Smallville – Episode 9-6 Review

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So last week I discussed a potential romance between Oliver and Chloe. This week Oliver was professing his love for Lois and Chloe was cyber flirting with Tess’ tech dude. Shows what I know.

On the topic of romances, the Clark/Lois relationship was severely magnified this episode, culminating in the legendary future lovers sharing their first real kiss on the show. I’m sure there are a lot of people who feel this was premature (I don’t agree), or are wondering where they’re going to go with this now (I can see that point), but overall I really enjoyed the fact that, leading up to the big moment, both Lois and Clark were far more explicit about their feelings than they had been. I mean, it was obvious to them, and the audience, and the rest of the characters. But they were both somewhat coy and guarded about their feelings. That wasn’t the case this past week. In the opening segment Clark openly acknowledged that he wanted to go on a date with Lois (compared to a couple of weeks ago, when they were wishy-washy about whether it was a REAL date). Along with that, during Lois’ tender talk with Oliver, she freely admitted that she has feelings for Clark (again, compared to their talk last season at Chloe’s wedding, when she was hypothetical about having feelings for somebody). This acknowledgement from both sides, in my opinion, helped make the moment more special. It was more than just a moment we’ve all been waiting for – it felt like something that they were both finally ready for.

That being said, I do wonder where they’re going to go with this. While I’m thrilled that they kissed (as the will-they-or-won’t-they? thing can get tiresome and repetitive after a while) and I think they’ve done a wonderful job building the relationship over the past two seasons, I’m not quite sure I’m ready to see these two skipping down the streets holding hands. But, again, do any of us want to see a Ross and Rachel type thing, where some contrived obstacle is thrown in their way once we believe they’re finally going to get together? However, I’ve got faith. They’ve done a great job with these two so far this season.

By the way, I loved the stand-up ad they used for the Metropolis morning show. Clark and Lois standing back to back, with Lois taking hold of his tie, felt a lot like one of those Teri Hatcher/Dean Cain promotional images used for The New Adventures of Superman (which I’m sure was no mistake).

I alluded to this earlier, but I’m glad they brought some closure to the Oliver/Lois story. Actually, I’m a bit surprised they brought it back into the mix, after their wedding talk last year, but perhaps the writers felt this relationship needed some solid resolution before she moves onto Clark. That’s fair enough, and I think they did an admirable job. While there were some insecurities and indications of jealousy, they smartly avoided creating any hard feelings amongst the threesome. And I also think it’s telling that Clark didn’t attempt to steal the glory when he rescued the two of them from that pimp. Speaking of which, I’m curious as to why Oliver is so determined to save this one prostitute. I mean, there was a handful at that very corner. What, he only wants to save the ones with a mean right hook? And how much do you love the fact that, despite seemingly only having seconds to rescue Lois and Oliver from a mad gunman, he STILL went to go change into his Blur attire? Yeah, I know, it takes him like half a millisecond to change, but still. At the very least, he probably could have rescued Oliver before the bullet was a hair away from his face.

It was good to see Zod again, and his interactions with Tess have been a surprising highlight. Actually, I think Tess works best when she’s paired with the REAL villain of the season. It wasn’t until she started sharing scenes with Davis that I began to appreciate her character. Before that, I labeled her as one dimensional, but once she began opposing people more dastardly than herself, it became obvious that her motivations are, ultimately, for the greater good.

I am very excited to see Clark reunited with a young Jor-El, although I do find it curious that he looks so different from Clark. If you recall, Jor-El was identical to Clark when he was Clark’s age. I wonder if they’ll explain why he no longer looks like Tom Welling, and doesn’t yet sound like Terrance Stamp. It reminds me of the Family Guy bit where Peter doesn’t understand why Bob Saget voices an adult Ted on How I Met Your Mother, when the character is already an adult in the flashbacks (“it’s not like he grows up to be Bob Saget”).

Matt Basilo has been writing for Inside Pulse since April 2005, providing his insight into popular television shows such as Lost, 24, Heroes, and Smallville. You can visit his blog at [a case of the blog].

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.