"Arrival"
Review!
Written
by Triplet
Send
her feedback - Talk
about this review on the KryptonSite Forum!
NOTE:
If you haven't seen this episode, and don't want to be spoiled,
stop reading right now and go watch it. It's a great episode.
Brief
recap:
In the wake
of a devastating meteor shower, Clark gets transported to the
Fortress of Solitude, but doesn't realize Chloe did too. Dying
in the bitter cold, she interrupts his "training"
session with Jor-El. Her plight forces Clark to make a deal
with Jor-El to save her life. Lex wakes alone in the caves and
wants to know more than anything what happened to Chloe.
Jonathan
can't find Martha in the wreckage of their home, so Lois pitches
in to find her. Lana sees two Kryptonians (guests Alana Del
La Garza and Leonard Roberts) emerge from the ship, and barely
survives a super powered attack. Lex tries to convince Lana
she imagined the ship. He is also extremely hurt and angry that
Clark lied about being in the caves. Lana, with the help of
Lionel, lures the two Kryptonians to the Luthor mansion but
the trap she sets fails miserably. There, the Kryptonians have
a confrontation with Clark who then reneges on his deal with
Jor-El in order to save Lana. Lex finally finds Chloe. Best
of all, Brainiac (special guest James Marsters) arrives...
Review:
I had predicted
that the great cliff-hangers in the Season 4 ender, Commencement,
would make for a very long summer and I was right. And, dare
I say it? The episode was well worth the wait.
There was
a lot of eye candy on the screen in this one and major set pieces
from the Superman mythos were key story elements. For a lot
of fanboys (and fangirls *ahem*) who disliked the witch/stones
story arc from last season, this episode will likely get the
sour taste of Isobel and the search for the stones out of their
mouths.
The show
opened strong, with Clark seemingly alone in the arctic, as
the Fortress of Solitude emerges from the ice. In probably one
of the biggest set pieces from the Superman mythos, the formation
of the Fortress was jaw droppingly spectacular.
However
the CG, while good, wasn't perfect. The crystals forming didn't
look totally "real," but given the technical and budgetary
limitations of the medium (most TV shows can't afford special
effects at all, much less can afford such an extensive CG sequence),
it was remarkably well done.
The dramatic
rise of the huge crystals out of the snow was amazing. It was
a nice touch that the "camera" was placed in the middle
of the formation, unlike the similar moment from the first Superman
film by Richard Donner, Superman: The Movie. In that film, only
the crystal dropping to the ice and the initial phase of the
formation was shown close up. The rest was done in an extreme
long shot. The long shot and obvious model work in the original
film were underwhelming by today's standards, actually. So Smallville's
special effects team got it right. The sequence was exciting
to watch.
As most
Superman movie fans will probably recognize, while not an exact
replica, the inspiration for the design of Smallville's Fortress
of Solitude is clearly the iconic set from the original films.
Production Designer David Willson did a remarkable job with
the design and implementation of the Fortress. It's a beautiful
set and is, from what series star Tom Welling said in a recent
interview, a total joy to work on. I'm glad it will be featured
throughout the season.
The
new opening credit sequence is beautiful and is an improvement
over the previous sequence, which had been largely unchanged
since Season One. The considerably more vibrant credit sequence
is probably fitting to what promises to be a far dynamic season
here in Smallville's fifth year.
The episode
had a rushed feel to it, especially in the first act. Maybe
that's understandable, with scribes Darren Swimmer and Todd
Slavkin trying to bring the audience up to speed quickly following
the devastating meteor shower. There was a lot of stuff they
had to get through and they had to do it fast. The rush to deliver
a lot of story quickly is probably the major problem with this
episode. Unfortunately, the Kryptonian invaders bent-on-world-domination
plot line suffered the most for it.
The Kryptonians
that emerged from the ship were totally unsympathetic, perhaps
on purpose, but what was worse they also lacked even a hint
of depth. The episode was so much about getting through all
the stories for the show regulars they seemed to forget to make
the villains really villainous, or even to make their crimes
truly shocking.
To make
matters worse, the final showdown in Lex's library between Clark
and the Kryptonians was anticlimactic
It was far too easy
for the teenaged Clark to banish the fully adult invaders to
the Phantom Zone. That's something I'm not sure I buy, especially
given that Clark isn't in control of all of his super abilities
just yet.
If these
baddies ever do come back, which I suppose is possible, let's
hope the next time they give Clark a more exciting fight.
Things seemed
more settled, and the actors less harried, starting with the
second act.
In another
able performance, Tom Welling was rock solid as Clark. In the
scene with Chloe in her hospital room, Welling superbly portrayed
Clark's fear and confusion at being found out, even by a friend,
and his regret at not telling Chloe himself.
Allison
Mack was pitch perfect in that scene and Chloe's reactions were
just what I would have imagined from a loyal friend of Clark's.
His coming out to her was a much more satisfying exchange than
his coming out with the strident Sam Jones III as Pete in the
second season episode, Duplicity. What an excellent scene for
both of them.
Welling
also convincingly portrayed the selflessness of Clark throughout
this episode. He chooses to protect the people he loves from
the dangers they're facing, rather than blindly obey Jor-El.
And Clark had a high price to pay for his stubborn loyalty to
his friends: Jor-El took his powers when Clark failed to return
to the Fortress by sunset.
Skillfully
portraying the confliction Clark felt, Welling especially shone
in the scene where Clark has to choose between saving Lana and
returning to the arctic as Jor-El ordered. Welling seems to
have learned a thing or two this past summer while filming the
two movies he has upcoming, and this is a sign of good things
to come from him. He is getting better and better every season
and is as handsome as ever.
And throughout
this whole episode, Tom's voice and bearing seemed to have had
developed a more commanding air. He's showing, in Clark, a new
maturity that is better suited to the Superman he will become,
than the teen he has been up until now. This progression is
highly welcome, I'm sure, both for him as an actor (especially
since he's looking more his age) and for Clark as a character.
I've never
been a huge Kristin Kreuk fan. Despite her beauty, she can be
wildly uneven at times, but in this episode she put her best
acting foot forward. She was remarkably subtle at times and
delivered probably one of her most powerful scenes in the hospital
room with Clark. She sold not only Lana's fear, but her love
for Clark as well. It will be an interesting dynamic for Kristin
to play now that Clark is pledging that there will be no more
secrets between them even as Lana has one pretty serious one
to hide herself.
The always
spot on supporting players, Michael Rosenbaum, Annette O'Toole,
John Schneider, and John Glover were no exception either. They
all performed at their best. I especially liked Rosenbaum's
portrayal of the increasingly manipulative, untrusting and angry
Lex.
At the end
of the show it's revealed that the ship has been taken away
and hidden deep in bowels of the Luthorcorp plant. This, combined
with the ominous note he left for Lana and his creepy demeanor
at Chloe's bedside, certainly suggests that Lex's scheming ways
are definitely being kicked up a notch this season, as promised
.
Erica Durance
will only be on 13 episodes this year as Lois, despite being
added to the credits, but given what she delivered in this episode
that is far too few. She didn't have much screen time but still
made the most of it. She played Lois as her usual hard as nails
self after also delivering some very touching moments when with
the Kents. The scene in the hospital had Lois at her Clark-chops-busting
best, and I look forward to more scenes with them together.
James Marshall
delivered another excellent episode as he showed how well he
can pull tender moments out of his actors, despite them being
in the midst of a fast-paced, plot driven episode. Pacing probably
could have been handled better, especially in the first act,
but all in all this was an excellent turn for the veteran Smallville
helmer. Glen Winter also delivered another beautifully shot
episode. I always look forward to the shows he photographs,
he rarely disappoints.
James
Marsters, although credited at the beginning of the show, only
appeared for a few moments at the very end of act five. The
CG introduction of Brainiac was startling and creepy. From underneath
the ship, he arises from a pool of fluid in a brilliantly conceived
special effects shot.
Echoing
the formation of the Fortress of Solitude, Brainiac emerges
from black crystalline forms that grow upward from the pool
on the floor.
The black
crystals that became Brainiac at the end of the show are actually
a nice contrast to the white crystals that formed the Fortress
at its beginning. This visually reinforces the idea that Brainiac
and the Fortress (and Jor-El) will become opposing forces for
good and evil in Clark's life. Caught in the middle, he will
likely have to struggle with their conflicting agendas throughout
the season.
The episode
answered most of the questions left over from the season four
finale, but also posed others that are still left to be answered.
However, if this episode is any indication, Smallville's fifth
season will be a ride that Superman and Smallville fans alike
will enjoy.
I can't
wait to see what they deliver next week and I hope we hear what
Chloe tells Lex about how she came to be in the Yukon.
All in all,
and despite the short shrift given the Kryptonian bad guy plot
line and some storytelling expediencies, I give this episode
4 1/2 stars out of 5.
Of special
note:
This episode
was dedicated to the memory of Sam Loeb, 1988 - 2005. A Real
Superboy.
Sam, son
of former series producer and famed comic book writer Jeph,
was a rising comic book star in his own right even at his young
age.
A boy with
a bright future ahead of him, he died way too young this past
summer after losing a long battle with cancer. His is a great
loss.
Note:
The views of Triplet don't necessarily represent the thoughts
and feelings of everyone at KryptonSite. Send
her feedback
Return
home
|