Torchwood One – Before the Fall

#1.02. Through the Ruins ~ 8/10

◆ An Introduction

The bigger they are, the harder they fall. That was my mindset when first listening to ‘Through the Ruins’, because this box set got off to such a promising start. I’m over the moon that Jenny T. Colgan proved me wrong by delivering a fab script.

◆ Publisher’s Summary

“Ianto, please. It’s all… it’s all gone wrong. I don’t know what to think any more.”

Away Days at Torchwood aren’t what you’d expect. Yes, there’s the forced camaraderie, the team-building exercises, and the chance for long-held rivalries to boil over. But Torchwood Away Days also have the potential to get very lethal very quickly.

Yvonne Hartman’s extremely worried by this year’s Away Day. But she’s got other things on her mind – something’s very wrong with Torchwood.

◆ DISCLAIMER

It was only after pre-ordering ‘I Hate Mondays’ that I was made aware of the Islamophobic and transphobic rhetoric that Tracy-Ann Oberman continues to share on social media.

For this reason, I will not be purchasing any further releases featuring Oberman. I refuse to support someone with such despicable views.

I previously covered the first four sets for TimeScales, so will be porting those reviews over to this site: each of them will carry this disclaimer. They were all written prior to May 2023. Please remember not to take any of my comments in this review about Oberman’s performance – positive or negative – as condoning her frankly awful views.

◆ Yvonne Hartman

Jenny T. Colgan does a marvellous job at building on the conclusion of the previous episode, by showcasing Torchwood’s once powerful top controller on the back foot.

‘Through the Ruins’ features an excellent performance from Tracy-Ann Oberman.

Yvonne rocks up at her PA’s flat looking like a drowned, harassed rat and claims that she’s been set up. She’s the head of Torchwood, and Ianto is convinced truth doesn’t come into that job description. Yvonne hasn’t got many friends because she was always so dedicated to her work: all she needs from Ianto is one night of sleep to get her mind together. She likes her coffee black, like her humour. She assures Lord Jacobin that nothing is above her pay grade. Jim knows that Yvonne has always met her enemies head on – well, when she isn’t stabbing them in the back that is! She tells Soren that she is from all over: her father was in the armed forces, moving from base to base, so she’s technically an army brat.

◆ Ianto Jones

I think the concept of sending Ianto on an away day is absolutely hilarious, even if it all ends in disaster. Jenny T. Colgan does a brilliant job with the character in this script.

Yet another excellent showing from Gareth David-Lloyd in ‘Through the Ruins’.

Ianto is far from happy to be stuck wearing a track suit for Rachel’s little away day: he told his room-mate that he works in chartered accountancy, but looks less like an accountant and more like an advert for nylon today! It’s clear that he still cares about Yvonne, but he’s fallen for the lies spread by his new boss, and tries to get her to admit her faults to Rachel. He means well, but is completely barking up the wrong oak tree.

◆ Rachel Allan

Following the execution of her hostile takeover, the gormless guise has been lifted. Rachel comes across as manipulative and vindictive in this episode: someone who will do whatever it takes to achieve her goals.

‘Through the Ruins’ features an immaculate performance from Sophie Winkleman. Now that her character’s true intentions have been revealed, she gets to play her with a lot more venomous spite.

Rachel picks up the phone and is quick to taunt her predecessor: she digs the knife in and tries gaslighting Yvonne into thinking she is the insane one! Yvonne refers to her as an ambitious dog… or rather, a b**ch! This episode reveals the whole reason Rachel decided to take over Torchwood: her father died at the hands of Planet XXX, so she wants to wage an interplanetary war against them as revenge!

◆ Story Recap

Rachel Allan has been sabotaging Torchwood operations from the day she arrived: she got the alcoholic Head of Alien Acquisitions drunk, and then fired. She also made sure that a teleportation demonstration went disastrously wrong, but managed to turn the blame onto Yvonne and usurp control of Torchwood One.

With the former director now on the run, Ianto is conflicted between helping her and being loyal to Rachel. Luckily, he doesn’t have much time to worry about that: he’s being sent on an Away Day for some team bonding… an Away Day that’s being used as a cover for a short lesson in waging an interplanetary war!

◆ The Away Day

Jenny T. Colgan uses the corporate landscape of Torchwood One to put an extraterrestrial spin on an office away day. Ianto is forced into team building activities which are actually a cover for a combat training exercise, which sees one of the most charismatic employees being killed off. Lorelei King was such a standout performer, so it really saddens me that Pippa wont be making any future appearances.

‘Through the Ruins’ features a fascinating concept that pokes fun at corporate culture, but I can’t help wishing this was a full-blown comedy piece. My mam once told me that working in a call centre or an office is the worst place you can end up, so I must ask her if she’s ever had to partake in one of these completely forced team building events.

◆ Wanted Fugitive

Yvonne Hartman is on the run; rapidly losing friends, and hunted by a grieving colleague convinced she is to blame for his lover’s death. That’s the second plot running through this episode, and the far superior one too.

Rachel hoped the teleportation disaster would kill off Kieran, but having Dean get detonated into shards of flesh and sinew actually worked out so much better for her. Kieran is almost super-human in his strength and abilities, so Rachel has took full advantage of his grief over losing Dean to turn him into the perfect assassin… and then sent him after Yvonne!

The scene in the Ex Libras Archives between Kieran and Yvonne is genuinely heartbreaking to listen to, as he talks about the imprint on his pillow where his parter used to lie. The whole time his anger is just boiling until he wants to lash out; to kill his former boss and maybes get the closure he needs. I felt really sorry for him.

◆ Sound Design

Martin Montague clearly had fun creating the soundscape for Torchwood’s away day, which rapidly turned into a battlefield.

Rain pours down outside of Ianto’s flat. A coach rumbling down country roads to the Torchwood away day. The chimes of Big Ben can be heard, as Yvonne makes her way into the House of Lords. The comforting sounds of a crackling fire, classical music, and a ticking clock within Lord Jacobin’s rooms: the calm is soon interrupted by a blaring alarm. Bracing winds and drizzling rain at the quarry, right before the away day. Whizzing fireworks turn into alien explosions as the away day quickly turns into a battlefield, and Ziggy continues to act like an over-excited chihuahua! Yvonne performs a mercy killing on an alien life-form… by caving its skull in with a wrench!

◆ Conclusion

“You’re head of Torchwood: truth isn’t part of the job description.”

Yvonne Hartman is on the run: framed for a teleportation disaster that wasn’t her fault. Her throne has been usurped by a venomous little upstart out for revenge. Meanwhile, Ianto is being sent on away day that rapidly turns nasty…

Jenny T. Colgan did a much better job than other reviews would have you believe. I found ‘Through the Ruins’ was a great deal of fun, with the scenes between Yvonne and Kieran being the absolute highlight.