Mighty and Despair

"She always refuses to drink my blood."

Writer: Tim Foley 

Format: Audio

Released: March 2020

Series: Lives of Captain Jack 3.02

Featuring: Captain Jack

Synopsis

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

On a distant planet in the far future two travellers have come looking for a mythical hero.

Verdict

Mighty and Despair was a good little adventure to continue the third series of The Lives of Captain Jack! With all that's gone on with the John Barrowman accusations in the last year and the cancellation of Absent Friends and the Titan Comics event special, I wonder if this is the last series of the range. If it is, that's a big shame but it's great to explore some of the lives of Jack given his immortality, and this was a fascinating one. Jack was a little different to what we're used to with this episode being set far into the future, but there were still those traits from time to time that made us remember this was the former companion and head of Torchwood we all loved. This felt like fantasy with how things began between Carla and Persis with the vibes of Asgard and something fantastical. The myth involving Captain Jack was fun and amusing, and having him on a hidden planet was great. It's nice to think of where Jack might end up after so long alive and he's certainly got time to kill! I wasn't expecting him to ever come face to face with vampires, but that's exactly what happened here and it was lovely to know he had knowledge of their wars with the Time Lords. He was able to recall travelling with one before and he seemed to do so with fondness which was nice. The scale of the story was also one that took me by surprise with years and years going by in a flash, with a few Christmases and vampire solstices occurring. That was really nice for the trio to have a nice time and something of a tradition after a shaky start. Carla taking in the blood of Jack to bring her back from the edge was great and I liked that she could instantly feel the blood of another within her. Persis showing constant admiration for her queen was nice, and it was such a shame that she perished in the end. The emotion that came with her death was strong with Carla carrying her back and feeling saddened by the frailty of mortals. Even after the lies about the ship being repaired for over ten years, it was a hugely impactful moment. However, after a relatively slow start the episode really took a turn into the eventful with the emergence of the terrible brother Zyman. His role in destroying Veda was awful to hear and I was surprised that the myth of Jack returning from the hidden planet seemed like it wouldn't be coming true. Carla talking to her brother about what she learned from Jack and using it was excellent and she quickly eradicated him and the bloodline, ending the immortality of vampires everywhere and seemingly committing genocide in an instant! It was quite stunning for a conclusion. The highlight of the story for me was the concept of dark gravity though and the whole idea behind the closer you get the longer it takes was tremendous. I hope that pops up somewhere again in the future because there's a lot of potential there! As a whole, this ended up being an emotional and morbid tale whilst giving us an intriguing look at Jack in the far future where he was pretty aged! Overall, a good listen.

Rating: 7/10