Doctor Who--35.7 "The Zygon Invasion" by Peter Harness (original) (raw)
Before I begin, I want to express my disappointment that this episode was renamed from the far more classic-sounding "Invasion of the Zygons." I have no idea what the thinking was, but there we are.
Last year, there was no episode more...controversial and contentious that Peter Harness' "Kill the Moon." A lot of what was wrong, in some people's opinions, with that episode was the terrible, terrible science. The character interaction, which was supposed to carry that terrible science, was seen by some (though by no means all) as interesting, but it couldn't save the episode for a lot of people. (It didn't help that it was a story that only made sense if you didn't think about it for more than a few minutes.)
This year, Harness was given a story that relies only on "Doctor Who Science," or "facts" established by the show. ("Zygons can shape change! How? Um, Doctor Who Science!") And, given that it's all about character, he does a much better job.
It also probably helped that Moffat gave him most of the story as well; Steven has said that this is the Zygon story he wanted to write in the first place, and he basically used "Day of the Doctor" to set the game pieces on the board, so to speak.
Ok, so first of all, this is a fantastic use of the bigger tapestry the two-part format can give us. Unlike the first two stories, which were smaller stories that used the time to develop more deeply, this is a hell of a big story that uses the extra time to make things extra big. And the fact that it's been placed pretty much in the middle of the season is extremely canny on Moffat's part.
So yes, I enjoyed it. It wasn't the introspective first story, the fright-fest second story or the variable third; it was a big ol' action adventure romp, but a bit more intelligent than we tend to see come out of Hollywood. Obviously, Zygons have long been a fan favorite monster (and, I think, they might have been one of the most perfect monster designs to come out of the classic series) and I was happy to see the consequences (no pun intended) of the treaty in DotD played out.
And yes, some of it was heavy-handed as hell--the "training camp" being potentially attacked by drones made me sigh a bit at the lack of subtlety. But it's possible that a non-American wouldn't have seen that as obvious and might feel differently about it...and it's not like Doctor Who hasn't done "commentary on current events through obvious metaphor" before. (I'm lookin' at you, Peladon.)
I loved the "Osgood" protocol. It's kind of brilliant, and it's exactly the kind of thing the Doctor would have accepted wholeheartedly. In fact, I loved Osgood, full stop. I'm very glad some form of her is still around, or may be still around. (After that cliffhanger, who knows?) I like the way the whole thing was set up, and how we discover more of the whys as we go...and how, honestly, I can't completely fault the Zygons for being radicalized. Their methods, sure, but after finding out what happened in Truth or Consequences, things make a lot more sense. And who could fault someone for wanting to live as they are, and not to hide? On the other hand, their methods are extreme and horrible. Unnecessarily horrible, honestly. They're the actions of a group that has decided that talking will do no good and only extreme action will make a difference. Again, not very subtle.
I will admit that "Clara" had me fooled almost until the end. That doesn't happen very often, and it probably shouldn't have worked now, but it did. Hell, there were signs all over the place that she wasn't quite right (how did she know how to manipulate the elevator properly?), but I just kind of overlooked them. So, good job Jenna!
And yeah, why the hell didn't Kate bring backup? I know that she said UNIT didn't have many troops, but surely there must have been someone in the U.S. that could have joined her. As much as I enjoyed her scenes (all credit to Jemma Redgrave), it once again suggests to me that Kate Stewart is kind of a lousy head of UNIT. I guess inflappability does not run in the family!
Ok, and no, I don't think Kate and Clara are dead. (Jac is, which I really have little problem with.) In fact, we pretty much know that "Clara" is lying right at the end--heck, we saw the real one in a stasis pod! I do like the new Zygon paradigm, with not needing to keep the originals (which picks up from what we've learned in some Big Finish stories)--though I do wonder where the hell a Skarasen is, and why they don't need one to feed off of. (And obviously, keeping Clara and Jenna alive, regardless of interrogation status, makes sense for the Zygons--if the Doctor escapes the plane crash, they're insurance.)
And yes, that was a hell of a cliffhanger. Although you'd think the Doctor would be less likely to get into the presidential plane, given what happened to him last time he was on one! Maybe he'll be smarter next time!
And speaking of next time....
NEXT WEEK: Who survives the cliffhanger? And who is who is who? Trust no one! It's "The Zygon Inversion" (formerly "Inversion of the Zygons," which I like better), by Peter Harness and Steven Moffat. Don't screw it up guys, don't screw it up!