"Plastique"
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Written
by C.M.
Houghton ("Triplet")
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NOTE: I wouldn't read this review if you're avoiding spoilers. Go see this episode and come back to read this afterwards. It's not going anywhere...
Actually, this episode was far better than I had expected, so I was pleasantly surprised. However, what little I knew of the episode before hand didn't really give me a lot of info to go on to really know.
Going into this episode I knew the new character Davis Bloome was going to be introduced and that Clark was going to start work as a reporter at The Daily Planet. As you probably might guess, I was mostly looking forward to "Plastique" because of that.
In that regard, the episode didn't disappoint. They hadn't shown Clark exhibit any passion for writing or journalism since pretty early on in the series. That was when he was working at The Torch in high school during the second and third seasons. He's a top journalist in the comics (it's not just a cover for his superhero gig), so it's good that they got reporting back into Clark's life on Smallville.
It's nice they had Clark as looking a bit overwhelmed and nervous when he started work at the Daily Planet. That is as he probably should be. Given his background, he probably shouldn't even be there. He has no college degree and no real world experience as a journalist. Either the Daily Planet is hard up for reporters or it wasn't just his less than stellar CV that got him the job in the first place.
Given that Lex had told Tess something about Clark before he'd disappeared, combined with Clark's slim resume and her personal interest in Clark suggests to me that maybe he didn't get hired just because he has exhibited any skill at reporting.
Her possible ulterior motives for hiring Clark lend a touch more menace to Tess. Added to whatever Lex had told her, she also has the stone that formed the fortress and proof (a photo of that boot print) that Clark was there with Lex before he disappeared. Even if she hasn't put all the pieces together yet, she's getting closer to figuring out that Clark was in the arctic with Lex. Once she figures that out, then the danger she poses to Clark certainly has been ratcheted up quite a few notches.
Speaking of Tess, I loved the way that Clark met her. He pulled her from a wrecked vehicle just like he had with Lex when he'd first met him. The bus was bathed in fire, rather than drowned in a river like Lex's Porsche, but I gotta give the writers extra points for the beauty of the symmetry of it.
I wasn't totally in love with the villain of the episode, Bette Sans Souci. She's called Plastique in the comics (hence the episode's title) and is nearly completely remorseless here. She seemed only unhappy to be caught, not regretful that she killed poor Tommy, so it was hard to feel too sorry for her.
There's a fine line to tread between making a villain sympathetic and unsympathetic, and I'm not sure they were completely successful here. It wasn't the actress's fault either, I think she did better than I would have thought given her slim credit list on IMDB with the story handed to her.
Bette's last name, "sans souci" means "without worry" in French. I don't know about her comic counter-part, I don't think I'd ever read any books with her in it, but the name isn't at all fitting to the Smallville version. All this Bette did was worry. Maybe the name is supposed to be ironic...
What I found probably the most interesting part of this episode, in terms of this season's developing story arcs, in addition to her closing in on Clark it also seems like Tess is gathering a group of her own to counter the nascent Justice League that Oliver has formed. She's starting a sort of an Injustice League, with her talking to Bette about the "injustice" of her situation. More menacing is that she's not above blackmailing people in order to get them to join up...
Getting her own hit squad seems more practical a plan than Lex's pie-in-the-sky plan of building a Superhuman army from season 6. This will probably work better too, which will make life a lot more dangerous for Clark and Oliver. It also promises terrific action in the show as the season progresses.
I liked the new character, Davis Bloom. He seems too good to be true, so helpful and supportive of Chloe. The danger he poses was just hinted at. However, it seems that nothing good is going to come of his growing affection for Chloe, especially given what we saw while he was in that alleyway at the end of the episode.
It was interesting that his pushing her, along with Clark's encouragement, helped her figure out that reopening the Isis Foundation is what she wants to do. She'd resisted the idea at first, so a guy who's apparently a monster encouraging Chloe to do whatever she can to support and help others in trouble seems ironic.
I loved the humor of this episode; Clark's and Lois' banter was terrific. And Clark finding from Davis, a near complete stranger, that Chloe is engaged was funny. I loved Clark's reaction and the ridiculousness of his standing in the hallway with a bouquet of flowers was just too cute.
I also loved some of the Superman mythos staples (the anvils) they threw in: Clark changing in a phone booth, Lois being clueless about where Clark keeps disappearing to, Clark carrying people to safety like a bridegroom carrying his bride across the threshold...
One thing I didn't like about this episode was how Chloe had handled telling Clark about her engagement. She seemed to be hoping for Clark to tell her not to marry Jimmy. This only a week after she'd told Jimmy in "Odyssey" that what she'd previously wanted in the past (clearly referring to Clark), had kept her from really appreciating what she had with Jimmy. She had even told Jimmy that he was perfect for her...
So why in this episode did she basically tell Clark she was still open to being with him, instead of Jimmy? Had been she lying to Jimmy about getting past Clark? Or had she been lying to herself?
Or maybe, is it just understandable? I mean, if you were in love with a person like Clark wouldn't you hang onto every single shred of hope that you could that he'd sweep you off your feet? I don't blame her for trying one last time, but going around and around on this again (Chloe's unrequited love with Clark has been an on-again/off-again plot point since the first season) maybe isn't the best choice...
I thought it was a bit strange was how passive Lois was in the beginning of the episode. She seemingly stayed in the basement while Clark went to investigate the bus explosion alone. Not that I thought that she should have been helping him, or even should have witnessed what he did to save people. This isn't a Superman show since he's not wearing tights, after all. So, he can't blow his cover on his first day they're working together, but she should at least go out to see what was going on.
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Those few things aside, I think on the whole the episode was strongly written by scribes Holly Henderson & Don Whitehead. Even if it wasn't perfect, I have to give them brownie points for making what could have been a typical freak-of-the-week episode highly enjoyable.
Tom Welling did a marvelous job in this episode. He had Clark seem very Supermanly and was in more of a take-charge mode. He rushed in and saved people, not worried about who was watching. He played Clark as the hero, through and through.
I liked how resolved Tom had made Clark. He was sure that he was doing the right thing. He was right, after all, being in The Daily Planet got him close enough to the action to save people on his very first day. But Tom played Clark as extremely supportive of Chloe, Bette and even Lois.
My favorite scenes he had were his lighter ones. I loved how flustered he was when Lois was trying to help him dress for his first day. Then later, he was funny when Clark was surprised to find out that Chloe was getting married. Tom was awesome.
Allison Mack was wonderful as Chloe. She played Chloe particularly ably when Chloe was concerned about Bette.
Probably her most enjoyable scene was the one with Davis at the Isis Foundation. Even as Chloe couldn't resist flirting with him, Allison gave a hint that she felt guilty or uncomfortable since she is now engaged.
I thought the scene was particularly well played when she was trying to defuse the sexual tension and blurted out that she was engaged. She was embarrassed, yet happy to talk about Jimmy. She positively glowed when she talked about Jimmy and the engagement. As always, Allison is a joy to watch.
Erica Durance was terrific. She gave Lois an almost maternal protectiveness over Clark, only seem truly surprised by just how good he looked when he wasn't in plaid. My favorite scene of hers was the final scene between Clark and Lois in the Daily Planet. She played the scene with just a touch of vulnerability, even under Lois' brash exterior, and then the way she read the lines about Lois' epiphany about enjoying reporting not for the glory, but because it felt good to expose the truth, was terrific. I’m glad she was so affirmed by that, and then portrayed Lois as sincerely grateful for Clark's help. What a terrific episode for her.
Sam Witwer, like Cassidy Freeman, is an experienced actor with a background in theatre. He even studied at Julliard, like previous Smallville guest stars the late Christopher Reeve and James Marsters, but Sam is probably better known for his past recurring roles in Showtime's Dexter and Sci-Fi's Battlestar Galactica.
Sam was particularly good in the scene in the Isis Foundation offices with Allison. Davis was charming, even teasing, yet there was a hint that more was there. Sam made Davis charismatic enough to get Chloe's attention, yet he gives him a hint of menace. I'm not sure I needed to see the episode ending reveal with Davis curled up naked in the alley to know that something isn't quite right with Davis. Sam will likely prove to be a good addition to the show.
Cassidy Freeman is really growing on me as Tess. I thought she was a bit uneven in "Odyssey," but I think she now has a better handle on the character. At least her performance seemed smoother and I like her take on Tess. Her delivery of some of Tess' lines was chilling at times, she made Tess especially creepy in the scene with Bette at the end...
Guest star Jessica Parker Kennedy was really good as Bette. She had a nice balance. She believably portrayed a scared kid who also wasn't afraid to kill if she needed to in order to survive. She made Bette vulnerable, yet still bad enough to appear to have enjoyed killing Tommy. I hope Tess' offer to Bette to join her Injustice League, or whatever it'll be called, means that we'll see her again.
Director Rick Rosenthal turned in a wonderful episode. All of his actors gave terrific performances, even the apparently less experienced Jessica Parker Kennedy held her own with the other far more experienced actors she worked with. I got to think that's because of the director. The level of acting for the whole cast was exceptional in this episode and made what could have otherwise been another routine "freak-of-the-week" plotline very enjoyable.
