Reunited: Union of the Snake

"Focus on the business and not the personal."

Writer: Roland Moore

Format: Audio

Released: July 2025

Series: Smith & Sullivan 1.02

Featuring: Sarah Jane, Harry, K9

Synopsis

Self-made millionaire Eric Chen inexplicably went from working in a sawmill to designing a revolutionary computer chip that has made billions. He had no training or education in electronics. How did he do it?

His new PA – Sarah Jane Smith – is determined to find the answer.

Verdict

Union of the Snake was another great episode to continue my way through the Reunited debut series of Smith & Sullivan! After all the pleasantries of being reintroduced to each other and setting things up in The Caller opener, this one didn't mess around when it came to getting into the thick of the action. It appears a little bit of time has passed since the events of the opening episode which is good as Sarah Jane was already posing as a personal assistant to Eric Chen. He was a fascinating character and his backstory was shrouded in mystery. I liked the premise of an overnight millionaire patenting something that was not at all from his background. Sarah Jane knew there was more than met the eye when it came to his supposed feel good story. She just couldn't accept that someone from a saw mill could suddenly developing something like the microchip that was revolutionising technology. I thought that was good fun and the awkwardness that came from Eric answering questions on just how he'd done it made it obvious there was something hidden when it came to the truth. Harry teaming up with K9 was such a delight and it almost feels wrong that these two companions never met. They're both of the Fourth Doctor era so it feels like K9 would have been there with Harry, but obviously The Invisible Enemy comes even after Sarah says her farewells! Harry getting a little annoyed by the literal way K9 took everything was tremendous and it was hilarious that Harry kept using 'Can you?' as his phrase of asking for K9 to do something. Just because he could didn't mean he would immediately as far as his programming went! Harry getting K9 to adopt some of the local lingo was also quite spectacular and I enjoyed hearing the robot dog spill some Cockney slang. The old mucka indeed. I thought the Narana made for a strong villain and whilst their sleeper agent in the form of the snake was the titular enemy, it was really them in the background that provided the strongest threat. Exploiting the vulnerability of Eric as he was still grieving from his son going missing was very harsh and the way the episode made you feel more gradual sympathy for him was impressive. He was playing in the playground with his little boy who suddenly disappeared from the swings in a short moment where Eric looked away. I frequently visit our local play parks with my four year old boy and I know that sudden heart wrenching feeling when you momentarily can't spot them. For that to be permanent is honestly terrifying to me and it really does almost feel worse in not knowing compared to death. I would not be sleeping. I couldn't face it and I really couldn't empathise with him in returning to the park and then even using his millions to purchase the exact park from the council and place it in a hangar. It appears that Eric's son had shifted dimensional planes and that laughter was genuine, although the urgency of the Narana suggested otherwise. Burrows was a strong character as the henchman essentially for Eric and he even took matters into his own hands despite where his paycheque came from. He wasn't bothered about the Narana getting their hands dirty whereas Eric did not want any bloodshed. He was already grieving for his son who went missing shortly after his wife died, so more deaths was not on his list of desires. The Narana needing to get to this dimension was intriguing and some more background on them could have really sent the episode to different heights. They had been giving Eric a list of alien devices required to bring them into this plane, and Veronica Hyde as the person holding the dimensional stabiliser was a great character! She was headstrong and not afraid to say no. Sarah Jane distracting her whilst Harry nabbed the artefact from behind was amusing, as was K9 naming some of her tech as a Cyber gun and something close to the time ring going back nicely to Genesis of the Daleks. The portal only having a few seconds of being open was a good level of excitement at the end and it was admirable that Sarah was willing to go through to find Eric's son. I thought Eric himself jumping through to try and be reunited with his son was a great moment and K9 confirming that the laughter wasn't a recording was a nice way to finish things as it was believed that Eric was reunited with his son after all. Overall, a terrific listen!

Rating: 8/10