jlvsclrk: (SuaveClark by Ivory Kiss)

Praise be, Smallville is back! It was great having the first 10 episodes run consecutively, but that only made the winter hiatus literally longer than ever. During the wait, I'd been flipping back and forth between anticipation and dread. As it turned out, I really enjoyed the episode, even more so on second viewing. I'll give it an A-.

 

One of the DCU's hottest writers, Geoff Johns, penned the script and did a very solid if somewhat hamfisted job. I'm sure everyone but the Clana fans groaned at some of the lines directed to Lana by the Legion. OK, I get that Lana has a secret reason for leaving Clark and I'm willing to wait to hear out her reasons but come on! We've SEEN precious little self sacrifice by Lana, indeed I'd say the opposite. I also think its amusing that Lana gets praise for having started up Isis, when she only did so as a front for her spying on Lex. Chloe is the one who has done all the heavy work so far.

This leads to one of the big ideas of this episode: that history distorts the past. You lose the details that go into the decision making process. Some beliefs are such common knowledge that they never get recorded and then get lost when times change. I knew something was really wrong when the legion said that Superman was known for doing "whatever it takes" to save the world. That kind of thinking led to their false dichotomy that it was EITHER save Chloe OR save the world. They then get disappointed that their hero is not behaving as he "should". Like many a fanboy, Garth (Lighting Lad) reduced Superman to flights, tights and a pair of glasses.

But Superman is far more than that and I loved the scene where Lana reinforces Clark's flagging self-confidence. He's been second guessed by himself and others so many times that he's starting to worry that maybe the legion is right about sacrificing one for many. This episode particularly resonates with Clark's decision in Vessel where he was told by Jor-El to kill Lex. His refusal then unleashed Zod and led to many deaths, although it did stop Brainiac who was by far the more serious threat. (After all, it was Brainiac who unleashed Dark Thursday.) Regardless, killing Lex as a pre-emptive strike would have been wrong, and ditto with Chloe. Superman does not kill - he finds the third choice. The one where the world gets saved AND as many individuals as possible. That's the piece of everyday knowledge that the Legion's history had forgotten.

Other than excessive Lana praising, I was pleased at the dynamic between Clark and Lana. There's no sign whatsoever of desire to pick up their relationship. Instead, we have two friends who know each other well enough to offer meaningful support. At the beginning, we actually get to see Lana behaving like Chloe's friend, devastated on her behalf at the ruined wedding and insisting on her right to help. Lana has clearly learned some lessons from living with and away from Clark and has completely rejected her own position in Wrath that Clark should have taken care of Lex. We don't know yet all the reasons for her turnaround, but it is welcome. And what a lovely scene between them at the end. Clark is a little bemused at the idea that his impact will be felt throughout the galaxy in the centuries to come. That's quite the legacy to have to create, and Clark knows his own foibles well enough to have reasonable doubts. In another welcome change from Season 7, Lana tells him to take it one day at a time and do things at his own pace. There's no doubt in her mind or mine that he'll get there eventually.

Normally I dislike episodes where Clark is not given the chance to save the day (not surprising given my obsession for his Wow moments) so I would have prefered if Clark had a more direct involvement in Chloe's exorcism. On the other hand, maybe it was more effective this way because it illustrated a critical aspect of Clark's character: that he inspires others to become better people. He came up with the plan (yay!) and even had the forethought to move Chloiac to the barn so Brainiac can't escape into other computer systems. I was a little surprised that he didn't use heat vision on the extracted slag but in the Smallville AU, this will become the basis for another member of the Legion, Brainiac 5.

Allison Mack turned in a chilling performance as Chloiac. Brainiac chose to remain in her body as a shield against Clark and the physical demand was clearly more than she could bear. The radiant Chloe of the night before was transformed into a Corpse Bride thanks to some very effective makeup and Allison's delivery. How heartbreaking for Davis when he/she tells him the connection between them was just programming: that Davis has no free will. Brainiac has planned a devastating one-two punch, but Brainiac's defeat also means that Doomsday did not have time to reach his full maturity. Maybe beneath the monster the human still lingers. That opens up the possibilities for the way this season will play out. Can't wait for next week!

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jlvsclrk

October 2012

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