I'm getting lots of allegorical vibes from this episode. They seem to be trying to draw parallels between the Zygon high command and Islamic State.

It wasn't exactly subtle :lol:

It wasn't exactly subtle :lol:

 

Probably the least subtle real-world reference in Doctor Who since the mention of "massive weapons of destruction" that can be activated within "45 seconds" in 'World War Three'.

That was my favourite episode of the series so far, felt like a proper Who episode with no silly confusing bits, and a threat that felt real for a change. I hope the second part lives up to the first!

Probably my favourite episode of the series, since the opening double episode which was just as good. Let's hope the second episode of the two parter lives up to the first, thoroughly enjoyed that, its probably on par with the Jon Pertwee era. I did see a bit of tumbleweed flying about in Mexico, :heehee: nothing new there.

That was my favourite episode in a long time! None of the confusing timey-wimey stuff, just pure action and drama. I've seen people refer to this story as Peter Capaldi's "Doctor moment" and I can definitely see that being true if part one is an indication.

Edited November 1, 20159 yr by burbe

Seemed to borrow ftom several world event rebel causes and events incl IS and ukraine which has slways been the strength of sci fi - to take people conflicts and comment without upset, politicians and radicals dont usually connect monsters with the real world. Too busy being monsters.

Best episode of the series so far for sure. The Zygons always had quite a minimal and mute part when they featured in the 50th anniversary episode, so glad to see an episode where they took center stage. I agree that it was good to see straight out action, suspense and drama than dawdling and overly complicated explanations, just hope next week can deliver as well.

 

I think the political/IS message is effectively done and it's good to see Doctor Who tackling this more, Especially as recently with these 'historical romps' and all, it's been turning too much into a fantasy show, which is fine and all but I much prefer when it's proper speculative science fiction - tackling and extrapolating issues in the real world today.

Edited November 1, 20159 yr by Chez Wombat

That was indeed an excellent episode which lived up to my high expectations! Really interesting story to tell as the alien threat is of course much harder to solve and it reflects what is happening in the world right now. It was very good to twist that real life situation on it's head by making everyone very wary of the British immigrants. The story had a great global aspect to it and the way that it was pulled of, really did make it feel like the big movie conspiracy thriller it was trying to be.

 

My standout scene was the very unnerving confrontation between the soldier and the Zygon pretending to be his mother which really was perfect to highlight the paranoia. Loved the ending/cliffhanger too, which makes you really excited to see how they all actually live. I thought it was a bit strange that Clara just left the child with the parents at the start but I still never saw her being a Zygon coming!

 

The Zygon's are an excellent monster, the design of them is absolutely brilliant and I'm glad they were given a chance to be centre stage again!

Moffat has said in an interview that Clara's exit will "shock, terrify and surprise" and that

she will never return

.

Episode 8: The Zygon Inversion

http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/640x360/p036x78t.jpg

Discuss the episode below, full spoilers will therefore follow

full thoughts later but what an EXCELLENT two parter that was. After the previous two have been slightly off for me, that brought what Doctor Who is right to the forefront again. Peter Capaldi gave his best performance yet imo and the box scene provided his biggest 'Doctor moment' yet.

I couldn't agree more, it was a superb episode on all counts. Character moments were very much present and strong, but this time, the villians weren't just an afterthought like they have been in many recent episodes sadly. Excellent acting from everyone too, it's exactly what I want from a Who episode. Job well done, my favourite story of the series *.*

Seriously amazing. Definitely the best two parter of the series so far and Peter Capaldi definitely had his Doctor moment. Less action packed than the first part, but the dialogue and the Doctor's incredible speech on war made the episode. Also, yet more foreshadowing that Clara will probably die :(

The final fifteen minutes were incredible, and the Osgood Box scene was just so beautifully done. The ending was great too. I'm glad we never found out which Osgood was which, although really for another Osgood duplicate to be made, the source would still need to be 'active' (or alive), so it must have been the original Zygon duplicate that was killed by Missy in 'Death in Heaven'.

The Box scene was so powerful, I think it's my favourite Peter Capaldi moment so far. Next ep looks very sci-fi-ey, can't wait!

a good part 2, I emotionally loved the speechifying Doctor and the ending, a villain turned good is always irresistable. I doubt any radical murdering psycho would be persuaded by any speech, no matter how good, but I want to believe.....

The synopsis for 'Hell Bent' has been released, and it confirms something MAJOR!

The Doctor finds Gallifrey, and the Time Lords return.

That was such a borefest. And by the looks of things, Twitter agreed with me.

Yeah, that didn't really work unfortunately. Intriguing concept, but found footage is a tad overused in films these days so it's always touch and go whether it works or not and this one didn't.

 

Like it was...clever? I guess, but it dragged a lot (ironic considering it was meant to be an 'entertaining story' that the professor created!) , the plot had WAY too many holes in it and the acting was generally poor from the crew, plus the found footage element handicapped the story in places and didn't make full use of it. Doctor Who could've quite worked quite well with found footage, but this wasn't it.

 

Shame, as it was coming after a brilliant two parter that was right up there with Tennant era 06-08 standard.

Aww I thought that was actually really good, definitely one of the better Mark Gatiss stories (perhaps helped that it wasn't a historical for once!). It maybe relied upon being found footage a bit too much, taking away from the actual story a bit and having a character say 'pet' at the end of every sentence doesn't make them developed but I enjoyed the different take of the traditional Doctor Who story.

 

Plus, that ending is definitely one of the best of the show. It's such a brilliant and terrifying concept to make the viewer at home feel like THEY'VE been turned into a monster purely by watching it. Watching him turn into the dust was truly shocking as well.