God Among Us: Future Pain

"Belief. That's what you've got to fear."

Writer: James Goss
Format: Audio
Released: October 2018
Series: Torchwood 6.01

Featuring: Captain Jack, Orr, Tyler, Yvonne

Synopsis

Torchwood pick up the pieces and move on. After all, there's a whole new set of alien threats to deal with.

While Yvonne Hartman is asserting her authority as the new leader of Torchwood, Jack Harkness is hunting an alien god in the sewers – but what's he really hiding from?

Verdict

God Among Us kicked off the official sixth series of Torchwood in impressive fashion with Future Pain! It has probably been a little too long since I completed my listening of Aliens Among Us, but I’m now off into the next batch of stories and I’m looking forward to despite my slight disappointing concerning the cliffhanger ending of Series 5. The fate of Mr Colcheter was sealed as we had everyone attending his funeral. Getting to hear his wedding to Colin first was a nice way to kick off what turned out to be a pretty darn emotional episode! There was a lot of switching around from character to character which was terrific and maintained my interest for the duration with ease. Yvonne being in conversation with Ro-Jedda who was locked up was really good and I liked the End of Days reference when it came to the discussion regarding God. Jack being in the sewers with a Weevil and actually hunting God was really good and I just love how frequently the Weevils make cameos in Torchwood. Orr joining Jack in his hunt was good and I thought she had a pretty outstanding episode. Jack’s constant attempts at shooting God without it dying was decent and I felt a little sorry because it was just hungry. Orr being felt through the Rift was really good. I didn’t expect Tyler to have such a prominent role in this audio but he had a fantastic showing. His new job in PPI insurance was great and I loved how it was used to catch up listeners on the events that had occurred throughout Aliens Among Us with the Sorvix. They’d now had to run away from their homeworld and if God was here then that meant there was nothing left. Ro-Jedda telling Yvonne that belief will spread was very powerful as how do you fight that? The idea of God changing from world to world was good and seems quite apt for religion and everything that goes with it. Orr revealing that God had an unusual existence with time really intrigued me and I do hope that we get some more of that in the future of the series. There’s a lot of potential there. The recalling of Children of Earth: Day One and the Hub explosion was brilliant and I wonder why God talked about that as if it was yet to come. Andy showing up at Colchester’s funeral was nice and I’ll always enjoy it if he gets to play a prominent role at any point during the rest of the series. Orr claiming that God had latched onto both hers and Jack’s futures was terrific and I’ll be amazed if we don’t come back to that in a future story. It was a psychic plasmovore and that could prove pretty deadly. Ng being in the cells along with Ro-Jedda was good and I liked the disturbing thought that she had eaten all of the rats in her original cell. It reminded you how disturbing and inhuman she was. I liked the idea of Gwen’s exposure to the Rift making her a suitable form to hide as the Herald. She had been employed to do God’s doing and report on where the Sorvix had gone, but she never reported back and just hid in Torchwood which I liked. It put a little bit of a fear factor into God which was needed at that point. Orr’s experience at the funeral was superb and I liked her noticing the peaceful effect whilst being surprised that there were no sexual thoughts. The flashback moment to Tyler calling Colin to tell him of Colchester’s death was very emotional and I just felt sorry for his loss throughout, but he was coping well before breaking down at the end of the episode which was important. Tyler having an exchange with the woman claiming to be a mother of sorts for Colchester was intriguing and I hope that she returns at some point. I expect she will. Colin feeling alone at the funeral was extremely sad, especially with both of their families thinking their relationship was a bit modern. That was hard to hear, but the speech he gave at the funeral was sublime. I loved the little cameo of Gwen and Rhys and it’s nice to know that she came back whilst escaping Jack’s sight. I’d love her to return later in the series but I think she truly is done with Torchwood at this point in the continuity. Orr talking with Colin and revealing how Colchester often thought of him sexually was a hilarious moment because of how point blank she was about it. The attack outside of the funeral with God was exciting and I liked how it was trying to deal with its complications in existing. Jack’s shooting at the beast wasn’t to kill it but rather to find the right frequencies to feed it. When that failed, Jack offered his own life because he’d come back no problem. Orr offered herself to become what he’d like and what he wanted was future pain. I thought that was incredibly interesting, especially when he wasn’t interested in anything current. The description of the God being a giant leech probably wasn’t too threatening but it didn’t take away from the impact it had. Jack meeting Colin for the first time was really good and I liked how he unsubtly revealed how he can come back from the dead. Their reminiscing of Mr Colchester was very good. God wanting Tyler’s future pain was decent but I wasn’t expecting him to be the focus. Tyler dismissed the prospect that his pain could get worse which I thought was a bit off, but the comment that he will love again made me instantly think that he and Colin will get together. I’m calling that now. Colin standing up to God to save Tyler probably has something to do with my thoughts regarding that, but the reminiscing of Colchester impacting God was really nice. I’m not too sure how that would change the future though. Orr giving God what it wanted and its future pain was intriguing but I was a little disappointed that it seemed to kill it off so soon. I’m adamant that God will return, but it just seemed a bit quick. Yvonne investigating the alien hotel at Cardiff Bay was good and I was really fascinated listening to that because I now work in Cardiff and not too far from the Bay area which is also where my girlfriend works! So the idea of an alien hotel took on a new level from Series 5 for me. I liked that she deduced that the Sorvix had gone home without Ro-Jedda and I’m now intrigued to see where things go for the rest of the series. Colin desiring Jack was an unexpected move and I’m not sure if I liked that occurring at Colchester’s funeral. Ro-Jedda and Ng talking in the cells was interesting and I really liked how confident the Mayor was in what she would do to escape. She would burn the world. One thing that struck me in this episode was the line about how Torchwood saves the world but ruins lives. That was incredibly powerful and hard to disagree with. Yvonne arriving at the funeral was good and I found the comments about her denying Colin his husband’s body interesting and I fully expect him to still be alive after all. It was the best reason to not give him the body, so in my eyes Colchester remains alive. Orr’s comments regarding Yvonne were good and I liked that she thought of her as the wrong kind of mystery. What had she been doing for a decade since the Battle of Canary Wharf? I’d like to know that! Orr wanted Jack back at Torchwood which was terrific and I suspect the next episode will have a tasty confrontation between the two people claiming Torchwood leadership. Yvonne bringing Colin to the Hub to show him Colchester’s last message recording was really nice and his message was fantastic, funny and full of love. I liked his inquisitive nature though in wanting to also to listen to Yvonne’s message. She would do her duty of course and all that mattered was Torchwood to her. She was committed I’ll give her that! Ng actually being in the cells to extract information from Ro-Jedda the whole time was a nice move and I didn’t see it coming, but I’m not sure how willing she would be to do Yvonne’s bidding. I wouldn’t mind that relationship being extended in future episodes though. Jack reminiscing on the Yvonne Hartman we saw upgraded into a Cyberman was very good with how confident she was in getting victory. It worked well for him to compare her to the other Yvonne from Pete’s World and how this version will do anything to get victory. Yvonne finishing the episode by shooing Ro-Jedda was an unexpected conclusion! I look forward to where things go from here and it seems that everything will be fresh! Overall, a strong start to the series. 

Rating: 8/10