Transformation: 1968 - An Incident in Death Valley

"Their bodies are caged."

Writers: Lauren Mooney & Stewart Pringle

Format: Audio

Released: April 2026

Series: Zygon Century 2.02

Featuring: The Master

Synopsis

Fleeing her brutal human captors, and in hiding from the Black Cadre, the Zygon Vorvoren arrives at a run-down diner in the bowels of Death Valley. There, she finds a friend in Junie, a young waitress, and a town terrorised by a ruthless cult.

But just who is their mysterious leader, 'The Arkon'? And could he really hold the key to Vorvoren's liberation and revenge?

Verdict

An Incident in Death Valley was an excellent episode to continue my way through the Transformation second series of Zygon Century! I thought this served as a nice follow up to The Miracle of Pendour Cove with the story for Vorvoren jumping from 1935 there to 1968 here which is quite a significant jump! I thought she led the story brilliantly and she's just a really strong character. I loved the way things ended here and whilst I'm unsure if that will have any kind of follow on in the series finale or the next series, but it gets me excited nonetheless! I would not have expected to find the Master getting involved in this spinoff range but the more we get of Eric Roberts as the incarnation from The Movie, the better in my opinion! He's such a strong incarnation and he really is dastardly and evil but in such a calm and chilling way. He really is measured and that makes him pretty frightening. It's also fun that with the American accent he appears here in a story set in Death Valley. That's a location I would love to one day visit and it's a far cry for Vorvoren from the Cornish coast and beyond! But it's completely reasonable for her to be there given she's on the run from the Black Cadre! She's certainly made a good effort. I think the Master interacting with her was fantastic and when he knew she was a Zygon I was just eating up the dialogue. The reference to the century-long plan was fascinating and he was clearly in the know! Hell, he was even supportive of it which is tremendous. I am sure this won't be the last we hear of the Master in this series and it's good that his foundations for being present lay in a really interesting and funky sort of disguise. The Arkon was always going to be revealed as him but even Vorvoren couldn't understand why he found himself playing cult leader on Earth. He gets bored and do you know I think that's pretty justifiable. Why wouldn't he be doing something like that? His manipulation of Junie was disturbing at times as she was actually defending him to Vorvoren (or should that be Gwendolyn?). It was serious vibes of Euphoria with Nate and Maddy! (I've just finished season one, no spoilers in the comments please!) Vorvoren obviously knew that her friend was in a tricky situation and it was nice for her to stand up to the Master. I would never have expected the episode to end in the way it did from that point! But the Master was someone she could reason with and talk about her predicament. She was on the run from the Black Cadre and the Master could actually help. Hell, he'd even take the fight to them which appealed because this really did show that on the inside, Vorvoren was still very much a Zygon. The way the Master showed her a glimpse of the future was intriguing as he had killed Krozon and that was obviously a big deal indeed! That garnered some trust and encouragement which I liked and this really does seem to be a formidable pairing! The callousness in which they denied Junie to come with them was superb and showed such a shift in character for Vorvoren. She quickly changed her feelings towards her new friend! Overall, a fantastic episode and I now can't wait for the finale and beyond! 

Rating: 9/10