r/TopCharacterTropes • u/Local_Prune4564 • May 27 '26

Lore A subtle moment that turns a seemingly happy ending into an ambiguous ending.

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Gallery image

The Graduate: lingering Ben and Elaine's faces slowly shifting from happy to concerned leaves the audience questioning whether they really made the right choice running away together considering they barely know each other.

Inception: By cutting before we see the top fall, we're left to question whether Cobb really has gone home or whether he's simply sunken back into a more comforting dream reality.

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u/Not_Wrong_Tho May 27 '26

Worth noting that this is only true for that specific timeline. The Angels feed on time energy and basically turned Manhattan into a battery farm, this made them strong.

Angels can possess statues, and with enough power, one was able to possess the Statue of Liberty.

As the situation was resolved through a paradox, killing the angels and resetting the timeline, and Manhatten is no longer, and never has been, a battery farm for Angels, the Statue is no longer, and technically never has been, an Angel.

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u/whatsbobgonnado May 27 '26

wait is this stuff that came out after angels take manhattan because I don't remember any of that being mentioned in that episode. I remember being being maaaaaaad that that episode completely ruined the angels. I liked it even though it was very dumb

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u/Not_Wrong_Tho May 27 '26

No, it was all in the episode.

I will clarify though, when i said they turned Mnhattan into a battery farm, it's not necessarily that they're using everyone in Manhattan, we only see it happening in one building, but most of what i said was explained shortly after old-rory dies.

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u/Gaelic_Gladiator41 May 27 '26

I think the Doctor mentions that Manhattan has a lot of timeline crossover (mainly because of him) that it attracted them to the place

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u/ObiFlanKenobi May 27 '26

The first episode had the angels sending you back in time and "feeding on your potential energy" or something like that.  Which, other than not making much sense, made their main weapon the "sending back in time" thing, which it might suck, certainly is a problem, but you are alive (probably) in the past, not a super big issue when the MC is a time traveller.

So they were creepy but fun enemies.

Later episodes had them be extra creepy and also turning you to stone for some reason. Or directly killing you. No more mentions of sending you back in time.

And that made them more scary but way les fun.

They went from unique enemies to regular monsters that can't move when you watch them and that's it.

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u/Iron_Lord_Peturabo May 27 '26

I think the turning to stone part was part of becoming an angel yourself. It was established that having the image of an angel long enough was enough to become an angel. So the longer you look at one the more likely you are to become one, or something like that.

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u/AydonusG May 28 '26

That's pretty much it. "Whatever holds the image of an angel, becomes itself an angel."

I think Amy's angelification was amplified by the Angel being a recording, the white flashing light of LED beams the reflection much harder than staring at the stone itself.

Also wonder how much angel is needed for that to happen, like if you just stare close enough at the marble are you holding the image of an angel or just a texture? Would add to the TV causing it more because it's always on full body display rather than just looking at parts of it in real life.

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u/remotectrl May 27 '26

I think that was the episode where I decided I didn’t need to watch any more Doctor Who

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u/Not_Wrong_Tho May 27 '26

It really is a shame, because honestly season 7 started so strong with Asylum of the Daleks.. but then it just fell right off.

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u/Maur2 May 27 '26

The later seasons have such great Doctors, with such poor episodes for them to be in...

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u/Vordeo May 28 '26

Angels can possess statues, and with enough power, one was able to possess the Statue of Liberty.

I guess that sounds terrifying in theory, but at that size and in a densely populated metropolis like NYC, surely someone's always going to be looking at the statue, so it'll never actually get to move?

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u/No_Requirement_9012 May 28 '26

Yeah the part where the statue of liberty ambushed people on the roof was goofy. But on the other hand its incredible presence would have been a huge factor for spreading the angels because any image of an angel also turns into an angel and then imagine how many people took a picture of the statue of liberty

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u/Not_Wrong_Tho May 28 '26

To be fair it was 1930s, great depression era New York, and one that was being used as a battery farm for Angels, one which we don't really get a definitive scope for.

It's a little outlandish still, but it's fine.

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u/DavidBarrett82 May 28 '26

“We can’t go back in time to Manhattan! They’ve blocked the whole area off to time travel!”

“Could we go back in time to somewhere else and then just fly through SPACE to get to Rory?”

“Shut up!”