TAG in PART 1
We pick up directly where Part 1 left off, with the concierge telling Sue and Eddie to come back when they remember who they are. As our heroes try not to have a panic attack [My anxiety would have killed me by now], they spot the cab driver looking for them and hide in the restaurant. They order some food to get rid of the waiter [How they gonna pay for that?] and try to think of a plan, but realise they don’t remember what their parents look like, where they live, or anything before today’s events [The child actors do a pretty good job conveying an increasing sense of panic, by Goosebumps standards at least].
As Sue scans the restaurant, one diner seems to morph into a 15th century hag and back again, giving Sue a bad feeling. The cab driver appears [God, he really wants that 12 pounds and 60 pence!] and the kids escape through the kitchen, with Eddie declaring what we’re all thinking at this point — “Run, run, run, that’s all we do anymore” [I’m exhausted just sitting on my fat ass and watching].
Kung Lao appears and demands Eddie give “it” back to him, and Eddie agrees as long as he lets them go. Turns out the master pickpocketer stole one of his ritual stones when Kung Lao grabbed him in the dungeons [He was chasing them before that though, so there’s gotta be more going on]. Naturally, Kung Lao goes back on his word and starts performing the ritual again as soon as Eddie hands it over, and in a flash of light, Sue’s transported to what I assume is the 1500s [Because that’s what century Mr. Starke mentioned at the start].
The dirty, disgusting townspeople have the audacity to stare at Sue [I guess she doesn’t fit in, but still! Bunch of stare bears >:(]. She follows two filthy children [One of whom is Sophie Bennett, AKA Stevie from ‘The Saddle Club’! She’ll also appear in a season three Goosebumps episode! PS, how good is ‘Hello World’?] and asks around about her brother to no avail.
Soon, Kung Lao appears again on horseback, but Sue runs away as he cackles in the distance. She pays an old woman to hide her with the money the cab driver rejected, but this old bitty is a traitor and quickly alerts Kung Lao to Sue’s basket of concealment [Wooooooow]. As the guards take her away, the old woman hopes Sue can forgive her, but she “dare not go against the Lord High Executioner” [You mean Kung Lao? It’s a bit late to be giving us his name now, darl]. Sue’s carted off by the Lord High Executioner’s men [Surely she could just jump out though] and locked in the top of Tower, joined by Eddie who’s also been captured.
[You can outrun these ferals, Sue!] Also locked in with them is a man they recognise as the ghost they saw earlier on the tour. He introduces himself as Morgred, “the King’s sorcerer”. Morgred explains that they are Prince Edward and Princess Susannah of York and have been sentenced to execution by beheading thanks to their wicked uncle, who’s claimed the throne after the death of their parents. That’s why Morgred sent them to the future with false memories [Why would fake, incomplete memories be a good idea though? They would have been better off knowing who they really were from the beginning, surely].
Morgred’s spell wears off and now Sue and Eddie have British accents and are wearing their royal robes and crowns. Prince Edward thanks Morgred for his service and declares the idea of freedom will live on before the guards return to march them to their deaths.
Prince Edward questions why Morgred can’t just send them to the future again, but unfortunately his magic is too weak without the three white stones, which the Executioner stole off him. In the execution chamber, Morgred begs the Lord High Executioner to allow him to send them to the future again, where surely they won’t be any harm to him or the King, but that’s not a risk the Executioner is willing to take [Fair point tbh].
Prince Edward begs for mercy, grabbing the Executioner’s robes, but it’s all just a ruse so he can pickpocket the three white stones. He throws them to Morgred, who casts his spell, and Eddie and Sue wake up inside the king’s dungeon in the present. They’re found by a worker and Mr. Starke [OK, so we’ve gone ahead to the future, but back in time to when they first escaped the Executioner] before Morgred appears in modern clothing and declares himself their guardian, and the kids couldn’t be happier to see him [So I guess they remember everything now, which should have been what happened from the start].
As they get board the tour bus to leave Terror Tower, they ask the Mr. Starke what ever happened to the prince and princess, and they smile as he explains that nobody knows because they disappeared from the dungeon before they could be murdered. As the bus drives off, we see the Lord High Executioner outside the Tower, holding one of Morgred’s white stones [Now how the fuck did he get that? Guess we’ve gotta have a twist ending lol], which Morgred had thought Eddie had pickpocketed.
With the main story over, we’re back to Stine, who concludes the episode locked in Terror Tower himself, begging to be let out [And there’s also a medieval sounding rendition of the theme over the end credits! Not as good as the original though xox].
Final Thoughts
Not bad! I remember watching this a lot when I was younger too, but I can’t remember if I had it on video or if I just borrowed a copy from the library all the time. I mainly remembered the time travel aspect, so I was surprised how little time was spent in the 1500s. Both episodes are basically one long chase, which is pretty boring but there’s definitely worse episodes in the series.
The idea of being in a foreign country with no memory of who you are is pretty scary though, and I liked how there was people after them in both timelines — the Lord High Executioner in the 1500s [And the present, I guess] and the feral cab driver in the present day [A plot I guess was erased in the end when they got back to the future anyway]. We love parallel storylines! What was the deal with the axe-wielding executioner figure that lunged at Sue in part one though? He’s never seen or mentioned again. Just a throwaway reference to the book maybe?
The two child actors did a pretty good job with the roles too, and I’m surprised Kathryn Long wasn’t in anything else but Goosebumps. She’s a graphic designer now though, and you can check out her work here.
Anyway, 62 grubby old traitorous hags out of 74!
