The Lost Boy

TARDIS Coordinates: November 12, 2007

In one of the Matrix sequels, a recently-freed Agent Smith comments to Neo, “There’s no escaping reason, no denying purpose, for as we both know, without purpose we would not exist. It is purpose that created us, purpose that connects us, purpose that pulls us, that guides us, that drives us; it is purpose that defines us, purpose that binds us.”

What happens to a bad guy that loses his purpose? Evil takes motivation, after all. Evil is hard work. It takes energy to propose a plan, put it into action, maintain it, and see it through to its inevitable conclusion. Left with no reason to perpetuate a plan, what happens to the bad guy? Does he stay bad? Does he find another reason to go on, one a bit less egregious?

I had a genuine problem with Mr. Smith when he was revealed to be a Xylok infiltrator. For ten episodes now, we had come to trust him as a profound and meaningful source of information as well as a character in his own right, so suddenly determining that he’s been gaslighting Sarah Jane and the children all this time came as a complete shock. Far from just that, however, I even found it difficult to subsequently trust him, rewritten and repurposed as he was. No matter what else Mr. Smith was, throughout the course of the series, he had still been a Xylok infiltrator who tried to destroy the world, and I found insufficient reassurances in his programming to indicate that he would no longer be a threat.

Alan Jackson has just been brought into the fold via his unwitting and unwilling participation in the previous episode, and it’s shaken him deeply. Maria struggles to convince Alan that she knows what she’s doing and that, though it’s a bit dangerous, she feels needed, and that’s important to her. She needs to know about this brave world of Sarah Jane’s, because she won’t stop looking for it, which is natural; but only Sarah Jane can give her the support she needs to face it on her terms. It’s a good argument, and it briefly mollifies Alan – until the news reveals that Luke is no alien spore, but a kidnapped child named Ashley.

The revelation breaks Sarah Jane’s heart, and she indicates that maybe Alan is right, and her life is no place for children. Fortunately, the narrative doesn’t dick us around as much as the characters, as it’s clear almost as soon as “Ashley” returns “home” that his “parents” are up to no “good.”

Chrissie is spectacularly unhelpful and gosh isn’t she fun to have around; Alan is a bit less canny, unwilling to believe that Sarah Jane is some kind of monster, yet, being new to the Scoobies, uncertain as to what to do with his knowledge. This is a very, very hard storyline for anyone to watch,  because, as the Internet might say these days, it has all the feels.

Mr. Smith is eventually restored to his narrative purpose, as assistant to Sarah Jane and the kids in their explorations. Alan is part of that family now as well, which I think was a good move – the whole “masquerade” thing can get old very, very fast. The story ends with those family ties stronger than ever, and with an experienced crew. It’s a great place to start Season 2.