Snow [AUDIO/2021.12.2]

★★★★☆

  Something like Snow was bound to happen at some point; previous explorations of Divine Intervention's timeline were set in far, distant futures full of new characters to get to know, so it makes sense that Big Finish would go for somewhere closer to home and see the current life trajectories of characters we know and love. 

  It's great, then, that Snow absolutely works. It's a callback to the beginning days of Dr. Who more than anything; it's small-scale, but you never stop getting the feeling that there's an entire world just outside this street corner the audio drama is set on. It's focused on losses and heartbreak and familial trauma bouncing back as part of a drastic character transformation (though if one thinks about it, Zakia's turn for the worse makes a twisted sort of sense), but it never loses its grip on the world at large and the Divine Intervention-shaped parasite that's leeching off everyone. Worldbuilding nerds are creaming their knickers around the world thanks to one James Kettle, and I think I'm one of them. It's nice to listen to him geek out a little bit about all the actors bringing his script to life; his love for Nicola Walker's quite something.

  Speaking of, it's about time we address the fact that Walker's had something of a renaissance in Stranded. The latter portions of Doom Coalition and much of Ravenous failed to give her as Liv Chenka anything interesting to do, so she sounded bored most of the time she got into the booth. Stranded gives her so much to act out, so many wonderful moments that require an actor of formidable calibre -- which is Walker to a T. She's having a blast bouncing off with Rebecca Root, enacting their mad, twisted and tragic love story from an alternate future. Liv contemplating whether or not to stay in this future where Tania dies because she can't bear the thought of "cancelling" her love's death with such ease is a watershed moment for the character, when she -- if it hasn't been clear yet -- makes it apparent front and centre that she's the emotional core of Stranded. Coupled with a saddened Ron coping with Tony's death, there's an atmosphere to this audio drama that befits its title; snow is cold, and falls to the ground silently, and the tragedy in this episode feels much the same. I loved my time listening to it.