Weeping Angels - Description

Description

According to The Doctor, the Weeping Angels "are as old as the universe (or very nearly), but no one really knows where they come from." He describes them as the loneliest beings in the universe, since their quantum-lock reaction makes it difficult for them to socialise; he also describes them as "the deadliest, most powerful, most malevolent life-form evolution has ever produced." That said, in all their TV appearances, the Angels could communicate with each other and work in groups. They are also very physically strong, capable of snapping necks, though physically killing a victim is rare for them unless the need arises (such as stealing someone's voice). In the episode "The Angels Take Manhattan", another form of Weeping Angel is shown, the cherubim. Unlike the Weeping Angels they are not silent, making a childlike giggling and having audible footsteps. It is not explicitly stated that they are young Angels, but they are referred to as "the babies". The Weeping Angels possess several notable abilities. In "The Time of Angels" it is suggested that when Angels need bodies for communication they snap their victim's neck and rearrange the brains for their purposes. The Angels speak in their victim's voice, as "Angel Bob", a fallen soldier of the Church, becomes the "voice" of the Angels and explains the Angels' motives and thoughts to the Doctor. As they close on more aware victims, their features transform from calm angels with normal proportions to more horrific, bestial demons with wide open mouths baring vampiric teeth and clawed hands. Their paramount ability is their speed, as they are able to close distances of metres literally in the blink of an eye, allowing them to reach a victim or move to an unseen or darkened area before their quantum-lock freezes them again.

With a touch, a Weeping Angel can send a person into the past, to before his/her own birth. The Angels feed off the "potential energy" of the years their victims would have lived in the present. The Doctor describes them as "the only psychopaths in the universe to kill you nicely" because their victims are otherwise uninjured and may live out their lifespans in the past. They can drain other forms of energy, such as that from electric lights, as seen in the Season 3 episode "Blink", or other electronics. Without power, the Angels start to decay, turn to stone without being watched, and corrode as a statue does; their speed is also extremely hindered if Angels reach starvation, as seen in The Time of Angels, lessened from meters to a partial step in a blink. This can be undone by providing the Angels with energy, but it is implied they can no longer acquire energy themselves in this state. In "Blink," the Angels stole the Doctor's TARDIS after trapping him in the past. The engine of the vehicle contained enough energy to feed them for a lifetime.

They have also exhibited the power to project themselves through images. In "The Time of Angels", an Angel trapped in the vault of the Byzantium is able to control a video screen that was playing video footage of it. It overrode the screen controls and could control nearby electronic equipment as well. The Angel is able to take over the screen and come through it in an attempt to kill Amy because "that which holds the image of an angel becomes itself an angel", from a warning in an ancient book on the Angels, found by River Song. Also in the novel "Touched by an Angel", a starving angel no longer has a physical being, and instead exists in the image viewed by cameras. As such what ever is the sight of the camera is in range of the angel. The angel retains fast movement, but at the cost of range. Normally as in The Time of Angels the image would walk right out of the screen, when it is starving it cannot do so. To stop movement, simply viewing the screen is enough to lock the angel.

Weeping Angels can plant an image of themselves into a person's mind by looking straight into their eyes. Amy Pond was infected in such a manner where an involuntary verbal count-down indicated her open-eyed moments left as a human. She was able to suspend the Angel's gestation, though not eliminate it, by closing her eyes, refusing to let it breach the 'filter' of her optic nerve.

The Weeping Angels are well known to Doctor Who companion, "River Song", as she appeared in more than three episodes including the Weeping Angels. It has been said by River Song herself that she studied the Weeping Angels, and she had wanted to learn more about them.

In the seventh series episode "The Angels Take Manhattan", despite being removed from New York's history, the Angels gained a small victory in trapping the Doctor's companions, Amy Pond and her husband Rory Williams, in the past.