Infiltration: 1901 - The Unknowing Mirror

"This is the island that will change the world."

Writer: Jonathan Barnes

Format: Audio

Released: January 2025

Series: Zygon Century 1.01

Featuring: Zygons

Synopsis

In Edwardian London that scandalous investigator of occult phenomena, Mr Herbert Scott, and his associate, Father Felix Cromwell, are confronted by a case of possession. 

A young woman, suffering from unusually vivd dreams, seems also to exhibit signs of a completely separate personality. Another being is speaking through her, a being which claims not to be from Earth at all, a being which calls itself... Zygon.

Verdict

1901: The Unknowing Mirror was a really strong start to the Zygon Century spinoff series! This is a very exciting release and I'm all for new spinoff ranges. I think the Zygons are definitely a monster worthy of their own little boxset and given the name of the series, I do hope there is a second boxset to come because the year range here doesn't exactly cover the entire century! The twentieth century is of course then perfect place to do this series and I look forward to hearing the plan of the Zygons unfold. This was a really strong introduction and it certainly had that feeling of setting things up which was absolutely fine. It probably did mean the rating was never going to be higher than what I awarded, but it has really set the tone for what's to come next and it excites me. I am well on board with the branch of Zygons known as the Black Cardre and their plan that will last a century resulting in the takeover of Earth is very intriguing. I hope we get a few more details on exactly how they will do it by the end of the twentieth century, but there's plenty of time to get there. The significance of the small Cornish island is also interesting and will certainly play a part as the series goes on and the Zygon presence grows and their plan comes into fruition. I thought Edith Walker was a terrific character and her connection in her mind with a Zygon was fascinating. She thought it was all a dream but then she was to be mesmerised which was quite a fun thing to happen! Herbert Scott was a strong character and I liked how Felix Cromwell was his associate. There was a strong dynamic between them when it came to Edith and the knowledge of there being something more at play with her connection to the Zygons. I loved the setting of 1901 and the extremely early Edwardian era and with Edith I really did get strong vibes of Charley which is a big positive to her character. I think this is an underrated era of history when it comes to Doctor Who as they're still firmly in the past but not that far away from massive technological expansion and revolution. Thomas Browne was another good character and really complimented the Edwardian cast. I thought it was a fine set of characters that really helped establish the series. It was a shame we didn't actually get a great deal of the Zygons featuring, but I understand the need to establish their presence at the start of their century-long quest. I know for sure that I will get more of them in the next two episodes and there was enough of a threat from them with the connection to Edith. I quite enjoyed Mrs Maloney and her insinuation at the end towards Mr Scott and sending him for asylum was rather impressive! She got the upper hand and doesn't quite seem all that she appears which is fun to think about. Right from the off the Zygon ability to shapeshfit was alluded to as Edith couldn't be sure which version was at her door and I think you can really play off that in the audio format. Of course, this isn't the first Zygon story on audio but with their own series I think there's a lot of potential to do well here. The use of a mirror with Edith was good in making her link to the Zygon, and I look forward to catching up with Zygon plans in a couple of decades. Overall, a very strong start to the series! 

Rating: 8/10