The Sarah Jane Adventures 4.11 + 4.12
In which 
selenak has a theory about SJA finales and with the exception of one thing delights in this one.
Considering that my favourite SJA finale is the second season 1 with Mrs. Wormwood ("Luke, I am your mother"), and now this finale is my second favourite, clearly the winning formula is a female antagonist who has femslashy vibes with Sarah Jane, is emotionally manipulative and at some point tries to play the "I'm so misunderstood" card. Mind you, that Ruby was slowly draining Sarah Jane and deliberately came across as a younger version of her was immediately obvious to the audience and both Rani and Clyde should have at least considered the possibility long before they did, given their experiences. (Sarah Jane herself is excepted since she was under the influence.) But otoh, they did only this season come across a benevolent fellow adventurer in the form of Jo, so accepting Ruby isn't totally unbelievable.
It was essentially a Gothic horror story in a sci fi dress, with Ruby as the vampire or Poe-esque doppelganger single white femaling Sarah Jane, but it cleverly also played on the emotional resonance of more general fears for everyone - losing your energy, starting to forget, to lose your mind (one recalls Clyde's fear of an Alzheimer-riddled Sarah Jane in the season opener), becoming superfluous to your nearest and dearest. At the same time, the response to the situation gave everyone great character scenes - of course Sarah Jane's supposed sudden departure would remind Clyde of his father. Rani turning the table on Ruby by successfully pulling off the same type of emotional manipulation (for a while) in order to give K-9 the time to free Mr. Smith is showcasing both her cleverness and patience. Luke to the rescue was perfect, and note that the way he defeated Ruby is essentially the same way the Doctor earlier this season defeated the Shansheen, by turning the preying, parasitic feeding into an overdose. (That this involved briefly evoking terror for the entire planet is also a somewhat ruthless Doctor-ish tactic; it's not the first tim the show played with the similarities between Luke and the guy from Gallifrey.) Haresh and Gita got to shine as the fabulous parents they are, especially Gita who got a rare scene without any comic undertones when she comforted Rani. Unfortunately, this very scene brings me to my one complaint which is of course my complaint for the entire season - it's long past the time where Haresha nd Gita (and Clyde's mother) should have been told the truth, and Rani continuing to lie in the face of such emotional support makes her look callous in a way the show definitely doesn't intend. (Ditto for the rest of the gang.)
Back to the good stuff: Clyde saying goodbye to everoyne when he thinks he's dying was affecting despite the knowledge the show wouldn't kill Clyde off; I kept expecting Rani or Luke to find the recording on Clyde's cell phone, though. Mr. Smith being taken in by that flashy game console, Mr. White and freed by his snarky true love K-9, otoh, was hilarious and so for the win. Speaking of K-9, it was almost as good to see him again as Luke - hadn't realised I missed him, but evidently I did!
Finally, Ruby, like Mrs. Wormwood, is the kind of villain who I hope will be back. Witty, ruthless, in part explainable by circumstance but definitely NOT misunderstood - that's how I like my antagonists.
This entry was originally posted at http://selenak.dreamwidth.org/629656.html. Comment there or here, as you wish.
selenak has a theory about SJA finales and with the exception of one thing delights in this one.
Considering that my favourite SJA finale is the second season 1 with Mrs. Wormwood ("Luke, I am your mother"), and now this finale is my second favourite, clearly the winning formula is a female antagonist who has femslashy vibes with Sarah Jane, is emotionally manipulative and at some point tries to play the "I'm so misunderstood" card. Mind you, that Ruby was slowly draining Sarah Jane and deliberately came across as a younger version of her was immediately obvious to the audience and both Rani and Clyde should have at least considered the possibility long before they did, given their experiences. (Sarah Jane herself is excepted since she was under the influence.) But otoh, they did only this season come across a benevolent fellow adventurer in the form of Jo, so accepting Ruby isn't totally unbelievable.
It was essentially a Gothic horror story in a sci fi dress, with Ruby as the vampire or Poe-esque doppelganger single white femaling Sarah Jane, but it cleverly also played on the emotional resonance of more general fears for everyone - losing your energy, starting to forget, to lose your mind (one recalls Clyde's fear of an Alzheimer-riddled Sarah Jane in the season opener), becoming superfluous to your nearest and dearest. At the same time, the response to the situation gave everyone great character scenes - of course Sarah Jane's supposed sudden departure would remind Clyde of his father. Rani turning the table on Ruby by successfully pulling off the same type of emotional manipulation (for a while) in order to give K-9 the time to free Mr. Smith is showcasing both her cleverness and patience. Luke to the rescue was perfect, and note that the way he defeated Ruby is essentially the same way the Doctor earlier this season defeated the Shansheen, by turning the preying, parasitic feeding into an overdose. (That this involved briefly evoking terror for the entire planet is also a somewhat ruthless Doctor-ish tactic; it's not the first tim the show played with the similarities between Luke and the guy from Gallifrey.) Haresh and Gita got to shine as the fabulous parents they are, especially Gita who got a rare scene without any comic undertones when she comforted Rani. Unfortunately, this very scene brings me to my one complaint which is of course my complaint for the entire season - it's long past the time where Haresha nd Gita (and Clyde's mother) should have been told the truth, and Rani continuing to lie in the face of such emotional support makes her look callous in a way the show definitely doesn't intend. (Ditto for the rest of the gang.)
Back to the good stuff: Clyde saying goodbye to everoyne when he thinks he's dying was affecting despite the knowledge the show wouldn't kill Clyde off; I kept expecting Rani or Luke to find the recording on Clyde's cell phone, though. Mr. Smith being taken in by that flashy game console, Mr. White and freed by his snarky true love K-9, otoh, was hilarious and so for the win. Speaking of K-9, it was almost as good to see him again as Luke - hadn't realised I missed him, but evidently I did!
Finally, Ruby, like Mrs. Wormwood, is the kind of villain who I hope will be back. Witty, ruthless, in part explainable by circumstance but definitely NOT misunderstood - that's how I like my antagonists.
This entry was originally posted at http://selenak.dreamwidth.org/629656.html. Comment there or here, as you wish.