Requiem

"Everyone who has had contact with the blue box has disappeared."

Writers: Ajoke Ibironke & Juno Dawson

Format: Audio

Released: May 2022

Series: Redacted 1.07

Featuring: Abby, Shawna, Cleo

Synopsis

Heartbroken by Abby's betrayal, Shawna and Cleo keep up the investigation. Going through Abby's notes leads them to something called the Requiem Group – an online support group for "those who've lost somebody." But who is the mysterious Requiem, and why won't she turn on her camera?

Verdict

Requiem was another great episode to continue my way through the Redacted podcast series! We’re getting close to the end now and this was a really good advancement after a pretty emotional and shocking end to Recruits where Abby decided to partner with UNIT instead of sticking with her friends. I’m glad that was touched upon here but it didn’t become the main focus nor get too overbearing. It took until close to the end of the episode for Shawna to fully express her feelings during the Requiem meeting on Zoom. That central concept for the story was a positive one and I liked the modern technology involved. Of course, we’re fresh off a pandemic but even if an epidemic of missing people was happening then the safest option would certainly be a virtual meet up. That also made sense with the scale of the missing people stretching far beyond London. I thought it was good that the meeting started with around twenty people but as it went on it shrunk and shrunk until it was only Cleo and Shawna left alongside the enigmatic Requiem who wouldn’t be shown on camera. She sounded like AI to be honest which would be a fun revelation, but I’m not sure if we’ll ever get an answer there. I don’t think it matters either. I am very invested in discovering what makes Cleo so special in not being affected by the missing people. She retains the memory of those who vanish and that certainly makes her important. It’s no surprise the Doctor broke through a communication to her on the Zoom link. It’s wonderful to hear Jodie Whittaker again and I hope we get a lengthy appearance from her in the finale where I’m assuming her being redacted will be resolved. Osgood partnering with Abby was great and I liked that the latter was getting in contact with Cleo. She wasn’t too interested and wanted actions to make up for being abandoned. This was one of the shorter episodes in the series at twenty minutes but the pace was frantic so it was hugely enjoyable. This series is such an easy listen and I really do wish I had come to it earlier! Thankfully I’ll be able to jump straight into the second series though. There’s a long way to go before I get there though! I do hope we get a nice reunion with Abby in the next episode as I think it’s clear they’re going to end up together. Shawna’s comments about the one she’s so in love with’s boyfriend were rather humorous. She wasn’t exactly flattering! The simple nature of the episode was terrific and I really do enjoy how uncomplicated these episodes are despite focusing on the Doctor going missing. Cleo having written down the members of the Requiem meeting only for them to have been literally torn out from his own sheets was very intriguing. Just how powerful is whatever has made the Doctor disappear along with hundreds of other people? And not just disappear but them being forgotten. We may have gotten a little closer at the end with the warning on the Requiem meeting, and I now look forward to listening to more! Overall, another great episode. 

Rating: 8/10