by Helen Langdon
Well, that wasn’t exactly a boring, status-quo-upholding story from Wizards vs Aliens, was it? Over the course of the two parts, Benny was recruited by an astrophysicist to save the world from global warming, Ursula and Michael were told creatures from the Neverside were appearing in the real world, and Varg created a new way to trap wizards. But none of that is what’s changed Wizards vs Aliens forever.
Well, that wasn’t exactly a boring, status-quo-upholding story from Wizards vs Aliens, was it? Over the course of the two parts, Benny was recruited by an astrophysicist to save the world from global warming, Ursula and Michael were told creatures from the Neverside were appearing in the real world, and Varg created a new way to trap wizards. But none of that is what’s changed Wizards vs Aliens forever.
Before this season started, showrunner Phil Ford promised us shocks and surprises. And The Quantum Effect provided that with the departure of Benny, one half of the science and magic dream team. It might not have been the most nailbiting of episodes (yeah, so the existence of humanity was at stake, but the only action happened on computers), but it was dramatic. Into every show about close-knit groups of teenagers must come a time when the brainiac character gets the chance of a lifetime to study far away (it was good enough for The Sarah Jane Adventures, after all). Scott Haran and Percelle Ascott knock it out of the park as they go through all the stages of grief, mourning their friendship – lashing out at each other, neither feeling fully appreciative, struggling to effectively apologise, and then coming to the realisation that this is it, the end of their team.
Presumably Tom will be back at some point, but until that happens, Tom’s going to need to tell someone else his secret. He can’t take on the Nekross by himself, and he needs someone who can gain the grudging respect of the aliens. Given the “next time” preview, maybe it’s Katie who’s going to be fulfilling that role, which would mean more regular women in the show (hurrah!) and a more complicated sidekick relationship, given the romance between the pair (will she be able to cope with all Tom’s lying?).
Amidst all the tearjerking (if you say you didn’t get a watery eye at the final shot of Benny walking alone down the street, you’re a liar), there was the much heralded guest appearance of veteran actress Cherie Lunghi. But that was the weakest point of the whole episode. After providing a reason for Ursula and Michael to be in the same area as Tom and Benny, she vanished off to the Zarantulus (sidenote – could we have had more of a reason for the tracker bugs to consistently ignore Ursula besides Michael’s rounders skills?).
Amidst all the tearjerking (if you say you didn’t get a watery eye at the final shot of Benny walking alone down the street, you’re a liar), there was the much heralded guest appearance of veteran actress Cherie Lunghi. But that was the weakest point of the whole episode. After providing a reason for Ursula and Michael to be in the same area as Tom and Benny, she vanished off to the Zarantulus (sidenote – could we have had more of a reason for the tracker bugs to consistently ignore Ursula besides Michael’s rounders skills?).
There was a teasing moment where she could have unleashed the Nekross and the Neverside upon each other, but then she was forgotten about until the last possible moment, when she wandered up having somehow escaped from the ship by herself (a trick which could come in useful – going to share it with the class? No?). Eva was also used to introduce the idea of the tears in the Line of Twilight, so perhaps she’ll be back later in the series to wind up Ursula and dismiss Michael’s usefulness.
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