Among Us: How I Conquered the World

"Great things happen when we work together."

Writers: Tim Foley, Ash Darby & James Goss

Format: Audio

Released: August 2023

Series: Torchwood 7.09

Featuring: Rhys, Yvonne, Mr Colchester, Ng, Orr, Tyler

Synopsis

Hello Friend! You've probably all still got an account on Friend. Can you remember what you posted on it? Are you still using the same password? And did you ever say goodbye?

Verdict

How I Conquered the World was an excellent start to third instalment of Among Us for Torchwood’s seventh series! After a brilliant cliffhanger at the end of Pariahs for the last series, this was an intriguing start to the direction of the finale but it worked well and has really set us up nicely. The format was really strange but one I loved with Friend basically talking to us for an hour about what she had done and what her plans were. It was audacious and incredible really. I do think it might have gone a little too far in suggesting she was responsible for so much going back to Aliens Among Us and beyond, but the amount of continuity here was tremendous. The references to Army of Ghosts/Doomsday were brilliant with her knowing of the ghosts and Torchwood’s involvement as well as records showing that Yvonne Hartman was dead. That wasn’t quite the one that featured here though which was fun and provided a little confusion to the logic driven social network AI. I thought even the talk of alien Prime Ministers was fun and also mentioning the situation in Cardiff during the events of Exit Wounds was nicely done. Friend had a vast array of knowledge! I thought touching on Miracle Day was really powerful and learning of Mr Colchester’s involvement in being in a care home as that was going on was brilliant. I’m not sure if this series is building towards any kind of conclusion for Torchwood, but this felt like it would work well as a means to get there. The suggestion of God being a distraction was a little annoying though as a lot of investment was had in the first two series on audio for Torchwood focused around that, so minimising it as something of Friend’s doing felt a little off. Apart from that, it was excellent though and the childlike nature of both Friend’s voice and actions worked perfectly. The continued mentions of porn when it came to exploring data and internet usage was amusing though and it’s no surprise to see it so prominent. That’s something Torchwood can explore with its adult theme. I liked that the episode almost served as a warning for the first fifty minutes and the constant cameos from the Torchwood team with them being in discussion with Friend was nicely done, and now she’d set them up as the survivors in a crime scene that would incriminate them. Yvonne showed up at the scene to save them though which was a fun moment and the way the end credits were interrupted because of the slow and underwhelming getaway was fantastic. The continuity for this series in particular was rounded out nicely with the explanation of Veloshnik and the deadly DNA weapon. It’s all going to come into play quite nicely and having Torchwood on the run is good stuff if they can’t be centred at the Hub. My general feeling moving forward from here for the series ahead is general excitement, and with that being the case I can’t be disappointed with this series opener in the slightest! Overall, a terrific listen. 

Rating: 9/10