REVIEW: Doctor Who: ‘The Zygon Inversion’

Kate Stewart (Jemma Redgrave), the Doctor (Peter Capaldi), Osgood (Ingrid Oliver), and Clara (Jenna Coleman) in ‘The Zygon Inversion.’ (Credit: BBC)

As I am compiling this slideshow and writing my own bits, I feel disoriented… as if I were being kept in stasis in a virtual reality pod somewhere. I am quite haggard, but the show must go on, so to speak.

Anyway, hello, dear readers, and welcome to this week’s staff opinion slideshow. In this installment, we will be discussing Episode 8 of Series 9 of Doctor Who, ‘The Zygon Inversion.’ Let us start with an excerpt from the instantly iconic speech given by the Doctor at the climax of the episode:

"You’re not superior to people who were cruel to you, you’re just a whole bunch of new cruel people. A whole bunch of new cruel people being cruel to some other people, who’ll end up being cruel to you. The only way anyone can live in peace is if they’re prepared to forgive. Why don’t you break the cycle?"

This entire speech is an example of diplomacy at its finest. And who better to give such a speech than the Doctor?

David Hill – Co-Editor

Well, there it was, the moment that Whovians had waited for. The Doctor had offered to take Osgood aboard the TARDIS, and when she accepted, the torch would be ready to be passed from Clara to a true fan favorite. It was to be the perfect moment.

Except, that didn’t happen. Osgood declined the invitation to journey with the Doctor, despite that being everything she ever wanted. Her sense of duty overrode her desire to travel with her idol, citing her need to keep the Osgood Box safe as the reason why she declined. It was certainly not what anyone would have expected in that moment.

In fact, this appears to be a wasted opportunity. Even though Osgood had a good reason to remain behind, she would have been the perfect companion. Her bravery is unquestioned, and she has the intellect to be able to match wits with the Doctor. Osgood would have been a departure from the eye candy companion, and instead would have been someone who could have pushed the Doctor to another level.

Instead, she has, for now at least, remained behind on Earth. Perhaps, at another time, she will take the Doctor up on his offer, and we can finally get another companion that can challenge him. At this point, however, this is just another missed opportunity on Doctor Who.

Next: Top-Notch Storytelling

Clara’s Zygon duplicate (Jenna Coleman) has the Osgood Box. (Credit: BBC)

James Aggas – Staff Writer

I am really, really loving Series 9 of Doctor Who. With ‘The Zygon Inversion,’ I very much enjoyed watching how something that seemed hardly resolved in ‘The Day of the Doctor’ (which to be honest is still a favourite of mine) was more fully explored, and we find out exactly what the Doctor is prepared to do to ensure peace.

Usually, Doctor Who stories focus on the Doctor and his companion working out the plans of the alien threat, so it was actually refreshing in a way to see almost the exact opposite with this story. We see a lot of things from the Zygon Bonnie’s point of view while she works out the mystery of the Osgood Box, not just where it is, but what it really does, as well. It’s even more refreshing to see Clara being a major part of the secret. There have been times when the Doctor has had major plans and schemes, although in a lot of those instances, he’d keep everything secret even from his companion (looking at you, Seven), so it’s really good to see the companion in the loop as much as the Doctor is.

I also appreciated that, whereas last week’s episode was told on a massive scale, things are now once again scaled back to focus on the more emotional and philosophical aspects of the story. The way it all paid off was incredible, with Capaldi giving an amazing performance in his efforts to talk Bonnie out of her plan.

Last week’s episode showed what kind of grand-scale storytelling Doctor Who can tell; this week’s was a perfect example of how something as simple and low budget as a scene with only a few actors and two boxes can still feel epic and emotional.

(Also, how many classic fans like me cheered when Kate said, “Five rounds, rapid”?)

Next: Twelve's Defining Moment

Peter Capaldi as the Doctor, with what appears to be a suit of armor from the Mire in the background. (Credit: BBC)

Joel Getter – Staff Writer

Every Doctor has his defining moment. It’s that scene that we watch over and over again on the DVR, that we can quote verbatim, and that makes us excited to be Doctor Who fans. Although ‘The Zygon Inversion’ was a great episode in its own right, the truth is that Capaldi’s impassioned speech to end the cycle of violence was that shining moment for his Doctor. Capaldi was able to showcase his extraordinary acting chops, putting this scene right up there with Eccleston’s everybody lives scene in ‘The Doctor Dances’ and Smith’s speech in ‘The Pandorica Opens.’

I feel like Capaldi continues to grow and become more comfortable as the Doctor. In some ways, the changes seem very drastic as he is often a very different Time Lord than the one we experienced last series. However, I welcome the changes as to me I see Capaldi putting more of his own personality into the role. There are really funny moments with his Doctor, but they don’t detract from the weight of the universe that sits on the Doctor’s shoulders.

Rather than finding the simple solution that may have neutralized Zygella and her radical group, the Doctor saves the day by appealing to Zygella’s humanity. Many fans are saying Capaldi channeled a lot of Tom Baker in his performance, but he definitely brought some Sylvester McCoy in there too with his reliance on trickery and mind games to achieve his goals. The Doctor’s speech brings the episode full circle to flashing back to the Time War and the impact that Ms. Clara Oswald has had on his lives.

As the dark cloud of Clara’s fate comes closer, I’m excited to see what Capaldi will bring to the table next. Long live Doctor Basil Funkenstein!

Next: Spy vs Spy

Kate Stewart (Jemma Redgrave), Clara (Jenna Coleman), and Osgood (Ingrid Oliver) — or more likely, their Zygon duplicates. (Credit: BBC)

Leah Tedesco – Assistant Editor/Staff Writer

Just as I had anticipated, Series 9 Episode 8 of Doctor Who, ‘The Zygon Inversion’ was a smashing second half to this story. The suspense was palpable as we witnessed the characters navigate some intensely dire scenarios. I could carry on about things such as how fantastic the Doctor’s speech was (it was) and how disappointed I was that Osgood chose to not travel with the Doctor (I was). Instead, however, I would like to take this opportunity to discuss other aspects of the story — that it was one of name reveals and secret agents.

In ‘The Zygon Invasion,’ we were introduced to two new aliases for the Doctor: Doctor Disco and Doctor Funkenstein. (He also referred to himself as Doctor Pun-Tastic, but we won’t count that one as an actual alias.) In ‘The Zygon Inversion,’ he introduced himself as John Disco (a derivation from his former long-running alias, John Smith) and also lied to Osgood that his real first name is Basil. It would be quite humorous if he eventually pieced together the name Doctor Basil Funkenstein.

The Doctor refers to Bonnie as Zygella, presumably her given Zygon name. Also, Osgood finally revealed that her first name is Petronella. I wonder if, now that Bonnie is no longer in the form of Clara, she will keep the first name to be Bonnie Osgood, or if she will also be Petronella. We never learned which first name was used by the deceased sister. What I find peculiar is that, despite being adamantly opposed to the Zygons living as humans, Bonnie did not want to go by her Zygon name.

And then there’s this gem for the TARDIS: Totally and Radically Driving in Space.

If it is true that a live human is still required to make a Zygon copy, and Bonnie switched to Osgood’s form at the end of ‘The Zygon Inversion’ because the other Osgood was killed, then the one wearing the Seventh-Doctor-inspired clothing is logically the human.

While Bonnie was a double agent, Kate was a triple one. The terrorist Zygon faction thought that the human Kate had been killed and that a Zygon copy was acting as a double spy for them. We were all lead to believe this until she turned on the Zygon guards and explained that she was, in fact, her original self.

Next: What Does Doge Think?

Very Story, Much Identities, So Zygons, Such Complex, Wow – credit: imgflip.com/i/tun6h

Thank you for that, Doge. (Why, yes, I did make a meme just for this slideshow.) Anyway, here is another excerpt from the Doctor’s speech from this episode, because it is just that damn good:

"When you fire that first shot, no matter how right you feel, you have no idea who’s going to die! You don’t know whose children are going to scream and burn! How many hearts will be broken! How many lives shattered! How much blood will spill until everybody does what they were always going to have to do from the very beginning — sit down and talk!"

Speaking of sitting down and talking, our virtual roundtable for the ‘The Zygon Inversion’ has come to a close. Join us to continue the discussion, won’t you? Scroll down for the user poll below the next post box. Also, if you would like, you can give us more detailed feedback in the comments section.

Next: REVIEW: The Zygon Invasion

Check back in with us next week for our roundtable review of Episode 9 of Series 9, ‘Sleep No More.’