A Case of the.... Smallville - Episode 10-11

So are the holidays kicking anybody else’s arse as well? I promise, once we return with new episodes in January, I’ll be better about getting these reviews up in a timely fashion.

Anyway, before moving onto last week’s episode, I wanted to respond to the comment Wally Kovacs left regarding the prior episode. I’ve really come to enjoy Wally’s insight, as he certainly knows a great deal about the various comic book allusions (a lot of my knowledge is limited to what is commonly known), so I hope he continues supplementing my reviews with his comments. Here’s what Wally had to say:

It was bit interesting as they used Ultraman despite most of the rest of the universe being different seemingly only because of a single difference (Lionel got to Clark first) while the Ultraman of the comics is from a universe where everything is reversed (Evil tends to win instead of good, etc). However, they do sort of allude to that in that alternate universe Lionel is right handed instead of left.

I’ll admit that I don’t know much of anything about the comic book Ultraman, but that’s an awesome catch with Lionel being right handed instead of left. Bravo, sir!

Lionel was (nearly) redeemed near the end of the series because of a combination of Jor-El’s influence, Martha Kent, and Clark. In the alternate reality, Clark wasn’t influenced by the Kent’s (and thus couldn’t have a positive effect on Lionel). Similarly, without the Kent’s finding Clark as a child, they never entered into Clark’s circle and thus couldn’t impact Lionel that way. Also, in that universe, Lionel went out of his way to supress Jor-El, so he was never “enlightened” as he was in the real world.

I agree with Wally’s assessment that Lionel reformed because of Clark and the Kents’ influence. To clarify on my comments from last week, I don’t have an issue with the fact that Lionel was completely evil in the alternate universe. That made sense to me. My problem was with Clark’s revisionist memory of Lionel. Clark condemning Lionel as something poisonous and vile discounts the close relationship they had developed over the last few years of Lionel’s life. Like I said, when Lionel died, Clark’s funeral scene quite purposefully mirrored the scene when Clark buried Jonathan. Clark was impacted by Lionel’s death and for him to view him as this completely malicious sociopath discounts the story of his character.

Similarly, it seems that Lionel isolated Clark from most of the positive influences of his life … not only was he not with Kent’s, nor able to learn much of his Kryptonian history and responsibilities from Jor-El, but he also never went to Smallville high, so he didn’t have Lana, Pete or Chloe … If anything, it makes sense how Clark Luthor would be even worse than Lex, as basically he was raised much like Lex was, but without the positive influences that Lex ended up encountering.

So, while the idea of “Lex was the way he was because of Lionel” is a bit of a cop out … ultimately Clark was calling Lionel evil one way or the other in terms of nature vs. nurture argument he made earlier. He realizes that, even he and his parents weren’t enough to disuade Lex off his path, Lex was his father’s son. Even with Lionel changing near the end, the damage was done.

Lex in Smallville is set as a tragic figure, simultaneously trying to escape his legacy but being defined by it either way. Although, even while rejecting his father, he didn’t really reject what his father taught him, only really how his father treated him. He wasn’t really able to walk away from the Machiavelian mindset that pretty much drives him constantly.

To be perfectly honest, my issues with Clark being swayed by the darkside were relatively minute. And it also occurs to me that one of my favorite modern comic books (although I admittedly don’t read them much) is the Superman/Batman Absolute Power story in which Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne are raised by evil time travelers, turning both heroes into murderous killers. This is essentially the same story, so I don’t really have much of a problem with it.

Anyway, onto last week’s thrilling episode – the last before a long hiatus (damn you, CW!)

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The episode kicked off with a bang, as Clark proposed to Lois. I wish I could say I was surprised, but the scene was spoiled by a recent edition of Entertainment Weekly. Sure, they wrote “Spoiler Alert” in bold, but that didn’t stop them from plastering the photo of Clark on his knee presenting Lois with a ring on half of the page. Actually, this isn’t the first time EW has spoiled a major plot point. They nonchalantly revealed the killer of Monk’s wife weeks before the series finale. Nice, real nice.

Anyway, I thought it was a sweet scene and I’m glad they didn’t wait until the final episodes to have them take this plunge. As I’ve said a number of times, this is their final season and they have A LOT of big moments to cover. Not all of them have to wait until the last couple of episodes. Space them out a bit. They’ve done a nice job of this so far.

I also really enjoyed the brief Chloe cameo. At first I wasn’t sure if I was seeing a flashback of footage we’ve seen before. When it became clear it wasn’t, it made me pay even closer attention to what was being said. I loved Chloe’s genuine smile when she put together the pieces that Lois had figured out Clark’s secret. However, I could have done without the Lana mention. For one, we don’t need to tie every significant Clark/Lois moment to Lana. Second, it wasn’t really historically accurate. Lana was willing to let Clark be the hero he needs to be. The problem was that she became so consumed with hate and revenge that she was forced to make decisions that ultimately cost her her relationship with Clark. It was a sweet enough moment that it didn’t need the obligatory and awkward former lover mention.

I also enjoyed the surprise engagement party. Many of these characters only come out to play when it comes time for an epic battle, and even then their relationships seem professional. Sometimes even competitive and abrasive. It’s nice to see that they actually like and care about one another, and that they can also share their happiness with one another. To paraphrase what Clark said to Oliver when he asked him to be his best man, they’re out there together for their worst moments, so they might as well be together for their best too. It was nice seeing everyone happy.

Of course, the happiness didn’t last as this episode also saw the demise of Hawkman. I was really saddened to see this happen, as Smallville portrayed him as a genuinely bad ass character. He looked cool, he talked tough, and unlike virtually every other character on the show – where their costumes take a modern, realistic turn – he looked exactly like he does in the comics. Except even more awesome – with the helmet and wings and everything.

Then again, I probably should have seen it coming. Hawkman got the traditional action movie hero send off. He had a sweet, bonding moment with somebody he never quite saw eye to eye with (Oliver) and an exciting, epic fight scene in which he got to display his abilities (in this case, fight and flight) before succumbing to his dirty fighting opponent. And while I was disappointed to see him go, I loved the way the scene played out. I really enjoyed the fact that he was the one who rescued Lois, despite his debilitating state. And his dying line of “it can’t always be you, Clark” was poignant in its simplicity. Clark can’t be everywhere at all times, so there is a need for all of these other heroes.

The final scene, with all of the heroes in their respective costumes paying their respect to Hawkman was rather great, as well. Honestly, I just love seeing them all in their costumes. And hey, Oliver actually decided to wear the hood and sunglasses.

Anyway, that’s it for me. Sorry again for taking so long to post this. I hope everybody has a great Christmas, if you celebrate, and a safe and happy new year. See you guys in 2011. Until then, be sure to visit my blog and follow me on Twitter! Be well!