Before I get to last week’s episode of Smallville, a few notes. First and foremost, I have a new e-mail address. For the past year or so, my InsidePulse e-mail has been inactive, so if you’ve ever e-mailed me and I haven’t responded, that’s why. I’m really good about responding to readers’ e-mails, so if you’ve sent something and haven’t received a response, assume I never received it. I really enjoy talking television and interacting with anybody who takes the time to read my columns, so please don’t hesitate to drop me a line. My only rule is that I don’t read any spoilers, so please don’t mention anything that hasn’t happened yet (unless it’s explicitly stated in the upcoming preview). With shows like Heroes, Lost, and The 4400, I always like talking theories, so feel free to send me anything you’re pondering. The new address is mbasilo_insidepulse@hotmail.com, which is also linked at the bottom of the page.
Also, I recently purchased seasons five and six of Smallville on DVD, and may I note how disappointed I was with the audio commentaries? Season five only included two commentaries, none of which included any of the regular cast members. In fact, the only commentary that included an actor at all was James Marsters, who starred as Brainiac. I’ve always enjoyed Marsters’ work (especially on Buffy), but it would have been nice to have heard from some of the regular cast as well. Worse off, season six did not have any episode commentaries at all. Am I to believe that they could not get any of the actors, producers, directors, writers, or guest stars to sit down for a few hours to churn out some commentaries? It’s not as if the DVD was any less expensive, either.
What makes this matter worse is that, from what I’ve heard in past commentaries, these actors have wonderful personalities. I especially enjoyed the early seasons, when Tom Welling (Clark) and Michael Rosenbaum (Lex) provided some extremely humorous commentaries. Lets hope that when the season seven DVD hits stores, they’re a little more generous with the features. I guess I’ve gotten spoiled from buying Family Guy DVDs, where every friggin episode has a commentary!
Now, onto the episode. Incidentally, my thoughts on the episode may take up less space than my thoughts on the DVDs.
I loved the fact that Lois joined the Daily Planet. I’ve mentioned the fact that the characters need to start turning into the people they eventually become, and this is a nice step in doing that. It actually got me thinking about something interesting. Last week’s episode brought attention to the fact that Chloe, who was once a very promising journalist, has become stagnant. This observation had escaped me, but now that I think about it, the fact that she knows Clark’s secret is probably responsible. With her current knowledge she (a) has to devote a significant amount of time helping Clark with his various heroics, and (b) has to cover for Clark in order to keep his abilities a secret. When a story comes too close to outing Clark, she either needs to bury the story or half ass it.
Last week’s episode also revealed how Lana faked her own death, and it turned out that Clark had nothing to do with it. I was actually quite impressed with the explanation the writers came up with, as I found it rather clever and consistent with the characters Lana and Lex grew into near the end of their relationship. I do wonder, though, who was the person in the truck that pulled her to safety and helped her escape? Oh, and how many apple boxes was Kristin Kreuk standing on during her scene with Lex?
I thought Kara’s introduction was handled quite well, at first hinting that she could be evil, and then revealing that she seems quite good-natured at heart. I don’t know why, but I got a kick out of her lifting up a small child by his shirt, and calmly asking him questions, while seemingly not understanding why it would be frightened. The initial battle between Clark and Kara, where she attempts to fly away by he grabs her boots and pulls her down, was also pretty cool. I also want to compliment Laura Vandervoort’s acting, as she very convincingly expressed the sorrow of finding out that everyone she knows and loves is now dead. There is something I don’t get, though. Wasn’t the destruction of Krypton foreseeable? After all, isn’t that why Jor-El sent Clark away? Certainly an 18 year old would be aware of such a fact.
I also appreciated the throwback to the season three finale, where Jor-El created a faux-Kara in an attempt to get Clark to embrace his Kryptonian roots. Oh, and I’m still waiting for my Laura Vandervoort and Kristin Kreuk scene together.
I must admit, I’m curious to see what happened to Lionel. Who pulled him out of the water? It couldn’t have been Clark, Lois, Chloe, Lex, or Kara, so who does that leave? Martha is in DC, so it’s not her. And it would be foolish for Lana to return to Smallville so shortly after faking her own death. Who’s left? Perhaps the same person that pulled Lana into the truck. And a follow up question: Where is he now? I’m also greatly intrigued by how deeply they delve into this apparent government conspiracy.
