A story that focuses on character, without going deep enough to actually say anything.

Long after their travels, Ben and Polly Jackson are planning to move into a new home. While packing, Polly comes across a weird green feather, which makes her think back on an adventure from long ago. The time they met an angel.

This story has very little conflict or plot. Instead, it decides to spend all its time on character exploration.

Now, to me, character is more important than anything. Which is why I’ve generally been in love with this era of the show. The problem in this story, however, is that the exploration doesn’t really lead to new insights. Nothing new is discovered.

As the Doctor, Ben and Polly fly through the vortex, they hit a mysterious craft. After an emergency landing, they discover that they’ve hit an angel-looking creature that is apparently part of a nursery rhyme from the Doctor’s youth. Using his infinite knowledge of time, he analyzes both the Doctor and his companions.

There’s no real reason for him doing this, by the way. He’s trying to convince them he is actually the mythical creature from the nursery rhymes, but the actual connection between his mythical origins and this character deep dive is never explained.

The contents of the deep dive aren’t all that spectacular either. Not except for some cheap fan service. The angel sneakily mentions that Ben and Polly will fall in love and that Ben should show is sensitive side more. As for the Doctor, the angel tells us that he is frail and worn out, which is nothing new. He also mentions that the Doctor will one day be the last of his kind and that he will soon have to change. I don’t think any of these revelations will shock anyone.

Yet it is close to getting more. Instead of his pompous, usual reaction, the Doctor actually feels conflicted. He doesn’t put his thumbs on his lapels, but instead looks downward, like a child that just got punished.

Now that’s interesting! The Doctor presents a negative emotion to his “adversary”. Is he mad? Afraid? We don’t know. And I wish the story went a little deeper here. Let the Doctor vocalize his internal struggles. Let him show that weakness. Let us know that, at the end of this life, the Doctor has grown beyond his façade. But sadly, this is where the story stops, and it feels like it quits one step before the finish line.

After these character moments are done, the Doctor sets the angel free by performing the old nursery rhyme. We don’t hear the rhyme ourselves, but instead have to make due with a description of the performance. This definitely adds to the mysticism, but at the same time, it also feels like the story is, once again, too afraid to actually say anything. Our party moves back into the Tardis and flies off.

I’m conflicted by this story, because it really feels like it is going somewhere. And when it nears its destination, it slams the breaks and goes backwards. It throws some obvious references your way, like a relationship or the Time War, in the hopes that those will distract you from the lack of depth.

I would have preferred it if the story actually kept digging a little longer, because it is clear it understands who these characters are. A little deeper, and we might have found new layers which would really be worth discussing, but the story chickens out every chance it gets. Which disappoints me.

“Falling” is a story that builds itself on character, yet when it gets the chance to explore its characters, it does nothing. We get no real emotional reaction from the Doctor. We get no nursery rhyme. We get mentions and have to make due. It’s a squandered opportunity, which is a massive shame.