If last season's Peter Harness-written Kill The Moon was the writer "Hinchcliffing the (expletive)" out of the episode, this is his effort to channel Barry Letts/Terrance Dicks-era Doctor Who into the classic series.
Despite the early tease of The Magician's Apprentice, UNIT is given much broader agency within this episode....and the premise reflects the Letts/Dicks-era proclivity for handling social themes.
This time around - after the events of Day of the Doctor, humans and Zygons enter an uneasy peace. But one day, a group decides that they can't simply co-habit the planet: they must dominate. Dialogue crackles with consistent references that feel taken "straight from the headlines" without descending into self-aware cleverness.
(Yes, I'm looking at you, Law & Order)
But the stakes keep increasing, and there are some really clever twists - twists that never reveal themselves, and there's an increasing level of tension. It's almost as if the Doctor Who production team binge-watched Leverage.
For me, the classic Who fan, this hit all of the sweet spots. I'm sure that even for the anti-Moffatt contingent, this may be small scale pandering....but again, it works.
Let me reiterate: I loved The Zygon Invasion.
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