by David Finniss
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The two then go back and join forces with the artist to investigate the creature, that the Doctor insists is evil, and we get a good look at depression from various angles. All of the characters find themselves dealing with some sort of emotional issues. The Doctor expresses that he’s lonely, Van Gogh’s a given, and the artist even points out that Amy is seemingly crying for no reason. He picks up on it, but the Doctor cuts him off before the discussion can go any further.
The bond between these three really makes the episode. While Van Gogh is skeptical of the duo at first, he quickly develops a flirtatious friendship with Amy and even begins to trust the Doctor. It’s
all rather heartwarming, which acts as a counter-balance to some of the downer elements in the story’s plot.
We learn that the monster in the window is a creature known as a Krafrayis. It looks like a mix between a parrot and a bear, which might not seem that scary, but the episode makes it work well enough. You’d think that the image of such a creature running around 1890 Provence would be a tad ridiculous, but as it turns out, the creature is invisible..for the most part. Vincent can see it, and reflective surfaces seem to do the trick, but beyond that, the foe is invisible. Suffice it to say, this is rather problematic.
It takes Moffatt’s schtick of using perception or what you can see to give the foe a bit of an edge. There’s a really effective scene where the Doctor ventures into the church to combat the creature and he’s constantly switching the position of his reflective gadget in the hopes of getting the creature in his sights…or the device’s sight…whatever.
A majority of the episode is light-hearted fluff. There are some great character bits, but nothing to really write home about.
