Doctor Who: "The Zygon Inversion"Review

“The Zygon Inversion” brings this two-part story to a close, while also arranging a happy ending that unfortunately seems far less likely for the real-world situations that the episodes have been commenting on.

Sure, I was glad to see the Doctor “win” this round, talking down the Zygon Bonnie (a.k.a. Evil Clara, a.k.a. Zygilla) and actually getting through to her to the point where they “broke the cycle” and she joined the Doctor, Osgood and UNIT’s cause. If only it were so easy in reality to convince a suicide bomber or an ISIS terrorist or a would-be martyr of the endless cycle of pain and suffering that they are perpetuating.

Evil Clara clearly feels that she and her people have been persecuted, and that what they’ve gone through somehow justifies her extreme actions now. The Doctor begs to differ.

“Oh, it's not faaaair!” Peter Capaldi mocks/screams in that singularly dry-mouthed Capaldi way. “These things have happened, Zygilla. They are facts. You just want cruelty to beget cruelty. You aren’t superior to the people who were cruel to you. You’re just a whole bunch of new cruel people.”

In the end, the only key to finding peace is forgiveness. But it takes the Doctor’s painful recollection of the war he fought in -- the ultimate war -- to convince Evil Clara, to get her to start to see things his way. “When I close my eyes, I hear more screams than anyone could ever be able to count,” he says. And suddenly Evil Clara isn’t so evil anymore, as she realizes her and the Doctor are more alike than they are different.

The Doctor’s commitment to peace in the wake of the Time War is impressive, and this entire climactic scene with Kate and Evil Clara facing off over the Osgood boxes while the Doctor debates them and lectures them and finally, finally breaks through to them, is engrossing and kind of great. Not just because of Capaldi’s typically strong performance, but also because of Jenna Coleman’s turn as Evil Clara. What started as an out and out bad guy last week becomes something more in this scene, as Coleman very subtly transforms Evil Clara into a more compassionate being through the slightest facial changes and flickers of her eyes. As the Doctor says, he has her at a disadvantage since he knows that face. As do we.

What's in the box?

So this was a very strong way to end the conflict of this story, but unfortunately most of the rest of this episode felt like filler. All the business with the real Clara being trapped in a cocoon basically went nowhere, and the promise of her controlling Evil Clara from within -- while clever -- kind of petered out. As such, Clara herself didn’t get a ton to do here, and with so few episodes left for the character, that’s sort of a bummer.

The bit where the Zygon (disguised as a human) was being stalked by Evil Clara was a fun tribute to Invasion of the Body Snatchers, right down to the human dust balls being swept up and the Zygon running around in a panic Kevin McCarthy style. “They’re here already! You’re next!” His Zygon brothers and sisters affected a very pod-like take on the situation, too. I guess they were all devoted to Evil Clara’s cause? (Or just, as Morrissey once said, would rather not get involved?)

As for the Doctor and Osgood’s escape from the certain doom of last week’s cliffhanger, that seemed particularly cheap even by cheap cliffhanger save standards. It also serves as a reminder that the Doctor really should travel by TARDIS whenever possible… or at least have the TARDIS nearby at all times.

And speaking of Osgood, while it was nice of the Doctor to invite her on as a companion, I was surprised by it. She seems a bit too fanboy for his tastes. But regardless, Osgood lives on! Actually, two Osgoods live on, as Zygilla has replaced the dead Osgood. Which, really, seems kind of weird for the other Osgood… I mean, she can just fully embrace this new Osgood as a replacement sister to the one who died, the one she was so close to? Easy come, easy go, I guess.

Lastly, we closed things out this week with another moment in the TARDIS between the Doctor and Clara where the Doctor seems to be contemplating death. Does it hint at Clara’s impending fate? Only time will tell…

Some notes:

Why does Kate get stuck with the memory wipe? After all, she was the first one to close the box!

And the Doctor pseudonyms continue with Dr. John Disco!

“This is toothpaste.”

WHAT? Osgood doesn't know what TARDIS stands for!?

Man, these morphing effects are really poor.

The Verdict

This Zygon two-parter has definitely been the low point of the ninth season so far. Still, the terrorism metaphor was given a hopeful finale here, and the Doctor’s torment over the Time War continues to be a wellspring of drama and fine acting moments. Though one has to wonder, at what juncture is it time to move on and stop going back to the Time War as a reference point?

Good

What’s in Osgood’s box? The low point so far of Doctor Who’s otherwise strong Season 9, unfortunately.