What Have I Done?

"Who is it you talk to?"

Writer: Guy Adams

Format: Audio

Released: June 2019

Series: Lives of Captain Jack 2.02

Featuring: Captain Jack

Synopsis

Captain Jack Harkness – time-travelling con-man, saviour of the Earth, and intergalactic adventurer. He has lived many lives.

On the battlefields of World War I, something is hunting in the trenches. Jack must try and save the life of a wounded soldier.

Verdict

What Have I Done? was another great audio adventure to continue the second series of The Lives of Captain Jack! This was essentially a two-hander between Jack and Ata which I thought was a fantastic approach and really did a stellar job in establishing the atmosphere of the setting. Placing an adventure during World War One for Captain Jack is going to have a profound impact on him because in all likelihood, he is going to lose a lot of friends and loved ones whilst probably suffering death on more than one occasion itself. And as was made clear towards the end of this particular story, death has its toll on Jack! I thought Ata was a good character for Jack to play opposite and the fact he was a deserter on the enemy lines was a really fun dynamic. It's not a surprise that Ata thought Jack was his enemy given his appearance an accent and it was just good to hear the struggle between the pair accepting they were saving each other. Well, at least that's how it ended up. Ata initially shot Jack dead, or so he thought (rightfully), so it says a lot about Jack's character that he still wanted to help him back to the safety of his trenches. Ata was afraid and talking to someone and finding out that this was his brother was quite emotional and simple. I was honestly expecting something a bit more complicated! He thought he was being slowly killed by the wound suffered in the combat that led him to defect and Jack inferring that it was the fever was good. The enigmatic feel of the audio was definitely the strong point and highlight for me as the actual plot was simple and straightforward. I loved that there was something out on the battlefield that could feed on fear and hearing Ata try and deal with that as a concept was excellent stuff. Unfortunately, he was attracting it because he was full of fear and talking to his brother about the regret he had for deserting and the potential consequences provided a link with the creature. A creature Jack knew all about. Ata was giving it power and needed to be calm, but that was proving difficult which was interesting to listen to. Things definitely got tense as the story reached its conclusion and the ending with Jack defeating the creature with an almighty speech was sensational. John Barrowman was on top form and this was a much improved and more serious performance than we got in Piece of Mind. He unloaded his feelings of fear to the creature and admitted to being scared, to feeling pain and being afraid of love and death despite his immortality. He saw the blackness every single time and he had died on so many occasions now, but it never got easier. Most people only had to tackle that once and briefly, but for him it was a common thing and that must be tough to deal with. Hearing him unleash that emotion and feeling was extraordinary and I liked the audible effect it had on the creature. The link was gone now. Overall, a fantastic audio and a great use of Jack's character and setting as he waits for the Doctor. Plenty of room to fill yet!

Rating: 8/10