Nerves

An amazing ending to the box set love a bit of ianto and Tommy and feel there such a unique pair especially in this story

This is my first Whoniverse review and purely and only on TARDIS guide, but I thought I may as well. This will be an unorganized mini review, and apologies as I am very scatter-brained.

Nerves is beautiful. If you love Torchwood, and especially if you love Torchwood One, this is an amazing story. And not only is it a great finale to 'I Hate Mondays' as a boxset, but also the previous 4 boxsets.

Firstly, however, the ending will not hit as hard if you haven't listened to the other boxsets. It's still enjoyable, but without the other boxsets, I wouldn't have cried like I did when I listened to this upon it's release. Secondly, the only continuity error is how Ianto's father has only just died. Meaning that in 'Before The Fall', Ianto was lying to Rachel when he stated that his father has died. He was still very much alive until the release of this boxset. Thirdly, the monthly audio "Disco" chronologically has taken place a week or so before Nerves.

Nerves as a standalone story is beautifully interlinked with previous boxsets, which is quite surprising considering they are usually self-contained stories. Until, 'I Hate Mondays' I was under the impression that they are scattered across the years 2004-2007. Now, with the exception of 'The Rockery', all of these stories have taken place in 2004.

The music used is hauntingly beautiful. The sound design allows for an easy imagining of the characters and the settings, as well as the interactions. From the cars travelling on the highways, how Ianto dusts off croissant crumbs, how the characters walk on crunching glass, and the radios in the background.

There is no main villain nor antagonist within this story. There is no active alien threat. Nerves explores character dynamics, and allows the characters to relax and breathe after their previous stories. Nerves make these characters feel like humans, and real people.

Here I'd argue Tommy and Ianto are at their peak father/son dynamic. Certain conversations they had I've had with my own father in real life, and they had me laughing due to the accuracy. Ianto as a character is treated much more like a 21 year old, and even in the modern day his problems and grievances can still be applied. I find him extremely relatable within this story as a young person myself. While not a spoiler in itself, the writers in the interviews suggest how they wrote Ianto as young, inexperienced, and a bit clueless when it comes to handling certain situations. Again, as a young person myself, I felt this in my soul.

Two extra characters are introduced by a mere coincidence, yet they are characters who are written so well. In many stories, I find that I do not care for the extra characters at all, but this story is a brilliant exception.

The revelations discovered along the hour's listen are heartbreaking, wholesome, and honestly bring the Torchwood One series to a new height, rendering this my favourite boxset out of the 5. So many subtle and non-subtle plots are resolved or hinted upon which have been referenced in previous boxsets. Some are heartbreaking, some are unnoticeable, and others leave you crying out of genuine happiness for the journeys these characters go on. Ngl, I'm crying again while writing this mini-review.

And then the finale line is beautifully delivered, as you also realize that the title of the boxset is quite literally Ianto's POV on Mondays.

TLDR: Nerves is BEAUTIFUL