#9.3 “Rabid” Review

WARNING: If you read this review, I am going to spoil you rotten for important details, including a twist at the end of the episode: read at your own risk.

Not being a spoiler-holic like I used to be, I had very little info on what this episode was about ahead of time. I knew there were going to be Zombies, but that was about it.

Based on knowing just that much about it, I had been expecting something campy, although I decided to keep an open mind. Good thing I did. This episode was not only far better than I had expected, it was also very entertaining. It even stood up surprisingly well to subsequent viewings. I ADORED this episode.

This episode was written by a Producer/Writer new to Smallville, Jordan Hawley. I think it’s safe to say that Jordan is probably a good addition to the team, at least going by his work here.

Although, I have to be honest I did have doubts that would be the case when the tease first started. When Clark woke up alone in the Watchtower it was obvious we were ‘in media res’ (which means the story started in the middle). I’ve complained about these sorts of teases before in Smallville because they’re usually badly handled. Although, the last time I remember them doing this (a flash-forward for the tease) in ‘Bride’ it actually turned out okay.

However, this time I think the tactic actually worked better. The show opened with Clark waking up and looking like he was in some pain. (In my opinion, it’s never a bad start when Clark’s in the first frames of an episode…) Yet, it was a rather curious start because nothing else was clear. Why was he in pain? There was a needle with some kryptonite dripping from it and he had a bruise on his arm. So it looked like he’d had some blood drawn, but there was no one else there. Why did that happen?

Then, when he walked outside, the entire city looked deserted. It was nice to see that city street being an actual location too, by the way. That relatively small exterior city set at the Smallville studio is getting used a lot and there’s no way that back lot street would have given the same feeling of a vast empty city as a real street with real tall buildings around it had. So, I’m glad they went to the expense.

It was an intriguing start and then it got even more mystifying when Lois turned around and looked like she was a zombie right before she rushed at Clark. Even with that, the tease didn’t spoil anything major from the episode, yet left open some pretty major questions, so it was well handled. It showed enough to tantalize, but not too much so that it would spoil later plot points in the episode. That is probably the biggest failing of flash-forwards at the start of an episode: they too often show too much. I give Jordan major kudos for handling this far better than as is normal for Smallville.

And I LOVED the first scene in the first act. The Clark and Lois banter at the Daily Planet was awesome. It wasn’t a very long scene, but it showed that Clark can save lives even while he doesn’t seem to ever leave work. Such a quick save on the fire maybe is a bit of a stretch, but it was funny that Lois smelled smoke and Clark denied he smelled it too. Then Clark corrected Lois on how long it took the Blur to put out the fire right after he had rubbed the soot from the fire off his hand.

Then, what an ingenious use of freeze breath: he used it to chill her coffee to distract her. That was funny. I’m so happy when they fit in small uses of his powers like that, even when it’s not a huge effect. The Visual Effects are so expensive I’m sure the first instinct is to want to save the expense for really important events. Yet, that means they ignore Clark’s powers until they’re needed for a big save.

I’m not sure, if Clark Kent were real, that he would do that. He’d probably use his powers in many small ways, heating up cold coffee, or chilling it to use it as a distraction for Lois like he did here. I hope it’s not too expensive and they can keep that up. It’s a wonderful touch. I love it when they can put in small uses of his powers like that, especially when it makes sense like it did here.

Then, the first scene between Oliver and Clark showed us that the Oliver has taken his already steep downward spiral into an almost vertical one. Although with that pretty Ducati motorcycle, at least he’s going into that deep dark pit of despair and self-loathing in style.

Oliver’s losing touch with himself seems to be better handled this season than it had been last season. Back then, somehow, I found myself not really caring and, worse, Oliver’s express train to the dark side of his psyche seemed to derail the momentum of any episode it was featured in, but that doesn’t appear to be so this year. I don’t know whether it’s better motivated (either through acting or the writing) or not, but I find myself caring more about Oliver this year.

His letting Clark and Lois down, again, was a bit painful to watch, but it helped whatever epiphany he had at the end of the episode make more sense. I was surprised that he decided to walk away from being Green Arrow, but as long as this is his character arc this season, I guess they need to go all the way with it this time since they didn’t really do that last season. As long as they’re in for a penny, they probably should go in for the whole pound. However I hope Oliver finds his way back soon. His story has the danger of moving from being a downer into becoming straight out depressing. With this already darker season, with what looks like the heavily hinted-at Kryptonian-fueled Apocalypse coming eventually, going by Lois’ dreams, gloomy storylines are probably not what we need more of.

It was a bit weird that Chloe is hiding things from Emil; he’s her partner in trying to take up the slack now that Oliver’s nascent Justice League has been disbanded. Maybe she didn’t think that he would understand, but that story arc seemed a little contrived to me with the way it was handled. It’s probably my only complaint on the writing side. Well, that and the storyline was a bit on the derivative side. I think there have been several movies and video games with Zombies being created from viruses, it’s not a new idea, but I can’t complain too much about the results so I won’t count him down for that. It was different enough and had far more heart than most other stories like this, so I think it worked out very well. Even with Chloe doing that because she’s trying to protect Oliver and the others, her heart is in the right place, she may live to regret doing that. Things like this usually come back and bite the deceptive one in the butt somewhere down the line. So, maybe I shouldn’t complain. The repercussions for Chloe’s actions will probably make for some good drama later.

I was a bit surprised at Lois’ confession to Clark that above all else she didn’t want to be alone. However, in a way that makes sense and it also ties into one of Clark’s biggest fears: living his life alone. It’s something that had come up a few times since the start of the series, so that was a nice touch. It might help Clark realize that he does have a lot in common with Lois. It also explains a bit how she can transfer her growing affection for the Blur over to Clark. The Blur is largely unavailable, she doesn’t even know what he looks like (or at least she doesn’t realize she knows what he looks like), and Clark is her partner at The Daily Planet.

I’m glad that Emil Hamilton was able to figure out the antidote to the virus, but was surprised that Clark’s blood was the cure. Like exactly how did Chloe know what was needed (mimicking an enzyme or whatever it was she said) in that one scene with Emil? Does she now have an advanced degree in bio-chemistry along with her insanely advanced hacking skills? That a bit of a stretch… I’m a little skeptical that knowledge like that is something she could just pick up in chatting with Emil over coffee and donuts up in the Watchtower… However it does fit in with the twist at the end, so I’ll sorta buy Clark’s blood-based-antidote as an explanation. The show’s Krypto-techno-babble doesn’t always completely make sense, but that explanation pretty much worked…

I’m happy that Clark was able to keep Lois from hurting herself or anyone else. That whole scene with them out on the street was so well done, I especially liked the end, the way they held each other… There wasn’t much dialogue, so it’s impossible to tell without reading the script how much of that was on the page, but I thought the scene really showed how much they truly care for each other even if they aren’t yet in love.

The scene with Clark at home cleaning out his wallet was very nice. I know that Clark still loves Lana, and always will to an extent. In Smallville, the ending of their relationship was forced due to circumstances beyond their control, so it makes sense that Clark is still a bit wistful when he thinks about Lana. The act of cleaning out his wallet is so human, normal and completely mundane; it’s a great detail. That was awesome. It didn’t hurt that the scene nicely contrasted to when that lady cop found a picture of Lois in Oliver’s wallet. His reaction to that picture was far different than Clark’s was, however.

Oliver didn’t really get any more closure with Lois than Clark had gotten with Lana, but Clark’s ready to move on while Oliver clearly isn’t. Maybe it’s because Clark is more content with where he is in life and Oliver isn’t; he’s still reeling from what happened at the end of last season with Davis/Doomsday and Jimmy. Even though Clark smiled when he saw Lana’s picture, he decided to put the photo away because Lois is becoming more and more important to him. Oliver decided to brood about losing Lois instead of just spending time with the lady cop. Her loss is just another thing from his past that he regrets. With Clark, it makes sense that he put the photo away in a scrapbook. He literally ‘shut the book’ on their relationship when he did that.

That was a very nice touch and I like it when two characters are given the similar situations and have different reactions to it. That sort of thing reveals a lot about both men, so again: kudos go to Jordan.

I liked the ramping up of Lois’ memories-of-the-future storyline. Her having waking flashbacks probably isn’t good and the longer snippets of her memories we saw here are very tantalizing.

Then the ending: wow… what a way to bring Zod and his troops back into the show. Not only was one of the Kandorians pretending to be a doctor, it turned out he was also to blame for the virus. It was an interesting twist that the virus which caused the deaths of so many was actually intended to be a trap for Clark, or rather for whom they think Clark is: Jor-el. I’m not surprised that the unauthorized gambit made Zod angry enough, or feel threatened enough, to take the guy’s head off with a sword even though the plan had worked. Zod doesn’t seem to be a guy who appreciates initiative in his troops, so although that was a bit of a shock, it fit in with Zod’s character.

Even added to all the good things in here, Jordan managed to get in some humor too. I loved the banter and Clark’s little tricks on Lois to distract her, give her coffee, then make it cold… I also liked the line when Clark was going to take Emil to meet the Disease Control Agency doctors, ‘Do you get motion sickness?’

He said, ‘Not really. Why do you ask?’

Then Clark grabs him and takes him away before he even finishes speaking the last word.

That was funny. Then when Emil found himself standing in the middle of the hospital, he took it all very calmly, looking carefully around, apparently amused and amazed by the speed with which he was transported across town, which was also humorous.

While I had a few small problems with this episode, overall I loved the script. If this outing is any indication, Jordan certainly seems to be a very good addition to the writing and producing staff so kudos to him.

Tom Welling was fantastic as Clark. Probably my favorite parts were when he was keeping an eye on Lois when Clark tried to cover up something, like tossing the Zombies on the stairs he threw aside, or trying to gauge her reactions to the cold coffee and the Blur’s actions. I liked it when Tom had Clark give a hint of a smile when Lois said that the Blur had already put out the fire.

I also liked it when Lois was infected and she turned on him, the look of pure horror and confusion on Tom’s face was perfect. He had such a pained look as he fought her, like Clark was trying as hard as he could to keep from getting hurt, but also didn’t want to hurt Lois. The look of relief and love that passed over his face as a cured Lois looked up at him was amazing.

The scene where Clark cleaned out his wallet was terrific. Clark didn’t say a word, but Tom did such a good job portraying Clark’s emotions. It was a bittersweet moment. I also really liked the next bit of that scene with Lois. He played Clark as amused by Lois’ joke about him not being ready to wear Red and Blue but also understandably concerned by her pause on the porch as she left. It was all perfectly played.

Allison Mack was terrific as Chloe. I like Chloe’s interactions with Emil a lot. Chloe is hiding things, which isn’t a good thing, but I do like the way that Allison played those scenes with Emil. I also liked the way that she had Chloe stand up to Emil when he was accusing her of betraying Oliver. I had suspected Oliver was right when he’d guessed that Tess had been to blame for the little spyware cam in his belt buckle, but the way she played it even that little bit of duplicity made sense. She made me believe that Chloe was doing the right thing, even though spying on your friends probably isn’t a good thing to do.

I really liked what Erica Durance did in this episode. Lois went through a lot so there were a wide-ranging series of emotions that Erica had to play and she did it so well. The Zombie part of the episode must have been a bit surreal. She was acting all crazy, trying to bite people and yet somehow she even made the red contacts and corpse-like make-up look good.

I also really liked the scene with Clark where Lois confessed her secrets: the real reason why working with the Blur was important to her and that she was worried about being alone. It was some pretty good acting on Erica’s part. The thing I like about her is how easily she seemed to go between taking on Tess to kicking Zombie butts to trying to kill Clark to being so vulnerable to almost gushing about the Blur like a love-sick school girl. She did a remarkable job.

Cassidy Freeman wasn’t really in this episode much, but like Erica she also was a very good looking Zombie. I really liked how easily Tess fought the Zombies off. I wonder if she liked using the sword. It looked like she did, it was such a physical scene and she did a great job with it and all of the emotions that Tess had gone through. She also kicked some major actorly butt when she turned all Zombie in that hospital scene between Tess, Clark and Lois. Cassidy did a terrific job in this episode.

Justin Hartley again took his shirt off, but I didn’t really mind this time. It wasn’t that big of a stretch to think he would have his shirt off in that scene and he did some pretty fine acting there too so his shirtlessness seemed less contrived. I thought his dilemma about Lois and his growing inferiority complex when he compares himself to Clark was all very well handled. The ending scene with Clark was probably the best of the episode for him.

Callum Blue, again, is just amazing as Zod. He was only in the last few minutes of the episode, but he still made quite an impact. His voice is so smooth and silky. Even as Zod was interrogating his minion, Callum kept his voice low and smooth, the menace to Coats clear.

Alessandro Juliani is wonderful as Emil Hamilton. I like all the subtle touches he gives Emil, the amusement at Clark’s powers, the sense of awe and amazement… I like it whenever he’s in the show so I hope he gets a lot of work we see a lot of him this season.

Director of Photography Glen Winter shot another beautiful episode. I loved the way the episode was photographed. Probably my favorite scene was the final one of the fourth act when Clark and Lois were fighting, and then later hugging, in the street. After the rain came in and Lois was cured, the beautiful golden light of early morning coming up behind them as the music built into a soaring, hopeful symphonic piece: it was a beautiful match with what the other team members added to the scene. It was gorgeous.

Louis Febre did a fantastic job with the music in this episode. It helped set the tone right from the start, with the dissonant chords in the tease to the majestic music full of hope that played over the scene where Clark and Lois hugged in the street. That was perfect.

I liked that the music in the next Clark and Lois scene back on the farm echoed that of the scene in the rain. I also really liked the almost martial music that played with Zod and Coats.

I liked the Make-Up and hair in the episode. Not sure what Tia Teoli is doing different with the make-up, but everyone is looking good. I’m also not sure how much she has to do with the Special Effects Make-Up, but I liked the way that looked too. The actors looked like themselves, but different enough to seem like they’d become monsters.

Key Hair-Stylist Sarah Koppes did an outstanding job. Everyone’s hair looked great, even when Lois and Tess were Zombies their hair looked good. I guess only on Smallville, or (to be more specific) only on a show airing on The CW, do Zombies get to look as good as they did in this episode. I also really like Tom’s and Allison’s recent haircuts. Tom’s hair looks good brushed back from his face like that, and Allison’s hair style, combined with her somewhat retro costuming by Melanie Williams, was perfect. Allison looks lovely in her shorter hair cut.

I really liked the combat choreography in the episode, so Stunt Coordinator Jacob Rupp did a marvelous job.

The scenes with the zombies seemed like they must have been such a blast to film. I hope they were fun, but it must have been a bit on the bizarre side too. The make-up, the red contact lenses, the chomping at your cast mates… It worked out well on the other side of the camera, but working in front of it fighting Zombies, or becoming a Zombie, must have seemed a bit surreal.

I think Lex had those Japanese swords in that library at the Luthor mansion for a very long time, maybe even since Season One or Two. That was brilliant finally bringing them into a fight scene like that. I loved it when Tess grabbed that sword. It also echoed what Zod later did to Dr. Coats at the end of the episode. Sword play seems so anachronistic, so it must be fun to use in a show like this.

Also, it must be a nice change of pace to Tom for Clark to actually have some hand-to-hand combat (in order to mask his abilities in front of Lois) instead of just easily tossing his opponents aside.

Maybe not quite perfect in all areas, but the episode was so much fun I’m going to let them slide a bit on the few picayunish details I took exception to. I give this 5 kryptonite tipped needles out of a possible five.

Note: The views of Triplet don’t necessarily represent the thoughts and feelings of everyone at KryptonSite. Send her feedback.