Gooseberry

"There's probably no way back for you."

Writer: James Goss

Format: Audio

Released: April 2021

Series: Torchwood Monthly 49

Featuring: Owen, Andy

Synopsis

Andy has a girlfriend. She's called Caite, and she's utterly lovely. And then she meets Owen. 

Owen finds out that Caite has a secret. One that he's desperate to understand. But the more he discovers, the more dangerously close to Caite he becomes. 

What's going to happen when Andy finds out?

Verdict

Gooseberry was an excellent episode to continue my way through the Torchwood monthly range from Big Finish! As I nearly reach the halfway point in the range, this is the first blog entry I have written since Big Finish's announcement that their Torchwood range will be coming to a close. That's an incredible shame as the series has been nothing short of spectacular and I have loved and adored the extension and expansion of Torchwood on audio. It's been wonderful and at least being in the position that I am in constantly playing catch up that I still have so many to get through! But now there's an end point in reach which adds to the excitement and determination to conclude. Will we ever get Absent Friends? I bloody hope so. Anyway, onto the story at hand and it was another belter. There's something special about Cardiff at night when it comes to the setting and I'm not sure if it's just because I'm local to the area and that it's Welsh that it just resonates with me. The atmosphere was chilling and it reminded me of a recent experience where I was hanging around the city centre for two hours from 3.30-5.30am awaiting the first train home after a midnight bus home from London. The things we do for football, eh? The concept of Andy having a girlfriend is a fun one and it's nice to know that he's moved on from Gwen who he clearly fancied. He's a nice guy and deserves to be happy with a woman, even if she was supposedly out of his league! Poor old Andy. Even when he gets a girl he's still questioned and ridiculed. He really can't win. It was nice to hear throughout the episode that Owen really does care for him as a friend despite the appearance he may put on. I thought Caite was a fantastic character and whilst it was great to just have her as Andy's girlfriend, she was clearly so much more. Her nature as what Owen dubbed a vampire which wasn't actually quite that literal was terrific and she was feeding off Andy whilst being in a relationship with him. She loved him which came as a shock to Owen but it was really nice to know. I enjoyed how Owen and Caite got to know each other and exploring the fact that Owen was dead was done brilliantly. I mean it helped that Caite was also in a similar way but the way she could feed and actually pass that onto Owen temporarily made him feel and experience the simple things in life for the first time in a very long time. The smell of the rain, the taste of a kebab. He felt alive again and that was powerful stuff. Even as he described feeling the pain of his permanently broken finger which was disturbing! But it showed how much he desired life. I thought the way it became like a drug to him and Caite became more vulnerable was disturbing to listen to at times but it really highlighted just what kind of existence Owen had after dying. Their murder of the old woman was horrifying with Owen refusing to stop despite Caite's insistence and then they had to cover it up from Andy who was so sure there was something fishy about her death that required Torchwood just from the look on her face. And he was right of course. It was fun to hear him question Owen when he knew of his involvement but he got off lightly when Caite's true nature was also found out. I was less keen on her found and rare ability to time travel and actually never meet Andy in the first place meaning the old woman would survive, but the emotional toll of the episode was a big one. Andy was obviously hurt by what had happened and that put Owen in a difficult position despite him avoiding court and any kin of responsibility really. Overall, a brilliant audio! 

Rating: 9/10