Smallville: Conspiracy
Uh oh. I see a big, honking red sign ahead. And it doesn't bode well for Clark. I think this may just be the ep where we look back at the season and go, "yeah, this is where Clark was made to set up to fail, one way or the other, no matter what." Much like I think last season, 'Eternal' or 'Beast' did.
Because look at the showrunners in question here. The same PTB that were in charge of the Davis debacle. Clark coming out of a situation at his very best, with his characterization intact and done justice to, is hardly ever a priority with them. If it were, I wouln't be questioning the turn of events in this ep, but because I know their track record? I can't help it. All the ingredients are there, right down to Clark putting his faith in the villain, and saving him, to Chloe and Oliver working behind his back.
And let's just get the big debate out of the way - do I fault Clark for saving Zod? No. And it surprises me that I say this, because normally I'd be, "he's gone, his time had come, let him go." But I have to look at this from Clark' POV. And for him, wrt the Kandorians, its always been about providing these people with options and allowing them to choose a better path for themelves. So, while yes, Clark does know of the two instances of versions of Zod that we all know of too, he also knows of his fathers last wish wrt him, he takes in what Faora tells of him and he recognizes what Lois said about him. In Clark' eyes, this is a Zod who he's not just wholly pretending to believe in anymore, he truly does I think, on some level and therefore in that moment, saving him, was absolutely the only route he thought of. And I don't think it's completely unrealistic to see why he did.
Thus my problem doesn't stem from Clark' action itself. It stems from where I think TPTB will go with this. Which will basically be a case of Zod going batshit insane with his powers, Chloe and Oliver pulling a "I told you so", Clark spending the remainder of the aftermath of discovering about Zod berating himself while Chloe, Oliver and who knows, frikkin Wonder Twins save the day.
I realize I may be overexaggerating or being too paranoid, but I'm honestly worried. And the worst part is, this doesn't even have to be the case. Because look, one way or the other Zod getting his powers back was inevitable. Now they could take two routes with this. One could be to have this Zod, actually actively choosing to go the other way, and have Clark have been right about putting his faith in him. To have the Checkmate/Zod storyline then somehow intertwine and have Zod be killed as a result, with all of this leading towards a Clark/Ollie/Chloe/MM vs. Checkmate final fight. This is probably the more naive option, so how about this. Have Zod go megolamaniac with his powers as expected. Have Clark lament this fact but realize quickly that he needs to step up now and deal with it. Have Oliver come clean about his and Chloe' plans, and rather than a "see, this is why we went behind your back" try and understand Clark' POV and remind them of the urgency and importance now of working together. And maybe to crucially also have a few of the Kandorians align themselves with Clark, as a result of all the times he came through for them, thereby proving to the likes of Chloe and Oliver that it wasn't Clark' decision to want to believe and have faith that was wrong, it was about individual choices instead. And then this leading to a final Clark and co. vs. Zod battle.
Now, I know that I've presented the above cases very shoddily and ametuerishly, and my apologies for that, but it does prove one thing. That there can be a sequence of events from here leading to an endgame that will ensure not only Clark coming out of it fine, but with the other characters POV' intact as well. Do I expect TPTB to go this route though? Unfortunately, no. What I do expect is Clark coming out of this the dumbass who ressurected Zod.
I also rarely ever use the word hate, wrt any character on the show, but I'm afraid can't muster up any other reaction than this towards Chloe in this one. There aren't enough words to describe my disgust for her "I'm not OK with just sitting back and trusting Clark again" and "I don't want to see his loyalty lead us in to another Doomsday scenario." I think I'll just about pop a vein if I get in to all that is wrong with both of these statements, so I won't even try. But honestly, Chloe' justifications of her actions have now taken on scary proportions. It's not even that I can't see where she's coming from. She essentially views Zod and the Kandorians as a threat, no matter what, and wants to prepare safeguarding against that potential threat? Fair enough. It's the going behind people's backs, stealing, and self righteous tone she adopts through it all that gets to me.
Oliver was less insufferable than Chloe, because at least he questions the whole thing and calls Chloe on it a couple of times, but in a way, I'm more disappointed in him because I naively thought that after 'Kandor' et al especially, we wouldn't be seeing any hints even of a potential Doomsday redux. But now here we are again, and the worst part is, on some level, clearly Oliver realizes him and Chloe are going about this the wrong way. And yet he's choosing to withold from Clark and only tell him when he deems it the "right time."
And looks like I was right about Chlollie going the fuck-buddies way. Except, apparently less on the buddies, more on the fuck. Though ironically, we got neither of that in this one.
Tess might as well not have been in this ep. ::sighs::
And the direction for this was incredibly hit or miss with me. I liked certain angles, such as the way the aliens-in-captivity scenes were filmed, but what was up with things like that slo-mo strut of Zod' through the DP? Ridiculous.
The worrisome implications this ep sets up aside, there were some aspects I did actually like. I enjoyed the Clark/Faora scenes, for one, especially the one at the hospital. I really appreciated how Clark' moral code shone there. I also got a real kick out of seeing Faora' sister hopelessly crushing on Clark. I'm at a loss regularly as to how women are able to resist throwing themelves at this man, so yeah, girl after my own heart.
I think this was a good ep for Lois. In fact, I cringe even more recalling how she was treated in the last ep, when compared to how her character is handled here. It's always great to see Lois in reporter mode. Because for all the fun that the relationship stuff can be, and Iv'e enjoyed much of it myself this season, we have already, seen plenty of it, and not nearly enough of Clark and Lois on their individual stories. So this was a good opportunity for us to see this, and I especially appreciated we were allowed a mixing up of the dynamics there for a bit with Clark/Faora and Zod/Lois. I liked seeing the continuation of her being involved in the Waller storyline. I think things are being nicely set up here, and I can almost see where they might go with this, but who knows. Good thing is, I'm curious to find out. It was also great to see Lois kick some ass, though her unfortunate KO count continues. I didn't get her "that's what Clark would do" line thoiugh, as she tried to save Zod. I appeciated it and liked it, but what was that even supposed to mean? I'd like to think Clark or no Clark, Lois would try and save a man bleeding to death on the floor. Sometimes the dialogue they write for her is just plain wierd.
The romance angle was kept to a minimum in this ep, and rightly so. Too much else going on, but Clark/Lois nevertheless did have a nice little moment there at the DP in the beginning, what with the flirty glances and Clark' sexy, "hello." I think it was Val who said in her review last ep that we ought to see more of a Clois unable to keep their hands off each other, and I think this scene illustrates that it can be shown and achieved sometimes, even without physical contact. Sometimes I think the actors chemistry just sparks off, without a kiss even, and here, for me, it really did. What I really found interesting wrt these two in this one though was that they're both keeping secrets from each other at this point. Eventually that's going to come to a head but I found it telling that they each realized that and backed off, rather than pull a case of the 'ol double standard entitlement.
I think we saw more of Faora in this one than we have all season, and I liked what we got. It was a nice nod to her and Zod' future that she instinctively defended him. And she was able to be in argument with Clark without neccessarily getting snippy or belittling him. Interesting choices from the actor here, I thought.
One could make an argument that Zod was officially woobified in this ep, and I could even see where it was coming from. But I have to say, I'm still quite satisfied with the way he's coming along thus far. I think it's more than obvious that ultimately? All said and done? He's a master manipulator. It;s there in his every interaction with Clark, and every now and then he offers a glimpse in to the Zod we really know of, as he did so in this ep with his "for the humans" - which was said with such contempt. But clearly, this also happens to be a Zod who has assimilated, contrary to his protestations against the notion. So I fo think the character has to be viewed in that context too. I did laugh at his hilariously bad American accent though. Or was it a deliberate acting choice on CB' part? Not sure. And that he refers to himself as 'Z' now amuses me, for some reason.
I thought the actor playing Chisholm did an extremely effective job. He has some suitably justifiable reasons for his actions, and he's unhinged yet self assured at the same time. Lethal combination. Not to mention he's a man with a plan, research and all - and that makes him even more formidable. He ended up being offed in a rather anti-climatic way ultimately, but interesting character nonetheless. And we got a Corben reference out of it.
Sadly, for whatever good stuff in this one, I hope we don't end up looking back at it as the beginning of this seasons, "let's-set-up-Clark-to-fail-in-an-impoosibly-no-win-situatiom."
Oh, and I'm sick to death of seeing other people fly on this show. And STFU Chloe.