#10.17 “Kent” Review

Spoilers Lie Ahead: What you are about to read contains spoilers, some pretty big ones in fact… You may want to hold off on reading this until after you’ve seen the episode.

You know, this final run of episodes starting up again is so bittersweet for me. ‘Kent’ was episode 17 of 22, or 21 depending on how you look at it with that two hour long finale…. Just so few are left. It makes me sad, but when they bring on their A game like they did on this one, I can push away that sadness for at least a little while longer. This was just such good TV…

The story was by Genevieve Sparling with the teleplay written by Executive Producers (and the series show runners) Kelly Souders & Brian Peterson. They all did a terrific job and this episode really started out well. Right from the tease, they built the tension especially after Clark Luthor showed up. What an awesome way to end the episode’s opening teaser.

Clark Luthor is an awesome villain, no one is better as a villain than a cold-blooded killer Kryptonian, and they did a terrific job bringing him back into the show mostly because they did it believably. I also loved that he got more screen time and they even managed to get Ultraman some scenes with Clark.

Yes, Clark Luthor is villainous, but I still bought his redemption at the end. In ‘Luthor’ we saw hints of the better side of his nature in his recognition of just how evil his Lionel was (his scheming behind Daddy’s back with Tess and making plans for a new life away from Lionel’s influence on the non-alternate-version of Earth) so it makes sense that they took that further. Clark Luthor’s scheme this time was to find and kill ‘dear old dad’ in order to protect himself after the Alternate-Earth Oliver exposed his weakness to the world.

I’m not sure Clark Luthor was quite as evil as he had been back in ‘Luthor,’ but it worked. I think the beauty of ‘Luthor’ was that, as brief as it was, we saw what living as Lionel Luthor’s son would have done to Clark. That huge what-if finally getting answered in the show had been a fantastic aspect of that episode.

The fact that this episode showed us more of Clark Luthor himself was awesome in-and-of-itself. It was the only thing I regretted about ‘Luthor’ and I believe said so at the time in my review. There simply wasn’t enough of him in that episode. So, we get more Clark Luthor and then some. What was most beautiful about ‘Kent’ was that this story went further.

Given another 42 or so minutes to again explore Clark Luthor’s story also (in a way) also revealed the impact Clark had on the people around him on the show’s original version of Earth. By showing what a huge impact Clark not growing up a Kent had on Jonathan’s life, it inversely showed what a huge influence Clark had been on his own world.

A man’s life impacting so many people in so many different ways, even in ways that aren’t obvious, is as old a story as Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” (well, sorta) and it had been done very well before, like in Frank Capra’s “It’s a Wonderful Life.” But it’s also a common genre TV trope in more modern times. “Quantum Leap” did it every week when Sam leapt into someone’s life and made something right that had once gone wrong, for example, so this idea isn’t a new one.

Yet, to see that the birth of the alternate-Earth Jonathan’s hate and life-long bitterness being on the same day as the original Jonathan getting a son he loved more than life itself was awesome. I LOVED that aspect of this episode. Clark’s different circumstances in the alternate world affected more than just him because his life touched more people than he probably ever realized. It wasn’t just Clark Luthor growing up with Lionel as a father that had an impact: it was also him not growing up a Kent.

It makes the title of episode very appropriate. Clark’s destiny as a hero was born as much from his upbringing as it was out of his alien physiology. It proves why Clark is so good when other Kryptonians can be so bad.

The story, however, had a lot more to it than that. It was a meaty one, with a lot of good conflict between all of the characters so the acting opportunities were truly spectacular. Tom Welling was impressive as both versions of Clark, but especially as Clark Luthor. He gave the villain a quiet menace that was particularly chilling.

When Clark Luthor walked he was more predatory than Clark had ever been in the show before. He hadn’t ever been that quietly menacing, not even as Lionel in ‘Transference’ or the times Clark had been altered by red-kryptonite. Before, Clark’s altered-state villainy had been played more broadly. This soft-spoken, yet clearly dangerous interpretation probably isn’t what I would have expected for the character. I don’t know much about Ultraman from the comics, he’s had a variety of different origins I believe, but the few times I’d read stories with him he hadn’t been quite as dangerous as Tom played him.

I love that choice and I adored that when Clark Luthor greeted Tess at the Ace of Clubs that he kissed her shoulder instead of her cheek. It’s possessive and territorial, showing everyone in the room who Tess belongs with. It was a very nice choice, so much more menacing because this Tess doesn’t really want to be with Clark Luthor, even though as she stated later that is what she really wanted even though he obviously scared her.

Kissing her shoulder was disturbing and possessive. When he did that, Clark Luthor invaded her personal space, confronting her on a very primal level, throwing her off-balance, and through that he showed that he was controlling her. Yet it was also sexy as hell. That kiss showed more than his possessiveness, it also promised sex and probably a lot of it.

And on top of the danger, that kiss (especially with how Tom’s Clark Luthor delivered it) added even more to the creep factor in their relationship. I mean, on the alternate-Earth Tess had been raised as his sister. No, they’re not blood related (Clark’s not even human), but still… Eww.

Later, his menace wasn’t even stated outright and it was clear Clark Luthor had nothing but bad intentions toward Tess, even wrapping his fingers around her throat. Tess’ potentially fatal peril was obvious even if he hadn’t stated it outright in the scene at the club. Yet, immediately after he tried to kill Tess, he seemed relieved that Clark had saved her. That helped setup the redemption Clark Luthor got in the end, so that was another terrific choice and Tom played that perfectly. As a character, he was well-written and Tom beautifully acted the role.

And the Tom Welling awesomeness didn’t stop there: he also did a fantastic job as Clark stuck in a world that was a nightmare: Lois was a widow who hated his other self so much she was willing to kill him. Then his father had become an old, bitter and frustrated man who was willing to sell-out another person to get what he wanted. That was pretty cold, but the confrontation the two men had in the ruin of the abandoned Kent farmhouse was fantastic TV.

It gave John Schneider a chance to show what he could do, even though I thought he was a bit uneven in the scene when Clark was tied to that chair, but Tom Welling did a terrific job playing those difficult scenes. Clark went through a wide range of emotions while on the alternate Earth and they were all perfectly portrayed by Tom.

Erica Durance and Cassidy Freeman both had fantastic scenes. Their chemistry with Tom played through even when he was playing Clark Luthor; that despite the fact the dynamic between the characters was definitely different. I think that speaks a lot to how well the actors work together. I think Cassidy was perfect as Tess, playing against the dangerous version of Clark, she completely sold Tess being attracted to him, even while being scared of him too. And Erica did a remarkable job, I especially liked her in the first scene between Lois and Emil, she looked so scared for Clark’s safety.

If I had to think about it, I’m not sure I had any big problems with this script. Maybe the glossing over of exactly how Clark Luthor got moved back to his version of Earth wasn’t the best choice, but I think Jor-El being the deus-ex-machina for that worked pretty well. It wasn’t really that far of a stretch that the two Fortresses were somehow connected cosmically despite being in the different universes, so I completely got it how Jor-El was able to send Clark Luthor back to the alternate Earth. After all their traveling back and forth to the other worlds was made possible through Kryptonian technology to begin with…

However, I had more than one friend ask me exactly what happened when Jor-El said ‘welcome home’ to Clark, so maybe it wasn’t exactly readily apparent either. Perhaps something could have been said that might have made that work a little better.

Oh, and I was a bit fuzzy on exactly how the time matched up between the two worlds. When Clark was tied up during the day in the Kent farm on the alternate Earth, Clark and Tess were having dinner at 8pm at the Ace of Clubs. And then when Clark finally got pulled back to his Earth, the sun was low (apparently close to setting), but it was still day. Yet, the very next scene with Clark Luthor and Tess in the Luthorcorp offices was at night.

That didn’t make much sense, but maybe they changed the original scene order after it had been filmed, so I can’t really fault the writers too much about that. The scenes in that order worked well, even despite the fact they had originally taken place during different times of the day. Other than those two things, I don’t think I had any other problems with the script.

The script was strong, the stakes kept on rising for all the characters and I loved how Clark Luthor’s story tied into the sub-plot about what Clark was going to do with the farm. The idea of home not being a particular building or place, but being about the people who live there with you, was a terrific way to tie those storylines together. It’s just a win-win that it perfectly helps to justify why Clark will finally get off the farm.

And I loved the redemption that Alternate-Earth Clark and Jonathan got in the end. That ‘welcome home’ from Jor-El gave Clark Luthor some hope for a brighter future.

And Jonathan standing on Martha’s stoop pressing the buzzer for her apartment was a terrific moment. It was so emotionally powerful it even made me tear up. It was also very beautifully acted by John Schneider, despite the fact he didn’t say a word. That was awesome.
I also loved the hints that maybe Tess isn’t quite as reformed as she had appeared to be earlier in the season, so it sets up her storyline for the series ending very well. Her character has places to go in the few remaining episodes, so whether she stays good or becomes the true heir to the Luthor name truly still remains to be seen. It was all very nicely done and all three scribes did an outstanding job.
Director Jeannot Szwarc showed again what a firm hand he has directing. Aside from the sometimes uncomfortable choices that I thought John Schneider had made (that laughter at Clark’s expense seemed a tad forced) the way the episode had been staged, all the very mobile camera moves and the interesting angles and fantastic acting, all helped to make this episode one of my favorites of the season.

Director of Photography Glen Winter did a beautiful job shooting this episode. The long takes combined with the low angles and the mobile camera actually gave us new and up-until-now-unseen angles on sets that have existed from the first episode, like the barn loft and Kent farm sets. I don’t ever remember seeing the entrance to the barn quite like it was as that camera pushed into the entrance before Clark Luthor arrived.

And I don’t ever remember seeing the roof when Clark Luthor was filmed from below after he had sent Clark to his Earth. Also, I loved how cold the light felt on the alternate Earth. The color correction was nice too, the look being so blue, it was like all joy and love had been sucked out of the world. It didn’t hurt that everyone looked so good, Tom, Erica and Cassidy especially.

Production designer James Philpott and his Set Decorator Andrea French and Property Master Aleya Naiman all did a terrific job. The redressing of the Kent farm set was very well done and I adored how they did Clark Luthor crushing that mirror box. I’m not sure how that is even possible with real-life plastics or metal, unless the one he’d stepped on had been made from glass instead. That was very well done.

Costume Designer Melanie Williams put all the actors into some very handsome costumes. I loved the purple dress that Tess wore in the Ace of Clubs scene, Cassidy totally rocked that. It suited her figure and fit her perfectly. And Erica looked awesome in that suit Lois wore to Oliver’s funeral on the alternate Earth. And Tom looked fantastic in that suit Clark Luthor wore to the Ace of Clubs.

Key Make-Up Artist Tina Teoli and Key Hairstylist Sarah Koppes had done a terrific job with Erica’s and Cassidy’s make-up and hair. The women were gorgeous in this episode.

The music by Composer Luis Febre was outstanding. I loved the underlying beat that played in a lot of scenes, even when there wasn’t much going on at the moment. That steady beat, even when the scene was otherwise quiet, helped maintain the tension that pervaded the entire episode. It was another terrific outing from Louis.

With only a few relatively minor problems, this episode was close to perfect. I give this episode 5 mirror boxes 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.