Gita Chandra is kidnapped by Mrs Wormwood. This turns out to be a snare for Sarah Jane. Mrs Wormwood has joined forces with another of Sarah Jane’s enemies, Kaagh. As they prepare to settle old scores, Sarah Jane turns to an old friend.
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Another really great story. I love SJA. I think that it is great that they bring back Luke’s creator for this.
I think that the second season is even better than the first, much because of Rani, who is really great. I like Maria too. It is crazy how they manage to make a show like this with no annoying child actors (except for the one from the pilot, but we don’t need to talk about her).
I really like this episode! It’s a solid finale for Series 2, and it shows how much the group have developed since the pilot episode.
Samantha Bond is a wonderful actress (most recently in Marlow Murder Club alongside Jo Martin), so it’s great to see the return of Mrs Wormwood. She feels like one of the classic SJA aliens, though it’s also interesting to see her be slightly more vulnerable in this one and try to build a more familial bond with Luke.
The Brigadier is, of course, the star of this story, as sad as it is that this was Nicholas Courtney’s last televised appearance in the Whoniverse. He’s spent his entire career trying to protect the planet and is pretty sick of all the extra bureaucracy UNIT brings. It’s little surprise he’s happy to put so much of his faith and trust in Sarah Jane over UNIT after knowing each other for so long. So, might as well help them break into the archives!
The end of the world plot doesn’t really stick in your mind, but I think that just shows how much stronger the characters and relationships are in comparison in this episode. 8/10 for me!
This was my Avengers Endgame… such a good finale and I loved all the threads tying together.
First I gotta say, when I first watched this I hadn’t not seen Classic who and wasn’t very sure who Sarah Jane’s friend was. I only figured out who he was supposed to be after he mentioned Peru and recalled the mention of him in Sontaran Experiment/Poison Sky. On the other hand, having seen Classic Who and having come to love the Brigadier, I was so happy to see him! And the fact he got to meet Luke alongside Clyde and Rani was fantastic!
As for the actual episode. The set up was rather believable. The fact that we already established the Bane kill failures, that now they were hunting her for her failure, and that she was reaching out to Sarah Jane for help. Yet Sarah Jane keeps a healthy skepticism of her. I also loved Clyde and Rani’s reactions to the Bane
Luke definitely takes a heavy focus in this story, as Wormwood is his creator but Sarah Jane is his mother. I loved the moment where Clyde was able to connect with him as a biological parent, or an equivalent of such, has put them through the worst experience they had. And that they didn’t have an obligation to that parent but instead the one that stood by them.
The whole debate with UNIT was great too. Because I love classic UNIT but I’m not a fan of them so much in modern who. Sarah takes a very similar stance to them as the Doctor. She believes they can be useful and do some good things but they will just as often attempt to use violence to solve the problem and create even worse problem. She also knows they have taken a more dangerous look at aliens in recent years and she won’t risk Luke. Once Kate takes over, UNIT seems to take a stance closer to her father’s approach. All that said, I was fairly glad the MAJ wasn’t actually part of UNIT
Kaagh was probably the most annoying part of the story. He kinda came out of nowhere and his comments about women were very grating (compare him to Strax for example just makes him look even more annoying and frustrating). But, and maybe this is because of Classic, I always love stories of Sarah facing off with Sontarans. I kinda wish she could have met Strax. That would have been funny
A really fun end to the second series of SJA. This may not be the smartest or even the best story the show’s ever done, but it’s not trying to be smart. What it’s trying to be is an exciting blockbuster adventure and it succeeds in that goal.
I love that the Brigadier comes back and despite his older age, is still able to get involved in the action scenes. It’s a such a fun and charming final appearance by Nicholas Courtney, although underdstandably a little bittersweet to watch nowadays.
And just like many stories in SJA, it still manages to throw in some worthwhile themes and compelling character work, even in it’s big action finales. Here the story revolves around the theme of motherhood, with the return of Mrs Wormwood who is the closest thing Luke has to a traditional mother (she is his creator). Playing this idea up adds for some really good family drama for Luke, Sarah Jane and somehow even Mrs Wormwood who comes off as so much more than just that evil lady from the pilot.
There’s nothing mind-blowing about this story, but it’s a hell of a lot of fun and as is so often my thoughts on SJA, it’s much better than it needs to be.
I dont really have anything to day about this one. It was a very standard/average story.
However I love the scene where Wormwood gives Luke the scroll thing and he just instantly legs it.
I do wish the series was streaming but I had to use my phone to find it by other means.
I don’t remember much about this story, unlike the rest of this season. But I think Wormwood was ripe for a return and Samantha Bond is obviously wonderful so I think it’s fun to see her in a story that’s not as mortifyingly awful as her first, and I remember enjoying the rogue but brilliant team-up. Excited to get into it for the third time now…
Part One
Verdict after Part One - It’s not bad. There are some really nice bits. But strip away all the returns and gimmicks and the plot itself doesn’t really have much of interest at all.
Part Two
Verdict - Yeah I’m really not that impressed by this. It’s fun to bring together so many great characters but they don’t really do anything with them. I’m a bit disappointed, which, given that I’d remembered so little of it, probably shouldn’t be a surprise!
4/10
Not a great finale, but it’s nice to see Nicholas Courtney again. My review below.
It has the Brig so that’s a bonus.