God Among Us: See No Evil

"Has everyone else just gone blind?"

Writer: John Dorney
Format: Audio
Released: October 2018
Series: Torchwood 6.03

Featuring: Captain Jack, Orr, Yvonne, Ng, Andy

Synopsis

Cardiff goes blind.

There's a hunter out there in the darkness. With no escape, and the screaming getting louder, Jack Harkness and Yvonne Hartman each set out to save the city in their own ways.

Verdict

See No Evil was an outstanding episode of Torchwood that got God Among Us right back on track after a relatively poor previous story. I liked the interaction between Jack and Yvonne and it was a good way to start the audio. Jack still holding a grudge against Ng was good but I remain a little surprised with how much Yvonne wants Jack to give her a chance. He’s avoiding her quite abruptly which is quite different to how I would expect Jack to act, but that wasn’t an issue in the slightest. Andy getting a feature length appearance was fantastic and it was good for him to invite Yvonne for lunch before the attack occurred. Once that happened, the episode took on a whole new dimension and I was thoroughly impressed with how darkness was captured in an audio story. That’s a difficult task that was achieved excellently. Andy trying to calm the civilians of Cardiff when they realised that nobody could see anymore. They believed that Andy was lying and that it was all a government plot to make everyone blind. Jack’s efforts to combat the darkness with night vision goggles was really good and I thought it was terrific to have Yvonne with a fear of the dark. That came into play very well later in the episode. The little moment where a mother was searching for her little baby Meredith was a disturbing scene because the thought of a baby alone in the dark was very frightening. But then we heard the mother having her voice echoed and killed by the monster that had brought darkness to Cardiff. Listening to this audio on a train in the dark en route to Cardiff was pretty darn interesting I have to tell you! With my train’s destination being for Penarth, I was almost questioning whether I wanted to stay on past Cardiff to avoid the darkness as it didn’t reach that far. Finding out that the darkness took a moment to react was very good and that provided part of the resolution which was important to acknowledge at this point in the story. The city being engulfed by a dome of sorts that was like rubber was interesting and for those that got out, they just screamed and got absorbed. Quite disturbing! The continuing of the echoing speech was brilliant and I liked the fear factor that it provided. Jack getting his goggles working was good and I loved that it was him and Yvonne who had the privileges of sight with just the two pairs available. That meant he was able to see Ng despite his avoidance but the line about him leaving her in the dark for a change was sublime. Yvonne deducing that everything in Cardiff was part of a hunt was good and I liked knowing what was going on whilst showcasing her intelligence. People were sitting targets now and that was very dangerous for the people of Cardiff. Ng being alone in the dark and realising the words were moving was good and it was nice to have her relationship in this episode being with Orr. She was transforming into what the monster wanted and all she knew was that Ng needed to run. Colin calling Jack was good and I liked the location use of him being on Queen Street as that’s somewhere I go every lunch break. Jack coming to save Colin because it’s what Colchester would have wanted was a nice touch. Yvonne finding Andy who was startled was good and a pretty humorous moment. She had a plan with his police radio which worked very well as she wanted to gather everyone at Bute Park. How she was able to do that with everyone being blind was a little baffling, but the accumulation of sound and police is surely how that came about. Colin’s group of people he helped gather in the church weren’t too pleased that Jack was able to see and that set them against him to try and get the goggles. And the gun. I liked the scuffle a lot and it seemed right that those who were trapped in blindness would want to do anything to regain their sight. The scenes with Yvonne and Andy in the car were fantastic and I found myself really interested that the mysterious Scottish woman of the previous two episodes returned again with Orr. Her ability to persuade the creature to go away was good and I am looking forward to finding out more about her and what she’s up to! I think it could be a while before that happens though. The talk of invisible people was good but Colin’s intervention that he felt invisible was outstanding following Colchester’s death. He was a great character in this episode. Yvonne and Andy’s continued car journey was good and the thought of them just running over a dead body that had been ripped apart by the monster was horrifying. Yvonne found that something around the goggles was so dark it didn’t even show up on the goggles and that meant the creature was close. Yvonne giving Andy her goggles whilst she was driving was a terrific comedic moment as he tried to shoot the monster before it got out of range. They were having fun which was just lovely to hear. Finding out that Jack’s goggles had broken in the church scuffle was a fantastic moment and it was nice to know that Colin had found their way back to his house in the dark without any aid. That was really nice. Colin revealing that he was staying in Cardiff because of the ghost of Colchester being close by was a really nice thought and it’s clear that he loved his husband very much. Yvonne’s plan on using a strobe was excellent and I thought was a brilliant way to potentially get around the impact of the darkness. She knew where the hunter was going now because she’d created a large source of food available at Bute Park following the change in its plan after the attempted shooting. I thought that was superb and showed just how incredible of a character Yvonne Hartman was. She showcased herself incredibly well. Andy finding out that he was the one who was actually the true bait was a really good moment of humour and that allowed Yvonne to re-emerge and kill it straight. She obliterated it. Andy wasn’t too thrilled which was rather funny. I didn’t expect the creature to actually be a giant mouth though! I don’t know how that would have worked in a non-audio format. Andy getting to show Yvonne that she was powerlessness was brilliant and I look forward to seeing where their relationship develops in the future. He knew she needed someone and got invited home with her which was nice. The final scene of the episode inside Colin’s apartment was outstanding and the prospect of Jack feeling different and perhaps mortal wasn’t new, but I like the dynamic that it provides. The darkness had dissipated now, but Colin and Jack were enjoying a sunset and you just knew where things were going from there. And just as Colin initiated the kiss with Jack, Colchester emerged for a triumphant return! I thought that was done extremely well and I look forward to the finale of the first boxset stemming off of that. Overall, a sensational episode!

Rating: 10/10