Smallville: Warrior
I'm so glad I'm going in to these`eps knowing next to nothing about them, because when one turns out to be such a delightful little surprise as this? It makes me a very happy SV fan. Not only is this ep fun, but there are a couple of genuinely squeeworthy moments in there too, and most importantly, there's also some important character / relationship insights. Oh, and the icing on the top? All the characters are actually likeable here. In this regard, this one reminds me a great deal of BQM' fantastic S8 ep, 'Hex.' And even 'Committed.'
I think my asolutely favorite part of the ep though was`the fact tht the guest stars actually had interaction - significant interaction with Clark. I like Serinda Swann. I thought she did a fabulous job as Zatanna in 'Hex' and she makes quite an impression here as well. Part of me was completely on board her attempts at flirting and hitting on Clark - because, hey, girl after my own heart in that who wouldn't?! Heh. But of course, the other, rational part of me was also pleased to see that at the end of it all, she got where Clark was coming from, and where his affections clearly lay. The way I see it, much like the other characters upon our first meeting them - this Zatanna is a work in progress too. But I for one, look forward to seeing her again soon. She brings a nice spark (no pun intended) to the screen.
I also loved the actors they chose for Alec / pseudo!WA. Particularly the older one, who, if I'm not mistaken, wasn't he also in 'Apocalypse' as Chloe' fiance? Either way, he did a great job. He was just the right balance of earnest and enthusiastic without going overboard, and I thoroughly enjoyed all his scenes, especially his reations to all his newfound powers (particularly flight) and the super!wedgie save.
What I appreciated about this ep, was that instead of the guest stars taking away from Clark, they actually ended up adding something to his characterization here. In that respect and others, I think this was a great ep for Clark. The Z / Clark, and Alec / Clark convos allowed us valuable and much needed insight into Clark' perspective wrt some key, important stuff in his life at the moment. For example, Clark' almost serene explaination of his powers - "it's like breathing now." And when he tells Alec, "not because I have to, but because I choose to." This Alec / Clark scene is probably my favorite of the entire ep, come to think of it. I loved that not only was Alec able to open up to Clark but that the scene also inadvertantly provided the opportunity for Clark to do the same. He is so ridiculously Supes in this scene - and I love it. The scene also contains the lovely little nod to the future costume, which I admit, I squeed over. Meanwhile, back to his scenes with Zatanna, we got to hear Clark voice his thoughts and feelings wrt his relationship with Lois. Which was again, insight that is always welcome, considering we get such little from Clark himself these days. I thought the Clana mention was nicely woven in, and appropriate, given the often messy, turbulent nature of that relationship. Naturally, Clark loved Lana dearly, but I thank the writers here for making Clark look smart by realizing and acknowledging the aforementioned turbulence of the past relationship. Because this wouldn't be a smart Clark if he didn't, and therefore, his willingness to avoid the same mistakes shows his overall commitment to his current relationship with Lois. And, furthermore, in finally acknowledging to Zatanna that he's "interested in finding his fantasy elsewhere" we are reminded of that commitment. So, overall, we saw a Clark Kent here who is very obviously trying his best and hardest to balance all the various goings on in his life. Which is nice, because it wasn't all going on in offscreenville here. No, here we actually saw Clark right in the middle of a save (and how hilarious was the can-throw!) and talking to Lois at the same time. We saw him tackle his love life and at the same time articulate his thoughts on what being a hero means to him too (and the letter from Alec was so touching, in this regard). And seeing Clark' super!leap is always amazing, as it was here too, with Chloe.
Speaking of Chloe, I happened to genuinely enjoy her scenes in this ep too, probably the first time this whole season. The tone was set right from her first scene with Lois. Which was lovely. The two are happy and smiling in each others presence and are also able to share their thoughts and feelings with one another. It was a nice give-and-take, and something we haven't seen nearly enough of - so when we do, it's always welcome. I also enjoyed her scenes with Alec, though yes, the creepy 'Big' undertones were a little disturbing, but that aside, it was almost endearing to see that Chloe Sullivan, whose entire career revolves around superheroes and interaction with them - is still able to find herself fascinated with one.
Oliver was in this very briefly, and while I'll get to the final scene later, I liked the brief little, "oh, you're so going to get it" to Clark at the DP. Here was an instance, IMO, of good natured ribbing, as opposed to the 'ulterior-motive-carrying' kind or 'sob-boo-hoo-I-still-love-Lois' kind. I can handle this kind of Ollie. Like him, even.
Aside from the 'hero-within' theme, the Clark / Lois dynamic was another important thematic element of the ep. And I thought they were lovely. It's not a bad thing every once in a while to actually see the two come at the relationship from their own places and POV' rather than just seeing one halfs POV, or not see anything at all. This was a Clois here that is obviously still in the` early, tentative stages of a relationship, and each, due to their own respective past relationships is`weary of repeating the same mistakes again. And that's natural, and not forced, as far as I'm concerned, at all. Even their issues within the ep itself, are understandable, and for the most part, handled well. Lois' jealousy, to me, is not manufactured here. I can see why she's bothered. Similarly with Clark too, I can see where he's coming from wrt getting things just right, this time around and therefore being almost extra cautious. But above all, what I loved most about their dynamic in this ep was that even though there might be angst, they still manage to come to surprisingly mature conclusions. Clark' honesty and apology really worked for me and I thought, "you asked me what my dream was - it's with you Lois" was an absolutely beautifully understated yet all the more meaningful declaration of feelings from Clark wrt the relationship with Lois. Similarly, I continue to love the fact that Lois doesn't pressurize Clark wrt anything, really, and that she is big enough to see a genuine apology, and she embraces that rather than harping on about it.
And in this regard, this was a good ep for Lois too. Her actions were all believable yet at the same time they were so quintissentially Lois too. All her attempts at trying to counter her jealousy could have been cringe-worthy too, if not handled as well as they were here, but thankfully they were. Brcause this was a Lois I could feel for yet at the same admire when at the end she realizes that there's certain things she's just going to have to try and deal with. And the random kissage? Completely unexpected but worth it for TW and ED' acting alone. In fact, not just this scene, they were really on throughout the rest of the ep too. They share a terrific comedic partnership I feel, as actors and eps like this, whatwith the glances and the reactions and the getting stuck in phone cords, heh, it all comes to hilarious fruition.
I also have to give kudos here to AM' direction. When given a better script, I am so pleased to see how well she did here. Some of the shot transitions and edits were masterfully done.
Now, coming to the final scene. Which, I was now expecting, since I found out about TPTB plans to explore Chloe / Ollie. I don't know, but if this scene is any indication, it seems they might be going the "fuck-buddy" route here. Or, I could be wrong - would SV do that? Not sure. I'm still not on board this potential pairing, I'll admit, most primarily because I think why waste time on something that is so ultimately pointless. The characters could be better served otherwise, IMO. But, I will keep an open mind about it, for further eps.
Oh, one last thing. Did anyone else get slightly uncomfortable flashbacks to the Chloe / Davis debacle of last season when Clark opined about Chloe, "if I were Chloe, I'd try and fix it myself."
All in all, a highly enjoyable ep. This is what they shou;d've opened the post-hiatus batch of eps with, IMO.