Torchwood review: Series Six ends on a high with God Among Us 3
By James Aggas
The story that began eight months ago comes to an end in God Among Us 3. Is this a strong end to the sixth series of Torchwood?
(Photo credit: Torchwood/Big Finish Productions.
Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)
The final four episodes have been released in the official sixth series of Torchwood. What makes the third volume of God Among Us the strongest?
Eight months after the release of the first volume, and we’re already reaching the end of Torchwood‘s sixth series God Among Us. It’s been quite an interesting ride for the team, and for the audience. A lot has been building to this box set, and I mean a lot.
To recap: God Among Us 1 kicked off where the previous series Aliens Among Us had left off. The Sorvix – the alien race that had taken over Cardiff in the last series – had fled the planet after the arrival of their god. Initially, it looked like this “god” would be the new major threat that Torchwood had to face – a powerful alien monster. But instead, with Torchwood being Torchwood, God was actually a rather sweet Scottish lady who genuinely wants to do good.
It was only in the second volume that the real threat emerged: the Committee. This was a major step for the audio continuation, as the Committee had been previously established in the monthly audios that take place all over Torchwood‘s timeline. They’ve been an old enemy of Torchwood’s for a long time, and in God Among Us 2, they unleashed their most devastating plan yet.
Initially, it looked like Torchwood had saved the world. But a consequence of them saving the day was inadvertently creating a tsunami that hit Cardiff.
Naturally, this is where God Among Us 3 picks up. Cardiff is devastated, there are a huge number of people missing or dead, and Torchwood has a new problem: a relief organisation that calls itself the DRC – the Disaster Recovery Committee…
A Mother’s Son explores the aftermath of the disaster from a very intimate viewpoint.
(Image credit: Torchwood/Big Finish Productions.
Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)
A Mother’s Son
God Among Us 3 kicks off with A Mother’s Son by Alexandria Riley. Fans of the Torchwood audios may recognize that name, as she plays former Gwen doppelgänger Ng in the series. And it’s a pretty brilliant script, too. It doesn’t exactly make for easy listening, but it’s certainly a strong writing debut for the series.
The episode focuses on Bethan, a mother looking for her son in the aftermath of the disaster. This is actually a fantastic way to handle this story, as we find out the real emotional impact of the disaster at a very personal level. It also allows us to catch up on how the recovery is going by using an outside, ordinary perspective. Essentially, this feels like a Torchwood-lite story like Random Shoes, although almost all the characters do appear at some point.
Mina Anwar is incredible as Bethan. Her performance really helps you to feel the anger and the grief of a mother who has lost her son. Bethan isn’t perfect, and her flaws do come through very clearly. Which of course only help to make her that much more believable as a human being.
We’re also given a great picture of a city during a time of disaster. Nothing’s going well, the DRC have extremely limited resources, and an inquiry looking into what caused the disaster is giving no answers. All of these points feel real and believable, exactly the kind of story you’d read in newspapers, and all of it helps to make this world of aliens and monsters feel incredibly grounded.
A Mother’s Son is far from an easy listen, but it is an excellent one. A very strong episode from Alexandria Riley.
ScrapeJane is more of your typical Torchwood horror episode, but one that has been handled very well.
(Image credit: Torchwood/Big Finish Productions.
Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)
ScrapeJane
After such a strong but heavy opening episode, ScrapeJane is thankfully lighter. It isn’t the funny comedy that we got with Another Man’s Shoes in volume two. But it is simpler, as it delves deeper into a kind of supernatural horror.
The idea of ScrapeJane is simple and yet horrifying. Torchwood looks into a popular urban myth about a monster called ScrapeJane. They know it’s a myth, because the person who made it up openly admitted about it and claimed the copyright to the character. But that still hasn’t stopped it from killing people…
Robin Bell was an experienced horror writer, so it’s unsurprising that ScrapeJane is a very effective episode. The idea of something made up suddenly coming to life is a terrifying one, especially when ScrapeJane herself is described so vividly and so horrifically.
Ng and Mr. Colchester are heavily focused on in this episode, and they make a very effective duo. Both of them are very direct and their attitudes compliment each other nicely. More than that, the creature of ScrapeJane forces them to look at what they believe in, which gives us some truly fantastic character moments.
ScrapeJane would turn out to be Robin Bell’s only Torchwood story, as he sadly passed away just last month. Based on this script, he could have easily become one of the best genre writers for the series. It’s sad to know we won’t be getting any more episodes like this, as his single episode is such a fantastic one, and a perfect fit for Torchwood.
Another disaster hits Cardiff when the city runs out of drinking water.
(Image credit: Torchwood/Big Finish Productions.
Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)
Day Zero
Since the last volume at least, we’ve been hearing about some kind of mould in the water supply. For a long time, it didn’t seem like too much of a problem, certainly not as big as the ones that Torchwood usually have to deal with. That is, until Day Zero happens. The day when Cardiff runs out of drinking water.
Tim Foley has given us a horrifying idea on a very real level with this episode. Especially as it’s not too difficult to imagine a whole city without drinking water. Naturally, panic starts to spread as people fight over what’s left. Torchwood are trying to do what they can, but can even they stop the inevitable chaos? Especially when the DRC gets involved?
The best part of this episode is how the DRC really starts to emerge as a major opponent to Torchwood. Andy Davidson, the director of the organization, has always been one of the most likable characters of the series. But he makes some very difficult and dangerous decisions throughout this episode, as he does everything he can to resolve the situation, by any means necessary. We see him get nasty in Day Zero, and it’s a real shock to hear some of the things he says. Especially to Yvonne, who he shares a very close bond with.
The rest of the characters also get some satisfying character scenes. Especially Tyler, who shares a moment with Mr. Colchester that really shows how much he’s changed over the series.
Day Zero does the excellent job of setting up the finale perfectly while also being a great story in its own right. Definitely another strong episode from one of the best writers of the series.
It all ends here. Is God Among Us given a satisfying resolution in Thoughts and Prayers?
(Image credit: Torchwood/Big Finish Productions.
Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)
Thoughts and Prayers
When Aliens Among Us ended last year, I liked finale Herald of the Dawn. But I was a little disappointed at the time at how much was left unresolved, particularly regarding the arc of the Sorvix.
Don’t get me wrong, the episode did resolve some major threads, particularly the character of Ng, who had stolen Gwen Cooper’s life for the whole series. But it would’ve been nice for just a little more to be tied up. Especially as the Sorvix quietly disappeared in the opening episode to God Among Us anyway.
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Do I have that problem with Thoughts and Prayers? No, definitely not. All the major threads of this series are resolved in a very satisfying manner by series producer James Goss. Orr’s development, the Committee and of course, God – all these threads and more are dealt with here.
That’s not to say that Thoughts and Prayers isn’t given anything to set up the next series. Perhaps it’s a slightly more low-key cliffhanger after the last series – but then again, when God literally arrives as a series cliffhanger, anything after that is going to be low-key – but it’s still a good one.
But overall, this is an extremely satisfying episode. One that’s had a lot of buildup to it, so it’s fantastic that it all pays off here. Thoughts and Prayers is a strong conclusion to not just this box set, but to God Among Us as a whole.
Overall, God Among Us 3 has been another great Torchwood box set. It’s probably my favorite in the continuation of Torchwood so far. All four episodes are fantastic listens in very different ways, and together they’re a great look at how a city recovers from a huge disaster. It’s also a huge payoff to so much in this series, and even the previous one. Fans who’ve been following the series closely are going to be very happy with this release.
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Have you been enjoying the sixth series of Torchwood? What are your thoughts on it overall? Which episodes have stood out to you? Let us know in the comments below.