The God Among Us saga concludes with this third and final volume, which sees the Torchwood team take on urban legends, a grieving mother, the Disaster Recovery Committee and God herself! Read on to see my thoughts on each story.
1. “A Mother’s Son” by Alexandria Riley
Written by Alexandria Riley, who also plays Ng in this series, A Mother’s Son is without a doubt my favourite story in this boxset, following a grieving mother as she attempts to find out what happened to her son after the devastating climax of the previous set.
Riley is as brilliant at writing as she is at playing Ng, giving an extraordinary amount of humanity to the character of Bethan, around whom this story revolves. This character has never been seen before, and is unlikely to be seen again, so it’s a testament to Riley’s writing that she feels so real.
Part of this is also due to the incredible talents of Mina Anwar, best known by Doctor Who fans for playing Rani’s mother Gita in The Sarah Jane Adventures, who plays Bethan in this story. From denial to despair, Anwar gives such a remarkable range of emotions in her performance here, and this is part of what makes A Mother’s Son shine.
As a Torchwood-lite episode of Torchwood, this episode could have felt light and inconsequential, but it does a fantastic job at tying up the last boxset’s loose ends and giving some emotional weight to the flood we heard tearing through Cardiff in Eye of the Storm.
Showcasing the immense writing talent of Alexandria Riley, who I’d love to see writing more for Big Finish in the future, “A Mother’s Son” is without a doubt a top-tier Torchwood episode.
10/10
2. “ScrapeJane” by Robin Bell
The second story in this set is ScrapeJane, which follows Ng and Mr. Colchester (Paul Clayton) as they attempt to get to the bottom of an urban legend, which appears to have come to life and started killing people.
It’s great to hear these two characters together, as they form such a great pairing. Both actors are on point throughout, establishing themselves as engaging members of the new Torchwood team even away from more well-known characters like Jack, Andy and Yvonne, none of whom appear in this story.
ScrapeJane herself is brought to life by Steve Foxon‘s fantastic sound design, which adds to the spooky nature of the story, providing scares aplenty. It’s because of Foxon’s stellar work that the story works as well as it does, so kudos to him.
Very sadly, the writer of this story, Robin Bell, passed away back in May. I didn’t know Robin, but here‘s a lovely tribute from those who did over at Blogtor Who. RIP.
3. “Day Zero” by Tim Foley
As I said in my review of God Among Us 2, I always look forward to scripts by Tim Foley, with previous stories of his (such as Night of the Fendahl, The Empty Hand and Soldier Obscura) being firmly among some of my favourite Big Finish releases. I’m glad (and not at all suprised) to report that Day Zero is another successful script.
Day Zero is very much like A Mother’s Son in its unflinching exploration of the dramatic consequences of Torchwood actions. It’s also a great showcase for Tom Price‘s Andy Davidson, who, as the de facto villain of the piece, gets lots of great material to work with.
Overall, another fine entry in the God Among Us saga.
7/10
4. “Thoughts and Prayers” by James Goss
Thoughts and Prayers by James Goss wraps up the God Among Us storyline in an exciting and emotional fashion. I won’t go into plot specifics for fear of spoiling how things end up, but rest assured it’s a fantastic ending and absolutely satisfying.
I was particularly impressed by Samantha Béart‘s performance in this story; she gets to put a different spin on Orr, who is definitely becoming one of my favourite members of the new Torchwood team.
Ending on an interesting cliffhanger, I’m intrigued to see where the Torchwood range goes after this, but if it’s even half as good as God Among Us has been, I know we’ll be in for a treat…
8/10
Overall
God Among Us 3 wraps up the God Among Us storyline with flair, giving us four completely different, but equally as spectacular, stories. This new Torchwood team is fast becoming one of my favourites, and I can’t wait to see where they go next.
Thoroughly recommended.
Torchwood: God Among Us 3 is available on CD or as a download from http://www.bigfinish.com
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