Something that Doctor Who rarely does is attempt to create a story that allows the show to intermingle with some real current events happening around the world. While Doctor Who takes us on wacky adventures all through space and time, sometimes it needs to remind us when the show’s present day takes place. In the past, the show has found some good ways to incorporate present day but they never seem to go overboard with any attempts to crossover with real life, which keeps things fun and normal for what Doctor Who normally presents each week.
This week’s episode, “The Zygon Invasion,” brought us back to present day Earth where viewers were slightly filled in on what has happened after “The Day of the Doctor,” where the Zygon/Human treaty has been broken and wars are breaking out all around the world between the two races. It’s an interesting plot to return to. I really liked the message behind UNIT attempting to slowly merge more and more of the planet-less Zygon’s into Earth culture and how there was at least an attempt at acceptance and peace.
The episode was definitely able to create a fair and real plot around a general topic that happens within a lot of cultures. A new wave of more traditional and radical Zygon’s come along to disrupt the system they don’t like. The show addresses the idea of Terrorism well and finds ways to smoothly incorporate the viewpoint of both sides to explain why they are wrong rather than just being mindless terrorists. That’s something that Doctor Who does extremely well, make sure everyone is represented fairly, even when they are still the outright bad guy.
I was surprised at how un-impactful the Doctor was in this episode. Despite the episode’s story being another two-part plot, the previous episodes we have seen this season have always found the ability to stand on their own. I felt like this episode was the first slow build that we’ve received this season. The story was definitely still solid in this episode, but the Doctor just seemed to be moving a lot slower than normal. One thing that bugged me was when he was waiting with the UNIT commander who essentially let all of her men die despite knowing what would probably happen. It just didn’t feel like the Doctor was as concerned for innocent lives he knew would die like he usually is.
As for Clara, I thought it was a fun episode for her character. We never really get to see the companions fully express all sides of their characters. “The Zygon Invasion” ends with a twist that Clara was actually replaced with a Zygon copy of herself. From the moment when she runs into her neighbor in the apartment, it was pretty clear (at least for me) that there was a near guarantee that Clara was replaced; however, seeing Jenna Louise Coleman do that maniacal turn and grin was so much fun. She definitely was able to flex some different character personality types in this episode but I think the real fun for her character will be in next week’s episode post-zygon reveal.
Overall, this was definitely a slower episode of Doctor Who. It was easily the slowest build of a story so far this season, and I’m hoping the payoff will be big and fun. It wasn’t a bad episode, but I just wish that the Doctor was a little more assertive in saving lives. I’m still curious if this will begin to build towards some type of finale based on other events that have happened so far this season. It’s really tough for Doctor Who to release a “bad” episode, but rather releases episodes that aren’t as good as the previous. This was a true first part episode that has plenty left to unfold next week, so I hope the payoff is worth this week’s slow burn.
Other thoughts:
- The Osgood Doctor wardrobe saga continues. Assuming she will survive, what comes next?
- Evil Clara will be so amazing to watch next week. I’m sure Jenna is having a blast with this story and it’s neat to see a companion act a little different.
- I feel like it comes across that I didn’t like this episode. I did, I liked it an average amount, which is just unusual for Doctor Who.
- The SFX, costume, and makeup departments have, once again, done a phenomenal job with everything. The Zygons looked great again and this entire season they have put together some great aliens and monsters.
[Photo via BBC America]
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