Review by Cavan Gilbey
Among Us comes to a close with this third and final volume and it may just be the strongest of the trio. It always had the hard task of wrapping up all the plot threads in a neat bow and it sticks the landing, although that is mostly helped by the concept behind the narrative being small in scope but able to maintain a really high set of stakes. The themes of social corruption, media influence and technological fascism all comes to great conclusion with particular praise for the first story in the set which offers us a glimpse into one of Torchwood’s strongest and most interesting adversaries yet.
The first story of the bunch is How I Conquered the World by the trio of Ash Darby, Tim Foley and James Goss. Friend is popular with everyone, well it helps that she knows everything about everyone and has all their best interests at heart. All she wants to do is help them be their best self, help them be popular or even help them find new friends. Friend would kill for a chance to save the world.
By far the stand-out story from the set simply based on its really audacious presentation. Mostly told from the perspective of the social network Friend, we see how it views the world through this very childish lens which leads to some pretty dire corruption from the users who are unknowingly shaping the world view of the sentient social platform. Of course the main point of satire here is how social media facilitates and empowers the worst kind of people by having little to no moderation and simply pushing popular content, which is more often than not hate-speech or extreme conservatism. The trio of writers do play on some tragic ideas such as revenge porn and how social media can slowly destroy a person’s mental wellbeing, but they do so from a viewpoint that blames platform and poster equally. The opening of the story does actually address the positive aspects of social media but also how easy it can be to be sucked into a rabbit hole of misinformation due to the lack of moderation of so called ‘public forums.’
There is a bit of a disconnect between this and the final parts of the story which have to wrap up the cliffhangers from the end of Pariahs. The Torchwood focused segments littered throughout the story are genuinely compelling and feel like they’ve been slotted in quite well, offering up some frightening ideas as to how deep Friend’s influence actually runs. But its when we return to the main narrative that the story feels a bit disconnected from what cam before. It is by no means a deal breaker and has to be done, I just wish it wasn’t as jarring as it is.
The performances from the now staple Torchwood team members are all excellent but the real stand out here is Mia Hope as Friend. She’s played with a really creepy sense of innocence which very quickly turns into this strange kind of parroted malice that always feels performative, you get a sense that Friend doesn’t quite believe in any of it but it does make a lot of her users happy so who cares as long as everyone is pleased. Hope really taps into that childish point of view and gives a stellar performance.
The easy highlight from the entire series, which is saying something given how strong this series has been so far.
10/10
Doomscroll by Ash Darby follows up the social media antics of the previous story by giving Torchwood one of their hardest assignments: tolerate influencers. Across the world social media stars are mysteriously dying and having their soul trapped in a cycle of mindless advertising, but Torchwood have tracked down the next two victims and must do all they can to keep them away from their phones.
As a follow up story to the first of the set, this one works perfectly as it demonstrates the real human fallout of Friend’s actions a lot better than many of the other stories in the series have done so far. The best comparison for this story is Colin Alone or Moderation from the first set, with particular focus placed on the way social media can emotionally manipulate people. Darby’s writing of the characters Chris and Flavella are really strong demonstrations on how addictive this negativity can be, leading to the characters living their lives through a strict regime where they schedule every minor thing as too avoid this overwhelming sense of having nothing. It offer Friend an easy way into their minds by simply making them numb to self-motivation. Both of these characters receive really quite tragic fates, Chris especially given the nature of his relationship with Tyler throughout that is played with a real sense of dysfunctional love. Tyler actually serves as the main player for this one and it really gives you a chance to see how much being a Torchwood member has weighed on him over the years and the moment he considers leaving is easily one the strongest emotional beats of the whole series.
Jonny Green is giving it his all here, I’ve really enjoyed his performances in the previous stories but this is the one that has sold me on wanting to hear the previous stories with Tyler in. Greene captures Tyler’s tragic sense of always holding back his true feelings because he’s scared of getting Chris killed if he finds out who Tyler really is. The final moments he has arguing with Chris are just played so well and also show how strong the chemistry with Jhon Lumsden, this story’s other standout performer, really is.
While less conceptually experimental than the first episode in the set Darby’s focus on nailing down the human fallout of Friend’s actions in a way that adds so well to the character of Tyler. Just a great and well contained character piece that does a great job at further establishing the rising threat of this series so far.
10/10
The third story is Tim Foley’s Heistland. As Friend’s plan enters its final stage with an attempt to reset the global economy and get in touch with an arms dealer, Yvonne Hartman heads to the front lines to track down this illusive figure with Tyler and Orr in tow. Meanwhile in Iceland, Rhys Williams finds himself thrust back into the Torchwood life as he fights against Friend’s schemes from the other side of the world.
It’s weird to say that this story, that I do otherwise really enjoy, might be the weak link of the whole set. I think this is probably down to the story doing a tried and testing narrative with a more modern spin and point of satire, although the actual cryptocurrency aspect is a disappointingly fairly minor aspect of Foley’s script. The script is more so focused on the fraying relationship between some of the Torchwood members as a result of the previous episodes in the set, Orr in particular gets some great development as her relationship with Tyler is more deeply explored and her empathic abilities play a greater part in her role here which was refreshing to see given how little they came in to focus during Propaganda in the previous set.
The elements that I don’t quite hold up here are the inclusion of Rhys and the conclusion. I won’t outright ruin the ending of this episode but I’ll just say that feels a tad too neat and easily achieved, however the dialogue between Yvonne and Friend at the end really sells how menacing Yvonne is and the levels of trickery her minds can reach. The Rhys stuff just feels tacked on to set up some stuff for the finale, while it is nice to have Kai Owen back one more time he doesn’t really have a chance to leave much of an impression here.
A large part of me thinks that this story would have been better as the second episode of the set and Doomscroll as the penultimate because the sense of drama and stakes isn’t quite present in Heistland to really get you in the mood for the conclusion of the 12 episode arc. A good Torchwood entry but one that doesn’t feel at home this late in the narrative.
8/10
Rounding off the set is the finale story by James Goss; The Apocalypse Starts at 6PM. Janet is the most beloved daytime TV star in Britain, with her Late Teatime show bringing comfort to thousands of happy viewers across the nation. However a show goes awry and soon her show becomes an omen for the coming apocalypse. So there’s only one way to sort this out, a nice plain old chat between the head of shadowy secret organisation and the sentient social media app they’ve been fighting against.
So this story was always going to have the hardest task of any story in Among Us; it had to stick the landing for the whole arc. Does it do it? Well not quite, but there is a really brilliant story in here. The central narrative of Janet’s life slowly unravelling due to Torchwood forcing her to be there media presence is really quite compelling. That concept feels like it would fit right at home with the television series, playing into the domestic qualities that Russel T Davies made a staple point of the projects he oversaw as showrunner. Goss perfectly nails Janet’s characterisation, giving us a protagonist who is tired and fed up but quite good at hiding it. Had this story been completely stand alone and just about Torchwood interfering with the media then I think I would have viewed it more favourably.
But much like with Heistland, the overarching elements don’t quite feel like they have been implemented as well they could have been. We get another really amazing confrontation between Friend and Yvonne as they go head to head on live television, really giving Hope and Oberman space to shine as a pair of villainesses. Although aside from that final 15 minutes, most of this feels disconnected from the wider narrative, to the point where the ending is another one that feels slightly rushed in how they beat Friend.
Of course the standout member of cast here is Janet Ellis essentially playing a parody of herself, which is appropriate given her history as a presenter on shows like Blue Peter. There’s a warmth to Janet (the character, not the performer) in her public persona that feels nicely contrasted with the increasing stress of her private life being taken over by Torchwood, something which Ellis plays with conviction.
A great story about Torchwood interfering with daytime television, a concept which could have carried a stand alone story perfectly well on its own but can’t quite give the wider narrative the finale has to wrap up room to breathe. When we do get a full conclusion to the arc it feels somewhat rushed and contrived in how the team pull it off, and that is what really drags the score down for this one despite the excellent performance from Ellis and the concept being gold.
7/10
Despite this rocky finale, and a couple of stumbles in the previous sets, Among Us’ final set is absolutely the strongest of the bunch in my eyes. The first two stories alone sell this set and they feel like great showcases for what the writers can do with the concept of a social media that can kill. The narrative does feel like it slightly runs out of steam by the time we hit Heistland, which ultimately leaves the final story to just repeat the ending of that story with much less dramatic vigour. Among Us has been a great time overall however, and I think this really stands out as one of the best overarching Torchwood narratives money can buy.
9/10
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