Before the Fall: Uprising

"You have lost your authority."

Writer: Matt Fitton

Format: Audio

Released: January 2017

Series: Torchwood One 1.03

Featuring: Yvonne, Ianto

Synopsis

Torchwood. It's taken the best part of a month, but I've finally got things running how they should be. How they should have been all along."

Torchwood has experienced some radical changes, but things are finally settling down. Everyone has pulled together and is trying to put the past behind them. Well, except for Yvonne Hartman – she's out to win the future.

There's one problem. Someone seems to have started an interstellar war. Someone who knows Torchwood from the inside out.

Verdict

Uprising was a very good conclusion to Before the Fall which served as a great opening series of Torchwood One! I've loved exploring Torchwood of 2005 prior to our formal introduction during Army of Ghosts, and it was just great to hear Yvonne Hartman shine and Ianto before the Torchwood spinoff started firmly on her side. They make a fine a team and I'm excited for two more boxsets in the future. Starting things with Rachel promoting Ianto to junior field agent was good and it really looked like she was trying to bribe him after the events of Through the Ruins and the horrendous away day he'd been put through. The word of Pippa's death filtering through Torchwood was quite sad with it being down to meds with only Ianto knowing the awful truth. Rachel was firmly in control at Torchwood now which was good to hear and I liked how her spin had well and truly been put on the place. It had been a month, but Torchwood was very much hers now. Yvonne being tracked by Julius who was an alpha level assassin was good but I loved that she had hired her own freelancer to deal with him. Yvonne was always one step ahead of the game which was terrific. XXX becoming a priority target for Torchwood was good and it was interesting for Rachel to demand updates and information on anything regarding the planet. I thought it was brilliant that there were rumours regarding the away day and that everyone had been retconned, but G knew Ianto hadn't. That was a good dynamic. Yvonne being engaged with the Korvax and putting in a plea that they were always her guests at Torchwood in return for their weaponry, but now Rachel had turned them into hostages. Yvonne once again appealing to Ianto for comfort was good and I liked how he helped her retrieve money from a cashpoint. The story of Rachel's father Howard and his involvement with the natives of XXX and how he got caught in Torchwood crossfire as they took out a cybernetic warrior was fantastic. She wanted revenge on anyone from the planet as she blamed them for the death of her beloved dad, but Ianto didn't agree with that and had already neutralised the retcon he was forced to take. The action-packed ending with the Korvax coming for Torchwood was great stuff and I also liked how Kieran headed the mission to find Yvonne and track her patterns. Rachel wasn't pleased when she showed up unannounced! Rachel issuing a code red was good and her encouragement to use all weaponry from testing showed she was vulnerable. The swagger that oozed when Yvonne returned to Torchwood was marvellous and the emergency codes let her in and she soon reasserted control. The staff enjoyed her in charge which wasn't the case with Rachel. Ianto having played a role all along and been working with Yvonne was a lovely revelation and I'm glad that was kept from the listener. Everyone was happy with the First Family wiped out and Torchwood getting their tech. The final meeting with Yvonne and Rachel was fun and the latter was retconned into becoming an orphan. Ending the series how we started with Rachel's first day at Torchwood was great continuity and a terrific way to round things out. Overall, a really strong finale!

Rating: 8/10