Released October 2023

SOME SPOILERS FOLLOW

After referencing a troubled relationship with her father while studying the world impossibly suspended above a black hole alongside the Tenth Doctor and Rose, Ida Scott in Patrik O’Connor’s ‘Odyssey’ has now tracked her infirmed father to The Spire, an ancient relic left by a race that could warp both gravity and time. But as Odysseus resolutely proclaims that the sounds of gravity within will cure him, Ida uncovers a startling mystery at the core The Spire that seemingly transcends time itself.

The very best science fiction is able to effortlessly intertwine in its stories the emotions, tragedies, and triumphs of the human experience, and O’Connor proves remarkably adept at doing so by exploring this fractured family dynamic in heartbreaking fashion. As Odysseus slowly falls victim to a degenerative disease that affects speech and memory, Ida realizes that there is little time remaining to try to connect with the father with whom she has shared little happiness. Even so, old habits and memories are difficult to let go, and even with the best of intentions she finds herself continually butting heads with her father, a fact made all the worse because the man who so dedicated himself to science for all of his life has seemingly foregone traditional and proven therapy options to pursue what he is sure will be the beneficial and curative effects of this gravitational anomaly. Both of these characters are fiercely proud and obviously care for each other even if neither will admit it and, indeed, seem to go out of their way to antagonize and criticize the other, and the wall that Odysseus continues to put up around him to keep his daughter from seeing any sort of weakness creates a visceral sense of frustration that is all too familiar for many parents and children. Considering how little was truly known about Ida after the end of ‘The Satan Pit’ and the fact that Odysseus is a completely new character, it’s remarkable just how well-developed these two become in remarkably short order, the strong writing and incredibly emotional performances from Claire Rushbrook and Silas Carson adding a tremendous weightiness and weariness of years far beyond what the words themselves state.

Of course, having experienced Ood being overtaken by a more powerful figure before, Ida is understandably wary of the Ood- likewise voiced by Carson- at The Spire. With other occupants of this facility gone without explanation and the Ood eerily vocalizing disjointed and haunting sentiments, she can’t help but suspect another conspiracy of sorts, one that extends to her father’s new assistant who just may have led him to this place. It’s natural, of course, that Ida may feel threatened to some degree by someone who her father trusts and does open up to while she fails in her own attempts to reconnect and reconcile, but the truth behind the strange occurrences at The Spire is much more far-reaching and horrific than she could have ever imagined. Unfortunately, the plot does somewhat unravel as it steps away from the very human dynamic to explain the legacy and mystery behind the Resilient race and the ties to the present and the dawn of the universe itself, the rather audacious ideas remaining somewhat ill-defined entities despite the incredibly evocative visuals and voices behind them. With Odysseus apparently knowledgeable of these affairs while he awaits his own cure before joining, however, it’s again the personal element that provides a strong anchor for even this more brazenly outlandish element. Still, although it seems unlikely that this plot will end up having any bearing on the Torchwood universe at large, ‘Odyssey’ remains a tremendously engrossing and resonant affair throughout thanks to the brilliant exploration of Ida and Odysseus and all that they have been through leading up to this tenuous point.