A Case of the.... Smallville - Episode 10-20

So I have to apologize. Until last week, when one of my readers kindly alerted me that my episode numbers were off, I didn’t even realize I had missed an episode this season (Scion, the last episode before the hiatus earlier this year). I checked a brief review of the episode, and it doesn’t seem like anything exceptionally newsworthy came out of it (other than Tess usurping Lionel, apparently, and the “birth” of Connor Kent), but if I can find the episode on the CW website, maybe I’ll try to watch it so that I can review it before the finale. But the CW website sucks (and their full episodes have just as many commercials as the actual television airing, minus the variety), so don’t hold your breath.

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Anyway, in a rare instance, I actually (inadvertently) checked some viewer thoughts on this episode. As I’ve noted numerous times before, I purposely try to avoid spoilers, so I don’t go to any message boards out of fear that I might accidentally read one. But I wanted to find out which villains were sitting around the Marionette Ventures table, so I did a little searching to find out. To my utter surprise, the reaction to this episode was overwhelmingly negative. And not in that “that darned Lois broke Clark’s heart!” sort of way. More like, “Well this was just a pile of crap.”

Was it a monumental episode that will end up on my top ten list (which likely will be coming up on my blog sometime this summer)? No, probably not. It’ll likely be remembered as the calm before the storm – setting the critical pieces in place before the big finale. But was it terrible? No, I think that’s taking it a bit far.

I think, for many fans, the episode was hampered by the fact that we’ve seen the story where somebody else inherits Clark’s powers, forcing Clark to experience life as a human while “training” the new super powered being, numerous times in the past. And, on top of that, the episode had a pretty somber ending, with Lois calling off the engagement (after I had just written about her being superior to Mary Jane Watson in last week’s review). And that accelerated sunset was a tad on the alarming side. But it was overall inoffensive and, as I said earlier, it did a fine job of setting all of the critical pieces in the right place for the finale.

Having said that, I do understand some of the criticisms. Somebody acquiring Clark’s powers is becoming the new “I found out Clark’s secret but ultimately got amnesia.” And the story almost always ends with the character having a deeper appreciation for the responsibilities that go along with these amazing abilities. However, there was one scene I especially appreciated this episode, which was when Clark and Lois were sitting outside the café and Clark was training her to use her super hearing. It reminded me of Superman Returns, where Superman flies Lois up to the sky and she remarks how quiet it is, but he confesses that he still hears everybody in need (excuse me if I’m misremembering, it’s been years since I’ve seen the movie). Clark’s explanation and justification for making some rescues but not others, showed tremendous maturity. He took multiple dire situations and was able to prioritize based on the urgency and the likelihood of the person finding assistance elsewhere. That’s a far cry from the person who had to be reminded that there are people outside of Smallville that could use his help.

I do have to say, though, that I really didn’t enjoy the Lois and Clark breakup. No spoilers please, but I have a distinct feeling that this was just a fake out to build some tension going into the finale. Was that really necessary, though? There’s already PLENTY to look forward to – Lex returning, the reveal of Darkseid, Clark flying, Clark putting on the Superman costume. People are going to watch – why put a damper on it, especially after they did such a great job of establishing Lois as a no-nonsense girl who is willing to be the wife of the superhero? Like I said, I have a feeling that they will still end up getting married in the finale, so I’m willing to reserve my judgment somewhat. But if they DON’T get married, I will be pretty damn pissed. Smallville’s handling of Lois and Clark over the past two years has been pretty much flawless. Don’t mess it up in the final few hours. I was really glad to hear Terrence Stamp return as Jor-El’s voice, possibly for the last time, and thankfully it was “nice” Jor-El instead of “abusive ass” Jor-El. And we also got a REAL sight of that Superman costume.

Kara’s return ended up being more or less insignificant. I assume they just included her here to explain why she won’t be in the finale (and that Jor-El seriously plays favorites, huh?) I did enjoy seeing Granny Goodness again. I’m disappointed she didn’t play a bigger role this season, hopefully she appears prominently in the finale. By the way, Oliver was sporting a bit of a scruffy face – maybe he will have the Green Arrow goatee by the finale!

And, as I mentioned in the opening, we saw some kickass Legion of Doom villains this episode. I immediately recognized Captain Cold and Black Manta from Super Friends, but also sitting around the table was Roulette, Dark Archer, Solomon Grundy (who I didn’t recognize initially, but now do after seeing a screencapture), and Metallo. My one qualm: Toyman was their leader? Really? Why not hold off one week and reveal that Lex is banding them all together to form the Legion of Doom (even if not explicitly by name)?

So, after ten years, the big finale is coming up next. It’s funny how I mentioned at the beginning of the season that they should space out the big moments. Well, they went the exact opposite route and decided to put I think every single one in the last episode. Oh well, let’s see how they do with it. I do have one wish, though: I hope they don’t end the episode with him flying. I think, after all of this time, we deserve a nice, long flying sequence.