Released May 2023

SOME SPOILERS FOLLOW

Being a member of Torchwood is difficult both professionally and personally with nobody ever truly able to live a normal life no matter how hard he or she may try. Unfortunately for Gwen Cooper, the personal toll has been more immense than for most, Ng’s taking over of her body and passing as her for months which included killing Gwen’s mother when she became too suspicious completely shattering her sense of identity and any trust in the world she had remaining. With Gwen and Rhys now living alone in a remote Icelandic lighthouse, a knock on the door brings Torchwood back into their lives in an instant in ‘Misty Eyes’ by Tim Foley.

While experiencing a story with Gwen and Rhys simply going through their quiet daily routines that now include the likes of working in a shop and cooking would prove more than entertaining, Foley wastes little time in bringing back everything they hoped to escape with Ng knocking on the front door. Obviously, there’s a tremendous amount of unfinished business between Gwen and Ng, and the brazen anger and hatred Gwen feels is more than justified and ensures that she loudly makes her thoughts known while trying to get the answers and perhaps even closure that she needs given the emotional scars that still remain. Eve Myles and Alexandria Riley give truly powerful and raw performances as each character reaches deep into their psyches to leave nothing unturned, and while it would be impossible for Gwen to ever offer any sort of apology for or acceptance of Ng’s previous actions, by the end of the harrowing events that follow in Ng’s wake there is at least a deeper connection and understanding between the two while Ng proves just how much she has grown since coming across Gwen and how much she been changed by the essence of humanity.

Aside from Ng herself appearing, however, the last thing Gwen likely expected was to be asked to help bring Torchwood back from its current, fragmented state. While it is intriguing to note that Gwen has found herself being headhunted rather overtly, the dangerous mist outside and the threats breaking through Ng’s defenses provide a visceral and atmospheric threat that also create a conduit through which Ng can truly delve into her past and what her own culture is like, especially in regards to family dynamics. Ng as initially introduced was quite high concept and somewhat abstract in nature, and every piece of characterization and revealed information about her past is immeasurably valuable and appreciated; indeed, the extreme lengths she is willing to go to in order to save Gwen and Rhys seemingly prove that she can be fully trusted as she continues to learn and adapt., and the ultimate resolution is fittingly emotional and resonant. Again, Riley is superb in these scenes that give Ng some of her most meaningful material to date, and the seemingly impossible feat of Gwen and Ng allying for Torchwood now seems much more possible with Gwen making a fateful phone call and proclaiming that she is ready to get back in the game.

Truly, Myles and Riley share a tremendous chemistry throughout, and with Kai Owen as Rhys expertly complementing the pair with the perfect blend of empathy and assertiveness, ‘Misty Eyes’ perfectly highlights the domestic bliss of a life away from Torchwood as well as the intrinsic dangers and emotional rush that those associated with it all too often experience. This in the first ‘true’ Torchwood story of this Among Us set and in may respects feels like it should have been the opener serial to allow this series to hit the ground running, and with Ng continuing to press for the reformation of Torchwood proper and appearing to make wholly unexpected progress here with stalwart Gwen agreeing to come off the sidelines to offer her expertise, anticipation for where this series may head continues to grow.