Among Us: At Her Majesty's Pleasure

"No prison could possibly hold me."

Writer: Tim Foley

Format: Audio

Released: June 2023

Series: Torchwood 7.06

Featuring: Yvonne, Andy

Synopsis 

Yvonne Hartman is in a very special prison. And there's absolutely no way out of it. So why is she convinced she's escaped?

Verdict 

At Her Majesty's Pleasure was a great episode to continue my way through the second volume of Among Us as part of the seventh series of Torchwood! I really enjoyed the basis of this one and after the events of God Among Us, the prospect of Yvonne returning was very fun indeed. She’s a dangerous character and very unpredictable which makes her an enticing listen. The dynamic with Andy is not new but it’s quite amusing because she’s so obviously in control. The revelation towards the end of the episode that she’d planned everything right down to the finest detail including planning the break up before she’d even gone on a first date with Andy was brilliant. It showed the scale of her planning and the intricacies she’d gone to in order to plot her escape. The relationship between Andy and Yvonne is an unexpected treat from the last couple of series of Torchwood but it’s quite sad to see how one sided it is. Yvonne doesn’t seem to truly care about him whilst he can’t forget about her and she used that to her advantage here. Yvonne just being in prison was great and the inescapable claims of it made it clear that she was going to do just that. The way she was slowly building her way into controlling the prison was terrific and it was so obvious that everything was feeding into what she wanted. The first time she’d had a visitor like Andy, the first time she was actually out of her cell. It was all working in her favour and what was amusing was that Tilly knew that. Asher was a good character as someone on the inside that could make things happen although her profanity was a bit over the top and not really necessary. The prison cards were good element and I liked the mysterious low payments that were being sent to Yvonne and Asher. It was too coincidental for them not to be working together and the figures actually correlated with incidents that had been happening at certain cells. That was good stuff, but again it was what Yvonne wanted to be believed. She was in control. Charlotte was a strong character and the way she ended up essentially replacing Yvonne was excellent. The use of block transfer computation but in a purely financial and transaction sense was a very intriguing concept and one that I felt worked very well. It was fascinating stuff and took the use of Torchwood technology to another level! It was really good stuff. Andy’s inventory on Torchwood tech being into figures reaching nearly one thousand was good too, and it’s a little sad to hear how much he still yearns after Torchwood and all the connections he had there with his history with the organisation. He so desperately wanted to be a part of it and it seems he’ll always just be on the periphery. Andy having to teach a point where he would let Yvonne go finally was a very interesting way to see that she would be let of jail, but that was the beauty of block transfer computation in this context. The threat of Asher having a bomb inside her and then Andy also having something within was good stuff and I loved that a French baguette was a link to him being drugged and the memories of a meal with Yvonne in Paris. The forced dream was a good element. Tyler being the one that was funding the small payments was nicely done and a good link back to the wider Torchwood team. I’m intrigued to hear where things will go from here now with Yvonne back on the outside and this whole seventh series so far has a feeling of it building towards something. I do hope that’s the case even if it is a bit nice to feel a bit relaxed. Overall, a very good listen!

Rating: 8/10