"The Zygon Invasion" Grade and Discussion Thread
- Thread starter The Nth Doctor
- Start date
I didn't mind the "previously on" as a reminder. They do it for episodes from just a week ago - why not one from nearly two years ago?
I do wish they hadn't used the Twelfth Doctor's theme as the score, though!
If they really can pull the image out, they should be able to pull any other needed information out too. I'm hoping there's something else going on there instead.
I took it as character development, him learning from Danny's example...
Problem with that, is the Doctor has never had a problem with soldiers/the military and he was soldier himself during the Time War.
During the Classic Era, the Doctor's best friends were members of UNIT, and they all had military ranks. Brigadier Alister Gordon Leftbridge-Stewart, Sgt. Benton, Dr. Harry Sullivan (military MD), Dr. Liz Shaw (military scientist), Jo Grant (UNIT assistant). In fact, the Doctor has worked for UNIT since his second incarnation.
So 12's irritation and annoyance with Danny and that one lady from Into The Dalek, was really out of place for the Doctor's character.
I justify it by remembering that he had just spent 900 years on Trenzalore in a never-ending siege. He was tired of war and everything that goes along with it, including the soldiers that fight.
But then he got over it.
I enjoyed this episode.
One criticism I have is with Kate Stewart. I don't know what it is exactly, and I do want to like her as a character, I just wish she was a bit "stronger" I suppose. In her first episode I could imagine her running UNIT but in subsequent ones she always seems to be in over her head and close to panic or something. I find it hard to see her running something as important as UNIT. I look forward to her appearances and hope for great things from her but end up feeling disappointed.
One criticism I have is with Kate Stewart. I don't know what it is exactly, and I do want to like her as a character, I just wish she was a bit "stronger" I suppose. In her first episode I could imagine her running UNIT but in subsequent ones she always seems to be in over her head and close to panic or something. I find it hard to see her running something as important as UNIT. I look forward to her appearances and hope for great things from her but end up feeling disappointed.
I find myself liking her less and less, too. I really enjoyed her in "The Power of Three" and when she returned in "Day of the Doctor," but her subsequent appearances have left me wanting more. However, that seems to be my general opinion of everything from the last two seasons, so it's not just her.
It sure looked that way, which is why the policewoman/Zygon kept asking her if she had backup.
So unless the big "twist" in the opening of Part 2 is that she did actually have backup, yeah, she went to America alone.
Trailer for next time looks great. more Evil "Clara"!
BBC America didn't even show the trailer. I didn't think there would be one because it would kind of "Ruin" the ending.
To clarify, there was no Next Time trailer even on BBC1, but there's subsequently been a trailer released on the official website (also up on Blogtor Who).
No sign of Kate or our Clara in it though.
There is that:
Agreed
Politically, you can make anything you want out of this one. Being being hostile to newcomers/immigrants--or being taken advatage of--works either way
The politics are more nuanced, sophisticated.
How true. Maybe a non-lethal version of the gas, say.
Now I get why Osgood Dolezal didn't want to answer whether she was human or Zygon--about it not mattering--I get it.
But it could be that a splinter group terrorist was impersonating the original Osgood pair, say--so it matters. You have to have as much information as you can.
I suspected Cara just due to that hairstyle right at the first.
The best thing is to--as they ret-conned the Moon, have Venus as a swamp planet after all--with dinosaurs--for the splinter faction to go.
They'd be more at home there, I'd think.
Agreed
Politically, you can make anything you want out of this one. Being being hostile to newcomers/immigrants--or being taken advatage of--works either way
The politics are more nuanced, sophisticated.
How true. Maybe a non-lethal version of the gas, say.
Now I get why Osgood Dolezal didn't want to answer whether she was human or Zygon--about it not mattering--I get it.
But it could be that a splinter group terrorist was impersonating the original Osgood pair, say--so it matters. You have to have as much information as you can.
I suspected Cara just due to that hairstyle right at the first.
The best thing is to--as they ret-conned the Moon, have Venus as a swamp planet after all--with dinosaurs--for the splinter faction to go.
They'd be more at home there, I'd think.
[yt]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=U3LMOcIDTSU[/yt]
Personally I didn't get the politics of the story, the story so far seems to heve failed in the horror aspect of the plot. And I don't see the reason for the New Mexico location for the plot. Terror Of Thew Zygons had a classic sci-fi/horror element to it and so far the new series has failed to understand that aspect of the Zygons being able to make themselves look like us.
A couple nitpicks which occurred to me:
-Does Clara have an official position within UNIT? She (or rather the Zygon posing as her) is clearly in command of the soldiers sent to the Zygon base in London. Seems odd to have a schoolteacher placed in command of a military operation. And if she does indeed have official standing within UNIT, just how high is she? Substitute Osgood seems to be Kate's right hand woman, and she was clearly answering to Clara on the mission as well.
-Kate claims there was no to tell Osgood and her Zygon apart, but it's obvious throughout Day of the Doctor which is which, even in the last scene where the two of them are discussing what would happen if one of them lost a shoe or whatever. The one who pulls the inhaler out of her pocket is the real one. Okay, so this sort of relates to the issue I raised in my review post questioning why the Zygon posing as Osgood grew so attached to her. Which I really hope gets addressed in part 2.
-Does Clara have an official position within UNIT? She (or rather the Zygon posing as her) is clearly in command of the soldiers sent to the Zygon base in London. Seems odd to have a schoolteacher placed in command of a military operation. And if she does indeed have official standing within UNIT, just how high is she? Substitute Osgood seems to be Kate's right hand woman, and she was clearly answering to Clara on the mission as well.
-Kate claims there was no to tell Osgood and her Zygon apart, but it's obvious throughout Day of the Doctor which is which, even in the last scene where the two of them are discussing what would happen if one of them lost a shoe or whatever. The one who pulls the inhaler out of her pocket is the real one. Okay, so this sort of relates to the issue I raised in my review post questioning why the Zygon posing as Osgood grew so attached to her. Which I really hope gets addressed in part 2.
The point of the New Mexico location is that the town Truth Or Cosequences is a real place and the name works as a slogan for the Zygon movement to come ot of hiding or punish their suppressors... From their point of view.
So the Zygon rebels just demonstrate a sense for irony here.
There really is no other reason for it. If that town happened to be in the UK, then that's where it would have taken place.
The fake country of Tuzmenistan or whatever it was, might have just been called "some middle eastern country" like in 24.
Edit: Clara is the current companion of the Doctor. The Doctor is considered the commander in chief in case of an alien doomsday invasion.
As such she outranks maybe even Kate... Sort of. But legally she probably is designated a consultant or something like that.
So the Zygon rebels just demonstrate a sense for irony here.
There really is no other reason for it. If that town happened to be in the UK, then that's where it would have taken place.
The fake country of Tuzmenistan or whatever it was, might have just been called "some middle eastern country" like in 24.
Edit: Clara is the current companion of the Doctor. The Doctor is considered the commander in chief in case of an alien doomsday invasion.
As such she outranks maybe even Kate... Sort of. But legally she probably is designated a consultant or something like that.