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The Zygon Invasion
"The Zygon Invasion" is the seventh episode of the ninth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 31 October 2015, and written by Peter Harness and directed by Daniel Nettheim. The episode is the first episode of a two-part story, the second part being "The Zygon Inversion", which aired on 7 November. In the episode, a peace treaty agreed between humans and shapeshifting aliens called Zygons in the 2013 episode "The Day of the Doctor" has started to fail. A radicalised splinter group of Zygons, seeking to no longer hide among humans but be themselves, takes over Zygon High Command, and seeks to invade present-day Earth and neutralise military organisation UNIT. The alien time traveller the Twelfth Doctor (Peter Capaldi) attempts to keep the peace.
The story was conceptualised by showrunner Steven Moffat, who was deeply impressed by the Zygons' debut story, 1975's Terror of the Zygons, and sought to write a sequel story featuring them that would touch on numerous real-world topics. Moffat asked Harness to help him with writing the overall story, and the two worked together to produce both "The Zygon Invasion" and its second part. The story also focuses heavily on Ingrid Oliver's character Petronella Osgood,
The episode was watched by 5.76 million viewers and received positive reviews from critics, who noted the episode's focus on contemporary real-world issues, and praised aspects such as Osgood's characterisation and portrayal, as well as the twist reveal of the Doctor's companion, Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman), being replaced by a Zygon during the episode's events. However, the episode's slow pacing was criticised by a few critics, who also noted the episode was hard to judge on its own merits without watching its second part. "The Zygon Invasion" alongside "The Zygon Inversion" were novelised by Harness in 2023.
Ever since the War, Tenth, and Eleventh Doctors ensured the creation of a peace treaty between humans and Zygons, there existed two versions of UNIT scientist Osgood (Ingrid Oliver): one human and one Zygon duplicate. Twenty million Zygons have been resettled on Earth, peacefully living out their lives disguised as humans. The Doctor leaves the Osgoods the Osgood Box to be used as a last resort should things go wrong. After one of the Osgoods was killed, the other left UNIT and disappeared.
In the present, Osgood is captured by a splinter group of Zygons in the town of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico just after sending a warning to the Twelfth Doctor (Peter Capaldi) that the treaty is failing. In London, the splinter group, which seeks to be able to live in their undisguised forms, kidnaps and kills Zygon High Command, leaving a Zygon called Bonnie in charge. In Turmezistan, Osgood is forced to read a video message declaring the splinter group's intent to go to war. At the block of flats where the Doctor's companion Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman) lives, Clara is knocked unconscious and hidden in a pod underground. Bonnie takes Clara's place.
The Doctor travels to Turmezistan via the aeroplane afforded him by being President of Earth to rescue Osgood. The Doctor and UNIT troops converge on the church Osgood is holed up in. The Zygon splinter group, appearing as the soldiers' relatives and friends, kill the soldiers and flee back to the UK through underground tunnels. The Doctor finds Osgood safe under the church, and they bring a Zygon, injured from a bombing run, aboard their flight back to the UK. The Zygon tells the Doctor that their invasion has already taken place.
In New Mexico, UNIT leader Kate Stewart (Jemma Redgrave) finds Truth or Consequences uninhabited aside from the sheriff, Norlander (Gretchen Egolf). Norlander reveals herself as a Zygon, and prepares to kill Kate. In London, Bonnie tricks UNIT scientist Jac (Jaye Griffiths) into going to Clara's block with UNIT troops, where a lift takes them to a series of underground tunnels and they discover a number of Zygon pods. Finding Clara's pod, Jac realises that Clara was switched with a Zygon. Jac and the troops are killed by the splinter group when they attempt to escape. Bonnie travels to UNIT to obtain a shoulder-fired missile. As Bonnie informs him of the deaths of his friends, she fires a missile at the plane.
Showrunner Steven Moffat was highly impressed by the Zygons in their debut story, 1975's Terror of the Zygons, and had brainstormed a concept for a sequel to the serial, which would see homeless Zygons settling on Earth and would discuss issues such as immigration, refugees, resettlement, ghettoization, and the radicalisation of factions that led to terrorrism. The Zygons' prior appearance in 2013 special "The Day of the Doctor" was used by Moffat to set up this sequel story, which would be explored in "The Zygon Invasion" and "The Zygon Inversion".
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The Zygon Invasion
"The Zygon Invasion" is the seventh episode of the ninth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 31 October 2015, and written by Peter Harness and directed by Daniel Nettheim. The episode is the first episode of a two-part story, the second part being "The Zygon Inversion", which aired on 7 November. In the episode, a peace treaty agreed between humans and shapeshifting aliens called Zygons in the 2013 episode "The Day of the Doctor" has started to fail. A radicalised splinter group of Zygons, seeking to no longer hide among humans but be themselves, takes over Zygon High Command, and seeks to invade present-day Earth and neutralise military organisation UNIT. The alien time traveller the Twelfth Doctor (Peter Capaldi) attempts to keep the peace.
The story was conceptualised by showrunner Steven Moffat, who was deeply impressed by the Zygons' debut story, 1975's Terror of the Zygons, and sought to write a sequel story featuring them that would touch on numerous real-world topics. Moffat asked Harness to help him with writing the overall story, and the two worked together to produce both "The Zygon Invasion" and its second part. The story also focuses heavily on Ingrid Oliver's character Petronella Osgood,
The episode was watched by 5.76 million viewers and received positive reviews from critics, who noted the episode's focus on contemporary real-world issues, and praised aspects such as Osgood's characterisation and portrayal, as well as the twist reveal of the Doctor's companion, Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman), being replaced by a Zygon during the episode's events. However, the episode's slow pacing was criticised by a few critics, who also noted the episode was hard to judge on its own merits without watching its second part. "The Zygon Invasion" alongside "The Zygon Inversion" were novelised by Harness in 2023.
Ever since the War, Tenth, and Eleventh Doctors ensured the creation of a peace treaty between humans and Zygons, there existed two versions of UNIT scientist Osgood (Ingrid Oliver): one human and one Zygon duplicate. Twenty million Zygons have been resettled on Earth, peacefully living out their lives disguised as humans. The Doctor leaves the Osgoods the Osgood Box to be used as a last resort should things go wrong. After one of the Osgoods was killed, the other left UNIT and disappeared.
In the present, Osgood is captured by a splinter group of Zygons in the town of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico just after sending a warning to the Twelfth Doctor (Peter Capaldi) that the treaty is failing. In London, the splinter group, which seeks to be able to live in their undisguised forms, kidnaps and kills Zygon High Command, leaving a Zygon called Bonnie in charge. In Turmezistan, Osgood is forced to read a video message declaring the splinter group's intent to go to war. At the block of flats where the Doctor's companion Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman) lives, Clara is knocked unconscious and hidden in a pod underground. Bonnie takes Clara's place.
The Doctor travels to Turmezistan via the aeroplane afforded him by being President of Earth to rescue Osgood. The Doctor and UNIT troops converge on the church Osgood is holed up in. The Zygon splinter group, appearing as the soldiers' relatives and friends, kill the soldiers and flee back to the UK through underground tunnels. The Doctor finds Osgood safe under the church, and they bring a Zygon, injured from a bombing run, aboard their flight back to the UK. The Zygon tells the Doctor that their invasion has already taken place.
In New Mexico, UNIT leader Kate Stewart (Jemma Redgrave) finds Truth or Consequences uninhabited aside from the sheriff, Norlander (Gretchen Egolf). Norlander reveals herself as a Zygon, and prepares to kill Kate. In London, Bonnie tricks UNIT scientist Jac (Jaye Griffiths) into going to Clara's block with UNIT troops, where a lift takes them to a series of underground tunnels and they discover a number of Zygon pods. Finding Clara's pod, Jac realises that Clara was switched with a Zygon. Jac and the troops are killed by the splinter group when they attempt to escape. Bonnie travels to UNIT to obtain a shoulder-fired missile. As Bonnie informs him of the deaths of his friends, she fires a missile at the plane.
Showrunner Steven Moffat was highly impressed by the Zygons in their debut story, 1975's Terror of the Zygons, and had brainstormed a concept for a sequel to the serial, which would see homeless Zygons settling on Earth and would discuss issues such as immigration, refugees, resettlement, ghettoization, and the radicalisation of factions that led to terrorrism. The Zygons' prior appearance in 2013 special "The Day of the Doctor" was used by Moffat to set up this sequel story, which would be explored in "The Zygon Invasion" and "The Zygon Inversion".