Swan Song

"Ghosts don't exist."

Writer: John Dorney

Format: Audio

Released: June 2011 

Printed in: Jago & Litefoot 3.03

Featuring: Jago, Litefoot, Leela

Synopsis 

The New Regency Theatre is haunted and Jago, Litefoot and Leela witness the spirit of someone in a silver wheelchair floating over the stalls. This is the story of Alice – a young woman who had Swan Lake so cruelly taken from her...

Verdict

Swan Song was a superb episode to continue the third series of Jago & Litefoot! I thought this was tremendous from start to finish and like the previous episode, it started very differently with Alice recalling her swan song and how she never got to dance thanks to the car accident that killed her parents and paralysed her. That was obviously futuristic from the Victorian era with her, Dan and Steven tracking apparitions and seeing the New Regency Theatre in ghostly form was terrific. It was a great way to reintroduce our main characters for the episode and the stage at the theatre being the strong focus of the time break was interesting, especially as it was just the frontside that was producing strong readings. It was weaker at the back. Alice being concerned by the talk of the end of the world from Litefoot was dealt intrigued and I loved that Jago was frightened of his glimpse into the future and seeing a man killed with arrows. Time certainly was broken here! The science trio from the future having Mr Payne as their benefactor was a tremendous revelation and really good way to extend continuity in the series. The trio seeing Hamlet from the past was good and I loved the parallels when Alice could see through to the past and Litefoot to her in the future, but they couldn’t hear one another despite saying very similar phrases and asking the same kind of questions. That was fun stuff and a sustained time break. Alice seemingly knowing Jago was fascinating, as was Leela being the one qualified in discussions about time! She explained that the time breaks could only be passed through when they were big enough and that would only happen right at the point of collapse. There was a strong sense of danger there and that was just extended when Litefoot saw into the future and saw them all die! The fact there were several time breaks was excellent and I thought the link back to the arrow killer of Robin Hood’s era and Steven being killed was brilliant. The portals from the future were breaking time and they were doing such that they were now opening themselves and were out of control. Payne’s promise of keeping them safe was well and truly done for! I liked the suggestion of something with hatred for humanity being released in the future and the talk of the eery being just in Shakespearean quotes was tremendous. Jago being able to distract with some verses of his own from the playwright was nicely done. Payne being the one that opened the portal that saved Skipton as we heard in Dead Men’s Tales was excellent and I really loved the tension that came with both time zones starting to overlap. Alice was clearly being controlled and despite her paralysed condition, the image of her walking ghostly in the theatre was great! She was the archer and possessed by something that now wanted to kill Dan, her love interest. The explanation that it wasn’t actually Jago’s words but more the man himself that had the effect on Alice in her possessed state was very intriguing, as was the fact that everything was acting out like a play as despite the verbal intent of killing, all of the archer arrow shots were seemingly aiming to miss. The concept of the emotional resonance imprinting within the building of the theatre was presented so well here and I really loved the repetition and reverberations in the conclusion. Alice literally was the ghosts of the theatre itself all combined into an essence! It had been released from the stones that made up the theatre thanks to the time experiments, and we also sadly learned that the New Regency would be destroyed during the Blitz. Jago seemed a little hurt to know that it wouldn’t be around forever! The analogies of the time breaks being like a dam were fantastic and I liked how it was whole again thanks to Alice’s sacrifice. The mystery of the double suicide at the lake and actually bringing her together again with her family was a very emotional end to a pretty eery adventure! Her narration and how she was at one with the theatre now was really nice, but before we knew it Payne had arrived boasting claims to destroy the world! Overall, a fantastic episode and a great way to set up the finale!

Rating: 9/10