Smallville – Review – Episodes 5-11 and 5-12

Archive

First and foremost, I want to apologize for my lack of Smallville recaps the past couple of weeks. Basically, the past two weeks I’ve been pretty busy with job interviews and taking care of some time-consuming necessities before I start working on Monday (yes, I have finally gotten a job). Because of this, I really didn’t have time to rewatch two episodes and do descriptive, scene-by-scene recaps for them. But, the past two weeks were tremendous episodes, so I felt they warranted a posting of some sort. I may have to alter my recap/review style now that I won’t have as much free time on my hands, but we’ll have to see. Nevertheless, I plan on doing the traditional style for major episodes, like finales and the like.

Anyway, presenting my reviews for the past two weeks’ episodes:

Episode Title: Vengeance
Episode Airdate: February 2nd, 2006

Review:

Right off the bat, I have to state that every single episode involving Martha was done to absolute perfection. The acting was stellar from everybody involved, especially Annette O’Toole. The opening scene with Clark being frustrated over not being able to sufficiently take over farm duties from his dad, and Martha trying to remain strong for Clark’s sake, only for us to realize how fragile she truly is was very touching. I also found her comment about still being able to smell his after shave (or was it cologne?) on his clothes beautiful. Overall, it was just magnificent work from all involved and a very realistic portrayal of people trying to move on after losing a loved one.

Martha’s scene with Chloe was also particularly sweet. Again, Martha is now in a position where she must try to offer the support and guidance usually provided by Jonathan, and when she’s unable to (or struggling to do so), she finds herself now turning to Chloe. It was incredibly touching hearing Martha tell Chloe how she’s so grateful that she now has somebody else to share Clark’s secret with. I also thought Chloe’s reaction was great, trying to reassure her that Clark would be okay, and that the family would eventually overcome this painful obstacle.

The Acuvue product placement was so blatant that it was almost uncomfortable to watch. Last year they had a similar deal where a car company (forget which one) sponsored the episode and ran a sweepstakes, and they did a much more subtle and clever commercial within the program. This just made me feel….dirty.

The quarrel between Lex and Lionel was confusing, so I didn’t quite follow exactly what they were fighting over. That said, their attempts to out-scheme and one-up each other are always fun to watch, as is Lex getting his hands a bit dirty. Also, it’s absolutely wicked seeing Lionel use his wife’s death in order to get with a recently widowed woman, especially when you consider he played a part in her late-husband’s death. It’s also strange that Lex recognizes that his father is doing this. Also, how about Lionel giving up such a powerful hand in order to not screw up his chances of getting with Martha?

Speaking of using somebody’s death to get with somebody, how about Lex’s behavior with Lana? I do believe that he was genuine when he wanted to send his condolences to Clark, but I like how he was still willing to exploit the tragedy to make his moves onto Lana. Oh, and going back to Lionel, it still seems awfully vague whether or not he knows Clark’s secret. Based on this episode, I don’t believe he does.

The stuff with Andrea absolutely reeked of Batman allusions, which was fun, but would have been more enjoyable with the Dark Knight himself. The differing philosophies between Clark and Andrea (with Clark being driven by justice, while Andrea is driven by vengeance) also set up nicely for the later conflicts between Superman and Batman.

I thought the ongoing story with Jonathan’s watch was rather touching, and at the end with Lana going from pawn shop to pawn shop to find it was exceptionally sweet. Again, I’m a strong believer that the show has outgrown that relationship, and that the characters should start going in their separate directions, but it makes perfect sense that Lana would want to be there for Clark during this time, so I found her behavior completely appropriate. It also makes sense that, deep down, Clark may resent Lana because, essentially, her living meant that his dad had to die. I do wonder if they will explore that any further.

The final scene with Clark walking in on Martha watching old home movies of Jonathan with a young Clark was absolutely heart wrenching. After burying and displacing his emotions all episode, it was nice (for lack of a better word) to finally see Clark break down. It was also sweet having Martha see Clark wearing Jonathan’s watch as he confronted his feelings.

Overall, the episode was more emotional than anything else. I did like the concept behind Andrea: That she was born normal, but inherited abilities when she received a heart transplant from somebody who was affected by the second meteor shower. And it wasn’t so much the Kryptonite that drove her over the edge, it was the loss of her normal life. This season has done a wonderful job of escaping the usual “freak of the week” formula that it had previously become very reliant on (all we need now is the complete elimination of amnesia story arcs).

Episode Title: Tomb
Episode Airdate: February 9th, 2006

Review:

Once again, an episode made more enjoyable by the fact that a meteor freak was NOT behind it all, just some guy with serious mental issues. I also liked the fact that you were kept on your toes a bit, wondering if Chloe really was imagining things, since she was the only one who saw the ghost. I also appreciated the fact that Clark was suddenly in the unenviable position of having to keep a major secret, even though his instincts felt he should do otherwise.

The continued saga of Lionel trying to get with Martha continues, and I was extremely pleased to see that she, so far, isn’t falling for his act. I would have been really disappointed if, after all the times she warned Clark about Lionel, she just falls right into his trap once she’s vulnerable and he starts putting on the niceties.

I’ve noted before (ad nauseum) that I’m not a big fan of the whole Lex/Lana love-fest, but I absolutely love the conflict between Clark and Lex that has resulted from it. I love that Clark now sees Lex, and says “what are you doing here?” with a suspicious, unhappy tone. And when Clark helped Chloe escape, only for the plan to appear to backfire and having Lex say “nice job.” Oh, and you had to love Lex slyly mention that he knew about Chloe because Lana came to him for help. It is such a huge contrast watching the Clark/Lana/Lex triangle now, versus how they acted in seasons one and two.

Oh, and while I really did enjoy the episode for the most part, that whole thing with Lois throwing the knife and hitting the orderly in the chest was just a BIT much. I know they love having Lois be this independent woman who can easily defend herself, but I feel they go a bit overboard with that more often than not.

Other than that, not a whole lot happened this episode. I thought the reunion between Chloe and her mother was sweet, and I wouldn’t mind that aspect of her character being further explored. It was also refreshing seeing Clark give Chloe advice, instead of the other way around. Their friendship has been a real gem throughout this season. I really like pretty much every scene they share with each other.

Anyway, next week we have the Cyborg episode, which should be interesting. I’m not entirely familiar with his character, but it should be fun to watch. I’ll be providing a review of some sort (whether it’s the classic version, or this style), probably on Friday or Saturday. Hope nobody was too affected by the snow!

Matt Basilo has been writing for Inside Pulse since April 2005, providing his insight into various popular television shows. Be sure to visit his blog at [a case of the blog] and follow him on Twitter.