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I haven't been doing in depth reviews lately, mostly because I find it so hard to express my feelings. I am still clinging to the hope that the writers will realize just why so many people had problems with the end of last season and make a radical shift in their M.O. That would mean actually standing behind Clark and validating his world view - something that flies in the face of modern showbiz thinking that darker is more edgy and interesting. Me, I'm a great fan of optimism, which is why I'm attracted to the story of Clark Kent and Superman. Smallville does make it hard at times to be a fan of the main character!
As for Sacrifice, I give it a middle of the road B. Half of the story, involving Faora, Clark, Zod and Checkmate, gets top marks, but the other half pretty much failed for me. I hate how the show has made me detest Chloe over the past year, but that's just how it is. And though I normally find Tess a compelling character, she wasn't well served by the script here - especially with her pimping Chloe and Oliver. And don't get me started about how ludicrous I found the whole security setup at Watchtower. Were the show runners intending to show how sloppy Chloe has become? That's what came through to me.
What I did like was the Kryptonian story, especially Faora. The scene with her last stand against Zod was powerful and brilliantly acted. Callum Blue gave his best perfromance ever when telling her that he would destroy the world if he ever felt he was being betrayed. Then in his madness, he destroyed the chance that Faora's child represented for all the clones. Perhaps the scene crossed the line and was too emotionally manipulative - I know I had tears in my eyes by the end - but there was a point to it all. For a moment, Zod looked 'human' again when he realized what he had done, but by his next scene, he had twisted the situation around to his advantage. That's evil folks.
I think this episode showed that Clark's plan could have worked with a fairly substantial portion of the Kryptonians if not for the confluence of several factors: Zod's madness, Checkmate's paranoia, Tess's meddling and Chloe's lack of trust. The latter after all is what gave Checkmate the means to track down the clones who had tried to assimilate. I confess to enormous irritation when I read threads on Kryptonsite like 'Operation Hug It Out Is a Failure', which denigrates the whole idea of giving people a chance. Clark has done everything right all season long and it appears that it will all be in vain. On the other hand, classic screenwriting would use this situation to set up a reversal, leading to Clark's ultimate vindication. Unfortunately, I cannot trust that the showrunners concept of vindication is the same as mine, since they've already demonstrated a very hazy notion of accountability. Oh well, I'll take what I can get.
As for Sacrifice, I give it a middle of the road B. Half of the story, involving Faora, Clark, Zod and Checkmate, gets top marks, but the other half pretty much failed for me. I hate how the show has made me detest Chloe over the past year, but that's just how it is. And though I normally find Tess a compelling character, she wasn't well served by the script here - especially with her pimping Chloe and Oliver. And don't get me started about how ludicrous I found the whole security setup at Watchtower. Were the show runners intending to show how sloppy Chloe has become? That's what came through to me.
What I did like was the Kryptonian story, especially Faora. The scene with her last stand against Zod was powerful and brilliantly acted. Callum Blue gave his best perfromance ever when telling her that he would destroy the world if he ever felt he was being betrayed. Then in his madness, he destroyed the chance that Faora's child represented for all the clones. Perhaps the scene crossed the line and was too emotionally manipulative - I know I had tears in my eyes by the end - but there was a point to it all. For a moment, Zod looked 'human' again when he realized what he had done, but by his next scene, he had twisted the situation around to his advantage. That's evil folks.
I think this episode showed that Clark's plan could have worked with a fairly substantial portion of the Kryptonians if not for the confluence of several factors: Zod's madness, Checkmate's paranoia, Tess's meddling and Chloe's lack of trust. The latter after all is what gave Checkmate the means to track down the clones who had tried to assimilate. I confess to enormous irritation when I read threads on Kryptonsite like 'Operation Hug It Out Is a Failure', which denigrates the whole idea of giving people a chance. Clark has done everything right all season long and it appears that it will all be in vain. On the other hand, classic screenwriting would use this situation to set up a reversal, leading to Clark's ultimate vindication. Unfortunately, I cannot trust that the showrunners concept of vindication is the same as mine, since they've already demonstrated a very hazy notion of accountability. Oh well, I'll take what I can get.
