10 Doctor Who "Plot Holes" That Really Aren't

10. Why Wasn’t River Sent Back In Time When Grabbed By A Weeping Angel?

Blink established that a touch from a Weeping Angel sends you back in time. But subsequent Angel stories have proved that this is merely the tip of the iceberg.

In The Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone, we see them grab hold of the Doctor’s jacket (without sending him back in time), then put Father Octavian in a headlock.

The Angels Take Manhattan continues this trend, with Julius Grayle’s Angel grabbing River Song’s arm and not letting go – to the point where she can only escape by breaking her wrist.

Both these cases contradict what we've previously learnt: that Weeping Angels automatically send anything they touch back in time. For some this was a stretch too far, taking the Angels too far from their original premise. But that doesn't make it a plot hole.

Sending someone back in time might be the most gratifying way for an Angel to dispatch their victim – but that doesn’t mean it’s the only way. Indeed, the evidence we’ve seen suggests that Angels have a choice: to feed off the time energy from their victims straight away; or to be more sadistic, and snap their necks.

Far from being a gimmick that reduces the Angels’ power and impact, this development makes them all the more terrifying.