Seed of Chaos

"A virus that makes people make mistakes."

Writer: Nicholas Briggs

Format: Audio

Released: March 2017

Series: Charlotte Pollard 2.01

Featuring: Charley

Synopsis

Charlotte Pollard. Space-time traveller. Former emissary of the mysterious and terrifying Viyrans.

Now she's cast adrift and finds herself and unlikely adventurer Robert Buchan brought right down to Earth – but an Earth which is changing rapidly.

Why and how have they crash-landed in the London Underground? Who are the Identical Men? And why is human behaviour starting to change in starling and unexpected ways?

Charley, Robert and their friend the Rogue Viyran must find out if they are the solution or the cause.

Deep underground, something is stirring. Fragments of an alien design are coalescing...

Tube train trouble, the chaos begins, the Prime Minister arrives.

Verdict

Seed of Chaos was another very good episode to continue the second series of the Charlotte Pollard spinoff! I definitely got the sense that this was one where we were setting up events of the finale which I'm fully anticipating to be an epic after a strong build in the three stories so far. The immediate follow on from the cliffhanger was good with Woking in audibly bad shape and in need of getting to a hospital, an admiral decision given that he cornered the group with a gun! The presence of the Identical Men was great and their apparent controlling of the soldiers was intriguing. I'm fascinated by the idea of the virus causing strange events to occur in the UK and beyond as I'm looking forward to knowing why they want chaos. The action that came with the escape from the Underground was good and I loved Naomi's conversation with who she dubbed a dickhead train driver when he didn't take too kindly to them all being on the tracks. Bertram being identified as a threat by the Identical Men was fun and I really liked how his logical replies were met. His storing of the electrical power from the train tracks was really nice and clever! It was good for him to get an upper hand, even if he reiterated that the Identical Men couldn't be killed which remains a big dilemma! Naomi continuing to be after a story and thinking of work whilst these events were happening showed she was dedicated to her craft, and all indicators pointed towards events being caused from passengers on two specific trains that went through Embankment station. Well, that is just way too much of a coincidence! Namoi taking the story to her editor and getting a reply that she thought everything was faked was excellent, and I liked the little details of Charley not understanding the concept of CGI. Rab had another strong showing from afar in deducing that the likes of food shortages and distribution workers were all linked. Bertram pointed out that it wasn't a virus, but something analogous to one that was rewriting neural pathways on a small scale, but the consequences were enormous. One small seeded was planted and it was beginning to cause devastation. Naomi and Rab already appearing infected was a fantastic development as they forgot key details with the latter failing to call an ambulance for Woking. Empathy was lost. Charley and Rob being picked up along with Bertram as suspected enemy agents was fun and I was surprised by the development that Bertram didn't have the ruffling or ability to save lives before the Prolixity, which he realised was within him! I'm sure that will bring about the means to defeat the Identical Men. The arrival of the Prime Minister into events was very good and I liked how she understood what was happening despite its unbelievability. There were health crashes, more planes falling out of the sky and nobody wanted to have sex, and this was all linked! All stemming from the UK. But it seems Charley and Rob are immune which is terrific. Their exploration of an evacuated London was good and I loved that for Charley it was recognisable enough for her to think of it as home. The pair also shared an intimate moment when they found themselves holding hands which was really nice. The cliffhanger was decent as the Identical Men closed in but Bertram had a plan to disappear, which resulted in the threats being no longer present. But just where were Charley and Rob now? Overall, a great episode!

Rating: 8/10