Truth or Consequences.
It’s the name of an old game show that eventually became the name of a town in New Mexico.
Now, it’s a slogan for an alien invasion that apparently has been successful, with the Doctor, and Earth, the apparent losers.
“The Zygon Invasion,” however, is really a parable of the immigrant experience, a subject that only sci-fi can touch in a certain way.
It’s interesting the episode has its roots in the 50th anniversary special, “The Day of the Doctor,” where the Zygons turn themselves into UNIT personnel, including Kate Stewart (Jemma Redgrave) and Osgood (Ingrid Oliver), and almost start a war, if not for an interesting way to negotiate a peace treaty.
They came up with a secret way for 20 million Zygons to live on Earth. The symbol of this would be Original Osgood and her Zygon clone, who are only different in which Doctor they prefer. They made a video in case the arrangement goes wrong, or if one of them dies.
Now a certain group of Zygons want to live as they really are, and will shape-shift their way into taking over.
The interesting thing about this video is both Osgoods emphasize their species can be quite friendly and reasonable. The Zygons shape-shift because it’s a survival mechanism, and they can get along…mainly. They also point out any species can be good or evil, depending on the circumstances. One rogue person can ruin it all. What happens afterwards proves their point.
They also have “the Osgood box”, which they hope won’t be needed.
Cut to Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, where Osgood is grabbed by Zygons for some reason and then transported to Turzmenistan. However, she still texts the Doctor telling him about the “nightmare scenario.” At least he has some idea who the hidden Zygons are, including two little girls who look over the Zygons in the UK. Unfortunately, they get killed by the rebel Zygons.
UNIT wonders what it can do. Blasting them is considered, but the Doctor says that’s certain to make all Zygons angry at humans, not just the splinter group that wants to live as their real selves.
Another hint that this episode is a commentary on the treatment of immigrants: a couple of Zygons try to imitate an Indian couple.
The Doctor heads to Turzmenistan, but finds they’re planning to bomb Zygons there. The drone operator can’t, because they change into her family. Another Zygon pretends to be the mother of a solider named Hitchley (Todd Kramer). Osgood is found, along with a Zygon who’s happy to explain his kind has been infiltrating the Earth for a year and are now ready for battle.
Kate heads to New Mexico, where she encounters a police officer named Norlander (Gretchen Egolf). She recalls how some “odd” people settled into town two years before. Then, one of them revealed itself as a Zygon, and a child saw it happen. That’s when people were kidnapped by the Zygons, and yes, that includes the officer. Kate learns this too late, however. It looks like Zygon Kate will take over UNIT…unless it’s Kate pretending to be a Zygon copy. It not only gives Earth a chance, but may teach her something about the Zygon point of view.
Clara and Jac (Jaye Griffiths) stay in London, where they find some Zygon pods underground. Clara thinks the pods should be burned, then she sees her own face. Then she remembers…she’s not Clara, she’s Bonnie, the Zygon fake. Clara was zapped by the fake Indian couple, and Bonnie, as Clara, has been gathering valuable information.
As the two Osgoods pointed out, Zygons shape-shift to infiltrate other worlds and live peacefully, if they’re allowed to do so. With what happened in New Mexico, and other places in the world where they tried to fit in, enough Zygons decided if the humans won’t welcome them, they’ll just take over by being human.
That’s why Osgood telling the Doctor she considers both human and Zygon, because she was linked with the other Osgood, is interesting. She says she is the peace. When the other Osgood was killed by Missy last season, she went mad in grief and left, before she was found in New Mexico.
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She also says that after a Zygon gets enough information from the human it’s imitating, the original can die and the Zygon doesn’t have to change back. If that is true, the Doctor has to stop Bonnie the Zygon, despite the fact she now has Clara’s face.
It may be a moot point, because Bonnie fires a missle at the plane with the Doctor, Osgood and the Zygon inside…and it sounds like she didn’t miss.
There will be an episode next week, with the Zygons, apparently, triumphant…unless someone finds “the Osgood box”.
