Smallville 9-08 Idol

[jlvsclrk]

A while back, jeannev asked her readers to identify episodes whose reputation is based on one key scene. For me, Idol falls into this category - the final scene lifts it from a fun but fairly routine story into the range of some of Smallville's best episodes ever. Not quite in the same league as Transference, Labyrinth or Apocalypse, but still a resounding A+.

Everything about that final scene works for me. The first squee-worthy moment is when Clark puts on the iconic glasses, which make a surprisingly effective disguise. Shallow person that I am, I'm glad that they're merely flirting with the glasses for the foreseeable future - I don't want anything obscuring my view of those amazing eyes and cheekbones! Lois is a better woman than I for saying she doesn't mind the geek factor, and looked totally adorable to boot when trying the glasses on for size.

I also love what she said about him being the nicest person she knows. So few people seem to appreciate that in Clark, focussing either on the mistakes he makes (Chloe and pre-Kandor Ollie) or trying to turn him into their idea of a saviour (Tess, I'm looking at you.) I can't help but wonder if this is part of the reason that Clark doesn't tell Lois the secret. He wants someone who loves him for who he is, not what he can do. So while Clark obviously appreciated Lois's impassioned tribute to the Blur earlier in the episode, I can't help feel that he treasures her laughter at his geek factor far more.

And then there's the kiss. But no, before that there's a wonderfully mischeivous moment when Lois kicks over a bale of newspapers and stands on them to give her the proper angle to initiate the kiss. This was a great moment for those of us who bemoan all the cheating the directors have done over the years to make Clark and his leading ladies appear to be about the same height in order to "properly" frame the shots. Personally, I LOVE seeing the height difference - my favorite part of the Clana reunion scene in Arrival is that Lana's feet are dangling nearly a foot off the ground when Clark sweeps her into his arms. So seeing that stack of newspapers was a small thing that just made the moment extra special for me. And then Lois kicks up her leg and Clark lifts her hands to her neck to take command of the kiss. Smoking!

The passion of the moment obviously unlocks something in Lois's mind, causing her to go into a seizure while reliving scenes from her missing three weeks in far greater detail than ever before. The future we see is an ominous one - the world seems to be a near graveyard bathed in a red sun. I can't wait for next week for even greater insights, and also some sign of what changes Clark needs to make in the months to come to prevent the worst from happening.

By contrast, the opening scene is touchingly romantic - the morning after an all too brief night of passion. I confess the return of shirtless Clark was pretty much the only thing I noticed the first time I watched - such a beautiful man! But then you notice Clark has a cut on his face and looks vaguely sweaty. And then you realize that this isn't a love scene - it's a goodbye. "I wish we had more time," says Clark wistfully as they kiss, bathed in the ominous light of a red sun. Beautiful, but so sad.

Considering the gravity of the scenes that bookend the episode, it's surprising how lighthearted the bulk of it is, especially when you add in some of the references to The Dark Knight made along the way. The main story concerns the "triangle for two", played with a deft touch for laughs that thankfully don't come at the expense of the characters. Lois has been so shaken by the conflict between her feelings for Clark and the Blur that she goes into therapy. The most vivid moments from the dream involve "clothes. Coming off. You know, naked. Skin. Skin on skin. Ahem. Lots of skin." Her therapist seems very supportive although I can't help but wonder if Tess is involved somehow - I remember season 3 all too well. And we all know how interested Tess is in Clark and Lois's missing three weeks!

Regardless, Lois soon discovers that Clark is actually the Blur and has to reconsider everything. One of my favorite parts of the middle section of the episode is when she visits the Kent Farm the next morning to offer her apologies for the "Blur bashing" she did the day before. I love the look Clark gives her - he can't figure out why she's saying these things to him. But when he has to rush off to deal with the District Attorney's call for the Blur to come forward, Lois tries to figure out how to help. She later gives an impassioned speech that salvages the Blur's reputation, but makes her a target of the DA. His goons throw her off the rooftop of the Daily Planet, resulting in a media circus. Lois holds on just long enough to tell Clark that he's too important to the world to expose his secret by saving her. She then loses her grip.

Fortunately, our guest stars intervene and provide Clark with a cover of fog so he can complete the save. I mark it as a weakness of the episode that some people thought that the Twins were the ones who caught Lois before she hit the ground. Sorry - only Clark has the gravity defying power to decelerate someone like that without snapping their neck. Clark then reappears, saying he took the world's fastest elevator ride down. Lois is saddened at his denial, then is shocked when the phone starts ringing. It's the Blur, and even Clark is surprised.

Turns out Chloe has been monitoring the situation via rooftop cameras and felt an intervention was called for. Furthermore, she's been monitioring all of Clark's phone calls and has developed a program that turns whatever she types into Blur speech. Holy Batman! As Clark points out, "there's keeping a bird's eye view and then there's playing Big Brother with people's private lives." But Chloe is impervious to criticism: she just did what was necessary from her point of view. But the kicker is that she created the problem with Lois in the first place by leaving on her tracking device while the Wonder Twins were visiting. I can't help but fear that one of these days, someone is going to get seriously hurt when they accidentally get caught in one of her webs.

The widening gulf between Chloe and Clark was also demonstrated by their treatment of the Wonder Twins. Chloe tried to control them by threatening to wipe out their electronic existence - not quite as bad as Lex in Season 1 with Roger Nixon, but scary enough for two teenagers. (Frankly, I have more sympathy for Lex since the person he threatened was a blackmailer who had illegally obtained sealed court records.) She also offered them some inspiration about someday helping save the heros from themselves, but the tone sounded distinctly like hubris to me. By contrast, Clark's first instinct was to protect the Twins from the DA, even though they were damaging his reputation. And when they repaid his faith by helping with Lois, he gave them the ultimate gift - his trust. He almost certainly realised that they would only have shown up when and how they did if they'd already overheard just about everything, but still for him to step out of the shadows like that was a powerful gesture, one taken to heart by the Twins. That my friends was Superman!

I do have a few quibbles. I absolutely hated the lines "I am the shield" to Chloe, and "Believe in the shield, and what it represents" to the Wonder Twins. What on Earth (or Krypton) is that supposed to mean? But my bigger quibble is the way the writers have systematically deprived us of Clark's point of view, which in the context of this episode means that we really don't know why he thinks it's so important to keep his secret from Lois. I gave one possible reason earlier, while another obvious one is concern for her safety. Twice now, Clark has seen her become such an impassioned advocate when she finds out that she becomes the target of those who seek to harm him. Since his greatest need is to keep his loved ones safe, it's always going to be difficult to let her take such risks. On the other hand, one day he'll learn that it's a risk that she is ready and willing to take for the chance to be at his side. But as others have said, we shouldn't have to guess at something so important. The writers had Lois go to therapy so she could articulate her feelings about the triangle. The least they could do is have Clark talk to Shelby a little while doing some chores!

In closing, thanks to director Glen Winters and first-time writer Anne Cofell Saunders for a gem of an episode. I can't wait for Pandora!