God Among Us: Eye of the Storm

"It looks like the end of world."

Writer: David Llewellyn
Format: Audio
Released: February 2019
Series: Torchwood 6.08

Featuring: Captain Jack, Yvonne, Mr Colchester, Tyler, Ng

Synopsis

An alien power station is sending out waves of lethal energy, people are turning to stone and the water levels are rising.

As Torchwood set out on a desperate mission, God takes tea with someone who has been playing a very long game.

Verdict

Eye of the Storm concluded the second boxset of God Among Us in an excellent way! It was a very strong conclusion whilst setting things up for the final instalment and it was only right that we began with God and the Committee. The poem about rain was very apt and quite timely for my personal position as the storms have been causing absolute havoc in my local area lately with football and transport badly impacted. Andy being on a call out and thinking his case was one for Torchwood was a lovely moment of nostalgia and reminded me fondly of the first two series. Some wonderful times. The passengers on board a Mermaid Tours ship being turned to stone was an intriguing way to start and I liked finding out that it was a former Sorvix power plant that turned them that way. It had been shaken by the awful recent weather and there was now a threat of meltdown which obviously wasn’t good. Torchwood’s plan was a relatively simple one in that they hoped to decontaminate and neutralise it before meltdown was realised. Norton’s suggestion of using the Lens was good continuity for the boxset and it could be used to displace the meltdown blast into the Rift. Jack and Norton pairing up whilst Colchester and Ng did the same created a good dynamic on the old but tech-heavy submersible. That was a lot of fun and it also left Yvonne and Tyler back at the Hub and they made a very good pairing. Yvonne’s call to keep the nuclear ship stationed at Newport to remain that way was excellent and she was able to show off a bit to the newest Torchwood member. God and the Committee Leader talking made for terrific scenes and I enjoyed that the latter knew Torchwood were coming but he wanted to watch the storm alone. He was very calm about all that was happening and that made him a good villain. I must admit that I haven’t been a huge fan of Norton since his arrival at the end of the last boxset but I did like his question to Jack asking how many times he’d drowned. It was quite harrowing to know Jack had lost count. Norton’s joking about a seal animal was just tiresome though and reminded me of why I disliked him. Colchester’s restlessness waiting for the energy levels to drop 10% to enter safely was amusing, especially with Ng’s sarcastic response detailing exactly why Jack and Norton were talking so long to drain the residual energy. The sudden move of Norton to trap Jack in the concentration filter was brilliant and made a decent amount of sense in that the immortal one could just absorb the energy. The harking back to Flight 405 was fantastic and Yvonne’s noticing of the pilot’s suit similarity came full circle which was very nice. Norton believing that it was Jack who had put the plane into the time loop was unexpected and I couldn’t quite understand his rationale. His efforts to escape were commendable as he’d used the Lens to hijack Yvonne’s projection effort of retrieving Ianto from the past. He’d waited sixty years and come the long way around and now he would serve his purpose for the Committee. Jack’s reaction to norton bringing up the Committee was excellent and he had a really strong episode. The reactor failing provided a lot of excitement and I was delighted to hear Colchester ignore Yvonne’s order to remain outside whilst things were getting critical. A real punch the air moment. Ng finding Captain Jack in a bad way after his energy absorption heroics was interesting because he was still alive, but very much immobile. Colchester round Norton at the reactor which was great and he asked a very valid question of wanting to know where and when the explosion would be diverted to through the Rift. Norton only provided a vague answer which Colchester would have none of. The conflict between the team was very strong in this episode which was sublime and I liked that Tyler began questioning Yvonne when she ignored Ng’s plea call. She spilled all of how she had been working for this moment for the last decade in hiding and that it was a long-standing plan. She offered Tyler life if he stood with her which showed that she was very much evil. Colchester finally deciding he’d had enough of Norton was a brilliant moment with him pointing a gun at the old Torchwood agent. He couldn’t believe that both the submersible and the Lens surviving was a mere coincidence. The concept of the Committee wanting control of the Rift was magnificent and something I was very much on board with. That tied in nicely with their insistence on price and cost. Norton using a remote shock pad on Colchester placed when he wanted his bloody brow mopped was a bit strange, but it was quickly forgotten with the excitement that came as a huge energy release from the Rift occurred. The shockwaves resulting heading south into the seabed rather than the Rift was a good development as Norton had been lied to. The energy was heading to the planet’s core would tear it apart and that was a marvellous threat. The scenes with God and the Committee continuing were fascinating and I liked how the former questioned whether humanity suffering was what was wanted. The continued mentions of faith are great too. Norton knowing he had been played was good and he’d prepared for it which was admittedly admirable. He knew where to release the Rift energy that he’d divert to its intended destination and then he was gone. Things were literally reaching nuclear and it all seemed too late for Mr Colchester. He was going to die for the second time in nine episodes! He accepted that all was lost and didn’t want anyone coming for him. He believed his goodbye would and should be permanent this time and he was so sorry for Colin to have to lose him all over again. But there was Jack to attempt the save! There was a huge amount of excitement which makes for a great story. The discussion with God and the Committee continued to interest me and I loved that the former was pleased that love had seemingly triumphed. The Committee Leader was just laughing because he wondered about the cost. That’s all that mattered. Tyler being oblivious to Yvonne’s true intentions was a bit rubbish because I thought he was better than that. The wide impact kept worsening as a big earthquake occurred - in Cardiff! - from the aftershock of the power station. Tsunami was next on the agenda! Torchwood couldn’t do much about that. Yvonne recalling that she’d promised to do nothing if things went wrong was interesting as it just didn’t seem like her despite her true evil intentions. God being sad about the impending tsunami hitting Cardiff was interesting and I’m intrigued to discover her true purpose and intentions. It was all planned, but it wasn’t the doing of the Committee after all. Intriguing. Tyler managing to convince Yvonne to act was good and she didn’t mess about in hacking into Cardiff’s old air raid sirens and initiating an evacuation procedure. By this point in the audio I was off the train and walking through the capital and I’m sure I spotted one. Yvonne planned to open the Rift as wide as it could but Cardiff would still be obliterated. God was now at the mercy of the Committee and the line about the act of God was just sublime. This was the cost and I loved it. Tyler and Yvonne were trapped in the Hub at Cardiff Bay as the tsunami approached. Yvonne again claimed that she’d done her duty, but what was it all for? Things look ravaged heading into the finale. The post-credit scene with Norton arriving back on Flight 405. He trapped himself in the loop all along which I thought was quite apt. Overall, an excellent conclusion to what was a very strong second boxset!

Rating: 9/10