Doctor Who: "The Zygon Invasion" Review

"The Zygon Invasion" begins yet another less than exciting Doctor Who adventure...

Series 9 of Doctor Who has been less than impressive thus far. There has been nothing awful, but only two great episodes. Everything has been somewhat "meh" and lacking the energy of previous seasons. The series is still better most other shows on television, but Doctor Who is held to a higher standard than other shows. Unfortunately, "The Zygon Invasion" continues the run of "not half-bad" episodes...

*Spoilers Ahead*

"The Zygon Invasion" opens with scenes from the "Day of the Doctor," which made me miss the brilliant David Tennant all the more, and it ties the Zygon treaty into the storyline of the episode. Basically, a faction of Zygons is trying to start a war, and the Doctor must stop them before things get out of hand.

Members of UNIT return, including fan favorite, Osgood, who is now sporting questions marks in reference to the Seventh Doctor, Sylvester McCoy, although other previous Doctors wore question marks at various points as well. The question mark collar did spark a fun conversation about the Doctor's question mark underpants.

Towards the end of the episode, UNIT's combat squad foolishly walks right into the Zygon's trap. Sure, shooting someone that looks like your family would be nigh impossible, but at least make it answer a tough question, instead of avoiding the question. And UNIT should have had snipers in position to take out the targets if necessary. Come on, the writers could have come up with something smarter to move the plot along.

Visually, the "New Mexico" setting is different, although I doubt it was actually filmed in the state, or even North America. Correct me if I am wrong, but they probably filmed in that place in Spain where the westerns are filmed. 

A nice twist at the end is that Clara is actually a Zygon, and the real Clara is captured. It was not exactly a shocking revelation, but certainly a fun twist to end the episode on. My only problem with it is that Clara continues to be sidelined when this is her final season, and she is, yet again, separated from the Doctor, who she works so well with.  

On one last note, The Doctor playing "Amazing Grace" on the guitar is, indeed, amazing!

Overall: 7.0/10- As entertaining as always, "The Zygon Invasion" is yet another decent episode of Doctor Who that neither impresses nor disappoints. 

Episode Reviews:

• "Under the Lake"
• "The Witch's Familiar"
• "The Magician's Apprentice"
• "Before the Flood"
• "The Girl Who Died"
• "The Woman Who Lived"

Other Reviews:

• Child of the 70s Review

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