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Written by Hope

Exile, written by Al Gough & Miles Millar, and Phoenix, written by Brian Peterson & Kelly Souders, welcome us to Smallville's third season with multiple authors, multiple bangs, and just one flaw that no one's going to end up caring about, even though we really should.

For the viewer, Smallville has sometimes been a frustrating series to watch. The epic elements have been there since the first episode, returning with blazing glory to the mytharc episodes, but oftentimes, the every day episodes, those other eighteen that fill a viewing season, have vacillated between agony and ecstasy. Why? Because Millar & Gough are movie men.

Even though the script format looks similar, feature film and episodic dramas are vastly different mediums. Each episode has not only been laying the foundation for this epic story of Clark's ascent to Superman and Lex's descent to Luthor, they've also been training grounds. A film has two hours to develop all the characters, tell the story, and create a satisfying resolution. A television series (if it survives its trial,) has eighty-eight hours to develop all the characters, tell the story, and create a satisfying resolution. Like I said, two vastly different mediums.

Millar & Gough have been learning as we've been meeting these characters, and as they become more comfortable within the constraints of episodic drama, the more difficult aspects of the process have gotten smoother over time. So, I'm going to talk about the things they already knew, and the things they've learned that made "Exile" and "Phoenix" two great hours of television, and the one thing they still need to realize to make Smallville the best it can be.

What They Knew:

All along, M&G have known that parallelism and symbolism only strengthen this story. Every element in "Exile" and "Phoenix" mirrors another element we've seen earlier in the show. Jonathan Kent has always, and will always, do anything to protect his son- twice now, he's made a deal with a figurative devil to do that. The first time with Lionel Luthor, he damaged his soul; the second time, with Jor-El, he damaged his body. Parallelism *and* symbolism.

Likewise, Clark has had the let's just be friends conversation before; when delivered by Chloe, he let go of a romance he didn't really want for selfish reasons- he was more interested in Lana. When he delivered it to Lana, he let go of something he does want for selfless reasons- he can't be the man he wants to be for Lana. Parallelism *and* symbolism.

There are myriad echoes of the past in these two episodes; Lex's pleasant destruction of Helen, Lana's unintentional homicide to protect the Kents, the threat of losing the farm, Clark as the tool of more powerful forces. Not only do these reflect Smallville's history and the greater themes of sacrifice, salvation, and humanity (good and bad,) they also show us where Smallville is headed.

Since the beginning, M&G have known that Clark and Lex's friendship is the center of the show. Lana has been, and always will be, important, but ultimately, she is the girl who gets left behind. She's the memory that helps guide him, the woman who helps teach him to prioritize, and to sacrifice. Lex, however, is Clark's future. As future nemeses, Lex will be the force that balances Clark; it's written in the caves, and apparently, in the stars.

Last year, though that fated destiny was introduced to us in bits and pieces, it seemed as though the friendship had faded. It had to, in some ways, to make other elements in the show work, but it also had to- especially toward the end of the season- to make this season work. If Clark had been there for Lex, if Clark had been the friend he should have been to Lex, the circumstances of the finale might have been vastly different. We needed to see these two characters separate, again, for parallelism. In "Heat," Clark saved Lex from Desiree; Lex was merely a bystander to his own life. In "Red," Lex saved Clark from himself; Clark was out of control on RedK and needed someone to step in.

Contrast that to the finale- Lex had only himself to rely on against Helen; Clark had no one to save him from the effects of the RedK. We saw Lex's battles with himself in the shape of Lewis, the arguments he had in his own mind, his recognition of that darker half. And we saw Clark finally acknowledge that the things he does when he's under the influence, are things that are always inside him, aspects of himself that he has to choose to control.

How vastly different the results of those parallel, yet different, circumstances were. And how important that they were apart because when they come back together, Clark is the one person, in spite of the secrets and lies, Lex can believe is on his side. By the same token, Lex is the only person Clark didn't have to hurt, and the only person to whom he need make no amends.

For anyone still doubting that M&G really get how *epic* their friendship is, I'll point to the funeral scene. Clark, still high, found out about it, showed up in a place everyone he didn't want to see would be, to mourn the loss of his friend. I'll also point to the reunion scene at the farm- Lex took care of business with his father, with his wife, then went to the one person he knew would be truly happy to see him. M&G get it.

2. What They've Learned

One of Smallville's greatest weaknesses in the past has been exposition. By necessity, the first two seasons of any show are mainly exposition- who are these people, what are their parameters- and with the added disadvantage of learning to spread a story over a year instead of two hours, Smallville often faltered when it came to giving us the backstory, quickly.

Expository speeches don't have to be painful, in the right context, and with the right actors. In "Exile," Annette O'Toole and John Schneider filled in three entire months of backstory in two scenes, framed within the effects of Clark's loss. In past years, M&G might have been inclined to explain that without Clark doing the job of ten farmhands (in fact, they have been exactly so inclined,) the farm would be lost. This time, the context clues are there, and nothing more.

Likewise with Chloe keeping the knowledge of Clark's whereabouts to herself. There are three aspects at play with that: first, the reason she gives to Clark himself- she thought she could talk some sense into him. The second, the reason she gives to Lana- she was afraid if anyone else came knocking on Clark's door, he'd disappear for good. The third reason was one she never articulated, but that the writers left to the audience to realize- Chloe's working for Lionel Luthor, and wants to avoid his very first assignment for her: compile a dossier on Clark Kent. If she brings Clark home, or tells Lana she knows where he is... Lionel will expect her to uphold her end of the bargain.

Much like the S2 finale episodes, "Exile" and "Phoenix" were workhorses. They had to position the characters to move them into S3, which will all be rising action. However, these episodes are more successful because M&G learned not just from "Exodus" but also from "Vortex." The main problem with "Vortex" was that there were too many disparate elements to resolve in a single hour- they learned that lesson and improved on it this year. The lesson they learned from "Exodus" is that getting the characters in position has to be just as interesting as what happens once they are in place.

There were five main storylines threaded together in these two episodes that they had to resolve- Clark's rampage in Metropolis and return to Smallville, the state of Lex's survival and his return to Smallville, the disposition of the Kents with Clark missing, the disposition of the Luthors with Lex missing, the Morgan Edge/Lionel Luthor gangland story, and the Clark and Lana romance. Instead of jamming them all into one overcrowded episode (leaving important exposition out to fit into 44 minutes of television,) they balanced and spread them, cleverly shifting the focus from Clark's return to Lex's return by tying up the cliffhanger in "Phoenix"'s teaser.

Each episode was tight, there were no wasted, dragging scenes, each scene contributed to its storyline. And because they framed their exposition with the right characters, even slightly clunky dialogue (as seen in Jonathan and Martha's "Okay, this is what's happened so far" scene in the barn, and Lionel's "These are the theories on how Lex died in that crash" scene with Helen) flowed smoothly because they had the right actors delivering it.More importantly, they've laid certain story demons to rest- Clark does finally understand that he has choices, and that his bad choices have consequences. Lex does finally understand exactly what he has to do to survive. Their strength, be it for good or evil, has to come from within. Neither of them can rely on anyone else- they are men alone in the world, but that doesn't mean they can't retreat sometimes.

3. What They Haven't Learned

It may be too early to say this, but witnessing a homicide is a traumatic event. Causing a homicide, even more so. Again, bolstering Lana with other people's storylines will not make the audience more receptive to Lana, and while it's possible that we will see Lana deal with the fact that she committed involuntary manslaughter, it's not likely. To get entirely technical, she should probably face charges, because the henchman's death in "Phoenix" is not directly parallel to Nixon's death in "Vortex."

In "Vortex," Lex committed a homicide in self defense (self defense of others.) Short of shooting Nixon, Lex had no other way to save Jonathan's life. "Precipice," however, demonstrated that Lana is capable of incapacitating a man much larger than herself; she didn't have to scramble for the gun, she just could have hit the henchman. Had he died as a result of those injuries, considering until that point he had a gun, then that would be directly analogous to the Nixon shooting. However, she disarmed him, and scrambled for the gun instead. Though she didn't intend to shove the henchman into the pitchfork, her more reckless choice unintentionally caused his death. In most states, Kansas included, that's involuntary manslaughter.

Still, I wouldn't count on seeing Lana on trial anytime soon, and it's unlikely anyone will rue the fact that we're missing that kind of character development. Which is a shame, because Lana, just like Lex, should have to deal with those particular consequences. That's the theme of the season, but some things are probably always going to remain in the realm of fantasy in Smallville.

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All in all, I'd say that this production team is right where they want to be, the characters are where they need them to be, and the ripple effect of choice and consequence are going to ebb and flow throughout this season, which I still believe will be the best yet. If anyone's keeping track of death predictions, I'd wager that Jonathan's heart will give out in Season Four, as a result of the damage done to him by his deal with Jor-El, and I
suspect Lionel's heart will give out in the finale of Season Three, probably because Lex put something through it.

In any case, I look forward to finding out.

Exile:
Screenwriting: A-
To Watch: A

Phoenix:
Screenwriting: B+
To Watch: A

Next Week: Lana's body double wasn't available to reprise her Nicodemus role, so Kristin Kreuk takes a bath in a red-one piece, and somebody perforates Clark. Poor Clark.

Note: The views of Hope don't necessarily represent the thoughts and feelings of everyone at KryptonSite.

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