Well, Smallville‘s back for yet another season, albeit on a new network. So in this WB/UPN merge, who’s the “dominant” partner? On one hand, they took over the WB’s station (in my area anyway), so that could be chalked up as a point to the WB. By my calculation, the CW is made up by more WB shows than UPN. Yet, if my sources are correct, UPN was, overall, higher rated. Anyway, to me it seems like WB is more dominant, although I could be wrong.
So, overall I was pretty entertained by the episode, and I felt it was a good follow up to the season finale. I am definitely digging Lionel Luthor’s character. It intrigues me that he seems to genuinely care about Chloe and Martha, and he truly does seem to want to protect them. In fact, I found his scene with Chloe, where they parted ways, very touching. In a lot of ways, moreso than any of his scenes with Martha.
While on the topic of Lionel, I might as well segue to Jor-El. I have been disappointed at times with the way he’s been portrayed (basically as a villain), but I’ve been very pleased with the softer, more caring side we’ve seen the past season or so.
The Jimmy Olsen thing seemed especially out of nowhere, and was way too forced. I really have no problem with him being on the show (while many comic book enthusiasts may), other than the fact that he’s too old, and he’s had sex BEFORE Clark! I mean, hell, Superman/Clark is supposed to be a father figure to Jimmy, if memory serves. Here they’re what, a year apart? And on top of that, he’s starting at the Daily Planet before Clark does, so who’s going to be mentoring who here? Again, I have no problem with him being on the show, it just seemed totally contrived. That said, I think him being a foil of sorts for Clark, over Chloe, could be interesting. I also found the fact that Clark immediately went to see if Chloe was okay, once things calmed down, very sweet.
Speaking of Clark’s romantic interests, the scene with him and Lois came across as somewhat odd. I mean, the two HAVE shown affection before. I’m hoping the first quarter of the season focuses on Clark/Chloe, and then after that, he moves onto Lois full time. No Lana. None at all. That’s so past him now.
Obvious transition, but we move onto Lana now. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: Kristin Kreuk is one of the most positively gorgeous people I’ve ever seen, but her character REALLY needs to be written off. In fact, I feel like her character is being damaged irrepairably. I just find things so, unbelievable when it comes to her. I can never believe that she would actually think that Clark would MURDER Lex in cold blood, because he’s so jealous of her being with him. I mean, first off, get over yourself. Secondly, when has Clark ever done anything maliciously violent? I also find it hard to believe that she could ever be with Lex at all after everything she’s seen him do, or that she would be more forgiving towards him than Clark. I mean, really, considering the things she brings up with Clark, she obviously holds a grudge. Yet she’s willing to look past all the evil deeds Lex has committed?
I found the fighting scene between Lex and Clark absolutely awesome, most notably them fighting through the air. Again, I enjoyed seeing the more “human” side of Jor-El, and was especially surprised to hear Clark refer to him as his father. Additionally, I loved the special effects of Zod leaving Lex’s body. In fact, I would have sworn the image was of Terrence Stamp, who played Zod in the movie.
It does seem strange to me, however, that the past two season finales have set up Clark to be in an impossible situation, only to be brushed over and resolved within the first few minutes of the season premiere. Last year Clark was taken to the Fortress of Solitude, but then left almost immediately. On top of that, he pretty easily defeated the Kryptonians that were sent to earth. This year, he was banished to the Phantom Zone, and managed to escape without much conflict. Granted, I don’t think the episode SHOULD focus on these issues any longer (because then it would drag on), but it seems like a wasted story line.
