Narcissus

The Eighth of March #1.4

Released: 8 March 2019

Listened: 4/22/23

In 2019, Big Finish decided to celebrate International Women’s Day on the Eighth of March with an eponymous boxed set. Although they didn't have access to the Thirteenth Doctor yet, they have plenty of spin-offs led by women, and they just barely have enough women writers and directors to pull it off. This story was part of the first set, by Sarah Grochala and directed by Helen Goldwyn, and focuses a lot on Osgood. In fact, it’s got twice the Osgood, because for the first time, the Zygon Osgood is acknowledged. And unlike what we saw on TV, they’re quite clear on which of them is human and which is Zygon (which means the one Missy killed was definitively a Zygon, a fact they acknowledge). The story involves an alien who feeds on beauty (apparently), and uses a dating site to find its victims, meaning Josh ends up a distressed dude very early on. Jacqui also has a key role, making some points about identity theft that Zygons just don’t understand. It’s a fairly short story, so the climax isn’t particularly elaborate, but does demonstrate that there’s more than one kind of beauty. This story may also close the door on any Josh/Osgood relationship. The flirting has dropped dramatically over the last few sets, and Osgood makes it pretty clear here that she doesn't see Josh that way. Not so sure what Josh thinks, though. It does push the empowerment thing a bit hard, in my opinion, but I’m not the target audience, so maybe someone else would think differently.