The Dark

"You learned your mum was a monster."

Writer: Simon Guerrier
Format: Audio
Released: December 2011
Series: Graceless 2.03

Featuring: Abby, Zara

Synopsis

"When you're together, you two can do anything."

Wherever Abby and Zara have ended up this time, their powers no longer work.

It's dark and cold and there are no stars. Frequent sand storms threaten to cut the girls to pieces. But they are not alone...

On a planet at the end of the universe, someone they never thought they would see again has been patiently waiting.

Verdict

The Dark was a very good conclusion to the second series of Graceless! Following on from the excellent cliffhanger at the end of The Flood, I thought this one served as a great finale. It was intriguing to learn so much about who we thought was Joy and I liked the idea of her inheriting the ability to teleport. The references to The Prisoner's Dilemma, The Judgement of Isskar and The Sphere were fantastic and quite strong use against what happens when the sisters are around. They try to do good and help people, but they just can't seem to get the knack. Joy telling how Marek died and she ran away to survive was a heartfelt story, but Zara didn't seem too thrilled with the actions of her daughter. We soon met Moldon who was a decent character and I was surprised to find that he was Joy's daughter. The story about him having two fathers was quite something! Abby's questioning about sex with two men at once and how everything fits was a lot of fun as well. She really is quite raunchy. The concept of there being something in the wind was very good and a planet where the dust cut you to bleed was obviously a deadly one. There was a spaceship found and it was needed to try and find some way off this planet. Playing with the abilities of the sisters not working was terrific and put them in a unique predicament which I liked. Joy claiming to not remember the Vortex when she faded away was interesting, especially given that she could still hear it within. I loved the idea of Joy becoming a toddler once escaping the Vortex. It was nice to hear how she had travelled time and space with Marek and on their travels they had heard of the wicked sisters and the bad that it depicted them in. The suggestion that there was some sexual feeling between Moldon and Abby was very off-putting. She embraced that and seemed to be rather sexual with her water. The threat of dying with water and food running out was brilliant as it was a natural one. Discovering that Joy had a feeling that the sisters were always going to get her was good and she blamed them for the trap that was obviously around them. Zara's reaction to finding that Marek didn't know she loved him was really good and she has certainly been going through a lot this series! The story of the two fathers being depicted as Joy sleeping with them for food was quite humorous. I also really liked the story of how she came up with Moldon's name and the history they ventured and how the last remains of Marek were within the Tapestry. Abby's suggestion of that being a curtain was superb. The revelation that Moldon was actually an android and not the son of Joy was very sudden and she just told the sisters that he was because she didn't want to lose him. The confusion of the program and honing in on family was good and Abby was certainly utilising that! She really liked Mondol and just seems to be perpetually horny which is fun to play around with. The relationship between Zara and Abby being tested here was very good and I liked how it seemed Zara was unhappy that she had shared Marek. She also very much didn't give blessing to the sexual exploits with Mondol. Joy was growing old and close to death, so she gave her blessing as she wanted to have a night with her mother which seemed logical. But then that's where things developed in a big way and the truth was revealed. Joy led Zara into seeing the Vortex and letting it engulf her. Abby was more boastful when Joy tried it on her and she laughed that Joy had spent her whole life with this desire of revenge against the sisters because she had only trapped herself. The replication of revenue was good, but this woman was not Joy. She was someone else's daughter. The connection between Abby and Zara was growing as the former heard the latter's screams and she didn't make the mistake of looking into the Vortex. Abby learned of those within being the dead from The Line and then we discovered that Joy was actually Persephone! It was great continuity stemming from The End and she had devised quite the scheme! We were actually on the planet of rain that she had bought and turned into a faraday cage. The parallels were terrific. Persephone ending up in her own eternal prison was quite harsh but she didn't understand that the powers weren't quelled, and quite frankly nether did I! Was it belief? Abby refused to accept that Zara was torn apart and vowed to find her as we set up for Series 3. Overall, a great finale!

Rating: 8/10