"Promise"
Review!
Written
by Triplet
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NOTE:
What follows will totally spoil you, so if you
don't want to be spoiled stop right now and
go watch this episode and come back when you're
done. Otherwise, read on and be spoiled.
I'm
not really sure this episode was really what
I expected, but it was totally awesome.
The
writing by Brian Peterson and Kelly Souders
was excellent. The device of seeing the pivotal
wedding day from the viewpoints of the three
leads was a brilliant choice. It revealed a
lot about the characters of Clark, Lana and
Lex.
Clark
was first up and in his nightmare he dreamed
of killing Lex. Clark approached the day at
times angrily, like when he smashed the railing
while putting the hay away, and then later he
was melancholy and broody. The way they followed
him like that I think helped me better understand
Clark's thinking on why he felt he was ready
to tell Lana the truth about himself. It was
clear that it was finally time to tell her.
It was "speak now or forever hold your
peace" time for Clark.
He
still loves Lana and wants to save her from
a life with Lex. He knows who Lex really is
and his desire to save her from that isn't just
him being selfish. However, the tragedy for
Clark and Lana is that we all know that ultimately
it won't work out. He's destined to fall for
Lois later; he just doesn't know that yet. Clark
loves very deeply and, even though he isn't
very good at always sharing his feelings, he
has always loved Lana and probably always will
to some extent. So, the hope he felt when she
told him she wasn't going to marry Lex was touching
and sweet. However, that later was countered
by the hurt and confusion he felt when she went
through with it anyway. He was understandably
angry, assuming the worst about Lex about why
Lana changed her mind. What a tortuous episode
for Clark.
Lex
was next and act two opened with him dreaming
the baby had turned into a monster. What does
that mean? Is Lana carrying a baby that is a
monster? Or did Lex dream that because he feels
the baby will be a monster like his father is?
Or is it because he fears he's not worthy of
Lana's love and whatever he's done to the baby,
and to Lana, proves that?
Later
in the act, he proves just how unworthy of Lana's
love he really is by murdering to protect the
secret of whatever it was he's done. The messy
nature of the murder was highly indicative of
Lex's state of mind when it comes to Lana.
He
beat brutally beat Dr. Langston to death almost
as much for reminding him of how tenuous his
relationship with Lana is, as for the ill-conceived
attempt at blackmail. The good doctor knew,
probably better than anyone, how desperate and
scared Lex was that Lana doesn't really love
him. Lex didn't like being reminded of how fragile
her love for him really is, so he brained the
guy. The way he beat him, the intense single-mindedness
of it, reminded me of the flashback scene in
"Reunion" when he beat his friend
in the school yard as a teen. He just kept hitting
the doctor over and over with a fierce determination
that was shocking in its savagery.
Later,
Lex looked seriously relieved when Lana actually
showed up and exchanged vows with him. I can
understand his (correct) assumption that his
father had something to do with it, and was
willing to give him anything to pay him back.
How ominous is it that Lionel will wait and
collect on the debt later? Lex will have to
wait for the other shoe to drop. What is Lionel
up to? What will he ask of Lex? I can't wait
to find out, now that the Magnificent Bastard
is truly back.
However,
Lana's dream that opened act three wasn't so
much a nightmare but a memory a nightmarish
trauma. It served to remind her how Clark had
rescued her so dramatically from a tornado so
many years ago, way back in the second season
premiere, "Vortex." Her dreaming about
that was a nice touch. I believe that was the
first time she'd been conscious and seen him
do something so inexplicable in order to rescue
her. Well, without losing her memory of it later
anyway.
He
had told her that he hadn't been in the truck
and that he had found her at the side of the
road. She didn't really buy it then, she had
told Chloe her living through the tornado was
impossible. I guess with everything that has
happened over the last few episodes, she knows
now Clark had lied. Her dream reminded her of
the impossibility of her survival and gave her
another clue to the extent of Clark's powers.
Clark
hasn't really been trying very hard to hide
his powers from her lately, but her forcing
him to show his powers by trapping Chloe in
the cooler was something I'm surprised Lana
would do. I suppose her questioning of Aunt
Nell about bending the rules to find out for
sure laid the foundation for her reasoning,
but it was a bold move; a deception that was
worthy of a Luthor. Maybe it's understandable,
she's seriously questioning whether being with
Lex is the right thing to do, baby or not. Why
wouldn't she do whatever it takes to finally
know for sure what it is, exactly, that Clark
can do? Maybe this once the ends do really justify
the means for her. She learned so much from
what she'd seen down in the wine cellar, so
maybe she isn't wrong.
Her
sacrifice later to save Clark from Lionel's
betrayal was heart breaking. So many times Clark
has done the same for her, giving up what would
make him happy in order to protect her. It was
touching to see that Lana loves Clark enough
to marry Lex. Lana's a far stronger person now
than I think she's ever been before. So when
she realizes how much Lex has been manipulating
her, even to the extent of doing something to
her body or her baby, her fury will certainly
be an amazing thing to watch. I can't wait to
see what she'll do, heart broken about marrying
Lex to save Clark, when she finds out. It should
make for some beautifully dramatic TV.
The
plot structure of the script was elegant. The
first three acts all started with dreams on
a day that usually fulfills dreams. Each of
the first three acts showed the events of the
day through the eyes of Lex, Lana and Clark.
The fourth act was the wedding itself and the
fifth act was the aftermath. The title was about
as appropriate as they ever come for Smallville
as well. Sometimes the titles of the episodes
don't make sense. I loved the episode, but can
someone please explain what exactly was hidden
in "Hidden," for example? However,
this episode was all about promises, both ones
kept and broken.
Lana's
broken promise that she would meet Clark at
the barn, Lionel's promise that he will kill
Clark unless Lana marries Lex, Lex's promise
to not let anything get in the way of marrying
Lana, Lionel's promise to collect the debt his
son owes him for forcing Lana to honor her commitment
to Lex, and the promise of an escalation in
the level of animosity between Clark and Lex
as the two men looked at each other afterwards.
The
episode was as well written as almost any other
one this season. Kelly and Brian did an excellent
job.
This
is where I usually gush about the acting, but
I think I'll give it a pass this week. This
review is already long enough, so let me just
leave it at they all did a wonderful job. How
many times can I say that Tom was perfect? Probably
not enough, but I'll restrain myself and only
say that this is probably some of the best work
the actors have done all season. Tom, Kristin
and Michael were all terrific and I was glad
to see the Magnificent Bastard back in Lionel.
It's always a treat to watch John Glover do
his thing.
The
episode was beautifully shot by Director of
Photography, David Moxness, perfectly designed
by James Phillpot and gorgeously costumed by
Caroline Cranstoun. Everyone looked wonderful,
especially the big three: Tom, Kristin and Michael.
Probably the only complaints about that I had
about the look of the actors was the fact that
it looked like Tom should have worn a bigger
shirt in the loft scene with Shelby. Also, Tom
looked like he wore more lipstick in the final
act than Kristin did.
Kristin
was especially beautiful in this episode. Her
hair and make-up were perfect as was the dress
and veil. They made her even look more beautiful
than she is already. She was a vision of the
happy bride. It was ironic that she wasn't at
all happy to be getting married.
My
favorite shot of the episode was Lex looking
out onto the city from his office. His face
was a bit diffused by the reflection of the
cityscape on the window. I don't know if that
was done in camera, or whether it was a special
effect, but it was gorgeous shot. Also, David
did a brilliant job with the scene in the crypt.
It was so dark and blue, yet was punctuated
by the light coming in through the small rosette
shaped stained glass windows. The scene being
so dark made it almost feel like an old black
and white gothic movie. It was just right for
the scene and the fog resting along the floor
helped support that, as did the organ music
playing over top of the scene.
Speaking
of the music, that was about as ideal as it
gets. I don't usually mention the songs themselves
but the opening song in the tease, "You
Could Be Happy" by Snow Patrol, was perfect.
It starts with the sound that is reminiscent
of a music box, which was wonderful considering
Lex and Lana were looking at the images of their
unborn baby on a sonogram. Later, in the scene
in the crypt played underneath an organ playing.
It supported the very gothic feel of the scene
as Lex brutally murdered the doctor and was
a terrific choice.I wasn't sure what I was going
to give this episode at first, it took several
viewings before I could decide, but overall
the strength of the script, acting, and design
all worked together to make this the pivotal
episode it was.
Smallville
was in top form in this episode, so I give this
5 walks down the aisle out of a possible 5.
Note:
The views of Triplet don't necessarily represent
the thoughts and feelings of everyone at KryptonSite.
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