Torchwood: Aliens Among Us #2.4 - "The Empty Hand" by Tim Foley

Foley is a writer I have heard nothing but endless praise for. Clearly one of the most original writers working under Big Finish, his name is often listed up there with Dorney and Goss as one of the most legendary creatives in Doctor Who audio. However, up to this point, the only story I had heard from him was All of Time and Space from the Eleventh Doctor Chronicles range with Valerie, a story that, honestly, I found to be incredibly underwhelming, even if it had a great idea. So, going into one of his more popular stories (that just so happened to be his first), I was excited to hear what the fuss was all about, especially since Andy seemed to be leading the story. So what was it all about? Racist hands and a whole lot of depression.

Sergeant Andy Davison wakes up, dazed, in a police interrogation room. He learns that he shot and killed an innocent refugee at point blank, whilst hurling a litany of racial slurs. Clearly, something is very wrong, and Torchwood may not be able to help. Because what can they do against human nature?

(CONTAINS SPOILERS)

Poor Andy, man. This whole audio is just a series of progressively worse things happening to him and, whilst I liked him before because he was the funny, likable side character I now like him because he is written and acted to perfection. The whole story is a spiral into confusion and anguish as Ro-Jedda just destroys Andy's life, using weird chips that sometimes don't exist to incite racist attacks by police across Cardiff. It is, by far, the most despicable thing our otherwise rather underwhelming villains have done thus far, even worse than the mess with Deliverables and, with recent events, the whole thing hits really close to home. The whole of Torchwood-3 is also just great here, Gwen is brilliant, trying to defend Andy and throwing receptionists through doors. Jack is back to his Adrift persona, being a real son of a bitch with a very "means to an end" attitude about him. Rhys is especially great here, trying and failing to keep Andy's spirits up with friendly drinking games and his attempt at encouragement just reminds me why I love the oaf so much. The media frenzy, the protests and shady government weaponizing unrest all feels painfully real and Foley manages to comment on a very sensitive topic with surprising tact and grace and it all comes together in a harrowing story. Andy's final resignation from the force feels very poetic and a nice end to his descent throughout The Empty Hand and Yvonne of all people suddenly showing up at the end was a fantastic cliff hanger to what I hear is another Foley masterpiece.

But, very few stories are perfect. I like Jack's characterisation here but his sub-plot is more an interruption than anything, it doesn't fit in well with the rest of the story and is comparatively underwritten, Jack just pops up every now and again until he bursts into the climax to neatly wrap up the plot. That's another thing, with how messy the situation presented in this story is, I find it rather underwhelming that it just... clears itself up. Cardiff is about the same as it was before, Ro-Jedda's plan failed before it began and really the only victims were Andy and the refugee he shot, even the Deliverables fiasco felt more impactful and I think that was a worse plot.

The Empty Hand showed me what Foley could really do in one of his more widely beloved scripts and it was beautiful: a poignant and harrowing story that gave endless depth to one of Torchwood's best side characters whilst commenting on a massive real world topic with brilliant tact and subtlety. It's clear to me now why Foley is so beloved and I am beyond excited for Poker Face, which is regarded as the best of Aliens Among Us.

9/10

Pros:

+ Gives endless amounts of depth to Andy, who goes from a good character to a great character in this audio

+ Haunting and poignant portrayal of police brutality and protests

+ Ro-Jedda feels more like a villain here than ever before: despicable and utterly hateable throughout

+ Gwen, Jack and Rhys are all characterised brilliantly by Foley

+ Really great, bittersweet final moments followed by a great cliffhanger

Cons:

- Jack's subplot is comparatively a lot worse than the rest of the story

- The climax feels like it wraps up too quickly and simply for such a complex and devastating story

Torchwood: Aliens Among Us | Ranked
12.
11.
10.
9.
8. Aliens & Sex & Chips & Gravy by James Goss - 5/10
7. Love Rat by Christopher Cooper - 6/10
6. Orr by Juno Dawson - 7/10
5. Changes Everything by James Goss - 8/10
4. Zero Hour by Jay Harley - 8/10
3. Superiority Complex by AK Benedict - 8/10
2. The Empty Hand by Tim Foley - 9/10
1. A Kill to a View by Mac Rogers - 9/10

Overall - 7.5/10