The Zygon Inversion (TV story)
The Zygon Inversion was the eighth episode of the ninth series of Doctor Who produced by BBC Wales.
This episode saw the Twelfth Doctor describe the immense pain he felt while fighting in the Time War in an emotional and angry speech for the first time since his predecessor discovered that the War Doctor had not destroyed Gallifrey in The Day of the Doctor. It also revealed that there are two Osgood Boxes, and their design is based on that of the Moment; this symbolises how the Doctor nearly destroyed his entire race with a box in The Day of the Doctor, just as Kate and Bonnie were about to destroy theirs.
It did not elaborate if the human Osgood or Zygon double was still alive, instead having Bonnie fill the vacancy in the form of a replacement double for the one of the two who had been killed by Missy in Death in Heaven. Osgood explains that she can be either version; Zygons don't need the person that they copy if their memories are unneeded. In a behind the scenes extra, Ingrid Oliver, who played Osgood, has chosen which of the original Osgood duo is left; she keeps which one she picked a secret, even from the story's co-writer and executive producer Steven Moffat.[source needed]
It also saw a new way of Zygon-transformation for the first time, showing the immense pain of a lengthy forced transformation from human-form into Zygon-form. It also shows Zygons can now read the minds of their enemies and take the form of their loved ones; using this method, they can disarm their enemies and leave them vulnerable
Synopsis
With the splinter group of Zygons now ahead of the Doctor, there is only one thing standing in their way of obliterating the human race and taking the Earth for themselves: a moral dilemma!
Is Bonnie willing to compromise the peace already in place, just for the sake of Zygons not needing to hide, even if it means making enemies not only of humanity, but of her own race?
Plot
Clara awakens in what seems to her apartment. However, she soon finds many inconsistencies with her home, such as the lack of windows and being unable to leave. Remembering her past encounter with the Kantrofarri, Clara checks a magazine, finding it filled with gibberish; she's dreaming. She soon hears Bonnie's voice as the television in the living room turns on, showing exactly what she sees. Clara, realising that the Twelfth Doctor is in danger, forces minimal control over Bonnie, making her miss her first shot with a rocket launcher. Bonnie pays no mind to this, thinking she slipped up; she fires another rocket at Boat One, this time destroying it.
Later, members of the splinter group have murdered humans, and are busy cleaning up the remains. A man named Etoine runs into a Zygon disguised as a sanitation engineer; he quickly runs into his apartment building in fear. Not too far behind him, Bonnie is following at a casual pace. Etoine locks himself inside his home, but Bonnie breaks the door down with little effort; she knows he's a fellow Zygon. She goes on to explain that they will no longer need to hide, and will be themselves; despite Etoine's pleas to leave him be, Bonnie says he'll be the first to change back. Receiving a zap to his temples, Etoine runs away. He rushes outside, where the splinter group watch him change back into his Zygon form. He quickly runs into a near-by conveinence store. At the same time, Bonnie was recording his return to Zygon form; she smiles wickedly.
Meanwhile, inside Clara's dream, she watches the footage of the plane being blown up again. However, she spots two dots - parachutes - falling away from the debris; the Doctor and Osgood survived, but everyone else, including the Zygon captive, was killed in the explosion.
At the scene of the crash, Osgood manages to get her parachute off, calling for the Doctor. She looks near-by, seeing the Doctor free himself of his own parachute, which has a Union Jack printed on it. He asks if she has any questions, to which Osgood asks about the parachute; the Doctor explains that it's for being incognito in the UK. Seeing that Osgood's glasses are broken, the Doctor lends her his sonic sunglasses until they can tape hers back together; Osgood laugh at the idea, comparing it to a visual hearing aid. The Doctor takes offense, asking what's wrong with something pointless; he once created an invisible watch - "spot the design flaw". He walks off, telling her not to look at his browser history; she does so, becoming surprised.
Osgood is curious about they're survival; Bonnie tried blowing them up with a bazooka. The Doctor tells her "this [them] blown up by a big bazooka." Osgood laughs, knowing he talks none-sense to calm others. She then tells him something is off, because if she wanted to invade earth, she would've killed him - never letting him talk and shooting him between the eyes for each regeneration. The Doctor is surprised, noting Osgood has planned this out; she explains it's because she's a big fan of his. Osgood further notes that Bonnie gave the Doctor a chance to escape; she has Clara's body print and therefore access to her mind. If Bonnie had Clara's memories, she should have known better than to give him a chance. Osgood then notices that the Doctor has gone silent since she mentioned Clara; she reassures him that there is a good chance Clara's is still alive. The Doctor tells Osgood that he's in his hope phase.
Meanwhile, Clara focuses intently; she manages to gain control of Bonnie's right hand, making her send a text to the Doctor. Bonnie remains unaware of this action. The text - "I am awake" - is received, confusing the Doctor and Osgood . The Doctor wonders if it means a political awakening, but then is puzzled by this; she thinks she blew them up, why would she be sending him propaganda. Osgood smiles, realizing that Clara is fighting back; she asks how the Doctor's hope phase is. Once the Doctor confirms his hope is worse than ever, she tells him they have a game now.
Bonnie enters the UNIT safe house and opens a safe behind a picture of the First Doctor. Inside is a laptop, which she opens. A message appears on the screen - the two Osgoods explain the Osgood Box again, and that if one of them has been captured, they have given the location of this message to their captor. However, the joke is on the person who found this; the Osgood Box isn't in the UNIT safe house, so it's pointless to keep looking. The message then snidely asks the viewer if they have figured out why it's called an Osgood Box. Bonnie slams the laptop to the ground and stomps on it in anger.
Back at the crash site, the Doctor and Osgood attempt to get help from a police car. Passing himself off as "Dr John Disco", the Doctor tells the police officers that his plane blew up, but there's nothing to worry about. As the officers don't say anything, the Doctor and Osgood realize that they are Zygons from Truth or Consequences; the duo being walking away. As the officers block that end of the street, the Doctor video calls Bonnie, leader of the splinter group. To the Doctor's surprise, Bonnie says she has no real plan; she demands to the location of the Osgood Box. He then notices Bonnie is winking at him - "Your sending some mixed messages. Do you know what winking means? I'm over 2000 years old. I'm old enough to be your messiah!" At the same time, the Doctor quietly instructs Osgood on how to use the sonic sunglasses to open and hot-wire a nearby van. Remembering Osgood's theory, the Doctor decides to use "twenty questions" with Clara's winks to find out where she is.
Once the Doctor learns that Clara is being held in London, he instructs her through Bonnie not to let the Zygons into her memories. He boards the van with Osgood and they take off for London. Osgood points out that Bonnie obviously heard him, and that she can get into Clara's mind. The Doctor laughs, laughing that Bonnie could end up trapped in Clara's mind. Osgood notes that it's the first time that she's seen this version of him smile; the Doctor agrees, his smile is dazzling.
At the Zygon nest, Bonnie approaches Clara's pod and telepathically talks to her; Bonnie appears on the TV screen in Clara's dream. Clara decides to test the link, forcing Bonnie briefly back to her own form. Bonnie can't access the important memories in Clara's head and must talk to her to learn what they are; Clara calls Bonnie's bluffs as she's dealt with this scenario numerous times. However, Clara makes the mistake of claiming to be a good liar; Bonnie decides to use their shared pulse as a lie detection method - if Clara's pulse increases, so will Bonnie's. Bonnie interrogates her, learning the Osgood Box is at the Black Archive, and that Clara has access. However, Clara taunts Bonnie, saying that even though she's given this information, the Zygon will still need her. "Kate" arrives, explaining that the Doctor is on his way; Bonnie orders that he be copied, if possible, but disposed.
Seeing the video Bonnie posted on the Internet, the Doctor and Osgood head to find the Zygon she attacked in the south London shopping centre the Fleet Estate Centre. They enter finding numerous piles of what used to be people. The Doctor asks Osgood for her first name, learning that its Petronella; he decides she's better of with her last name. They find Etoine, who is having trouble maintaining his human form due to the zap Bonnie gave him; he says all he wanted was to live in peace, but Truth or Consequences wouldn't let him. All those remains were humans that attacked him; he only killed in self-defense.The Doctor and Osgood try calming him, but the Zygon kills himself out of fear.
Kate arrives with two UNIT guards, explaining they found the Zygon nest. The Doctor is glad to hear this news, as now he can begin reestablishing peace. Descending to the Zygon nest, they find the pods; Kate tells them Clara's missing. Osgood realizes the trio are Zygons; the guards return to their proper forms. However, Kate shoots them dead, apologizing as she knows the Doctor doesn't approve of this method. The Doctor wonders who she is, learning that Kate is herself; when the Zygon attacked her back in New Mexico, she emptied her gun into it. Kate took the Zygon's place to get close to Bonnie. The Doctor laments the deaths - "Why does keeping the peace always involve killing?"
At the Black Archive, Bonnie learns why the device is called the "Osgood" Box - there's two of them. Bonnie has Clara awakened, but finds that she doesn't know which of the boxes is the right one; Clara points out that Bonnie should have already known this because their minds are linked. The Doctor, Osgood and Kate arrive; Kate and Bonnie each stand before a box, discovering that under lids each has two buttons labelled "Truth" or "Consequences". Bonnie's box will either cause the Zygons to revert to their true forms for an hour or cancels their ability to change form, thus making them human for good; Kate's box will either release Z-67 (a Zygon- killing gas created by Harry Sullivan) into the atmosphere or detonate the nuclear warhead beneath the Black Archive. The Doctor boasts to them - "There are safeguards beyond safeguards. I did this on a very important day for me. This ceasefire will stand!"
Comparing her to a child having a tantrum, the Doctor points out Bonnie hasn't thought ahead about the destruction her desire for war will being; even if she wipes out humanity, there would still be trouble-making Zygons. With both Kate and Bonnie willing to press their buttons, the Doctor can't resist making fun of the situation in a game show announcer voice; he then snaps at them, saying this is a scale model of war. This situation is what it always boils down to: two sides sitting down to negotiation after too much suffering and death. After Bonnie says the Doctor could never understand her situation, the Doctor launches into an agonized tirade, screaming that he fought in a war bigger than she could imagine and when he closes his eyes, he can still hear the screaming of the victims.
He tells Bonnie that what you do with this pain is to hold it tight until it burns your hands, and say: "No-one else will ever have to live like this. No-one else will ever have to feel this pain." Bonnie is swayed by the Doctor's words, telling him she's figured out that the boxes are empty. The Doctor smiles, pointing out that she's only figured this out because she has started to think like him; and having to think like that all your life is hell. The Osgood Boxes were based on another one, which he was going to use for genocide to end the madness of his war; however, he let Clara get in his head and help him see that there was a better method. However, Kate is less than amused. Telling Kate that she's already scolded him fifteen times, the Doctor again wipes her memory with the device in the ceiling. However, Bonnie was allowed her memories, so as to prevent this disaster again.
Bonnie returns to her nest, telling her comrades the revolution is over and that they're safe. Outside the nest, the Doctor asks Osgood to travel with him; however, she turns him down, saying that she needs to be around to make the Nightmare Scenario work out like this again. Per the Doctor's request, Clara hugs Osgood on his behalf. However, the Doctor is left bewildered that Osgood never thought of what the TARDIS stood for; he tells her it stands for "Totally And Radically Driving In Space". However, at that moment, a second Osgood appears, saying that the day she will answer if she's human or Zygon is the day that nobody cares about the answer. The two of them explaining that it wouldn't be OK to use Clara's face when there's a vacancy for an Osgood. Both of them say that it doesn't matter which is Osgood and which is Bonnie, only that Osgood lives. The Doctor compliments the Osgoods that Osgood is a credit to her species. Both Osgoods reply that they're a credit to both species.
After the TARDIS departs, both Osgoods decide to get ice cream before heading back to work.
Cast
- The Doctor - Peter Capaldi
- Clara - Jenna Coleman
- Osgood - Ingrid Oliver
- Kate - Jemma Redgrave
- Etoine - Nicholas Asbury
- Zygons - Aidan Cook, Tom Wilton, Jack Parker
- Voice of the Zygons - Nicholas Briggs
Uncredited cast
- Bonnie - Jenna Coleman, Ingrid Oliver
- Police officer - Ben Nash[1]
- Police officer - Jon Davey[2]
Crew
| Executive Producers Steven Moffat and Brian Minchin |
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| Not every person who worked on this adventure was credited. The absence of a credit for a position doesn't necessarily mean the job wasn't required. The information above is based solely on observations of the actual end credits of the episodes as broadcast, and does not relay information from IMDB or other sources. |
References
- The Fleet Estate Centre is visited.
- The block of flats that Etoine lives in is called Meelfe House.
- Spooner Minicabs is seen.
- Piacentini's barber shop is seen.
- A BBC News report is seen.
The Doctor
- The Doctor jokes to Osgood that his real name is "Basil".
- The Doctor jokes that as he is over 2000 years old, he is old enough to be the Messiah.
- The Doctor jokes around with Bonnie, using puns, calling himself "Doctor Pun-tastic".
- The Doctor escapes the plane in a parachute with a Union Flag on it. Similarly, James Bond used a parachute with a Union Flag on it to sky-dive in the movie The Spy Who Loved Me.
- The Doctor once created an invisible watch, which had an obvious terrible design flaw.
- The Doctor keeps a browser history in his sonic sunglasses, and advises Osgood not to look at it.
- Osgood says that if she wanted to kill the Doctor, she would do so quickly by shooting him in the head, twelve times if necessary, referring to his regeneration cycle.
- The Doctor apparently has question marks on his underwear.
Clara
- Clara has apparently unfettered access to the Black Archive.
- The newspaper in Clara's dream that she checks to ensure she's dreaming reads gibberish, indicating that to her it holds no significance.
Zygons
- The Zygons have a communication device that works the same way a phone do.
Bonnie
- Bonnie is compared to a child having a tantrum by the Doctor.
- Bonnie is nicknamed "Zygella" by the Doctor.
Conflict
- The Doctor likens Bonnie's proposed war on humanity to a game compared to the scale of the Time War.
Cultural references
- The Doctor affects an American accent and briefly impersonates a stereotypical game show host.
- The concept of a box containing a secret that was revealed after the contestant chooses which button to push was an aspect of the real-life Truth or Consequences TV game show.
Story notes
to be added
Ratings
- BBC One Overnight: 4.13 million
- BBC America Overnight: to be added
- Final UK ratings: 6.03 million
Filming location
to be added
Production errors
- When the Doctor, Clara, and Osgood arrive at the TARDIS, the Doctor is a few feet away from it. In the next shot, he is standing right next to it.
- When the pod lid is taken off you can see Clara's hair is messed up but when the Doctor is talking to Bonnie and Kate her hair is bushed and neat.
Continuity
- The painting of the First Doctor in the Unit Safe House opens to reveal a safe. (TV: The Zygon Invasion)
- Osgood's comment that killing the Doctor would require her to shoot him twelve times is both a reference to how a Time Lord can usually regenerate only twelve times. (TV: The Deadly Assassin, The Time of the Doctor)
- In her dream, Clara hears Bonnie's last words for the Doctor before firing the missile launcher, as well as the missile being fired. (TV: The Zygon Invasion)
- A government worker is sweeping some electrical wire-human-leftovers. Some leftovers are also seen in the Fleet Estate Centre. (TV: The Zygon Invasion)
- Kate Stewart explains that she survived her encounter with a Zygon by firing "five rounds rapid," a phrase used by her father. (TV: The Dæmons)
- The Doctor uses his iPhone again. (TV: The Zygon Invasion) He and Bonnie at one point communicate using Facetime. (TV: Before the Flood)
- Boat One is blown up again. (TV: Death in Heaven)
- The Doctor mentions Morse code. (TV: Under the Lake)
- The Doctor says he used the plane to "ponce about". (TV: The Zygon Invasion)
- The Doctor uses his psychic paper. (TV: The End of the World et.al.)
- The Doctor nicknames himself "John Disco", a mix of "Doctor Disco" (TV: The Zygon Invasion) and "John Smith". (TV: School Reunion)
- Bonnie watches the video filmed by the Osgoods. (TV: The Zygon Invasion)
- The naval surgeon who invented the anti-Zygon gas Z-67 is named Sullivan. (TV: Terror of the Zygons, The Zygon Invasion) The Doctor calls him an imbecile, just as he once did in his fourth incarnation. (TV: Revenge of the Cybermen)
- Osgood's glasses are broken. (TV: Death in Heaven)
- Clara urges Bonnie to kill her by saying "go on, then", when Bonnie threatens her. She previously did the same with the Half-Face Man, a trick she in turn learned from Courtney Woods. (TV: Deep Breath)
- Clara says she's a great liar. (TV: Death in Heaven, et al)
- The Doctor says he has spent a lot of time getting doomed to Extermination, but that doesn't mean he likes it.
- The Doctor's sonic sunglasses are used. (TV: The Magician's Apprentice et.al.)
- A new-design Cyberman head is seen in the Black Archive. (TV: The Age of Steel et.al.)
- The blackboard with previous companions is seen. (TV: The Day of the Doctor)
- The Doctor mentions how the TARDIS doesn't work properly. (TV: An Unearthly Child, et al)
- The Black Archive is revisited and the memory-eraser is reactivated. The beginning of the peace-treaty is also mentioned. (TV: The Day of the Doctor) The archive has been sealed and only the Osgoods, the Doctor and Clara Oswald are known to have access to it.
- The battle helmet of a Mire is in the Black Archive. (TV: The Girl Who Died)
- The Doctor recalls the intense pain of his experiences in the Last Great Time War. Furthermore, the Osgood Boxes are directly based off the Moment to reflect the way his wartime self struggled not to use its destructive potential. (TV: The Day of the Doctor)
- Osgood wears a facsimile of the Seventh Doctor's outfit, with a duffel coat. (TV: The Curse of Fenric)
- Clara performs a "dream check" to gauge the state of her reality when she wakes up. (TV: Last Christmas)
- The Doctor claims that one of the buttons in the blue Osgood Box would cancel the Zygons' ability to change form, making them human forever. An actual Zygon ability to take a permanent human form was revealed in AUDIO: The Zygon Who Fell to Earth.
- Clara again finds herself fighting back against someone who has taken over her mind. (COMIC: The Swords of Kali)
- The Doctor says "Gotcha" to Bonnie when she blinked Clara's location and when he knew he had convinced Bonnie to stand down. A second Osgood surprises the Doctor with a "Gotcha" as well. The Eleventh Doctor and Amy Pond also said "Gotcha" to each other (TV: The Beast Below, The Big Bang)
Home video releases
DVD releases
to be added
Blu-ray releases
to be added
External links
- Transcript of The Zygon Inversion at Chrissie's Transcripts Site
Footnotes
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