It’s time to listen to and discuss Absolution
https://tardis.guide/story/absolution/
Buy it online using the link above.
Even if you listened to it before and just want to discuss it - dive right in! Just please use spoiler tags!
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“Absolution” is the Big Finish equivalent of Cosmo and Wanda granting a wish of Timmy’s, only for their wands to droop to the sound of a raspberry. C’rizz’s desire to collect all the souls was the most interesting part of this rather loose arc, so it’s annoying that the mystery is resolved with, “He was raised by a cult, and his dad’s the chief cultist, and the souls will help him embrace his demonic roots, and take over the universe!” I’ve a feeling that this is somewhat wrong, but I don’t care to check, because I’m not desperate for edgy mush in the vein of the Shadow the Hedgehog game.
Don’t take my unbridled apathy to mean that I completely disliked C’rizz the Eutermesan.[1] The bleeding console is an awesomely gory image, it’s neat that the TARDIS didn’t materialize normally for once, the medieval vibe of the planet was, well, a vibe, C’rizz gets the best sendoff of the Gary Russell companions dumped by Briggs, and I probably won’t be the first to mention that the final scene is spectacular, with India Fisher, especially, giving it her all. Still, I’d’ve liked for my primary takeaway from such an important story to not be an idea for a smutty fanfic.[2]
I have a weird kind of soft spot for Absolution.
Is it a hot mess? Yeah, admittedly, but it boasts one of the most vibrant worlds Big Finish has ever put out and is a genuinely cinematic and apocalyptic adventure.
Maybe it helps that I’ve always found C’rizz a little underrated, the final couple scenes in this are devastating.
Full review here, if you enjoy, please leave a like:
I remember being absolutely devastated by C’rizz’s death at the end, but I genuinely cannot remember any of the actual plot. Those final scenes make the whole thing worth it though
C’rizz exits the same way he entered: By being incredibly underwhelming.
Yeah, I don’t like this one. It just felt like there was a more nuanced direction they could’ve taken his character arc, him being a vessel for the souls of people he’s killed, and instead just went with “dey evil now!” because it was the easiest narrative solution.
I’ll admit, I never really thought much of C’rizz leading up to this (he mainly felt like a bipedal leftover of the Divergent Universe arc, and the story structure up to this point already felt like it was stuck in that mode of thinking), but purely on the way he went out… this might be my least favourite companion exit. Even more so than Timewarp, as at least that (eventually) resulted in great stories that couldn’t have been told if it didn’t occur. This was just a silent-but-deadly in an elevator.
He’s the best.
C’rizz, sweetie, I am so sorry. You deserved so much better. I will give this story some of it’s due: there’s some amazing “describe what is going on” writing that feels surprisingly natural paired with some really cool visuals (TARDIS console filling with blood being the one that sticks out the most). Outside of that, what a load of detritus.
You’d think C’rizz would have something to do in his final story to go out with a bang.
Very average story to me. I generally am not a C’Rizz fan. But this one I did like the way it/he started off but as the story went on I just found myself losing interest more and more. I feel like so many stories for me are falling into the category of cool idea/premise but execution just doesn’t come together
It happens more than I would like in basically every corner of the franchise. Sometimes an idea pitches well and the internal team gets excited about it, but it doesn’t quite pan out in execution. This is one reason I am coming around to the box set model with Big Finish because I never quite know what I’m going to get out of a story and having a few increases the likelihood I’ll find something to connect with.
idk what to think about this one. I put it as 4 stars, but kinda think it’s 3 (which is low for me), but also 3.5 feels wrong? The ending was really strong, but kinda meh otherwise. C’rizz is relegated to the B-plot for his swan song which sucks, but is also very on brand for how they’ve handled his character throughout.
C’rizz sucks so much. I love him.
Like, as a person, I wouldn’t want to hang out with him. And as a character, at his best he doesn’t really add much, and more often his presence drags things down. The writers either didn’t know what to do with him, or the plans they did have were all thwarted, so they just ended up cramming in cool ideas willy nilly with zero connective tissue. I wish he did more murder.