The Sarah Jane Adventures 3x07 & 3x08 "The Eternity Trap" full reaction

This episode was one of the best episodes in the SJA adventures the best in my opinion is yet to come, no spoilers but if I like it you might too. The way Sarah denies all ghosts, like they don't exist from the Gorgon eye to now is amazing she always finds out the true events that are happening to people say it is a ghost to spook people. The quote "You don't stand a ghost of a chance" was just brilliant writing not saying the writer always makes good stories but this one was one his best work so far.

Damn you can write 📝 lol

Stephanie Reacts

Great reaction! I'm so glad you enjoyed this. I love this episode. Very underrated story. Part of me thinks they used this episode as inspiration for Hide in Series 7 of Doctor Who. But I've always considered this to be the superior episode. I love the mystery of this episode. This is a great story not only for the creepy and scary atmosphere that it nailed down but also the emotional story regarding Marchwood and his children. It's heartbreaking that he spent years searching for his children. Equally sad and disturbing is the fact that Darkening took his children away from him and separated them from him through different frequencies. Likewise with him taking away other victims as we saw in the staircase scene. Sarah Jane not believing in ghosts because of the experiences she had in her Tardis adventures is rather interesting to discover. Also regarding Luke's absence, they actually explained it at the start of the story that Luke stayed behind because he doesn't believe in ghosts (just like Sarah Jane and Mr Smith). The real life reason however is because Tommy Knight (actor who plays Luke) was busy with GCSEs (school exams) at the time hence his absence in this story. It's always a joy to see Professor Rivers. She's such a great supporting character. The nursery scene with all the toys and inanimate objects moving is seriously creepy. Even the jump scares with Marchwood appearing behind Professor Rivers and taking her by surprise is chilling. When they can only hear Professor Rivers talking through the walkie talkie, it feels almost similar to Silence In The Library with the whole "ghosting" conscious stuff that happens through the inhibitors that The Doctor and Donna experienced with River Song and her crew. There's some really great direction with this story especially with the cameras, locations and POV shots. Some funny Ghostbusters, Harry Potter and Tim Burton references too. Clyde and Rani were such a good duo in this episode. They really bounced off each other well. I agree with you that Toby is a very funny character in a good and nerdy sort of sense. The way the actor played him made me think that the character could have possibly been autistic coded based on the way he talked and his mannerisms. Very endearing character. You also had a little bit of a science vs superstition debate between him and Sarah Jane which was interesting too. Regarding Toby's story about seeing the faceless creature as a kid. I always wondered and theorised if that could have possibly been The Trickster but it obviously can't be since Toby describes it being "Grey with no face" which while similar, doesn't quite match the Trickster's description so it's still an interesting mystery to me. Sadly a creepy and traumatic one for Toby though. I also saw discussions with fans theorising whether Erasmus Darkening could have potentially been a Time Lord mainly because Sarah Jane says his accelerator machine has Tardis like qualities and his desire for immortality potentially feels like he could have been a corrupt Time Lord on his last regeneration. Obviously this is just a fan theory but it's still interesting to speculate. And yeah the actor is in a lot of stuff. Funnily enough, he'd end up playing Rassilon in Series 9 of Doctor Who as you already saw in Hell Bent. The EMF meters that Toby and River use are also manufactured from Magpie (company from The Idiot's Lantern). I like the fact that the creature outside has a threatening presence without us properly seeing it. Those red eyes and growling are enough to make it feel threatening. I love the ending with Sarah Jane and Marchwood tricking Darkening into the circle. It wraps things up neatly with Marchwood reuniting with his children but it's also sad about the fate of the other victims. Overall, a really solid story. Marchwood was really the MVP of this episode.

JY