Smallville 10x05 Isis
Because that's kinda how I feel. Don't get me wrong. The whole Isis-posseses-Lois thing was ridiculously silly and beyond overdone. And I will always love certain aspects from 'Homecoming' such as the flashbacks, forwards, Brainiac, etc, but I have to appreciate this silly, often nonsensical ep over last weeks a little bit more, I think, simply because of the fact that while qualitatively 'Homecoming' might have been the superior ep - it still left me uneasy, and with certain apprehensions and frustrations as a viewer and Clark fan. 'Isis', OTOH, left me with a smile on my face, and didn't actively aggravate me. At this point, with the kind of SV viewer I think I'm becoming (become?) I appreciate being at peace with an ep, more than anything else.
And I'll certainly get to what left me at peace, but let's tackle the awful, awful A plot first, shall we. Been there, done that x 100. Honestly, the whole storyline was so pointless and boring, it seems it was concocted only to serve the purpose of getting ED into another costume-of-the-week. I'm one of those that have very little problems with her undercover outfits actually, probably because that's one of the aspects of her comics counterpart I've always enjoyed too, but c'mon, this? Was just flat out stupid. Oh, and the other function it seemed was to have Isis sprout nonsense about other peoples love lives. Lame, lame, lame.
But there are also scenes and moments from this that I tremendously enjoyed. And at the top of that list, for me anyways, was the final Clois scene. Anybody who's been reading my reviews lately knows I just have not been able to enjoy these two together this season due to the IMO the idiocy of the secret. So for me, this scene heralded a much welcome relief. And not only is the secret out, which automatically makes it a good scene, in my book, but I think it has merits in the way it was constructed, as well. I appreciated Clark' articulation of his fears behind his secret, the notion of it all boiling down to losing people in the end, whether or not they rejected / embraced him. Because it sort of holds true. Both Chloe and Lana embraced him wholeheartedly, but each sort of spiralled down a path, however of their own making that caused separation from Clark, ultimately. Same for Pete. Even Alicia and Jimmy. None of these separations or losses are Clark' fault, of course, but the loss as end result, still holds, which is ultimately the thing Clark is most afraid of. Yet, in telling Lois that "if you're ready to take that leap, there's no one else I want to take it with" he is also demonstrating his ability to continue to believe - that this time it will be different, and to put his faith in both himself and Lois, and their relationship. I thought the scene transitioned wonderfully from the insightfulness of that to the sheer joy of Lois bounding into Clark' arms and tackling him, and the revelation coming out simply and resoundingly. It's exactly the sort of reaction I expected from them, as a couple.
The other element that I thought overwhemningly worked in the ep, was Tess' further integration into the larger scheme of things. CF just tends to make an ep automatically more compelling by her sheer presence, and her scenes in this one were probably my favorite of hers so far this season. It was great to see the snark back - "Oliver, you're better than Christmas", but we also got to see some interesting layers added on to the character. Tess as part of the 'team', so to speak, and her alliance with Clark and Ollie, I think opens up a whole other level of dynamics the show can explore. For as much as we are seeing Tess as a true ally at the moment, something she's been proving to be since 'Salvation', she's still an enigmatic character that not only us, but Clark and Oliver still have a lot to learn about as well. In many ways therefore, she's still a question mark, however unravelling as it may be, but mysterious nevertheless. And in that vein I thought the Tess/Clark/Ollie scene at the Watchtower worked well in displaying each characters reactions, plausibly. There was no overt antagonism there, and in fact, I genuinely felt as if the warmth was sincere, yet at the same time it felt true to me and to their characters that when alone, Oliver would bring up the subject of trust, and for Clark to reply, "we'll find out." I thought that was exactly the right response from Clark - quiet caution, yet not jumping the gun and clearly monitoring the situation as best he can. Very much what I'd expect from him as a leader. Tess' reaction meanwhile was a bit of an emotional breakout, one that we'd only witnessed in glimpses before. It was a bit wierd to see her cry, but I bought it for what it seemed to represent for the character, to me - a beginning towards self acceptance and self re-evaluation. And that was later reflected in her scene with Alexander, in whom she sees perhaps, shades of her own past, and hopes of providing the love that neither she nor the real Lex ever got. Great as all this was though, my favourite Tess moment? Her full throated laughter at the notion of Lois being the Blur.
Speaking of that notion, it was nice to see Cat return. I loved her scenes with both Clark and Lois and their respective reactions to Cat flirting with Clark. And I continue to love the little exchanges between her and GA - it was a tiny little scene in this one, but I thought it was hilariously played. There's something about their scenes that I find unabashadly fun, and I aporeciate that. And their reactions - her shrieking to his deadpan, only adds to it. The actor was again in fine form too, and I especially LOL'd at her delivery of 'satanic S.E.X ritual."
And while I will always continue to think the writers are intentionally mocking me when they have Oliver talk about subjects like team, trust and secrets, I think I'm very much in the place with him as I was with Chloe back in early S8. I knew I was stuck with the character, whether I liked it or not, so I kind of tried and went along with it. My only expectations wrt the character is that he not infuriate me. And to that end, I was fine with him and Clark working together. If I have to tolerate him, I might as well see him working with Clark, rather than against him. I also think his chemistry with Tess has gotten so much better now that they're not supposed to be all into one another, and reluctant allies / frenemies instead. He also got in a good line there, with, "you kinda stole my thunder there, Tess." Ofcourse, what still doesn't work for me, is the continued intimation of Chlollie being this grand, epic romance, which I still cannot buy, no matter how much it's repeated to me.
Random bits and bobs:
Clark dropping off Cat to the coffee shop - complete with a coffee and newspaper. How very Clark of him, heh.
Of course Isis flew - everyone flies before Clark. Next.
Alexander is a lil cutie. Though I found his "I love you, Tess" a tad creepy, for some odd reason. Or was it meant to be so?