Doctor Who review: The Lives of Captain Jack: Mighty and Despair
By James Aggas
In the second episode of Doctor Who spin-off box set The Lives of Captain Jack Volume 3, two travelers are looking for an immortal hero. But does he want to be found?
The Lives of Captain Jack has been an interesting anthology series so far. A lot of the episodes have a clear “hook”, at least as far as Doctor Who fans are concerned. This was especially true of the first volume, in which each episode asked major questions about the Captain. How did Jack feel after the first time he died? What happened after Jack met Alonso in The End of Time? All four episodes had something – either a character or a clear element of Jack’s history established in Doctor Who – that could instantly grab a fan’s interest.
The previous box set did something a little different. While the opening and closing episodes featured the Sixth Doctor and newsreader Trinity Wells, respectively, the second episode took a different approach. It explored Jack fighting in the First World War, something only barely hinted at in the TV series, with a character that we never knew about before. Essentially, it was an episode where the writer was given free rein to tell any kind of story that they wanted with Jack.
Mighty and Despair, the second episode of The Lives of Captain Jack Volume 3, is exactly along the same lines. There’s no major continuity hook here, no gap that’s being filled in the long history of Captain Jack Harkness. This episode explores a completely unknown chapter in Jack’s life. As a result, writer Tim Foley has a lot of fun showing us exactly what this spin-off can really do.
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The weight of immortality
Once again, just like previous episode Crush, Mighty and Despair features an extremely small cast. Along with Captain Jack, we’re also introduced to two other characters: Carla (Jessica Hayles) and Persis (Joanna Van Kampen). Fleeing from war, they’re desperately trying to find the mythical Captain Jack Harkness. But does he want to be found?
We’re introduced to a very different Captain Jack in this episode. Far older and far more cynical than what we’ve seen in either Doctor Who or Torchwood, Jack is starting to feel the weight of immortality. While his reputation truly precedes him, he doesn’t feel like a hero. In some ways, he never has felt like that, just putting on a brave front. But now, after so many centuries, he’s done pretending.
The curse of immortality is a key theme of this episode, not just with Jack, but with Carla and Persis, too. These two particular characters have an interesting relationship, one that goes through a lot of change over the course of Mighty and Despair. Unsurprisingly, they provide much of the episode’s more emotional content.
A dark (but briliant) tale
The story eventually heads into quite dark directions, especially during its second half. There are moments of joy and happiness, but they only make the episode’s dark conclusion even more hard-hitting. If you’re looking for an episode that will you cheer you up during these times of self-isolation, this definitely won’t be it.
However, if you’re looking for an episode that’s extremely well-written, filled with great drama and strong performances, then this is a great little story to listen to. A fantastic episode that really shows off exactly how flexible this anthology series is, and how far it can really go. More than that: it’s one of my favorite episodes of The Lives of Captain Jack yet.
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Do you want stories that answer major questions in Jack’s life and have him meeting other major characters from Doctor Who? Or do you want stories completely original, focused entirely on new characters and new adventures? Let us know in the comments below.