Doctor Who The Zygon Inversion Review

Tags

Clara Oswald, Daniel Nettheim, Doctor Who, Doctor Who Series 9, Doctor Who The Zygon Inversion, Ingrid Oliver, Jemma Redgrave, Jenna Coleman, Kate Stewart, Osgood, Peter Capaldi, Peter Harness, Steven Moffat, The Doctor, The Zygon Inversion, The Zygons, UNIT, Zygons

The Zygon Inversion

Review by Paul Bowler

[Contains Spoilers]

20 million Zygons were granted asylum on Earth by UNIT, they have lived peacefully alongside humanity, unnoticed, but now a breakaway Zygon faction wants to take over the world. The Zygon revolution has begun! The fate of the Earth is sealed inside a Box in the Black Archive, but only the Doctor knows what’s inside. Now with UNIT neutralised and the Zygons in control, Clara cocooned in a Zygon pod and her evil Zygon doppelganger “Bonnie” on the loose, the Doctor and Osgood must reach London at all costs, but nobody can be trusted now. However, there is one last hope, because the box in the Black Archive is a very special box, its Osgood’s Box, and it will decided the fate of this conflict once and for all…

The Zygon Inversion concludes this exciting two-part story from Series 9, written by Peter Harness (Kill The Moon) and Doctor Who show runner Steven Moffat, and directed by Daniel Netteim (Line of Duty / Humans), finds the Doctor, Clara, Kate Stewart, Osgood, and UNIT all in peril as the Zygon revolution begins in earnest.

The Zygon Inversion brilliantly resolves the cliff-hanger from The Zygon Invasion, where Clara’s Zygon double, Bonnie, fired a rocket launcher at the Presidential Aircraft just as the Doctor and Osgood where returning to the UK from Turmezistan. An ingenious plot twist wrong foots us right from the outset, using Clara’s unsettling experience as a “live feed” for her Zygon double to provide us with an entirely different perspective of the events leading up to the cliff-hanger. Following their mid-air escape, the Doctor (whose parachute is remarkably patriotic!) and Osgood (the Zygon “sister” of the human Osgood murdered by Missy in the 2014 series finale Death In Heaven) become fugitives as Bonnie searches the UNIT safe house for the location of the Osgood Box. But when the Doctor receives a surprise text message, Osgood realises the real Clara is “awake”, and the subsequent phone conversation between Dr John Disco and Zygella allows Clara to use a non verbal form of communication to tell the Doctor she’s trapped amongst the Zygon pods in the tunnels beneath the streets of London – where the missing civilians are also being held.

The Doctor and Osgood make a fantastic team in The Zygon Inversion, brilliantly played by Peter Capaldi and Ingrid Oliver, these characters work so well together. The chemistry between them is magical and their banter is sure to bring a wry smile to your face, especially when Osgood gets to wear the Sonic Specs after her own glasses were broken, and it soon become clear that Osgood is undoubtedly a big fan of the Doctor! Kate Stewart also has a key role to play in events in this episode, her character has some fantastic scenes, and Jemma Redgrave gives a strong performance as Kate Stewart faces the most challenging decision of all. Jenna Coleman is also fabulous in her roles as both the real Clara Oswald and her villainous Zygon / human duplicate Bonnie. She gets some great scenes when Clara’s consciousness is in the bizarre dream-like reality of her flat while her body is trapped inside the Zygon pod, particularly when Clara has to find a way to endure Bonnie’s interrogation about the Osgood Box to stay alive, and Coleman is also wickedly evil as Bonnie in her quest to use the Osgood Box to end the ceasefire – no matter what the price of victory.

Bonnie’s sinister plan to unmask her fellow Zygons – whether they want it or not – to provoke fear, paranoia, and ultimately war, becomes even more disturbing when the Doctor and Osgood reach the Fleet Estate Centre, and the tragic fate of Etoine (Nicholas Asbury) makes for some of the episodes most emotive and deeply moving scenes. As Bonnie enters the Black Archive with her Zygon guards and Clara’s pod in tow, the Doctor and Osgood are surprised at the Fleet Estate Centre by the unexpected return of Kate Stewart from New Mexico, and accompanied by two UNIT troops they set out to reach the Zygon Command Centre in the tunnels beneath London, where it soon becomes clear not everyone is quite who they seem…

Ever since the Zygons first appeared in the 4^th Doctor story Terror of the Zygons (1975), they have been amongst the series’ most popular monsters, and their long awaited return in The Day of the Doctor (2013) led to the fragile peace between Zygons and Humans that is now under threat in The Zygon Inversion. The Zygon Invasion and The Zygon Inversion has made the new Zygons (Played by Aidan Cook, Tom Wilton, and Jack Parker and brilliantly voiced by Nicholas Briggs) even more menacing than ever before, and the Zygon transformation in The Zygon Inversion are especially graphic. Their shape-changing abilities no longer require the original body print to refresh the Zygons disguise, they can even adopt the form of your nearest and dearest directly from your mind to use against you, and their hands can emit a lethal electric sting. However, as we see with Clara and Bonnie in this episode, Zygon live links can work both ways and be used against them. The differences between Zygons who want to live in peace on Earth and the splinter Zygon faction from the younger brood that wants to conquer the world are thrown into sharp contrast in The Zygon Inversion, just as Kate’s views and Bonnie’s stance on the Zygon revolution are also called into question, and the powerful script by Peter Harness and Steven Moffat unflinchingly tackles these challenging issues.

The Zygon Inversion builds towards an exciting finale, as the Doctor, Osgood, Kate, and Clara, find themselves locked in a tense stand-off against Bonnie and the Zygons in the Black Archive, where the mystery of the Osgood Box – which the Doctor left on Earth as the final sanction should the Nightmare Scenario occur – and the reason why both the Zygon and Human Osgood’s were needed is finally revealed at last. It sets in motion a deadly game of truth or consequences. Peter Capaldi’s powerful speech here, to break the cycle and broker peace once more between Zygons and Humans, is sure to be heralded one of this series’ defining moments, it’s a truly momentous scene, and Peter Capaldi’s performance is utterly magnificent!

There are a number of nostalgic references in The Zygon Inversion. The 1^st Doctor’s (William Hartnell) portrait is seen again in the UNIT safe house, and we also get another mention of the Z67 Sullivan Gas – a clear link to the 4^th Doctor’s (Tom Baker) companion Naval Surgeon Harry Sullivan (played by Ian Marter). Kate Stewart also gets to use the line “Five rounds rapid!”, a line forever associated with Kate’s father, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (Nicholas Courtney) in the classic 3^rd Doctor story The Daemons (1971). The Doctor also reflects on a time when he was going to press a button in another box, The Moment, during the Time War in The Day of the Doctor. UNIT’s Black Archive also returns, the secret facility played a major role in that story, and eagle eyed viewers will also spot a Mire helmet from The Girl Who Died in the background. The Doctor is also surprised when Osgood admits she doesn’t know what TARDIS stands for as she’s heard there are a couple of different versions of this anachronism. The “D” has been referred to as both “dimension” and “dimensions” at different points in both the classic series and the new series, in An Unearthly Child (1963) the Doctor’s granddaughter, Susan (Carol Ann Ford), claimed she’s made up the name “time and relative dimension in space”, but the Doctor would later go on to tell people the “D” stands for dimensions, when the series returned in 2005 the 9^th Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) explained the name of the TARDIS to Rose (Billie Piper) in her debut adventure but reverted back to “time and relative dimension in space”, and the 12^th Doctor’s ridiculously OTT explanation to Osgood in The Zygon Inversion about what TARDIS really stands for is a fun acknowledgment of Doctor Who’s most unusual quirk in continuity.

With peace finally declared, along with a somewhat convenient mind-wiping re-set switch to restore the post Day of the Doctor status quo between the Zygons and Humans, the wonderful closing scenes with Osgood await us, and what marvellously scripted scenes they are. There are so many fan-pleasing moments in the conclusion of The Zygon Inversion its sure to leave you seeing double, Osgood’s outfit here also takes several elements from seventh Doctor’s (Sylvester McCoy) costume from The Curse of Fenric (1989), and I’m sure that I probably wont be the only one hoping Osgood accepts the Doctor’s offer to travel in the TARDIS one day. Some questions are left unanswered for now, there’s a fun play on first names, and a poignant closing TARDIS interior scene that beautifully judges emotion and time as one and the same.

Proving itself to be anything but the same old same old, The Zygon Inversion is Doctor Who at its very best, and this episode provides an exciting and tense conclusion to this two-part story. The taut script by Peter Harness and Steven Moffat skilfully plays on the issues of identity, trust, and paranoia, while the stories deep philosophical core enables director Daniel Netteim to gradually build this though-provoking episode to a thrilling conclusion. With its strong cast, excellent performances from Peter Capaldi, Ingrid Oliver, Jemma Redgrave, together with Jenna Coleman’s brilliantly acted dual role as Clara and her evil counterpart, and the return of the Zygons for this story, The Zygon Invasion & The Zygon Inversion have all the hallmarks of classic Doctor Who and is without a doubt one of the best two-part stories from Series 9 so far!

And just for fun here’s a clip where actress Ingrid Oliver explains why Osgood turns down the chance of a lifetime at the end of The Zygon Inversion!

Images & Clip Belong: BBC

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Doctor Who The Zygon Invasion Review

Tags

Clara Oswald, Daniel Nettheim, Doctor Who, Doctor Who Series 9, Doctor Who The Zygon Invasion, Ingrid Oliver, Jemma Radgrave, Jenna Coleman, Kate Stewart, Osgood, Peter Capaldi, Peter Harness, Steven Moffat, TARDIS, The Doctor, The Zygon Invasion, The Zygon Inversion, UNIT, Zygons

The Zygon Invasion

Review by Paul Bowler

[Contains Spoilers]

A fragile peace established long ago beneath the Tower of London is in jeopardy. Zygons have been living in peaceful coexistence with humans, undetected, but a rogue faction has begun plotting to overthrow humanity. Joining forces with UNIT to help deal with the global crisis, the Doctor and Clara must stop events spiralling out of control. A message from UNIT scientific officer Osgood issues a chilling warning, but she is supposed to be dead, is this really Osgood, or some Zygon deception? The Doctor, Clara and UNIT must embark on a world-wide adventure to rescue the kidnapped Osgood and stop the Zygon Invasion!

The Zygon Invasion, written by Peter Harness, who also scripted Kill The Moon (2014), begins a two-part story that features the return of the classic Doctor Who monsters, the Zygons, which originally appeared forty years ago in the 4^th Doctor story Terror of the Zygons (1975). The Zygons also played a significant role in the 50^th anniversary story The Day of the Doctor (2013), where Kate Stewart and Osgood from UNIT confronted Zygon duplicates of themselves in the Black Archive below the Tower of London. The Zygon Invasion and The Zygon Inversion, directed by Daniel Nettheim (Line of Duty), returns to address the memory-wiped peace Kate Stewart and Osgood negotiated with their memory-wiped Zygon counterparts, and the challenging issues facing this Zygon-Human coalition when a secret Zygon faction attacks humanity.

Right from the opening moments, The Zygon Invasion hit’s the ground running and the action doesn’t let up for a moment. A fan-pleasing recap of event from The Day of the Doctor sublimely blends into a recording made by both Osgoods in the wake of these events, detailing the covert Operation Double instigated by UNIT that allowed sanctuary to the 20 million Zygons now been living on Earth disguised as humans, who until now have existed unnoticed, in peaceful coexistence alongside humanity. As we ponder the mystery of Osgood’s Box the Doctor’s rousing guitar solo in the TARDIS is interrupted by news of the Nightmare Scenario! “Doctor Disco” returns to Earth, but a Zygon attack on a children’s playground and sinister happening near Clara’s flat, soon reunites the Doctor and Clara with Kate Stewart, Jac, and UNIT at the former Zygon Base inside the Drakeman Junior School in London, where the Zygon Control Polyp has been compromised, and the Doctor and his allies witness as the Zygon High Command – in the form of the kidnapped school girls Claudette (Cleopatra Dickens) and Jemima (Sasha Dickens) – are ruthlessly usurped by the radicalised splinter group from the younger Zygon brood now seeking to take over the world.

The Doctor and Clara are right at the heart of the action in The Zygon Invasion, Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman continue to build on the strong relationship between the Time Lord and his travelling companion. Kate Stewart is also back for this adventure, brilliantly played by Jemma Redgrave; she is joined by Jaye Griffiths as Jac. Jemma Redgrave has some great scenes with Peter Capaldi, especially when Kate and the Doctor are at loggerheads about bombing the Zygons, and Kate also gets to investigate a decidedly spooky town in New Mexico – where Gretchen Egolf proves unsettlingly mysterious as Norlander. Clara and Jac also make a good team, and they spend much of the episode working together. The impressive cast also features Rebecca Front (who also co-starred in The Think of It with Peter Capaldi) as Colonel Walsh, her scenes with Capaldi’s Doctor as her forces confront a difficult situation outside a church in Turmezistan are incredibly tense, and the angst-ridden situations UNIT troops Drone Operator Lisa (Jill Winternitz) and Hitchley (Todd Kramer) face delivers some of the most powerful and moving moments in the entire episode.

With Osgood captured by the rogue faction of shape-shifting Zygons, the peace treaty between the Zygons and Humans is now violated. Determined to restore the peace between Zygons and Humans before the ceasefire breakdowns completely, the Doctor takes the Presidential Aircraft to rescue Osgood from a Zygon infested village in Turmezistan, while Kate Stewart sets out to solve a mystery in New Mexico, and in London Clara and Jac call in UNIT reinforcements when they discover something nasty lurking below her block of flats…

The presumed dead, not dead-is-she-really-a-Zygon now, scientist Osgood also returns in The Zygon Invasion, and it’s great to see Ingrid Oliver back as the former bow-tie / scarf wearing Osgood. Ever since the character first appeared alongside the 11^th Doctor in The Day of the Doctor, Osgood soon became a fan-favourite, and her untimely death in the 2014 series finale Death in Heaven – when she was cruelly vaporised by Missy – left us all mourning the loss of our favourite geek / scientist character. Now Ingrid Oliver reprises her role as Osgood in The Zygon Invasion, but is she human this time, or a Zygon disguised as Osgood? Well, this Osgood is indeed the Zygon Osgood, although in many way’s she’s also the human Osgood – as we discover after the Doctor rescues her in Turmezistan. Ingrid Oliver’s scenes with Peter Capaldi are the big highlight of this episode, especially when the Doctor and Osgood travel on the Presidential Aircraft back to the UK, and their movingly frank conversation is undoubtedly one of Series 9’s finest moments so far. The live link the human Osgood and the Zygon Osgood shared makes the Zygon Osgood a hybrid, Human and Zygon at the same time, and she was almost overwrought with grief when her human “sister” was killed as they were the living embodiment of the peace they made between Zygon and Humanity.

The Zygons have always been a popular monster amongst Doctor Who fans, despite having only appeared in one story during the classic series: Terror of the Zygons – where the Zygons wreaked havoc with their pet Loc Ness Monster (A huge cyborg creature called the Skarasen). Their return in The Day of the Doctor was a little overshadowed by all the epic events in that 50^th anniversary story. The Zygon Invasion and The Zygon Inversion finally gives the new revamped Zygons a story that really utilizes them and their abilities to the full. Seeing the Zygons (Aidan Cook & Tom Wilton) attacking humans in such everyday settings as they do here is actually quite unsettling. Their shape-shifting powers are used to great effect in The Zygon Invasion, the new Zygon costumes look more menacing than ever, and they secretly plot in caverns below London were strange pods are growing that hide a terrible secret. The Zygons are chillingly voiced by Nicholas Briggs, and he nails their whispering gurgling voice perfectly. It seems the Zygons have evolved too! The original body print is no longer necessary for the Zygon to maintain its disguise, once they have the information they need, the original can die, they can even take the images of loved ones from your mind and use them against you, and they have a sting-like bio-electric charge which they use to disable or vaporise their enemies.

The Zygon Invasion is chock full of continuity references, the opening flashback from The Day of the Doctor features David Tennant, Matt Smith, and John Hurt as the 10^th, 11^th, and War Doctor respectively, there’s a portrait of the 1^st Doctor (William Hartnell) that adorns the hallway in UNIT’s London safe house HQ, and there’s numerous links to the original invasion in Terror of the Zygons that includes a mention for a certain Naval Surgeon (Harry Sullivan played by Ian Marter) as well. The 12^th Doctor recalls kissing Zygon once (the Zygon / Queen Elizabeth the I) from The Day of the Doctor, and the red question marks on Osgood’s shirt lapels where a key feature that also appeared on the shirt collars of the 4^th Doctor – from the Leisure Hive (1980) onwards, as well as the 5^th and 6^th Doctor’s, and the tank top Osgood wears in this episode is not too dissimilar to the one the 7^th Doctor wore – although his was covered in rows of the familiar question mark symbols.

The Zygon Invasion hurtles towards a thrilling conclusion as the Zygon revolution begins, Kate Stewart makes a horrific discovery in New Mexico, the mystery of what happened to the people who went missing from the lifts and the true contents of the pods in the caves is discovered as treachery strikes, and the Doctor, Osgood, and their Zygon captive on the Presidential Aircraft find themselves locked in the sights of a new enemy… Clara; or more precisely the Zygon duplicate called “Bonnie” who took her place when she went to hep the little boy (played by Abhishek Singh) earlier in the episode! It’s a classic Doctor Who cliff-hanger, with the companion in peril, unconscious in the Zygon Pod in the caves, while her Zygon doppelganger unleashes chaos for UNIT across the world, and Jemma Coleman is fabulous as this wickedly evil version of Clara /Bonnie.

Stylishly directed by Daniel Nettheim, The Zygon Invasion certainly gets this new two-part story off to a great start. Peter Capaldi gives a commanding performance as the Doctor in a story that is like an international sci-fi themed conspiracy thriller, the frenetic pace doesn’t let up for a moment, and Peter Harness’ strong script, with its clear nods to Invasion of the Body Snatchers, also tackles some particularly challenging social and political themes with its depiction of the strained relations between the Zygons and Humans in this episode. Jenna Coleman is excellent when Clara goes evil as “Bonnie”, its great to see Ingrid Oliver again as Osgood as well, the Zygons also make fearsome adversaries in this exciting story, and the jaw-dropping cliff-hanger brilliantly sets everything up for the truth or consequences to be resolved in The Zygon Inversion.

And here’s the Next Time Trailer for The Zygon Inversion!

Images Belong: BBC

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Doctor Who Death In Heaven Review

Tags

Chris Addison, Clara Oswald, Cybermen, Danny Pink, Doctor Who, Doctor Who Death In Heaven, Doctor Who Series Eight, Ingrid Oliver, Jemma Redgrave, Jenna Coleman, Kate Stweart, Michelle Gomez, Missy, Osgood, Peter Capaldi, Rachel Talalay, Samuel Anderson, Sanjeeve Bhaskar, Seb, St Paul's Cathedral, Steven Moffat, TARDIS, The 12th Doctor, The Gate Keeper of the Nethersphere, The Master, The Nethersphere, UNIT

Death In Heaven

Review by Paul Bowler

[Contains Spoilers]

In 24 hours the human race will cease to exist. The Cybermen have invaded London, a new indestructible army built from humanity’s dead. Missy has been revealed as the Doctor’s arch nemesis, the Master! With Danny deceased, trapped in the Nethersphere, an impossible decision looms for Clara as the Cybermen close in. As the Cyber-Invasion spreads around the world, the Doctor joins forces with old friends, but can even the might of UNIT help the Doctor defeat this terrifying alliance between the Master and the Cybermen? The Doctor must his face the greatest challenge of all and difficult sacrifices will have to be made to save the world…

Death in Heaven concludes the exciting two-part series eight finale, as the Cyber-Invasion continues in this special hour-long episode, written by show runner Steven Moffat, and directed by Rachael Talalay. Now that the secret of the “Promised Land” and Missy’s true identity has been revealed, the dark and ominous tone of this this action packed season finale kicks into high gear as Steven Moffat engineers the mother all showdowns for the Doctor and his UNIT allies as they battle the combined menace of Missy and the Cybermen.

While Clara tries to deceive the Cybermen that she’s really the Doctor, the Cybermen hidden in the Dark Water tanks at the 3W Institute begin to emerge onto the streets of London, where the Doctor, still reeling from discovering that Missy is his old enemy, the Master, can only look on helplessly as the Cybermen march past St Paul’s Cathedral towards the unsuspecting civilians. Missy encourages people to take selfies with the Cybermen, giving the concealed UNIT forces time make their move, but even though they capture Missy the dome of St Paul’s cathedral opens and 91 Cybermen take to the air – except for one that remains and explodes over London to unleash a deadly cloud of Cyber-Pollen. Missy gleefully informs the Doctor, Kate Stewart, and Osgood the Cybermen will target the other key areas of significant population density in the UK to spread the Cyber-Pollen – something the Cybermen are now doing simultaneously on a global scale in every town and city around the world. As the dark clouds gather over graveyards, funeral homes, and mortuaries, the rain starts to fall and the Cyber-Pollen begins its heinous work – infusing the corpses of the dead and reanimating them as Cybermen.

Steven Moffat rounds off series eight of Doctor Who in fine style with Death in Heaven, building on the deeply unsettling premise established in Dark Water (Where all of Earth’s dead had been transformed into a Cyber-Army, their minds stored in the Nethersphere – a Gallifreyan Hard Drive – were their emotions are subsequently deleted before transplantation back into the Cybermen), to provide a harrowing and emotional roller coaster ride for the Doctor and Clara that will test their friendship to the limit.

Needless to say, Peter Capaldi is superb as the 12th Doctor in Death in Heaven. Here we see just how dark and uncompromising this incarnation can be, and Capaldi delivers an absolutely magnificent performance that will have you on the edge of your seat. Jenna Coleman is also brilliant as Clara Oswald, whose character has constantly evolved over the course of series eight, and the culmination of the events and decisions Clara ultimately makes in Death in Heaven makes this arguably one of Coleman’s best episodes to date.

Death in Heaven also marks the welcome return of UNIT to help the Doctor fight the Cybermen and Missy. Peter Capaldi’s 12th Doctor has constantly voiced his dislike of the military since his regeneration, which creates a really interesting dynamic here as he’s forced to work alongside the Brigadier’s daughter, Kate Stewart (Jemma Redgrave), together with Ossgood (Ingrid Oliver), now sporting an 11th Doctor style bow tie instead of the 4th Doctor scarf she wore in The Day of the Doctor (2013), and Colonel Ahmed (Sanjeev Bhaskar). The Time Lord takes to the skies as the newly appointed President of Earth, where he is given control of the worlds military forces and is expected to coordinate their retaliation against to the Cyber-Invasion.

Its good to see Jemma Redgrave return as UNIT’s chief scientific advisor Kate Stewart, she gets some really powerful scenes alongside the Doctor, even confronting the Cybermen in London where she throws the head of an Invasion style Cybermen – that originally featured in The Invasion (1968) – at the feet of their new counterparts to make her point. When Kate brings the Doctor, the TARDIS, and the captured Missy to a special UNIT aircraft that serves as its secret mobile headquarters (just like her father Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart used in The Invasion), there’s a great scene where the Doctor notices a portrait of Kate’s late father – its a fleeting moment; and one which resonates poignantly with events later in the episode.

Samuel Anderson gives a particularly moving performance in Death in Heaven as Clara’s boyfriend, Danny Pink, the former soldier turned Maths teacher, sent to the Nethersphere after he died, where Missy’s conniving assistant, Seb, sinisterly played by Capaldi’s The Thick of it co-star Chris Addison, now explains to Danny that he – along with the other minds of the recently deceased stored in this Gallifreyian data cloud – are about to be sent back from what they believed was the afterlife with an added upgrade…

Transformed into a Cyberman, the moment where Danny awakens in the Chaplet Funeral Home is genuinely chilling. He saves Clara from the Cybermen at the 3W Institute and takes her to a graveyard, where Danny’s role becomes even more vital, and the groundwork already established earlier in the series really comes to the fore. The traumatic event that caused Danny to leave the army, when he accidentally killed a young boy (Antonio Bourouphael), continues to haunt him in Death in Heaven while his love for Clara remains undiminished, despite her lies, and she becomes his guiding light as he later confronts the most heartrending decision of all.

The army of Cybermen created from the remains of every human being that ever died, is a deeply unsettling concept, and one from which Steven Moffat skilfully wrings every ounce of horror from as we witness Clara stumbling through a graveyard just as the Cybermen begin to rise from the graves. Danny’s Cyber-resurrection in the mortuary is another scary scene that’s sure to send a few chills down the spine before the realisation of who he actually is begins to sink in. The Cyber-Pollen is perhaps the most grotesque use of cyber-technology that we’ve ever seen in Doctor Who, used to weaponise the dead, the Cybermen have created the ultimate form of Cyber-Conversion, and the way its implemented in this episode is truly horrific. These Cybermen also have a new ability, the power of flight, and their chest units emit a scanning beam to try and validate Clara’s identity when she tries to buy herself more time by pretending to be the Doctor – a witty subterfuge that cleverly spills over into the opening titles of the episode to keep us guessing.

It doesn’t take Missy long to orchestrate her escape, she ruthlessly kills Osgood, and summons the Cybermen to attack the plane mid-air. I was really surprised when Osgood was killed, and the senseless nature of her sudden death left us with no doubt just how evil and manipulative Missy can be. When the Doctor confronts Missy he’s horrified by what she’s done to Osgood, but when the Doctor receives a call via the TARDIS from Clara whose just discovered that Danny is a now a Cyberman, Missy finally reveals that she was the one that originally gave Clara the phone number to the Doctor’s TARDIS in The Bells of St John (2013), and she also put advert in the paper in Deep Breath (2014). Missy is the person who brought the Doctor and Clara together, the control freak and the man that should never be controlled, and the irony of her grand design to keep them together really hits home as the Cybermen tear into the fuselage, sending Kate Stewart plummeting to her doom before Missy teleports away and the plane explodes. The special effects used to bring us the Cybermen’s attack on the plane are stunning, the action doesn’t let up for a single moment, and the aftermath of the aircrafts destruction throws the Doctor into a nail biting freefall towards the TARDIS.

The gender reassignment for the Doctor’s old enemy, the Master, has given the renegade Time Lord a whole new lease of life as the gloriously twisted Mary Poppins-like incarnation known as Missy – the woman that we’ve seen welcoming the recently deceased in series eight after they’ve arrived in the faux afterlife of the Nethersphere. Michelle Gomez gives a wonderfully villainous performance as Missy, successfully channelling the sinister charm and menace of the Master with a mischievous twinkle in her eye as she revels in her evil scheme. The scene where she kills Osgood, initially taunting her, and then crushing her glasses underfoot after killing her is really cold. Missy’s scenes with the Doctor are the real highlight of Death in Heaven, especially when she taunts him about killing his friends and teases him with her claims that she actually knows the location of Gallifrey. The chemistry between Michelle Gomez and Peter Capaldi is positively electric, their verbal sparing perfectly captures the essence of the classic rivalry between these two characters, and it certainly makes for a fittingly epic confrontation between the 12th Doctor and this new version of the Master.

After using the TARDIS to reach the graveyard, where Clara is trying to activate Danny’s emotional inhibitor to end his suffering because even though he’s a Cybermen he has still retained his emotions, the Doctor is reluctant to help as he fears Danny will try and kill Clara after his emotions are deleted. The Doctor also needs to know what the rumbling storm clouds of Cyber-Pollen will do next, however, Danny informs him that in order to access the Cybermen’s hive mind his emotional inhibitor will have to be switched on. The Doctor reluctantly agrees and Clara tearfully says goodbye to Danny before using the sonic screwdriver to switch on the inhibitor. Danny reveals that a second rainfall is imminent, and this time all humanity will die and rise again as Cybermen. Missy teleports to the graveyard and offers the Doctor control of the Cyber-Army as a twisted birthday present for the Time Lord, so he can use them however he wants to save the universe from tyranny. Aghast that anyone should have such power, the Doctor rejects the offer, giving the control bracelet to Danny, whereby the former soldier takes command of the Cyber-Army and orders them to fly into the skies where they explode and destroy the Cyber-Pollen clouds.

These riveting final moments of the battle conclude with a furious Clara threatening to kill Missy with her own weapon, and she’s angry that the Doctor hasn’t done so before. The Doctor intervenes, saying he will kill Missy for her, but before he can act a lone Cyberman suddenly fires at Missy and vaporises her. The Doctor and Clara discover Kate Stewart unconscious on the ground nearby, she’s still alive, and was saved by the Cyberman. The moment when it suddenly dawns on the Doctor that the Cyberman that saved Kate is her father, the Brigadier, also resurrected by the Cyber-Pollen, is both haunting and deeply moving, and the Doctor’s farewell salute to his old friend before the Cyberman soars into the sky makes this beautifully poignant scene even more special.

Death in Heaven really shows what the Doctor and Clara are made of. We’ve seen over the course of series eight how both of them have been capable of making difficult choices that haven’t always necessarily rested easily with them, secrets and lies have also shaped and defined their adventures, so it is perhaps fitting that this series finale concludes with the Doctor and Clara not being entirely honest with each other. The coda that unfolds two weeks later as Clara meets with the Doctor to end her travels with him and say goodbye is tinged with sadness and deceit for both of them.

We know Danny found enough power in Missy’s bracelet to return to the living world, but Clara doesn’t tell the Doctor that Danny chose instead to send the young boy he accidentally killed when he was a soldier back in his place – sacrificing his last chance of being reunited with Clara – knowing she will help him put things right. Likewise, we see the Doctor take the TARDIS to the coordinates that Missy said were for Gallifrey – having claimed the planet had actually returned to its original location – only to find an empty region of space, where he flies into a furious rage inside the TARDIS at being given this glimmer of hope by his old enemy only to have it cruelly snatched away. After saying their farewells, unaware of the others lies, the Doctor’s solitary travels in the TARDIS are suddenly interrupted by a very unexpected and special Christmassy visitor…

I really liked how Dark Water and Death in Heaven were not quite as time twistingly complex as some of the previous season finales, instead we had the focus placed firmly on making it a more straightforward action-adventure, and I think that made these episodes all the more enjoyable. Sure, it’s not 100% perfect, few season finales ever are. The resolution to the cliff-hanger was initially a little stilted, with civilians taking selfies with the Cybermen, and I was really sad to see Oswin get killed. However, overall I thought Missy was an excellent foil for the Doctor, and the Cybermen were used effectively by the story and were really creepy in the graveyard scenes. Steven Moffat’s tense and exciting storyline was fast paced and skilfully brought all the elements of series eight together, and Rachel Talalay’s confident direction made this two-part series finale gripping viewing.

Death in Heaven was a great way to bring Peter Capaldi’s impressive first season as the 12th Doctor to a close. I’ve really enjoyed series eight, there’s been a great mix of stories, and the performances by Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman as the Doctor and Clara have been excellent. Samuel Anderson has also been exceptionally good as Danny Pink, and Michelle Gomez was superb as Missy. Peter Capaldi has completely won me over as the 12th Doctor, he’s proved to be a perfect choice for the role, and I can’t wait to see what happens next in the Christmas Special!

Images Belong BBC

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