Chapel of Night

"Will you make the choice not to die?"

Writer: Jonathan Barnes

Format: Audio

Released: April 2017

Series: Jago & Litefoot 13.02

Featuring: Jago, Litefoot

Synopsis

Trapped in a parallel world, Jago and Litefoot are enlisted to help inspector Quick investigate the mysterious Chapel of Night run by Mrs Bartholomew. Needless to say, there is more to the chapel – and Mrs Bartholomew – than there initially seems. Soon our heroes are caught up in another horrifying and dangerous adventure. But more to the point, can they ever get back to their own world again?

Verdict

Chapel of Night was another great episode to continue my way through the thirteenth series of Jago & Litefoot! I make this the fiftieth regular episode in the spinoff range and that's an extraordinary feat so to have Jago and Litefoot now travelling and exploring a parallel world is tremendous. I really like the concept and whilst they have been to the future before, this is an altogether different prospect. It certainly is a similar situation to that but the world in which they found themselves should have been pretty identical to the one they had left just with a couple of minor discrepancies. That seemed to come in the form of Jago in particular not being known. That was a fun element of the story as whilst Quick did know Litefoot, he had no memory at all of the theatre runner. Still, he didn't exactly know Litefoot in the way the professor was expecting anyway as he wasn't someone who had a relationship with him other than using him for his expertise in a purely medical sense. Certainly not when it came to anything mysterious and extraterrestrial. That was really well done and I thought it was good to have Litefoot suspecting of his surroundings almost from the word go whereas Jago was very accepting that they had made it home after the concluding events of The Stuff of Nightmares. Whilst that is fun and does make sense, surely even for Jago after everything he has experienced by now he wouldn't be so readily accepting of the world in which they had arrived? Especially if Litefoot was suspecting? That's not a big deal because of the comical good that Jago often is, but I would like him to be a little more intelligent at times! That was displayed well at the end though with his impersonation of the god-like figure that Mrs Bartholomew was attempting to summon. That was really well done and he wasn't wholly unconvincing which was good stuff. I thought she served as a strong villain for the piece though and with Jago and Litefoot entering this parallel world from elsewhere, I thought it was a smart choice to have her exploring different times and sideways steps as well. She needed to tap into energy from the Vortex and here was Jago stumbling right into the lion's den. That was glorious. He really is the loveable baboon. I thought the Chapel of Night was also excellent and really felt Victorian. One thing this series continues to achieve is just how authentic it feels of its time. It is such a strong representation of history and just feels like how the late-nineteenth century is supposed to be. Even in a parallel world! I think Ellie not recognising either of them was a shame as their relationship is obviously deep rooted but it presents a strong dynamic with the pair basically going things alone now and not knowing anyone. Just how they are going to navigate their way back to their own world remains to be seen but I'm absolutely on board for the journey! I don't want to get there just yet though as having Jago and Litefoot explore an alternate world is a wonderful idea and could fill the rest of the series and beyond! Overall though, a really mysterious story that perhaps ended a tad prematurely with Jago eradicating Bartholomew just by not being who she thought he was. Still, a great continuation of the series! 

Rating: 8/10