Smallville 10x11 Icarus
This ep, for me, sort of perfectly encapsulates my issues with this season - there are some good themes in there, some good moments and execution of them even, but on the whole it feels like the engine revvs up to get started but never actually takes off anywhere. It's like I'm waiting and waiting to be wowed, and want to be wowed, and am very grateful when I get moments that genuinely excite and please me, but overall the wait is bothersome because there's been too little payoff so far. I thought this ep was sluggish towards the beginning, picked up the pace during the middle, and got really interesting towards the end, and just when I was waiting for my 'wow' moment, well, it never really came.
Not that it wasn't a helluva cliffie. I mean, granted I'm unspoiled, but even so, I have no idea what the hell just happened there with them all collapsing there at the end. So, kudos for the suspense factor, because I'm definitely curious.
But I think part of the reason the ep didn't resonate with me probably as much as it should have was because I couldn't really connect with the funeral scene. I thought it was nicely shot and I liked the slo-mo and the masks next to each other, but as far as beautiful funeral scenes go, that SV has a history of doing, in fact, this one didn't really move me. And it's not because it's Carter, or that we've not really gotten a chance to know him as a character or anything like that - we knew Alia from last season far less, and Whitney' dad from S1 even less. But I think what struck me about those funerals, and why they struck a chord in me emotionally was because they each served as opportunities to speak some sort of volumes for our characters of that time - Whitney' dad's funeral is so much a moment of recognition, longing, and loss all in one breath for both Clana and Chloe. Alia' is an extraordinary moment for Clark, as we see through his eyes, him witnessing a piece of his Kryptonian heritage. And of course then we have the mother of all emotionally gut wrenching funerals - Jonathon', or equally significant, but in an entirely different way, the unspoken declaration of "it's on" between Clex at Lionel' funeral. These are all moments that speak volumes as they use the funeral premise to convey to us something or the other about the characters and their lives in that moment.BATS Carter' funeral OTOH, while superficially beautiful, never really got to the next, deeper level for me. It was appropriately sombre of course and I thought the actors were doing their best to bring out the emotion, but it's just that I wasn't feeling it.
That, or y'know, I have a cold, dead heart.
But I did enjoy Carter' presence in the ep otherwise. In fact it was probably my favorite ep of his. His and Oliver' scenes actually, all of them, were great and not only do the actors have great chemistry but the bond and banter of the characters is also palpable. I especially LOL'd at their "really?" / "I miss my typewriter" exchange.
And well, whaddya know it - another ep where Oliver didn't annoy me. I liked several of his lines in fact - "we can't even follow orders---even the ones we gave---", heh. I like Ollie as a team player, one that hasn't got his head his head so far up his ass so as not to see the bigger picture, one that doesn't conspire against Clark.
Of course, that doesn't mean he didn't once conspire against Clark, because yes, I still remember (everytime I think this I'm reminded of latxcvi and her scenario of us as little old ladies in retirement homes and still not over 'Doomsday', heh!) and so the big, 'Clark-asking-Ollie-to-be-best-man' moment sort of fell splat on the ground for me. Allies, close allies even, I can buy Clark and Oliver as, but this great bond of friendship? Like, I said, splat.
The engagement party scene was nice though, despite the sad little fact of it being held at the WT ofcourse, heh, but hey, I'll go with, considering the heroes were all being targeted and whatnot so they needed a safe haven. I loved seeing Tess and Emil there as well, and everyone being all smiley, and Clark', "hi" to Lois had me swooning, I kid you not. How easy am I - the man gets me with a "hi" alone, heh.
I also thought the proposal scene was cute, whatwith Lois' unintentional attempts at derailing it. I'll admit, the flying petals were a little too much for my tastes, but I can see it making sense for Clark, so I went with it.
Clois were in fact very reminiscent in several moments of their married comics counterparts - solid, stable, and understanding of one another.
It was a good ep for Lois, on the whole actually. She got some good lines, and really got a moment to shine in her scene with Cat, where she's trying to convince her not to turn her in. I have some issues with that scene, but Lois' stance was very well put across.
My problem with the scene was Cat' about turn on the heroes vs. vigilantes debate. I found it very wierd that her entire world view was changed in just one conversation, no matter how impassioned Lois' plea was. Even so, initially I was cutting the scene some slack because I figured, 'OK, so she's not entirely convinced, but she's been put in enough doubt by Lois so as not to turn her in at least.' That, still felt believable to me. But then to have her go on and start saying 'heroes' instead of 'vigilantes?' And again, only after one conversation with Lois? The scene lost me.
Even so, it was great having Cat back. I love KLP and what she brings to the role - she's just the right mix of annoying and formidable, and she's endearing, but not clawingly so. I loved her "are you pregnant?"
Speaking of the VRA, this ep certainly ramped up the storyline, continuing also, to tie the whole 'darkness' thing in to it. Which, makes sense given how quickly Metropolis seems to have metamorphosized into this uber!military state. And here begin my problems with the ep. I thought the scenes illustrating this change - the mob scene, the interrogations, increased military presence, etc, were all well and good, but there was no mention of exactly how much time had transpired between 'Patriot' and now. Because didn't all of this get implemented ridiculously fast? But then yes, the darkness, the darkness. ::sighs:: Clearly, 'the darkness did it' is the new 'the wizard did it.'
I also still couldn't get on board with Slade (Deathstroke?) as a villain. In fact his utter lack of a menacing presence is so laughably highlighted to me in his scene with Lois, where all I could think was, 'god, how is Lois not kicking his ass?!' Also, where did the S shield pop up from again? Are we to assume Clark has sent him to the PZ? Take a moment out here, show, will ya!? Too many unnecessarily unanswered questions.
The storylines this season are so incredibly rushed and wierdly paced out, that as an interesting a concept as the VRA storyline is, it just feels like its being crammed in, an already otherwise crammed season. And yet, stangely, there are still these odd lulls in between, in terms of storytelling, that really have no business being there.
My other complaint with the episode is that Clark, while there, just didn't feel ::there::, y'know? I expected a much bigger confrontation with Slade, for one thing. And I don't know, sure, he got the big saves and all, but it all felt so perfunctory, for the lack pf a more expressive word. This was a Clark checking off all the things that needed to be said, yes, but there was a distinct lack of actual POV and conversation. There's been far too much of this season already and when you compare it to the writing for him in something like 'Ambush', the difference just becomes even more glaringly stark.
Finally, I thought this ep had some odd directorial choices. I still don't get that overly dramatic turn they were going for in the WT shutdown scene. And actually, even the acting, and the music is off - it's like it's supposed to be this big Moment!, but am I the only one not feeling it?
Bits and bobs:
I don't know how I felt about the Chlo-Lo scene. Or the nature of the Lana mention in it.
Oliver, Carter and Clark all conveniently showing up at the same place where they're clearly not supposed to be was very funny, and very cutely played by the actors.
Tess interrogation scene was the best - "you couldn't just stare at me in my office?" Heh.
Not that it wasn't a helluva cliffie. I mean, granted I'm unspoiled, but even so, I have no idea what the hell just happened there with them all collapsing there at the end. So, kudos for the suspense factor, because I'm definitely curious.
But I think part of the reason the ep didn't resonate with me probably as much as it should have was because I couldn't really connect with the funeral scene. I thought it was nicely shot and I liked the slo-mo and the masks next to each other, but as far as beautiful funeral scenes go, that SV has a history of doing, in fact, this one didn't really move me. And it's not because it's Carter, or that we've not really gotten a chance to know him as a character or anything like that - we knew Alia from last season far less, and Whitney' dad from S1 even less. But I think what struck me about those funerals, and why they struck a chord in me emotionally was because they each served as opportunities to speak some sort of volumes for our characters of that time - Whitney' dad's funeral is so much a moment of recognition, longing, and loss all in one breath for both Clana and Chloe. Alia' is an extraordinary moment for Clark, as we see through his eyes, him witnessing a piece of his Kryptonian heritage. And of course then we have the mother of all emotionally gut wrenching funerals - Jonathon', or equally significant, but in an entirely different way, the unspoken declaration of "it's on" between Clex at Lionel' funeral. These are all moments that speak volumes as they use the funeral premise to convey to us something or the other about the characters and their lives in that moment.BATS Carter' funeral OTOH, while superficially beautiful, never really got to the next, deeper level for me. It was appropriately sombre of course and I thought the actors were doing their best to bring out the emotion, but it's just that I wasn't feeling it.
That, or y'know, I have a cold, dead heart.
But I did enjoy Carter' presence in the ep otherwise. In fact it was probably my favorite ep of his. His and Oliver' scenes actually, all of them, were great and not only do the actors have great chemistry but the bond and banter of the characters is also palpable. I especially LOL'd at their "really?" / "I miss my typewriter" exchange.
And well, whaddya know it - another ep where Oliver didn't annoy me. I liked several of his lines in fact - "we can't even follow orders---even the ones we gave---", heh. I like Ollie as a team player, one that hasn't got his head his head so far up his ass so as not to see the bigger picture, one that doesn't conspire against Clark.
Of course, that doesn't mean he didn't once conspire against Clark, because yes, I still remember (everytime I think this I'm reminded of latxcvi and her scenario of us as little old ladies in retirement homes and still not over 'Doomsday', heh!) and so the big, 'Clark-asking-Ollie-to-be-best-man' moment sort of fell splat on the ground for me. Allies, close allies even, I can buy Clark and Oliver as, but this great bond of friendship? Like, I said, splat.
The engagement party scene was nice though, despite the sad little fact of it being held at the WT ofcourse, heh, but hey, I'll go with, considering the heroes were all being targeted and whatnot so they needed a safe haven. I loved seeing Tess and Emil there as well, and everyone being all smiley, and Clark', "hi" to Lois had me swooning, I kid you not. How easy am I - the man gets me with a "hi" alone, heh.
I also thought the proposal scene was cute, whatwith Lois' unintentional attempts at derailing it. I'll admit, the flying petals were a little too much for my tastes, but I can see it making sense for Clark, so I went with it.
Clois were in fact very reminiscent in several moments of their married comics counterparts - solid, stable, and understanding of one another.
It was a good ep for Lois, on the whole actually. She got some good lines, and really got a moment to shine in her scene with Cat, where she's trying to convince her not to turn her in. I have some issues with that scene, but Lois' stance was very well put across.
My problem with the scene was Cat' about turn on the heroes vs. vigilantes debate. I found it very wierd that her entire world view was changed in just one conversation, no matter how impassioned Lois' plea was. Even so, initially I was cutting the scene some slack because I figured, 'OK, so she's not entirely convinced, but she's been put in enough doubt by Lois so as not to turn her in at least.' That, still felt believable to me. But then to have her go on and start saying 'heroes' instead of 'vigilantes?' And again, only after one conversation with Lois? The scene lost me.
Even so, it was great having Cat back. I love KLP and what she brings to the role - she's just the right mix of annoying and formidable, and she's endearing, but not clawingly so. I loved her "are you pregnant?"
Speaking of the VRA, this ep certainly ramped up the storyline, continuing also, to tie the whole 'darkness' thing in to it. Which, makes sense given how quickly Metropolis seems to have metamorphosized into this uber!military state. And here begin my problems with the ep. I thought the scenes illustrating this change - the mob scene, the interrogations, increased military presence, etc, were all well and good, but there was no mention of exactly how much time had transpired between 'Patriot' and now. Because didn't all of this get implemented ridiculously fast? But then yes, the darkness, the darkness. ::sighs:: Clearly, 'the darkness did it' is the new 'the wizard did it.'
I also still couldn't get on board with Slade (Deathstroke?) as a villain. In fact his utter lack of a menacing presence is so laughably highlighted to me in his scene with Lois, where all I could think was, 'god, how is Lois not kicking his ass?!' Also, where did the S shield pop up from again? Are we to assume Clark has sent him to the PZ? Take a moment out here, show, will ya!? Too many unnecessarily unanswered questions.
The storylines this season are so incredibly rushed and wierdly paced out, that as an interesting a concept as the VRA storyline is, it just feels like its being crammed in, an already otherwise crammed season. And yet, stangely, there are still these odd lulls in between, in terms of storytelling, that really have no business being there.
My other complaint with the episode is that Clark, while there, just didn't feel ::there::, y'know? I expected a much bigger confrontation with Slade, for one thing. And I don't know, sure, he got the big saves and all, but it all felt so perfunctory, for the lack pf a more expressive word. This was a Clark checking off all the things that needed to be said, yes, but there was a distinct lack of actual POV and conversation. There's been far too much of this season already and when you compare it to the writing for him in something like 'Ambush', the difference just becomes even more glaringly stark.
Finally, I thought this ep had some odd directorial choices. I still don't get that overly dramatic turn they were going for in the WT shutdown scene. And actually, even the acting, and the music is off - it's like it's supposed to be this big Moment!, but am I the only one not feeling it?
Bits and bobs:
I don't know how I felt about the Chlo-Lo scene. Or the nature of the Lana mention in it.
Oliver, Carter and Clark all conveniently showing up at the same place where they're clearly not supposed to be was very funny, and very cutely played by the actors.
Tess interrogation scene was the best - "you couldn't just stare at me in my office?" Heh.