George Hewitt reviews the finale to Torchwood Among Us 2

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James Goss closes off the second boxset of Series 7 with a finale that manages to tie together almost all the loose strands left dangling in preceding episodes. Finally, we have team Torchwood all working together for the first time since God Among Us. This episode also marks the last to be released of Scott Handcock’s tenure as the director of Torchwood.

Orr is on a mission to retrieve one of the most hated men in the country. Mr Colchester is on a mission to retrieve one of the other most hated men in the country. Ng and Tyler are preparing for an enquiry into Phlobos. Yvonne is lurking in the shadows, ready to pounce. This story deals with a lot, but it never feels overstuffed or badly paced. Each character has their moment to shine, a particular highlight being the scenes between Colchester (Paul Clayton) and Graham “the Graham Reaper” Graves (Richard Clifford).

Goss expertly crafts a backstory for the pair’s relationship, unheard of until now but completely believable, and this relationship is elevated to an even higher level by the performances and chemistry of the actors. Colchester’s past is significantly more tragic than listeners may have expected, and his devotion to doing what’s right really shines through here. Meanwhile, Clifford does an excellent job of ensuring Graves is entirely unlikable, his attitude and speech patterns revealing some brilliant commentary within the script about the system of politics in the UK.

Meanwhile, Glen McCready gets a lot to do as Kyle Lansman, the whistleblower for the Phlobos scandal. Combined with Samantha Béart’s Orr, this part of the plot feels almost like an action film as the pair travels across the world, using disguises, psychic passports, and evading agents of the law. The performances are again incredible, Béart in particular continuing Orr’s evolution well and cementing them as one of the greatest characters ever to come out of Big Finish. The stakes are set high, and Lansman’s sense of unease about what he’s doing comes across very well in McCready’s take on the character.

Jonny Green as Tyler gets a chance to have some extended scenes with Alexandria Riley’s Ng – surprisingly, it doesn’t feel like these two have had a lot of time alone together since meeting back in the first episode of Series 5. However, once again the two show a huge range of acting ability, bantering back-and-forth as well as becoming increasingly nervous about Lansman and Graves arriving at the enquiry on time. Green ensures that listeners are aware that Tyler knows more than he’s letting on, which means the reveal that Yvonne (Tracy-Ann Oberman) was running the temping agency (introduced back in Ash Darby’s Aliens Next Door from the first boxset of Series 7) lands, and it’s able to make complete sense without feeling like a twist for twist’s sake.

Once the enquiry begins, Pariahs becomes a courtroom drama, and Lisa Bowerman’s Chair is a fantastic foil to Torchwood, Lansman, and Graves. Revelations about what Phlobos is ties together plot points introduced and teased throughout Among Us thus far, and the conclusion to the episode raises the stakes even further, setting up the final boxset with Torchwood in a very difficult situation.

Political, thrilling, and at times character-driven, Pariahs is the greatest instalment of Torchwood so far – and that includes the TV show as well. Goss juggles a lot of plot threads perfectly, and Handcock’s direction is sublime, allowing smaller moments to land where they need to while the drama, pace, and stakes are kept at appropriately high levels for the majority of the piece. He also has a minor cameo in the episode, rounding off his time as director with a suitably light moment. He will be missed from the range, but this was a truly exceptional set to go out with.

Torchwood: Among Us 2 is available on CD or as a download from http://www.bigfinish.com