Smallville 9x02 Metallo
I think I enjoyed this ep a little more than I did the previous one, though I feel as if perhaps the premiere was overall a stronger ep. Does that make any sense? I'm not sure. I`do know that I felt as if there was more Clark in this ep, which may have contributed to my enjoying this one a bit more. Then again, I also know there still wasn't enough Clark. ::sighs:: And yes, I'm rambling.
I think, clearly, the eps main strength was managing to create in John Corben a considerably compelling character, and that too, in just one ep. I commented last week how he failed to make an impression and that BAG was shoehorned in a bit. Here, not only was BAG terrific in the role, but Corben' eventual descent was steadily handled, and never boring. The tone for it was set well right from the beginning I think, whatwith the accident and aftermath sequence which was appropriately creepy and unsettling. The highlight of his scenes was most definitely his confrontation with Clark, which was intense and charged, and moreover, actually managed to give Corben a legitimate (from his POV, and one could say a storytelling POV) beef with The Blur. I was honestly expecting it be something lame like, "oh, well, the blur failed to save my sister", which would have been ridiculous and flimsy, frankly. But instead the writers chose a far more interesting scenario where Clark was responsible for saving a bus full of criminals from which one escaped to eventually murder Corben' sister. This not only gave Corben an actual POV, but also brought to light an age old Supes theme - who he saves and who he doesn't, and is there ultimately a choice in there? BAG also brought a lot to the part by conveying all the emotions of descent of confusion, fear, realization and vengeance. There was a lot of potential here for a recurring villain. I hope TPTB realize this.
The ep also furthered the theme of Clark and his attempts to shun humanity from the last ep, and carried that theme rather well actually. Which is ultimately very clearly highlighting that Clark doth protest too much. No matter how much he claims to want to try and disconnect himself from what makes him human, evidence points to the contrary. We wouldn't have him returning to greet and feed Shelby, affectionately, if that were the case, and Chloe really summed it up pretty well with her "coming back to feed the dog is about as human as it gets." His phone calls to Lois as the Blur also continue, but I think what I appreciated the most was the writers actually allowing Clark a chance to verbalize his thought process, and motivations behind his actions wrt in his final scene with Chloe. The fact that he was out there seeking out, yearning for a semblance and sene of human connection in overhearing random people's everyday lives - was extremely telling. It also helped dispell IMO a fear I had early on that Lois would be shown to be the only link holding Clark back to humanity, because that would've been highly unrealistic. But from little bits and bobs in the premiere and now in this ep, I think that fear of mine has been rested, to a very large extent. I think Clark' epiphany of sorts about realizing the importance of balance in his life was a beautiful moment for the character, as was his re-entry at the DP.
Tess' scenes were another highlight for me. The Lois/Tess scene was remarkably played by both women and just a fun treat to watch, not only for all the flying subtext going around but the actors wonderful chemistry. Tess' brief realization about the advanced nature of Zod and his army was also fantastic, because CF played it all with a hint of fascination, fear and respect. I'm very curious as to who this new minion was though, but whomever he is, I think it'd do the show good to have him around as a recurring player and minion for Tess.
I also developed an immense soft spot for the Clois scene at the DP while watching the ep because it merged two of my favorite aspects about their dynamic - a happy, joyful, beaming Clark, and a playful, easy camaraderie between the two. I can't fault this scene anything really because everything from Clark witnessing Lois with his nameplate (which was a fantastic touch), Lois literally bounding over to hug Clark, to their immediate banter and Lois hopping up on his desk to recount her glory hour with the Blur - everything was lovely. In fact, overall, as per usual, it was the hints of the Clark/Lois dynamic I enjoyed far more than those of the Blur/Lois. I found Lois unable to help herself from checking up on Clark and Shelby, very touching.
And if we're talking my highlights of the ep, I have to mention the shot of Clark up on the roof using his super!hearing. Such an iconic moment.
And there were little moments here and there that I felt added to the quality of the ep, such as the Ma Kent mentions and the Inquisitor mention too, for that matter. And Dr Hamilton' reaction to Clark' whooshing in to the room was priceless.
So what didn't float my boat all that much? Well, for starters I hated the term 'sidekick' that was bandied about, wrt Lois. I think not only was it silly of her to deem herself as such to the Blur, because she should realize being an investigative reporeter does not automatically guarantee you hero duty competence, but I also think generally speaking, the term should just never be used by a `writer wrt a character like Lois Lane.
I enjoyed Chloe' scenes in this ep a bit more than I did her role in the premiere, but on the whole, I'm still not feeling the character yet, and she actively aggravated me on a couple of occassions, the first of which was her very annoying and IMO unwarranted, "we both sacrificed a lot so you could become a hero" to Clark. I'm still struggling to understand what she means by this. And then there's the final Chlark scene. Which, while I suppose a slight reprive in their dynamic from all out tension to a beginning of a journey to better understanding is nice, I hated that we had Clark apologizing yet again, and nada from Chloe. I also fear that this might be it now, in terms of Clark ever getting to verbalize to Chloe how badly she contributed in shaking his faith in humanity last season.
A confusing aspect of the ep for me, was obviously the end. Just who is the naked man in the symbol? And lt's not get started on what a wierd sentence that is---heh. But, in all honesty, I'm fearful about this because I can see this Zod, symbol storyline being handled rather sloppily if it isn't all mapped out already in the writers heads and with the ones we have, I'm not so sure about that.
I also happen to think there was something off about the pacing of the ep, but I can't quite put my finger on what. And ultimately, my biggest beef with it is the fact that I think a great opportunity was missed here in building up the Corben arc for a few more eps so we could've had more Clark/Corben interaction. Because while what we got was good, it had the potential to be so much more. I regret this already and am baffled as to why TPTB couldn't see this.
Last season, I remember while I really liked 'Odyssey' and 'Plastique', and didn't care much for 'Toxic', it wasn't until 'Instinct' that I really fell in love with an ep, and them immediately the fantastic 'Committed; followed. I'm still waiting for that ep this season.