The Curse of Clyde Langer
The Sarah Jane Adventures Season 5 Episodes 3-4
One final Clyde-focused story gives us another classic as we learn the power of having a support system.
The Review
The best character in The Sarah Jane Adventures has always been Clyde: Daniel Anthony’s portrayal of a kid pretending to be cocky to get over his anxiety and secretly wanting to be an artist has provided the best moments of emotional depth. Here, we get one more as Clyde is cursed by an ancient Native American god/alien to where anyone who hears his name immediately viciously turns on him. It’s happened before in visions, but seeing Sarah Jane rudely cast him out is tough to watch, even worse when she calls the police on him (an even more biting commentary in the 2020s). A few seasons ago, Clyde would’ve crumbled under his own anxieties, but this time he knows something is wrong and correctly deduces his curse. It’s a shame of the big three child actors that Daniel Anthony doesn’t act anymore, because it’s a great performance as Clyde.
Sarah Jane and Rani (and Clyde’s mom) both feel like they’ve lost someone, but hate Clyde the moment they hear his name. It falls to sweet young Sky who is unaffected by the curse to appeal to them and eventually breaks the hold. The totem pole is banished, but then the real heartbreak sets in. Clyde met Ellie, a homeless girl his age, who kept him safe and introduced him to the life. They quickly fall in love, with Ellie potentially even giving Clyde his first kiss. She leaves to get coffee right as Sarah Jane finds him again, and after he goes back to search for her finds she took a truck somewhere else in Europe and he’ll never see her again. It’s a bit on the nose, but Sarah Jane says the most alien world is that of the homeless: if we cared to look. It’s a sad ending, but with a great message.
Daniel Anthony gets one final hurrah as Clyde, the best character of this show who has provided the biggest emotional moments.
10/10 I have a week spot for kids struggling with their place in the world, okay?
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