Rescue

"Calm down Medusa."

Writer: David K Barnes

Format: Audio

Released: June 2022

Series: Redacted 1.08

Featuring: Shawna, Cleo

Synopsis

It's the end of the world. Terrifying static ghosts have taken over every major city on the planet. Cleo and Shawna are running for their lives, Abby is entangled with UNIT, and Madama Vastra wants them to meet her oracle – an individual with extensive knowledge of both space and time.

Verdict

Rescue was an excellent episode to serve as the penultimate story in the first series of Redacted! I will admit that my expectations for this podcast series prior to listening were not high and that’s probably why it has taken me this long to get blogging it, but as I head for the series finale now I really cannot wait to listen to it! This was a superb follow up to the previous episode that ended with Vastra revealing herself and whilst it is a little strange to have her recast here when she features so prominently, it’s really lovely to catch up with her in the present day. Her comments about Jenny and how she was her late wife were very sad but all indications were that they had a happy life together. That makes me happy and I do hope they did. I thought tackling the issue of stereotypes and assumptions here was very cleverly done and in a series starring and head written by members of the trans community, having Cleo react to Vastra in a similar way was nicely done. It’s an example of how easy it is to offend and that nobody is exempt. It was handled well with it being something that Cleo was genuinely sorry for as that’s something she has experienced countless times and knows how it feels. The line that I took as my quote was just too funny though! I really did laugh out loud at that as it was just the way and quick wit in which Cleo stated it. Glorious stuff. The return of Abby to save Shawna and Cleo was nicely done and an emotional reunion was always going to be on the cards ahead of the finale. Shawna wasn’t really in a forgiving mood after Abby abandoned them for UNIT but I could understand her actions. She felt betrayed by the one she loved, albeit at the moment unrequited love. Abby explaining that she wanted to become part of the story instead of just tell it was very eloquently put though. A fine moment and a nice sign of maturity for her character. I thought the rescue that was the title of the episode was good action and Vastra provided a lot of great information regarding what had happened with the Doctor being redacted. London was impacted in a big way but that depth would soon spread to the whole country, planet and beyond. The entire universe was at threat and the sole cause was the Doctor! For once, they were not the resolution and that’s a scary prospect indeed. The only way that Vastra saw fit to put things right was to remove the Doctor permanently. Not in a redacted way, but in death. I wonder how the Doctor will take that! I was shocked but it made for a stunning cliffhanger even if the believability factor of the podcast trio firstly agreeing and then carrying it out was extremely low. So I was glad that a final cliffhanger occurred with the virus getting to Cleo who was also now redacted. That’s a brilliant ending and adds some serious jeopardy as we head into the finale! I’m really excited to hear what happens and I’m anticipating an extended appearance from Jodie Whittaker which would be a delight. For now though, an excellent episode! The twenty-three minutes absolutely flew by.

Rating: 9/10