Smallville 10x03
Hated it. I wish I could find a more eloquent way to begin the review, but there you have it. I was spoiled for this ep, so I was already expecting to be aggravated by it but it seemed to go out of its way to annoy me.
Let me count the ways---
Clark has darkness in his heart, did you know? Real, baddity bad darkness which Darkseid has masterfully caught on to and will gleefully exploit in due time--- Yeah, that's a set-up for things to come that I am just not comfortable with. Can you imagine the insane amounts of "he had it coming" from the writers, in the form of Jor-El' "I told you so's?" I am dreading this, much like I dreaded the eventual outcome of the Davis storyline in S8. Yes, last seasons fears wrt the villain arc were magnificently overturned in the wonderful 'Salvation', but I don't know if I can expect similar results. One would hope so, considering this is THE final season, but look at the team we're working with here - showrunners who seem to have respect and affection for every single character over and above Clark.
Because honestly, where is this darkness BS coming from, all of a sudden? I'm honestly curious. And then to have the writers compound it by stressing how supposedly "pure of heart and purpose and spirit" other characters are such as Lois and Kara? What? What was the need for that? To further disparage Clark. And I challenge anyone to find me a reason other than this. They can't leave it at merely crapping on Clark' character by suddenly sprouting this darkness nonsense. No, they have to further take a dump on him by expressing how spwecial other characters are in comparison. Hate. Y'know what might've been a more interesting alternative? To have every soul out there have this potential 'darkness.' An entire world full of corruptible souls, signifying the flawed nature of man - isn't that a real credible, threat?
I hated Kara' return. The Suit and the disguise and the name are so intrinsically Supes territory in this case that I cannot even wrap my head around why or how the show decided it would be a good idea to give all these firsts to Kara instead. Firsts which also included other Supes-exclusive stuff like 'The Woman of Tomorrow' headline. Apart from the fact that it is so incredibly disrespectful of Clark and the Superman legacy and history, if it was even remotely relevant in furthering the story along, maybe I could've eventually understood. I still wouldn't have liked it, but OK - I would've at least seen the point. But what was exactly the point? What did this serve the story at all?
And to make matters worse, Kara returns with a worst 'tude than the one she (understandably, in hindsight) carried in early S7. She's arrogant and frankly? Stupid. Believing Jor-El over Clark? A cousin who helped you and took you under his wing for the better part of a year. A cousin who wouldn't leave until you left with him, back in the PZ. Yeah, that Clark, I tell ya, he's a real heartless bastid. Suddenly Kara' the appointed savior and she's---OK with it? She doesn't question it? Does she believe her experiences in the PZ earned her this? The whole storyline and character return was so clumsily handled, I have no idea what to think. And then some of the dialogue - "you are not ready." It's apparent that the writers have decided to retcon S8 and 9 where in terms of hero pro-activism? Clark has been more of a presence than he's ever been. And suddenly, we're to believe now, that he's been sitting on his ass wallowing in his 'darkness.' WTFever, show. If you're going to retcon the last two seasons, then it's fair game - I'll just go ahead and retcon this ep out of my memory. I'd much rather believe that 'Bloodline' was the last we saw of Kara. Now that was how you do a cousin reunion and make Kara interesting and relevant, yet retain Clark' importance.
Really, all of Clark' standing up for himself to Kara in the beginning of the ep, was for nothing because we got that same 'ol self doubt and guilt of yore back at the end. And why did he even want to go see Jor-El in the beginning? And calling Kara his "only family?" I cannot stand how casually the writers handle Clark' characterization sometimes.
I hated (quite a theme here, eh?) the flying!teach scene. I didn't find it cute, charming, endearing or funny. Shove it, show.
Hated the 2nd Clois scene at the DP. Dancing around the secret in that ridiculous manner.
While I think JH did a good job in this one, and I think his reveal, ala Ironman at the end will have potentially interesting results in terms of the Suicide Squad storyline, I was too bothered by the Clark / Kara stuff to really get in to it. Either that, or my perpetual meh wrt Ollie, continues.
I do think Godfrey was interestingly handled, in terms of the touches of political / social commentary, especially with lines like "we're small, but we're loud." And overall, I still think this heroes vs. vigilantes debate / storyline is a potentially interesting one. But when it's dumped in an otherwise mostly infuriating ep like this, any remotely good stuff tends to get drowned out as well.
Such as Lois. Who I actually thought was for the most part written well. I liked that her two inherent qualities of loyalty and hunt for the story / expose were both merged together here and I appreciated her words of support to Clark too, but a)it all got a bit lost in the overall dreck, and b)the final scene just highlighted even more why the secret needs to out in the open between these two. I just can't seem to enjoy them because of this, even when I want to - in scenes such as their first one, where they were very cute but all I kept thinking was 'quit with the stalling!'
I'll tell you one thing that never gets drowned out. TW' stunningness. He continues to be the most beautiful man. And I remind myself of this whenever I question why I still bother to watch - after disasters like 'Supergirl.' Because it can be so, so frustrating watching a show where you're all too painfully aware that your favorite character is probably the least favorite amongst TPTB and the writers.