User Reviews

As this episode opens Clara wakes up and it seems as though the idea that she was about to blast The Doctor's plane out of the sky was just a dream… then it becomes apparent that she is still in the Zygon pod and her Zygon counterpart is indeed preparing to fire a missile at The Doctor's aircraft. Not surprisingly The Doctor, and Osgood, survive that attack and after parachuting to Earth they set about thwarting Zygon-Clara's plans to expose all Zygon's living on Earth and thus start a war when humanity realises there are aliens amongst us. Ultimately this leads to the Dark Archive where the 'Osgood Box' is stored… actually two boxes which each contain two buttons. The Doctor explains what each of the buttons will do leaving Zygon-Clara and UNIT leader Kate Lethbridge-Stewart to decide whether or not to press a button that could have terrible consequences or to opt for peace.

While this episode has less action then the opening instalment I think it was the better episode. This was largely down to the increased sense of danger; the news that Jenna Coleman will be leaving the series sometime soon had me wondering if this could be the last we saw of Clara. Talking of Jenna Coleman; she does a fine job as both Clara and Clara's Zygon counterpart; it was fun seeing her being both an antagonist and a protagonist; in some scenes playing against herself. Peter Capaldi is on top form as The Doctor; his long speech about the Osgood Boxes could easily have seemed over-long and boring but his passionate delivery made it gripping. Ingrid Oliver was also good as Osgood; effectively The Doctor's companion for most of the episode; in fact it looked as if she could become a permanent companion at one point. There were a few scary moments along the way that might disturb younger viewers but nothing too bad for a series that used to be famed for scaring children! Overall a really good episode with solid performances throughout.

I didn't like this episode the first time around, (probably because there were too many commercial breaks at the wrong times) but the second time I really enjoyed it. The beginning of the episode with Clara vs. Bonnie is excellently thought out, and the music makes in very tense.

First off, the Acting: Capaldi was phenomenal- the Zygon Inversion is his best performance so far. Coleman shone as Bonnie, and Ingrid Oliver was once again good as Osgood. Redgrave was also very good as Kate.

The Script: While not as fast paced as The Zygon Invasion, The Zygon Inversion was still tense and very atmospheric. The final 15 minutes were incredibly good, and the twist with the two Osgoods again was very clever. I wasn't a fan of the ending scenes in the Tardis and when the Osgoods walked away; they just felt awkward. I'm not sure if it was the music, the script, or the directing, but something just felt weird. Still, the Zygon Inversion is one seriously good episode.

(People are complaining about the Doctor's anti-war speech, but in reality it's not very political. All the Doctor is doing is trying to prevent the war between the humans and the Zygons. He has been in wars before, like the Time War, and recognizes how bad they can be. All he is trying to do is prevent one from happening. He did not say that you should never fight a war, all he was saying was that you should avoid it unless absolutely necessary.)

Overall- 8.5/10

The second part of a two part episode is always a worry not this week though.

Doctor Who again pulls it off this week, with a great, exciting, and political conclusion. The Doctor must prevent the Zygons from creating a mass war against humanity.

An episode with real passion, suspense, and discussion that really makes the audience think and consider the eventualities of possible human and alien cohabitation.

We have the return and great split personality of Osgood, who has shown great strength in the latest Doctor Who stories. Jenna Colman brings a great performance as Clara, and the evil Zygon Bonnie. We also have Cate Stewart, in control and responsible for the good of the human race, but also provide classic Lethbridge Stewart character back into Doctor Who.

Although the long political monologue of the Doctor could be seen to be dragging and boring, actually provides the passion of the story.

This is a high 8/10 and is defiantly a great concluding story.

Every now and then, an episode of television comes along that is so special that its excellence transcends words. In these episodes of television, not only does everything fall into place and not only has everything just been pieced together nicely, but it becomes the embodiment of more than you would ever expect from the show. It just feels special, and even after it's finished you can still feel the emotion and the excitement it gave you while you watched it. The Zygon Inversion is one of those episodes. If part one, The Zygon Invasion, was a big, epic globe trotting adventure that took on themes like immigration, then The Zygon Inversion is a small, focused political thriller that takes on the theme of war. It may be small in terms of scale, but the scope is enormous. Less characters speak, the locations are much smaller, the episode only sticks to one country, yet you never lose sight of the fact that the entire world is at stake in this story. It's superbly crafted, with a wonderful sense of attention to detail and a gripping plot that moves at a pretty rapid pace from the get go. But there's just one scene. One scene that not only exceeds anything we've been offered in this wonderfully brilliant series, but a scene that makes great claim to be the best thing Doctor Who has potentially ever done.

I am talking about the scene inside the Black Archive, in which the Doctor attempts to change the minds of both Kate and Bonnie simply by talking to them. Using words, rather than bombs. Peter Capaldi has been a fantastic Doctor so far, but this is his moment; his Doctor moment which I genuinely believe he will be remembered by whenever he chooses to depart from the show. The writing for this scene, by Peter Harness and Steven Moffat, is exceptional. In that one sequence, that one monologue that spans ten risky but breathtaking minutes, they allow the Doctor to channel so much emotion, so much of his own history, and relate it seamlessly not only to the events of this episode, but the events of the world today. It isn't hidden in subtext, Doctor Who is talking about the world in which we live. This is tricky subject matter, and it's certainly a bold move; while Doctor Who is taking on big political themes like this and discussing war and its many consequences, The X Factor is two channels away, and isn't Saturday night meant to be the fun night of the week? Not that I'm declaring The X Factor fun, but it just further demonstrates how important it is that Doctor Who took this risk. I would even go as far to say that this is the most important episode that Doctor Who has ever aired. The fact that it paid off by the bucket load is just the icing on this already wonderful cake.

Of course, though, as precise and emotional as the writing in this sequence is, none of it would have landed without Capaldi's exceptional delivery. I simply cannot imagine any other actor from the revived era of this show delivering these words in the manner that he does. Capaldi's Doctor - actually, no, not Capaldi's Doctor, the Doctor - is recognised for his sterner side, the side of him that doesn't care what mere humans think of him. In this sequence he emphasises this sterner side with aplomb, the conversation between the Doctor, Kate and Bonnie is not only wonderfully acted, but deliriously intense. Across this conversation, Capaldi soars through accents, blurs and combines emotions, he smashes a hundred different ways of delivering those words into one elongated piece of dialogue, and it's fantastic. But after Kate tells him that what he's doing isn't a game, he just...loses it. Capaldi - and, in that, the Doctor - just lets go, and everything comes pouring out. The Doctor talks about the war inside his head, the countless wars he has been a part of. He mentions the pain he faces every day over the decisions he has made in the past. He angrily unleashes his opinion of war, he tells Kate and Bonnie that they don't realise what they are doing, and he changes their minds. He stops a war breaking out on Earth, and he does it with words, not bombs, not bullets, but words. It's what makes this episode so special, the episode itself is the embodiment of the Doctor's character, the episode talks about the Doctor just as much as he does himself.

The ways that Moffat and Harness have packed all of this into one sequence is masterful. As Capaldi delivered his monologue, I felt the hairs on my arms stand on end. I felt a tear building in the corner of my eye. Despite taking place inside one windowless room, it felt as if the entire Earth stood still while the Doctor delivered that speech. It was a perfect combination of the Doctor's human traits and his alien side, all bundled together to create arguably the greatest moment this show has ever done, but definitively Capaldi's best piece of acting in this role to date. The rest of the episode is excellent too, by the way. Jenna Coleman gives her best performance(s) of the series thus far as both Bonnie and Clara. She separates them expertly, using body language and pronunciations to really demonstrate them both as entirely different entities; Clara always shows the emotion on her face, whereas Bonnie rarely blinks throughout the episode. Ingrid Oliver and Jemma Redgrave also both give series best performances, they both add a hearty amount of depth to their characters, allowing them to grow with each subsequent appearance. Every performance in this episode, in this entire bloody series actually, has been spot on. The Zygon Inversion, though, belongs to Peter Capaldi. He truly is something else.

This episode follows the same tone as the previous episode, expanding on the themes of the moral conundrums involved in war. Obviously, The Doctor escapes the cliff hanger from the previous episode, him and Osgood bailing out of the doomed plane right before the missile hits. You didn't really think otherwise, right?

The rest of the episode is pretty much him and Osgood paling around until the inevitable confrontation with the Zygon revolution's leader, the Clara duplicate, Bonnie (Jenna Coleman performing rather convincingly as both her and the real Clara). And it still manages to continue to masterfully manipulate the tension of each scene like playing an instrument, even though the twists in this episode are still fairly predictable, with certain characters believed to be dead still alive, The Doctor turning the tables on both the Zygons and UNIT, etc (although the original Osgood somehow surviving the season eight finally was pleasantly unexpected).

It does feels a bit overly somber in comparison to the rest of Doctor Who, but that's probably due to the subject matter, which successfully manages to delve deep into both sides of war, examining the moral complexities and motivations involved, picking apart even those who have no doubt that what they are doing is right, which is usually both sides, with The Doctor perhaps giving the best speech in all of Doctor Who. This fantastic scene dissects the process of war, boiling it down to the necessity of forgiveness, which may sound contrived, but is done so brilliantly and thoughtfully that it instead feels heartfelt and deeply thought provoking. An electric performance by Peter Capaldi, if anyone doubted his casting as The Doctor, they have no grounds to do so after this episode, for this speech alone, which is enough to elevate it above its predecessor. 9/10

Once again our protagonist is close to doom, and once again he survives. The recycled cliff-hanger is becoming distinctly repetitive, either he or Clara is at the mercy of whichever adversary and once again, we the viewers are fully aware everyone will be fine. Plenty of comments made on Peter's speech, rightly so it was a commanding moment for the charismatic Capaldi. At times it got lost in its own cleverness, Osgood being one example, we have two once again, just because, and for what conceivable reason? The Political agenda on Who belongs firmly rooted in the past, at times you could hear the writer on his soap box, preaching his views through the Doctor. Strip back the plot, and several parallels will come to light. Time and place, this was neither. Loyal viewers deserve more.

Alien invasion episodes have never been among my favorites in "Doctor Who" (I usually find them both cynical and kiddie-oriented), but this "Zygon" two-parter is certainly one of the better episodes of its type. The first part is a fairly standard imitation of "Invasion Of The Body Snatchers", with a contemporary political edge; this second part opens with a disorienting Clara-inside-the-pod sequence which was clearly Steven Moffat's contribution, and also contains a strong pacifist speech by the Doctor; this speech is not quite as powerful as that given by Matt Smith in "The Rings Of Akhaten", but it does solidify Peter Capaldi's place in the "Doctor Who" legacy. This episode is worth seeing for that scene alone - as well as for the scene of "Bonnie" interrogating Clara. *** out of 4.

I enjoyed the episode for the most part. There were a lot of entertaining moments, for example the blink communication . cool.

I have to say, though, I don't concur with some others here that the Doctor speech scene was great in some way. I thought it was naïve...

How can an invader, who has spent a lot of time planning and executing this secret plan, just give in so easy, on account of a ten minute speech! This reveals him as having no real convictions - a spineless and confused extremist. No genuine leader acts this way in real life.

Further, I found the doctor's moralizing kind of ridiculous. Firstly, evil cannot always be reasoned with. Secondly, war, though it is a terrible, awful thing, sometimes it is necessary. Or if not war, then bold, courageous action. Confrontation. A fight.

Bold, courageous confrontation can't be dismissed as if to say, everything occurs in cycles in the very long term, so there is never any point in fighting, there is no cause worth fighting for, you are all children, let's all just get along.

This is wrong. Evil must be confronted. If the Zygons truly have been wronged, then they must fight for a just outcome. If, on the other hand, they have not been wronged, and Zygella is a terrorist acting essentially in an evil way, she will not give in after an impassioned 10 minute speech, and she will have to be confronted, and stopped.

That conclusion was just bizarre to me.

Capaldi really is great in this episode, I'm just not really at all interested in anything related to UNIT and saving modern-day Earth, we've seen it so many times, I like it when he goes back in time and meets Queen Victoria and werewolves, or Dickens and Ghosts, or better yet Van Gogh and whatever that monster was. They're my favourite episodes then there are classic villain episodes, anything to do with Cybermen (even if it is UNIT+saving modern-day Earth), Daleks, Weeping Angels etc. Blink being a prime example. This episode was good, don't get me wrong but it just wasn't my cup of tea.

Sadly it seems Doctor Who is becoming a parody of itself under the stewardship of Steven Moffat.

Yes it's a kids show but it is becoming too stupid even for kids. This whole guitar playing, shades wearing Doctor Disco is too daft for words.

Lazy writing is the root of the problem and this Capaldi Doctor is fast becoming the most idiotic in Dr Who History.

This is a rare episode where the annoying Clara was not the cause of the episode stinking like a bad smell in a lift. The writers are not giving Capaldi the ammunition he needs to cement himself into the pantheon of good Doctors. Which is a shame as he is a great actor.

The two Zygon episodes were not bad when compared to the rest of the Capaldi era so far but they were still stupid. UNIT has 6 men in England then Kate appears out of nowhere to save the day after being attacked 5000 miles away.

But in this episode we were granted a rare moment of what could have been if the writers were up to snuff. The Doctor speech at the climax of the episode was actually bloody marvellous and would get 10 out of 10 from me if the rest of the hour had not been there to stink it out. Case in point was the ridiculous scene with the American accent just before the amazing speech took us from the ridiculous to the sublime and a rare oasis in a desert of drivel.

Lazy bad writing is dragging the programme into the abyss of poor ratings and apathy. Where are the smart Dr Who writers of whom Moffat was actually one once? The dual episode format gives them the chance to show us how smart the show can be for kids and adults instead of the confines of a 45 minute drama. But they don't seem capable of this instead giving us the moronic scene with the policemen in the car and making the Doctor spew out inane dialogue as they walk away from danger.

I am afraid Doctor Disco and his guitar and shades are failing miserably. Who wrote this drivel and more importantly who told them it was good? The BBC chimps could not write anything that bad.

Hopefully when Clara disappears the Dr might get a few episodes like the speech he made in this one. Every doctor has his memorable moment in the scheme of the whole and this was one for Capaldi. Hopefully it will not be his last as I will keep watching in the hope Dr Disco naffs off and leaves Dr Who in his wake.