Darker Purposes

"The journey is unending."

Writer: David Llewellyn 

Format: Audio

Released: January 2020

Series: The Sins of Captain John 1.04

Featuring: Captain John

Synopsis

Captain John arrives at the funeral of one of the galaxy's richest men. He died without making a will, and his heirs have some very creative ideas about how this can be put to rights involving murder, necromancy and seduction. Sadly, Captain John is only too happy to oblige. 

Verdict

Darker Purposes was a strong finale to The Sins of Captain John! Listening over five years later, it does appear that this is the only series there's going to be which is a bit of a shame, but if this is all we get then I am at least grateful for that! I suspect part of there being no further series is that where Captain John is, we need Captain Jack lurking somewhere in the background at the very least. And with John Barrowman basically now being shunned by Big Finish now, I guess that is detrimental to the likelihood of Captain John getting a second series. I thought the whole breaking of the fourth wall thing was a little weird here as he was literally had Captain John in character talking to director Scott Handcock about the theme tune not starting. That felt weird in hindsight and now makes me look back upon the whole series in the same way when it comes to those elements because there was no payoff. What was the point of breaking the fourth wall like that? It felt very much in the same vain as Mrs Flood where there was just no reason or explanation. I still think it's quirky and it's certainly fun, but some sort of explanation was desired. I liked how in the finale this was very much a Captain John story and the overlapping arc of the resurrection gloves was paid off nicely here. John was in to get his money and boy was it a big payoff! He was almost giddy when it was counted out. I thought the setting of the Vargosh family home was great and the family dynamic amongst them was quite sensational. The children of Ilsa and Darius were hardly mourning their father in the way you would expect after losing a loved one. They were more concerned by the fact he hadn't written a will and they wanted his shares in the company! That was an intriguing element and I liked how petty and selfish children is why Captain John was sent on the retrieval mission for the resurrection gauntlets in the first place! All they wanted was for him to video that his shares were left to their children and they were content. That was terrific. The folly of youth, eh? I thought Ilsa was a really good character and she wasn't content with just her portion of the shares. The way she concocted to help murder her husband Chester so she could inherit the Vamooth fortune once his father died was spectacular. John feigning as the chef and cooking duck in peanut oil to send him spiralling with allergies was incredible. Whoops! Darius knowing that his sister had motive and wanting in on the sexual action with John was a fun scene too. Cats or dogs? John liked the best of both worlds. Crikey has he got some action over the course of this series! I thought the continuity with The Restored and John recalling the retirement of the dark was excellent and I loved the concept of the gauntlets opening up a portal to a world of the dead. That's a fantastic prospect and honestly it's a shame we didn't get more. It felt a little unfinished and whilst my rating clearly reflects this was an enjoyable episode, it didn't feel much like a finale. The fate of Ilsa in being dragged to the world of death felt harsh, although it was a tad underwhelming to have Jack on hand in what was hardly a rescue mission for John. It does round out the boxset well though and potentially sets things up for a future series with him now paying what he owes in a very bad way. Overall though, a fun conclusion and story for a really great series! 

Rating: 8/10