Outbreak: Prodromal: Love

"Stage two, loving and killing. That's the Jack Harkness story."

Writer: Emma Reeves

Format: Audio

Released: November 2016

Series: Torchwood Specials 2.02

Featuring: Captain Jack, Gwen, Ianto

Synopsis

"First they know you, then you love, then you kill..."

Incubation - Prodromal - Invasion

A medical trial's gone terribly wrong, and one of the test subjects is loose on the streets of Cardiff. Within hours a virus is raging out of control and the bodies start piling up.

The Government scrambles to control the outbreak but isn't too keen on anyone finding out the dark history of the virus. Captain Jack Harkness has encountered the infection before and knows that something alien is hiding inside it. 

With the city sealed off and murderous mobs rampaging through the streets, Torchwood has to save something even more important than the human race.

Verdict

Prodromal: Love was a great second stage continuation of Outbreak! I'm a big fan of what this adventure is doing and after a sensational start with Incubation: Know, this was a stellar follow up. I really loved the exploration of the relationship between Jack and Ianto and having the pair locked in the Hub with the former hallucinating with the effects of the virus was excellent. Andy had a shaky start too after being shot by Godalming and to be fair, shaky could describe the entire city of Cardiff with it in a state of emergency. Andy's medic suffering from the itching was disturbing as she felt there were worms inside her and she went so far as to try and use a scalpel to get at the itch! That was a horrifying image. Cardiff had erected the Ring of Steel around the city and that was fun to have Rhys trying to get back in to get to Gwen. His rumour spreading to clear the area with a bomb scare was magnificent stuff. Jack also suffering from the itching was good and the idea of him trying to tear himself apart was horrendous, and he'd seen it before which was scary. I wasn't expecting a venture into the past with Norton Folgate returning and he knew all about the Good Thinking Programme and Jack's role in the previous incident, involving subjects being burned alive! The description of the red and blue wires inside Jack was further gratuity so it was nice that Ianto was there to stick with Jack despite the warnings and bring him back around, temporarily, to present day. The second stage of the outbreak being love and this being the first time Jack told Ianto he loved him seemed awfully harsh and it clearly impacted the Welshman. He clearly did love Jack and this wasn't how he wanted that moment to go down. He knew it was just because of the virus which was quite sad. The interaction between Ianto and Norton was fantastic and I was intrigued that the latter knew of the former. The time projection is convenient and works well, and we got some good knowledge of the Good Thinking Programme from Folgate. He thought it was all destroyed but after a quick description of the symptoms of those suffering from the current outbreak it was clear that wasn't the case. I was surprised to find that he gave the virus to the US Government with it being something that honed in on dangerous thoughts in a bid to stop crime at the source before it even happened. Well, that was never going to work was it! It being focused on those on Death Row was interesting but it all went wrong. Heights Pharmaceuticals showing up again was good and I liked that they were evacuating the city of those infected and scratching to continue their presence. The antidote of the virus only being fire was scary considering the amount of Cardiff residents hit with it and the description of how those suffering in the 1950s were dealt with was just horrific. Ianto threatening to find the older Norton as there was no record of his death was bold but I very much liked it. It didn't end well for him though as Norton tricked Ianto into being hunted by Jack to kill him! That was quite the development. The infected not weakening just added to the threat and the idea of them having adrenalin from murderous rage was superb. Having Jack like that is some prospect. Jack explaining his desire to kill Ianto was frightening and the shift in emotion with him also proclaiming he would not know how to live without him was excellent. Godalming knowing of Jack from the 1950s was intriguing and I hope she has a bigger role in the finale. Getting a century worth of data was also good and I'm sure that will play a part. Rhys finding his way into Cardiff was joyous stuff, until the cliffhanger finish of Gwen having an itch and now wanting to find the one she loved! Overall, a terrific continuation! 

Rating: 8/10