The Revenge of Wormwood: The Ghost of Bannerman Road

"You have attempted to change your own past."

Writer: Jonathan Morris

Format: Audio

Released: December 2023

Series: Rani Takes on the World 2.03

Featuring: Rani, Clyde, Luke

Synopsis

13 Bannerman Road. The place where it all began, where Rani, Clyde and Luke fought alien menaces with Sarah Jane. Now it's locked up, derelict and under the watch of UNIT, because top scientists are mysteriously disappearing, and items of alien technology are being stolen from laboratories. An old friend is planning to make her return... and Rani and Clyde have to face their own ghosts.

Verdict

The Ghost of Bannerman Road was a terrific episode to conclude The Revenge of Wormwood second series of Rani Takes on the World! As far as an official continuation of The Sarah Jane Adventures, this has been tremendous and I sincerely hope this isn't the last. I guess buying figures and reception will play a part in whether we get more, but there's definitely so much to explore if there is. Having Rani and Clyde in particular being older now opens up a whole new dynamic to their characters and relationship. I must admit it felt pretty disgusting to hear Clyde described as being a thirty year old because that made me feel incredibly old, but attacking his feelings for Rani at an older age is really done well here. It's rather sweet that his biggest regret in life is not asking her out, whereas Rani is a little more headstrong and claims to have no regrets. Her love for Clyde is something buried within her and she only feels able to release it when she thinks he's died. I must admit that the ending had me very frustrated as they once again failed to admit to their feelings for one another. Just get them together! I really thought it was going to happen here and it's a big shame that it didn't in my eyes. Of course, there should be more to come where that might become a reality. The full emergence of Wormwood from the shadows of the vortex was nicely done here and whilst we as the listener knew she was responsible for events that occurred in Time Schisms! and The Star-Crossed Diversion, it all became clear for Rani and Clyde. I was surprised that after the cliffhanger to the last episode Luke didn't feature too much here, but he was a good employee in not letting friendship get in the way of UNIT orders when it came to entry to 13 Bannerman Road. I must admit, it's a bit odd that Sarah Jane left it to Rani rather than her own son, but it's nice to know it's still in the SJA family. Clyde and Rani getting glimpses into what their future could have been was handled really well and it was quite nice to think of them having children and still flirting even in a care home. Their chemistry is fantastic. I liked how Wormwood was feeding on regret and teasing that into making people her weapons by making them a paradox in changing their past, but the way she was banished without being fully defeated was nicely done to leave a return open. A signal could be reversed but I sense she isn't done with the ambiguous conclusion and how she parted with words of not being done with Rani. After all this time, it was just lovely to have a familiar villain return. She was the obvious candidate but I would have hoped for more Luke interaction given their history dating back to Invasion of the Bane. Maybe there's more to come. I liked the UNIT involvement with Hadley having a fun role in taking Clyde and Rani to UNIT HQ. Their questions about the lack of secrecy and the location with the Tower of London were really fun. They were loving seeing somewhere secret! Overall, a really consistent and strong three-story series and I really hope there is more to come. We need to get Clyde and Rani fully together and enjoy that! An excellent finale. 

Rating: 9/10