The Grey Mare
The Grey Mare by Lauren Mooney and Stewart Pringle
The Grey Mare very nearly nails it. It's a gothic christmas horror, and by being pretty damn unnerving near the beginning, it's already got a leg up on the Crown as a Torchwood Christmas episode by being, well, actually good. That's the word I'd describe the Grey Mare with, probably, good. It's definitely not great, nowhere near spectacular or superlative, but I'd be lying if I said there were more flaws than good things about this episode. It stars Ianto who has decided that, in character, he would like to spend a quiet Christmas in a random town all alone, pining after Jack the entire time but also doing nothing about it. For any other character this would feel over the top - I mean, alone, on Christmas, haven't you seen a Holiday Special?? But for Ianto it does indeed work as a valid reason he's hanging with the very vivid Mrs. Watkins, who's the second best thing the story has going for it. She's a very organic and earthy landlady character, and you do get plenty of landlady stereotypes, but Mrs. Watkins is so sweet and plays off of Ianto so well that I find her one dimensionality an utter highlight. From there, we're quickly introduced to the actual highlight of the story, the titular Grey Mare. And by actual highlight, I mean the early bits of her.
The Mari Lwyd is a very good monster for a story like this, and the early scenes we get with her are pitch black petrifying. Very scary, and very good, a dead horse skull in some sort of gown that desperately wants to get into your home and feast. It's ominous, it's cool, rooted in actual Welsh tradition. I especially like the choice for it to only speak in Welsh - although later in the story, as said, when it does speak in English, I found it much less frightening. It has the usual Torchwood subtext to it, a discussion on loneliness and grief, which almost makes it more intimidating while also drawing on the heartstrings in the right way. It's imagery is incredibly strong, and everything about it works.
You've probably noticed what I've mentioned quite a few times, and yeah, The Grey Mare does lose itself quite a bit as it goes on. You can solve how to defeat the Mari Lwyd rather quickly, and it has the worst ultimate voice reveal ever, that almost leaks any horror of the creature out of it. It deflates very quickly, and the climax is a pile of missed opportunity in my opinion - only salvaged by the excellent performances. The Grey Mare is good, like I said, but it really could have been perfect, a Nightmare on Elm Street to ring in the New Year with ominous bells from the story's magnificent sound design and direction. Unfortunately, it can't quite prove itself. As a first story from these two new writers, I'm certainly intrigued to see what they will bring to the table in the future. However, I just really wish this had some more time to brew. The knocking scene near the beginning is such a damn high mark almost anything is going to look meek and foolish next to it. It's a 10/10 scene, which really left me yearning for more after. Ah, but enough could have been. Good is good - I'll tolerate that. It's just when you have a range of such a high quality, a mere good can feel quite disappointing indeed. 6/10
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