Unsurprisingly, my fears came to fruition and, as it turns out, Martha Kent is the renowned Red Queen. That’s right, the humble farmer’s wife from Smallville, Kansas, is the costumed head of a high tech organization determined to prevent an intergalactic war. Yeah, yeah, I know I’m over simplifying Martha’s character. She is, after all, a United States Senator. And the show established early on that she gave up a relatively posh lifestyle to begin her life with Jonathan Kent. But still, the idea of her wearing expensive clothing, riding around in a limousine, holding up people at gun point while making threats, teaming with nefarious characters and then neutralizing them when they no longer serve a purpose….it just doesn’t ring true to Martha’s character. The explanation and backstory they provided was good enough, but I guess I was disappointed that they dragged Martha threw the darkness like they have every other character on the show. I wish they just let Clark have somebody (besides Lois) that reminded him of the simpler aspects of humanity.
Aside from that, I thought they handled Martha’s return magnificently. I’ll admit that I was a little skeptical when I read that she’d be returning arm in arm with Perry White. I’m thinking to myself, “Great, she’s leading an interplanetary organization AND she’s dating somebody? Somebody who tried to expose her son, no less!” But they really made it work. I appreciated her emotional state, finding it difficult to return home because of how much it reminds her of Jonathan. Simply seeing his work gloves in the barn – where he essentially died – was enough to rock her world. In fact, I really enjoyed the way she slowly attempted to adjust to her old life, despite the fact that it was mentally and emotionally difficult.
And I don’t know if this was done for the purpose of the show, or if this is merely the way the actress now looks, but I loved the gray streaks in Martha’s hair. It was just a wonderful, subtle reminder of how much has happened in the past couple of years, and the toll it’s taken on her.
Anything involving Lois interacting with a future Daily Planet co-worker is absolute gold, I’ve come to accept. Last year she had great scenes with Jimmy, and this episode with Perry made me hope that the character becomes a regular next season (which is within the realm of possibility. I mean, they’ve already set up the premise of the rotating Daily Planet editors). I just loved when Perry thought he was moments away from death, and his potential dying words were his campaign to get top billing in their eventual article. I’m also glad to see Lois and Clark back at the Daily Planet, as both characters seem to be at their best when interacting with each other – and being co-workers allowed them to share a lot of scenes without going over the top with their romance. Plus, it was refreshing seeing characters who actually had to work to make a living. And there was a certain adult feel to their career.
Last week I wondered if this stuff with Chloe was going somewhere, and I pleasantly discovered that it indeed was – and I’m intrigued by the direction that it took with this latest episode. Chloe finally came to realize that she’s been hiding behind all of these video cameras and computer screens, and she was ready to fully embrace actually living a normal life. She had essentially spelled out what she gave up and what she’s looking forward to. But then….Clark stopped her, and urged her to return to her Watchtower ways. I understood Clark’s stance, but it was still a rather striking decision for him to make.
So this week is the big finale, and it looks pretty kick ass. My two hopes? Clark flies (seriously, MAKE THIS HAPPEN!) and he reverts back to his red and blue garb. Actually, that’s pretty much all I’m asking for. That’s not much, right?
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. Be sure to visit his blog at [a case of the blog] and follow him on Twitter.
