Andy’s old art teacher Merl (Gareth Armstrong) is in a spot of bother. He’s a (mostly) clearer person of interest in three different cases, quietly retired and quietly forgotten. But Andy hasn’t forgotten Merl and when he ‘pops’ by, the two men catch up and discover the terrible secret Merl has been unwillingly guarding.

This is one of the strongest releases in what’s arguably Big Finish’s strongest range; it’s a deceptively simple piece, mostly just Andy and Merl talking, but David Llewelyn’s script is like Merl’s painting. The more you look the more you see. Or here, the more you listen.

Armstrong is great as Merl, a great Welsh lion of a man who is also bent double by strategy and the discrimination he’s suffered under most of his life. He’s not a villain but certainly an antagonist at first and the way that he and Andy talk their way around the problem is lovely and well explored. You never view your teachers the same way when you meet them as adults and the journey this man we’ve never met before has gone on feels real and nuanced and all right here.

That’s vastly helped by Llewelyn and Price’s understanding of Cardiff’s Finest. I don’t say that lightly either. Andy Davidson really is what every police officer should be: calm, kind, grounded, open and with a fierce need to protect people. Better still Llewellyn sets this in the aftermath of the TV show. Torchwood is gone, someone has to step up. Andy isn’t close to ready but when no one else does he doesn’t hesitate. There’s a lovely moment late on where Price gets to explore just how he feels about that as Andy demonstrates with himself for showing up with a gun to the final confrontation. How that confrontation ends and who helps him is  even better. Andy Davidson is far from perfect but he’s also such a nice guy you can see why people show up for him.

And show up they do, both Merl and Darren (Ales Pugh) an old school friend. The three men orbit the mercurial villain, each providing a different perspective on a piece of art that’s either murderous, merciful or both. None of them have the whole picture but all of them know to try for it. That grounded, sensible kindness in the face of awful trauma is Wales, and Torchwood, to a tee and the core cast embody it, especially Hazel Elleperby as Darren’s mum. All placed and steered by Lisa Bowerman’s typically subtle and character facing direction and scored remarkably by Blair Mowat.

Verdict: This is a story about a monster and art and the shadow art casts. It’s a tragedy, a comedy, a character sketch, a pivot in the show’s canon. It’s elegantly observed, beautifully acted, very funny and deeply kind. An absolute class act. 10/10

Alasdair Stuart

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