rory (Arthur Darvill) snatched by a Weeping Angel and thrown into the 1930s. The Doctor and Amy, joined by River Song, follow him and discover that Angels are farming the humans' time energy by continuously sending them back through time. To save himself from a lonely death in the future, Rory decides to commit suicide, hoping to create a paradox, and is joined by Amy, who refuses to let him die alone. While the plan works and seemingly provides a happy ending to the story, "The Angels Take Manhattan" delivers a final twist — Rory is caught unawares by a remaining Angel, sending him back in time, where the TARDIS can't follow. In a heartbreaking deciding moment, Amy allows herself to be touched by the same Angel, joining her husband in the past but leaving the Doctor behind.
"The Angels Take Manhattan" is a beautiful combination of a heart-pumping twist adventure and a highly emotional swan song to the longest-serving companions of the new era. This episode that reinforces the fear of the Weeping Angels received several awards and is one of the highest-ranked in the Moffat's run.
The Time of the Doctor (season 7, Christman special)
The 11th Doctor's final episode wrapped up multiple storylines, from the origins of the cracks in time to the true purpose of the Silence to the fateful role of the planet Trenzalore, and resolved the issue of the limited number of available regenerations. In it, the Doctor discovers that Time Lords are trying to escape their pocket Universe and that he is the only one who can release them. The enemies of the Doctor — including the Daleks, the Cybermen, the Sontarans, and the Weeping Angels — storm the planet to prevent the Time Lords' return. The Doctor and his companion Clara (Jenna Coleman) get attacked by the Angels who emerged from the Tranzalore's snowy surface, but they manage to escape by summoning the TARDIS. The second Angel appears during the 900 years that the Doctor spends defending the small town appropriately named 'Christmas' and is trapped by looking at itself in a mirror. With unexpected help from the Time Lords, Eleven ends up defeating his enemies and resetting his regeneration countdown, but still inevitably changes into the 12th Doctor.
"The Time of the Doctor" is an emotional, bittersweet farewell to Matt Smith's Doctor that masterfully wraps up all the loose ends while giving his character a send-off he deserves.
The Weeping Angels make a brief return during Peter Capaldi's run before appearing in the recent Flux episode, and the fans are hoping to see more of these deadly stone assassins in the future.