Parasite: The Mould

"There's something hunting in the mist."

Writer: James Goss

Format: Audio

Released: August 2020

Series: Torchwood Soho 1.03

Featuring: Folgate, Andy

Synopsis

Enter the world of 1950s Torchwood! 

Gangsters are vanishing from the streets of Soho, there's a deadly Nazi secret on the loose, and something's moving in the smog. Norton Folgate should be sorting this out, but the Torchwood agent is in disgrace. Who's going to save London this time?

Verdict

The Mould was another strong episode to continue my listening through the Parasite first series of Torchwood Soho! This was probably the strongest episode of the series so far despite them all sharing the same rating as I think after some fine introductions and setting things up for what is to come, this really got the umbrella story going. We were introduced (I assume anyway!) to the titular parasite and I think it's quite amusing that one was under Norton's bed the entire time he had been staying in his current residence. The trio of Norton, Andy and Gideon was quite something and whilst on paper that might not appear to be the making of a fine trio, in my ear it was honestly excellent. They all bounced off each other really well and the dynamic between them is second to none. They are all such different people and Gideon getting to grips with the fact that Norton wasn't quite a librarian was fun stuff. The prospect of Andy utilising a vortex manipulator in its own right is pretty shocking and I like the continuity of having Jack be the one to send him with his instructions. That links back very nicely to the modern era of Torchwood. It's also just nice for Andy to be a little more involved with Torchwood after so long spent on the fringes and it does seem like Torchwood Soho will be the place for him to shine amongst some of the action. Having him introduced to Gideon in his own room and being naked was quite the beginning to their relationship, but there was actually innocence in his explanation. I can certainly see why Gideon had questions though in finding Norton with another man naked in his room, especially after they'd set a time and place for a date! Andy honing on the psychic abilities of the vortex manipulator was quite fun so where else should we have expected Norton to aim for? I liked that a lot. The spore explanation after the cliffhanger to Meet Mr Lyne was also really good and logical, but without context it was obviously going to be a lot to take in. I thought the threat of the parasite was great and I think it's a fun twist to have Norton as the sole member of Torchwood taking it seriously. What better place to hide and hunt than in a foggy London? It's literally ripe for a parasite and I look forward to learning more about them as the second half of the series goes on. The significance of Belle is increasing more and more in subtle ways and I like the explanation of her being centuries old and getting involved. I suspect she will have a big role to play moving forward and I'm all here for it. Norton was certainly a little surprised to find that Gideon had interacted with her. The trio getting drunk was a bit surprising given the circumstances and I'll be amazed if no hanky panky business between them all doesn't happen tat some point given how they all got acquainted here. Norton being in a position as a sole survivor of his Torchwood team is intriguing and heading to the Soho bunker was good. Given everything happening he hoped it might be a safe haven and something no other Torchwood team members had thought about, but alas they stumbled upon it full of the creatures that they had awoken under the bed! That was quite a fun and unexpected cliffhanger. The infiltration of Torchwood is happening on quite the scale here and I wonder if that has anything to do with the timelines going wrong around Norton. I look forward to hearing more! Overall, a great episode! 

Rating: 8/10