It’s been a long wait since October, but the second installment in Torchwood: God Among Us is finally out. With the last set ending on several cliffhangers, it’s time to see how they’re all resolved. Let’s find out how God Among Us 2 shapes up!
1. “Flight 405” by Lou Morgan
God Among Us 2 begins with a story by Torchwood newcomer Lou Morgan, whose first script for the range is a fine opener to the set.
Following his shock return at the end of the last boxset, Samuel Barnett‘s Norton Folgate joins with Andy and Yvonne to investigate a mysterious ghost plane that’s been missing for over 60 years. This trio of characters is absolutely perfect for a story like this: Yvonne’s callousness, Andy’s haplessness and Norton’s ambiguity all come together to bring this intriguing tale to life.
While the bulk of this story is given over to the intrigue surrounding Flight 405, there’s a really lovely scene near the beginning featuring Jack and Mr. Colchester. If you’ve listened to Aliens Among Us, you’ll know that these two characters were never the best of friends, so it’s great to hear them talk so honestly to one another here.
The story ends on a rather interesting note, reintroducing a plot strand we haven’t heard from in quite a while, and setting up what’s sure to be a most interesting rest of the set.
8/10
2. “Hostile Environment” by Ash Darby
“Hostile Environment” is unlike anything I’ve ever heard from Big Finish before.
It’s so hard to describe such a unique script without going into spoiler territory, but what I will say is this: “Hostile Environment” isn’t always a comfortable listen. In fact, it gets so dark at times that there’s even a listener discretion warning before the story begins.
Following Jonny Green’s Tyler Steele as he navigates the horrors of homelessness, Ash Darby‘s script pulls no punches; it’s shocking and surprising throughout, and never plays down or glosses over the issue at hand. Green gives his best performance as Tyler yet, and is complemented wonderfully by Jessica Hayles, who portrays the tragedy of her character Kirsty masterfully.
Dark, gritty, harrowing, brilliant.
10/10
3. “Another Man’s Shoes” by Tim Foley
The third part of this boxset is a complete tonal switch from the previous episode, seeing the Torchwood team swapping bodies with one another and living each other’s lives for a day. As you can probably guess, it’s so much fun!
It’s a testament to just how talented the actors are that, when Tyler and Norton swapped bodies, I genuinely couldn’t tell who was who! Samuel Barnett does such a good impersonation of Jonny Green and vice versa that I completely believed that they were each other’s character.
That’s not to say the other pairings aren’t fun, though. Yvonne’s switcheroo with Andy helps to tie up some of Aliens Among Us‘s story arcs, while Jack and Colchester share some more touching scenes with one another.
All in all, another fantastic installment in a great set.
9/10
4. “Eye of the Storm” by David Llewellyn
The events of the previous stories in the series come together here to form a fantastic conclusion to the set. The plot revolves around an alien power station in the middle of the ocean, which is causing some most beguiling things to happen in Cardiff. It’s an interesting set-up to be sure, but my favourite part of the story has to go to the characters.
It’s so great to hear everyone actually working together as a team here to sort things out, and this story reminded me of just how much I love all the new characters who’ve been added to the Torchwood team.
And what a cliffhanger! Seriously, how am I supposed to wait until June to find out what happens next?
8/10
Overall
An absolutely fantastic collection of stories: introducing new storylines, tying up old ones and developing some of the best characters Big Finish has to offer. From a rompy bodyswapping story to a no-holds-barred take on homelessness in Cardiff, God Among Us 2 has it all and, as such, is thoroughly recommended.
Torchwood: God Among Us 2 can be purchased on CD or download from http://www.bigfinish.com
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