NOTE: You know the drill: Spoilers lie within, so steer clear if you don’t like reading that kind of thing. If you feel otherwise – please read on.
For the most part, Chloe-centric episodes haven’t always been among my favorites. “Freak” probably being the best recent one before this. While this outing wasn’t perfect, it was definitely better than “Tomb.”
Writer Genevieve Sparling makes her professional writing debut with this episode, it would appear. I couldn’t find much on her online, but an interesting thing to note was that she was interviewed by Judy Woodruff for a segment on “Gen Next” that aired on the PBS show “News Hour with Jim Lehrer” last summer.
Anyway, although not perfect by any stretch, Genevieve delivered a better than average episode. The biggest problem, writing wise, was that Moira’s condition was so mysterious. Why did she go into a catatonic state? The flashback scene showed her voluntarily committing herself and she obviously wasn’t catatonic then… Since the condition was apparently tied to her power, why did her power wait until later to “short circuit” her brain? Since he didn’t explain that, I’m not sure what Lex said to her about it was logical. I know that making sense isn’t always possible in a world where you have super-powered beings from other planets, but it’s nice when they try harder. Otherwise it comes off contrived, which this did.
The tease was awesome, despite the fact that I don’t think a finely engineered car like a Mercedes would fail to start simply because it’d gotten muddy. Chloe being the person who ran Lex off the road was truly teasing. Once into the episode the story moved quickly and had some nice twists and turns. I loved the fact that Clark and Chloe were working together to solve the mysteries presented to them. Later in the episode, Chloe turning on Clark was a pretty big shock.
I’m glad that the truth behind what Lex had done to Lana has been finally revealed, especially that she found out only thanks (ultimately) to something that Lex had done. I liked that the doctor assumed that Lana had tried to trap Lex into marriage, when in fact it was the other way around.
Lex revealing more of his evil the-ends-justifying-the-means ways was terrific here. He tricked and then black-mailed Moira and threatened to kill Chloe when she caused harm to come to Lana. The events in this episode setting up what will likely be quite a confrontation to come between Clark and Lex is beautiful. Smallville doesn’t always do that very well, so kudos to Genevieve for making the escalation in Clark’s animosity toward Lex believable and his promise that a war was about to start, chilling.
The one thing I’m not sure I liked about this episode was the hint that maybe Clark and Lana will be back to the “Clana” see-saw. That romantic roller coaster had reached its height probably in season 3. Maybe it’s hard to believe given how much I love this show, but that made me so frustrated with the show I’d almost stopped watching. I hope that Clark’s continued pining over Lana doesn’t devolve into yet more will-they/won’t-they relationship angst.
The Smallville powers-that-be should resolve their relationship gracefully and not drag it on. They’ve “been there, done that” like four or five times before. As much of a sucker I am for romance, I really hope they don’t go there again. They really need to move the couple past that and onto the friendship they have in the comics.
The acting in the episode was, for the most part, strong. Tom Welling turned in another capable performance as Clark. His scene with Lana was touching and sweet, even despite the implications for the series as a whole. He portrayed his worry for her well-being and confusion over her decision to marry Lex very well. Later, when the mind-controlled Chloe was about to kill Lex, Clark saved him when he probably shouldn’t have. The momentary hesitation that Tom portrayed before Clark pushed Lex away was terrific. The final scene with Chloe, where he promised a war was coming was terrific. He was angry and resolved and the promise that he would put Lex into his crosshairs was believable to me. Tom perfectly portrayed Clark’s steely resolve.
Chloe was put through the ringer in this episode and Allison Mack did an outstanding job playing that range of emotions effectively. Her most effective scene was probably the one between Chloe and Lex at the Daily Planet. She was resolved in the face of Lex’s threats, jail doesn’t scare Chloe I guess, until he’d threatened her with something worse. What was the fate that Lex promised which would make prison seem like “a picnic?” Death? Imprisonment in a 33.1 facility? I’m not sure they made that clear, but Chloe was scared and Allison played it very well.
Michael Rosenbaum has really stepped it up in portraying the evil side of Lex. He plays him cool and smooth as silk. It’s a pleasure to see Lex finally show his true colors and the matter-of-fact malice toward Chloe and her mother was chilling. That scene in the Planet was awesome. Michael played Lex with some humor as well as barely concealed malice. At the end, Lex casually threatened Chloe with something worse than prison as a almost humorous aside. I’m not sure anyone with less skill could portray that range of intent so well without going into over-the-top campiness.
Lana wasn’t in this episode much, but what little screen time she had Kristin made good use of. In the scene with Clark in the hospital, Kristin played Lana’s vulnerability perfectly. The dilemma she finds herself in (being married to Lex even after the main reason for it is gone), is painful. Kristin beautifully played her confusion and angst, yet her resolve that Clark shouldn’t try to worry about her anymore. She’s trying to protect him, really. Also, her portrayal of Lana’s shock and horror at finding out, finally, that she hadn’t really been pregnant at all was extremely well done.
Guest star Lynda Carter didn’t do as well as the regulars. Although she had her moments, her speeches to Chloe (both in the flashback and later in the 33.1 facility) were touching and effective, her performance for the most part was flat. I loved Wonder Woman when I was a kid, so I’m glad she was cast as Chloe’s mom and that she has the potential to come back again, but her outing here could have been better.
The production design was terrific. I loved the industrial look James Philpott gave the 33.1 facility. The double helix in the art work etched on the glass in Moira’s room was a nice touch. The actors looked great for the most part, but there was something funky going on with Tom’s hair. I’m not sure I can pin down exactly what was wrong, but I hope they fix it for the next episode. And I’m not at all fond of Allison’s new do. The best part of her hair is how thick and beautiful it is, the new cut and color de-emphasizes both of those things. Not good.
Overall, not bad but not great either. I give this episode 4 catatonic moms out of a possible 5.
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