WARNING: Due to the nature of this episode, this review will contain spoilers - I recommend reading it after you watch the episode if you do not wish to be spoiled from any of the major plotlines present in this episode.
With the Doctor and an Osgood most certainly dead at the hands of a duplicated version of the otherwise faithful companion Clara who happens to be the leader of the Zygon revolution (was the commander just looking for a good-looking person to take the form of or was she just chilling at the apartment complex?) and Kate Stewart seemingly duplicated also in the depths of America, this week's episode of Doctor Who is perhaps opening following one of the show's biggest cliffhangers in years. And while The Zygon Invasion may not be the magnum opus that some would consider it during a series of ups and downs, it was nonetheless enjoyable and successful in setting the stage. So with this, The Zygon Inversion, it faces a number of issues ranging from the Osgood conundrum to whether or not an ISIS allegory story can end good enough for a show as usually timeless as this...
With the Doctor and Osgood (Peter Capaldi and Ingrid Oliver respectively) surviving the crash partially thanks to a small bit of misaiming from 'Bonnie' (Jenna Coleman) due to an overpowering Clara within her mind – maybe; it isn't entirely explained why she isn't just in a comatose state and instead has minor control of her duplicate – it appears that the fate of the Zygon revolution is down to just them, as they must get back into the action before Bonnie gains access to the elusive Osgood Box: a mysterious device which has the power to kickstart a war between mankind and Zygon. And with Bonnie only taking her own needs into account with the war, the Doctor must teach the rebel the truth – and yes the consequences – of her actions before it's too late.
Past that remains a ruthless depiction of Oswald where she does such diabolical things like turn a Zygon back and forth from human form to make a viral video which no-one bats an eyelid to (evidently Zygons aren't great actors and the news reports don't talk about it for long) but also the whole Osgood box ordeal, which I'll return to shortly because we need to discuss the elephant in the room: where did Rebecca Front go? A big part in the human side of wanting to fight against the aliens last week, this time she's completely gone without a trace or even a mention. Could this be classed as a nitpick? Perhaps, but as someone who strongly represents why we should be at war it seems off that she vanishes when the debacle gets intense and when she could be actively involved. Anywho, the surviving duo of Doc and Ossie come across a mix of "Which one are you?" Pandering and actual tension with the Zygon rebels, leading to some genuinely interesting events with the innocents and an incursion within the tunnels. That does of course lead to the return of Jemma Redgrave whose predictable survival was a tad too obvious despite how hard the actress tries at both being evil and giving fan-bait quotes seriously as service to the fangirls who somehow know what "Five rounds rapid!" is a reference to.
And with that comes the ending that things kick up a notch, with the Day of the Doctor sequelising coming to play outside of just continuing the subplot that many where disappointed was brushed aside at the time. Instead, we get a mild retread of the barn scene where the three Doctors discuss an alternate way to end the war instead of using the box macguffin thanks partially to Clara...except in this case Clara's involvement stops at being the person mimicked by the bad guy as opposed to directly affecting the actions made. Nothing wrong with that though, as this time Capaldi gets his most Doctor-ish performance out and finally proves his worth as the Time Lord. You see, prior to this The Zygon Inversion had him doing the same-old blend of Matt Smith jokes, serious discussions and worrying about Clara's safety that we've had for the majority of his run (the latter part obviously being a recent addition to count towards the referencing of the character leaving in a matter of weeks) which didn't make the Twelfth Doctor feel like an actual Doctor of his own. But here? He finally shows up in a stellar performance with great dialogue written by Peter Harness and (probably to a lesser degree) Steven Moffat. Sure, it is undermined slightly by the comment that this has actually happened before with a quick memory wipe, but that doesn't stop the scene from losing any impact.
Many are considering The Zygon Inversion to be an instant classic just because of those last scenes; quickly forgetting the patchwork on the 30 minutes that preceded it in favour to consider Capaldi a great Doctor. And while the episode is still quite good, it is still riddled with numerous problems which can't exactly be overlooked so easily – especially that final Osgood reveal which doesn't do anything other than promise that the only way we'll get rid of her (not that I dislike her, mind you) is if Oliver herself dies. It still has a few issues that the more recent years consider a necessity to each episode, and a few plotholes here and there, but as a performance-based adventure which at least gives a good message to younger audiences about war is nothing to be sniffed at. It's not a fun episode, but it is a really good one. 7/10.
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