Doctor Who: Series 9, Episode 7 – “The Zygon Invasion” (2015)

I’m not quite sure what I think about this one.  I may have to wait until next week’s conclusion before I can really solidify my opinion of it.  As it stands right now, it has some neat stuff going for it, but a major element feels troubling to me.  (A few spoilers.)

UNIT has a problem.  For the past few years, they’ve been secretly running a program to integrate displaced Zygons into the general human population, with the alien shapeshifters adopting the forms of humans they’ve encountered.  Now, though, a radical sect of Zygons is tired of hiding; they’re revealing themselves, attacking humans and using the images of their loved ones against them, and planning to take possession of the Earth.  The Doctor and Clara are called in to help deal with the increasingly-volatile situation.

First, the elephant in the room.  Yes, this episode brings back UNIT scientist and Doctor super-fan Osgood, despite her apparent death in a previous story.  However, kudos to the show for not inexplicably raising her from the dead, which has happened several times in recent years.  I like story logic, and I love Osgood, so I’m really glad the show was able to bring her back without “cheating,” using plot elements from “The Day of the Doctor” to their advantage.  Overall, she’s used really well in the story; I’m looking forward to seeing where they go with her next week.  Other good bits?  Some nice creepiness, creative use of Zygon abilities, and a guest appearance by Rebecca Front from The Thick of It – I may have shouted, “Nicola Murray!” at my TV.  And generally, the episode does a nice job of showing the sort of paranoia that a Zygon-specific threat can create, since the enemy can make themselves look like literally anyone.  That said, there’s a lot of idiot-plotting from UNIT, and a big twist feels really obvious to me.  I’m a bit neutral on both the Doctor and Clara here.  I’m not sure why; both contribute and do things, but they feel a little blank to me.

Now, for the part that gives me pause.  The Zygon situation seems to serve largely as a metaphor for immigration, xenophobia, and terrorism, with particularly strong parallels to the number of refugees currently moving across Europe.  There’s talk against the sudden influx of new arrivals (Zygons disguised as humans) in various places, with specific references to the “odd” unwanted newcomers not having any jobs and leeching benefits.  The radical Zygon group uses a lot of imagery that evokes thoughts of ISIS and other contemporary terrorist organizations, and it’s no mistake that their training camp is located in a (fictional) Middle Eastern country.  Furthermore, the Doctor tries to emphasize the fact that the hostile Zygons are a small splinter group, while the majority of the Zygons living on Earth are peaceful and just want to get on with their lives.  He even points out that the Zygon terrorists are trying to whip the humans into a frenzy and incite them into extreme action, which will only serve to radicalize the rest of the Zygon population.

The parallels are interesting, and the Doctor’s more balanced views are greatly appreciated, but there’s a major flaw here.  Namely, by and large the only Zygons we see are the extremists.  It’s all very well to talk about outliers and call for compassion toward a mostly-peaceful group of displaced people, but we really only see one major example of this innocuous majority.  Instead, it’s all drooling Zygon monsters manipulating humans psychologically and killing them in brutal ways.  Again, I’m going to wait and see how it plays out next week, but this kind of story needs multiple sympathetic Zygon characters to work, and so far, I’m not seeing it.