This Episode Provides Examples of:
- Bottle Episode: Inverts the status of the original story, joining "Child of Time" and "Fractures" as one solidly connected lead-up to the three-part finale.
- Boy Meets Girl
- Break Her Heart to Save Her: Watson tries to get Sally to forget him, believing that trying to have a relationship with her is pointless. She begs to differ.
- Crash-Into Hello
- Did Not Get the Girl: Watson believes this must be his fate — no less than three times throughout the story.
- Rather, it's Billy Shipton and Larry Nightingale, of all people, who suffer this fate.
- First Guy Wins
- Framing Device: The Weeping Angels basically provide the way for Watson to meet and get to know Sally — the story is less about Sally and the Doctor fighting the Angels and more about Watson and Sally falling in love.
- Get Back to the Future: Holmes is particularly anxious to do so, especially to
get away from the Beatles. - He Is Not My Boyfriend: Sally wishes that Kathy wouldn't make such a big fuss about the admittedly good-looking John Walker.
- In Medias Res: The prologue.
- I Will Find You: Invoked by Watson.
- I Will Wait for You: Likewise invoked by Sally.
- Love Confession
- May–December Romance: Watson is old enough to be Sally's father — she's a college girl, he's forty-one.
- Mythology Gag: Watson mutters that "The angels have the phone box" sounds like a T-shirt.
- Name and Name
- Oh, Crap!: "John... did you remember to lock your door?"
- Relationship Upgrade: At the end of the story.
- Single Woman Seeks Good Man
- Stable Time Loop: One of the many loops here ends up being played for all the angst it's worth.
- Time-Travel Romance: And how!
