"Ambush" Review!

Written by C.M. Houghton ("Triplet")

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NOTE: This review contains spoilers.  Read no further if you don't want to be spoiled.

Written by Holly Henderson & Don Whitehead this was a pretty big episode, with the return of Michael Ironside to the show as General Sam Lane.  I liked how it started, even though I had a few issues with the tease, which I will talk about more later, but I liked how Clark's and Lois' sexually-charged banter revealed differences in Clark's and Lois' characters. He wanted to go back upstairs to continue the 'conversation', as it were, but she wanted to out to the porch swing.  Racy? Sure, but that exchange showed the difference in their characters.  Clark is still very old-fashioned in a lot of ways, and Lois isn't.  It was a beautiful detail.

I also liked how multi-layered the dialogue was.  For example, when Lucy talked about the General trying to get Lois' boyfriends to reveal hidden things as her fingers trailed across a book right next to Dr. Swann's journal it wasn't just about Lois and their father. That line underlined the fact that Clark has a lot of secrets he doesn't want the General to necessarily find out. It was a nice line because, of course, that exchange meant something different to Clark than Lucy had intended. 

Also as the episode progressed, the writers took Clark's and Lois' relationship through some pretty rough spots.  There's nothing like a family dispute to making things tense even in an otherwise happy relationship. 

I didn't mind that because it seemed very real.  Often in the past when the show has tried to sow discord in a relationship, whether between a couple or friends, the conflict could come off completely lame. Or worse, it could seem extremely contrived.  Yet, it didn't here. I think the writers have a strong sense of who these characters are and, because of that, the complications made sense given the people involved.

I loved how the conflict between the General and Clark had tied in perfectly to one of the main storylines of the season: Flag and his growing team of anti-heroes the Suicide Squad. (I loved seeing Ted Whitall back as Flag.  He did a great job in this episode.)  I love it when they can wrap an episode so seamlessly into an ongoing storyline since it makes it feel well-rounded, especially when the conflict absolutely made sense for the characters in question.  It also deepens the episode's storylines since they're being addressed in several different aspects.

So, the Suicide Squad basically starting a terrorist campaign against the anti-vigilante faction in the country makes sense given Flag's militaristic take on the Superhero gig.  Lois' dad being a general it makes sense he'd take the opposing view.  Because they both really have an 'us-versus-them' attitude, it makes complete sense that the conflict would escalate.  

I mean, Flag told Oliver in earlier episodes essentially that either you're with his group or you're against them.  The General essentially said the same thing to Clark in that first scene in the kitchen.  So building on the conflicting agendas worked well, especially since they found a way to use that to put Clark and Lois at odds with her father.

I adored that aspect of the story.  It was a perfect way to help raise the stakes for both Clark and for Lois throughout the episode.  Not only did Clark have to deal with the Suicide Squad's scheming, but he had to deal with General Lane's over-the-top tactics in testing him (and Lois).

So, the stakes were both personal and professional for Clark.  That was wonderful and also provided excellent fodder for some fantastic acting.  Tom Welling, Erica Durance, Michael Ironside and Peyton List were all fantastic.   However, Tom and Erica especially brought their A game.  They both had some awesome moments in Clark's and Lois' confrontations with the General and Lucy, so Michael and Peyton coming back was good for the regular cast as well.

I loved that Tess' work at the Watchtower brought her into conflict with Oliver.  She's replaced Chloe, even though there's no replacing her, and he's still feeling the pain.  And really, I love Tess, but is she a good stand-in for Chloe?  That would be seriously up to debate (she does know things that Chloe doesn't that come in handy, but she's not Chloe).  It makes sense that Oliver doesn't think she is.  It also made for some terrific acting from Justin Hartley and Cassidy Freeman.

I'm glad that Clark pointed out the obvious that if it hadn't been for Tess they never would have known about the tattoos and being tracked.  That was a red herring, of course, because even though it looked like it, Clark was never the target. 

However, when Flag and his henchman (Warp, comic supervillain Emil LaSalle) were tracking the General's car in the tease, it sort of broke the back of that the reveal that the General was their intended target.

And did that even make sense anyway?  Why did Flag need to get Lucy to put a GPS tracker on her dad if he was able to track the General going to Clark's farm back in the tease?  That little detail wasn't logical at all.  I mean, if they were tracking his car, why go to the trouble of tricking Lucy to put a second tracking device in his pocket?

I guess I can kinda see why they did that.  Tracking the 'target' to the Kent farm in the tease  made for a fantastic opening: the ticking clock, the apparent impending danger to Clark, the reveal that it was Lois' father and sister instead of some threat coming to dinner was very well played.  It's a classic comic reversal, humorous and yet true: The General was a threat, just not a physical one like it had originally seemed.  And getting Lucy involved somehow wasn't a bad thing.  It complicated her role, gave her more things to do, gave Peyton fantastic opportunities to show her stuff.   It's never bad to include with all that that it helped to raise the stakes for Clark.  However, I think Flag and LaSalle tracking The General's car, while funny once it was revealed who they were tracking, deflated the power of the later reveal that Clark wasn't the real target.  It just wasn't quite as shocking if that fact hadn't previously been made clear.

It's frustrating because there was so much good in this episode and there was plenty of movement in season long storylines.  Clark and Lois' relationship got more complicated, and the relationship was deepened when Lois stood up to her father for Clark's sake.  The Suicide Squad took very violent action to further their cause.  Tess formerly moved in and took Chloe's place at watchtower, even buying new furniture.  And Oliver didn't much like it even as he dealt with the negative impact of revealing his identity to the world.

And yes: I'm actually happy the Talon (and the apartment over it) got blown up.  I'm tired of that set and of the show somehow ignoring for forever that Lex Luthor owns the building, or used to.  If it'd been sold, no one's said, but if he still owns it, then I don't buy Chloe and Lois willing to keep paying him rent.  If it stays gone, I say good riddance.

The script set up a lot of good things that will need to be explored in later episodes: What question, exactly, had Clark wanted to ask the General?  (I can think of only one that would be probably pretty obvious.)  What will the General's answer be? Will Flag do more than blow up buildings?  They tried to kill the General, what if they end up killing someone else?  How will Tess' past ties with Checkmate and the Suicide Squad affect Clark and Oliver and other members of the nascent Justice League?  How will that tie into Darkseid still being around?  I can't wait to find out, so in the end this episode was extremely effective even if some of the details didn't make sense to me.  So, Holly & Don both did a very good job.

I adored the photography by Glen Winter. The scenes in the farm were bright and warm and the ones in the Suicide Squad truck (or van or whatever it was) were cold and harsh.  I liked the high contrast ratio in the van scenes, the overexposed lights and the dark shadows made those scenes look even harsher.  Glen always makes the cast, who already look fantastic, look even better.  I loved how good everyone looked. 

And speaking of looking good, Costume Designer Melanie Williams, Key Make-up Artist Tina Teoli and Key Hairstylist Sarah Koppes all had a hand in that too.  Tom looked awesome in the darker colors he wore in this episode and his and Erica's hair has never looked better.

I guess the only complaint I would have on the craft side is I thought that Lucy was sent to town to get crushed ice.  It was kind of hard to tell, it was so quickly on screen, but the ice looked like whole pieces of ice even though the label on the bag said 'crushed.'  Not sure who's really at fault there, Production Designer James Philpott or his Property Master Aleya Naiman, but that pulled me out of the scene.

The music by Louis Febre was fantastic.  I loved the tender flute (I think it was a flute) and string music in the opening scene with Clark and Lois.  And as the threat (or 'threat') got closer, he helped build up the tension to the comic reversal when Lois opened that door to reveal her father in his dress uniform.  This was another terrific outing for Louis.

Probably not a perfect episode, and not likely in my top three so far this season, but it was a very enjoyable one that also built up several season long story arcs.  I loved the fact that Clark and Lois' relationship was tested and withstood the strife with no lasting drama.  I give this episode 4.5 GPS tracking pens out of a possible 5.

Note: The views of Triplet don't necessarily represent the thoughts and feelings of everyone at KryptonSite. Send her feedback