Who Review: The Zygon Invasion

After the peace treaty forged in “The Day of the Doctor” (the 50th Anniversary Special), the Zygons were allowed to live on Earth, taking on human form, and co-existing with the humans. But after a while, a faction of Zygons became dissatisfied with this arrangement. It wasn’t enough to co-exist; they wanted to take over. And now the time has come for that plan to play out, starting with the capture of the embodiment of that peace itself: Osgood. And with Zygons located all over the planet, is there anywhere safe? Does UNIT have the resources to fight? And does the Doctor stand to lose everything…?

SPOILER ALERT!! My comments may (and likely will) contain spoilers for those that haven’t seen the episode. If you want to stay spoiler-free, please watch the story before you continue reading!

Back to a more traditional two-parter with a cliffhanger. Like many other fans, I was pleased to see Osgood return. Bringing characters back from the dead is always risky, given the often lame explanations for why they didn’t die, or how they “recovered.” This one worked, since she was a Zygon double. But not simply a double: a hybrid. I had to chuckle at the conversation she had with the Doctor about the fact he used to wear question marks on his shirts. This costume choice has long been a sore point among fans, since it took the underlying mysterious element of his character and shoved it in your face. So, it wasn’t a complete surprise it was handled with humor and cheek.

Sonic sunglasses sonic sunglasses sonic sunglasses… grumble grumble… okay–I’ve got that out of my system. 🙂

The story itself–at least so far–was good, and makes an important point about trust. As the Doctor pointed out, while Zygons had gone rogue, it was a faction, not the whole. Granted, a faction of rogue Zygons can do a lot of harm, but the response needs to be measured to protect the innocent as much as possible. I’m sure there was an intentional parallel to our real-life situation, where often a response to a threat is necessary, but it’s too easy to go in with all guns blazing, painting an entire people group with the same brush for the sake of a “simple” solution.

I don’t know whether it was the story, or the direction, but it felt a bit like watching an episode of “The X-Files.” Again, not necessarily a complaint, but maybe more an observation on the style of story-telling this production team seems to enjoy.

Lastly, I was a bit uncomfortable with the Doctor’s acceptance of the “President of the World” title, and his using that title to procure an aircraft, just because he likes to “ponce around” in planes. The whole guitar/rock star bit is wearing thin for me. Yes, the Doctor has a fun, playful, even childish side to him. And maybe this kind of behavior can fit with the Doctor. I can’t say I like it though. I’m used to a bit more humility from the Time Lord (aside from the occasional, “Don’t kill me, I’m a genius!” type of comment).

But all in all, another good episode, I think. Performances, direction, effects, writing, all top-notch. Hopefully the next part will be at least as good!

What did you think?