Smallville: Collateral (10x12) & Beacon (10x13)
10x12
Short review:
Chloe - STFU.
Lois - STFU.
Clark - Why so stupid??!
Not-so-short review:
This ep was bad on so many levels, I don't know where to begin. But I do know that I felt like slapping this ep, straight up. Not only was the dialogue atrocious, rivaling that of 'Patriot' earlier this season, but the acting was awkward, the plot nonsensical, and characterization an absolute mess.
Clark: Though I didn't mind him initially rejecting/mistrusting Chloe on the rooftop, it all quickly went downhill from here onwards. It's as if this ep was designed to make Clark look like a fool, plain and simple. Who wrote this shit, seriously, and what have they written before?? Because the stupid just kept on coming. The 2nd Clois scene made no sense - since when does Clark have a problem with Chloe not telling him why she left? This completely negates his stance on the matter in 'Shield', just this season, for fucks sake. But see, I know why it was put in - to basically make Clark look like like a tool for having trust issues with Chloe. It completely sweeps under the rug all the legit reasons Clark does have to be wary of her post S8, and instead whitewashes Chloe - so, essentially TPTB's mindset, really, if you think about it. But this was expected, as far as I'm concerned, so what really stung was the generally 'Duh' writing for Clark this ep - it's Lois who recognizes not!Chloe, not him, even after seeing multiple Chloe', he's still carrying a dazed and confused look on his face rather than hauling his ass off the damn roof. Did I mention that I want to punch this ep?
Lois: I'm all for the political stance SV has taken on this season, but I'm sorry, Lois came off judgmental and bigoted in her scene with Dinah - and I say this as a godamned liberal myself. And her entire spiel to Clark about Chloe, and all I could think was does she have any clue what Chlark have been like now, S8 onwards? If she does, then I'm completely disgusted, because let's spread the family loyalty around a little, shall we? "Maybe because she didn't confide in you for the first time" - and if she doesn't know what all has transpired, for whatever reason, then she ought to really stay shut on the matter. There's pep talk, and getting Clark to believe in the world being a VR, but the blind devotion to Chloe was beyond aggravating.
Chloe: Of course, we get badass!savior Chloe. ::sighs:: And to make matters worse, we get lines like "somewhere along the line, Clark stopped having trust in me" that just had me absolutely incredulous at the writers audacity to actually have her say that with a straight face. But what really upset me about Chloe' return - because really, the savior and whitewashing was all expected, was how her reappearance has negatively impacted the SS storyline, for me. Them working for Chloe makes no sense to me at all, and it takes away what I felt was their really interesting USP in earlier eps - their conviction of belief.
The 'ships: There's something so right about Clark flying with Lois in his arms, and is something I very much want to see for our version of the couple too, but this? Was not only a copout, because copouts I can sometimes enjoy regardless ('Crimson'), but worse - it made no sense whatsoever. It felt ridiculously tacked on. As for Chlollie, look, I don't get it. And that's fine, but I just wish the writers would stop shoving the supposed epicness of it down my throat.
10x13
Infinitely better than the previous ep. But on its own merits too, a very solid ep. The elements that worked were strong and cohesive, and even the writing for the characters was so much better from the previous ep.
It was great to see Martha back - in her element, as not only the senator fighting for a cause but also as the fiercely protective mother. I loved her line, "life only asks of you what you can handle" - I remember her saying this earlier during the shows run too. I really loved the Clark/Martha scenes in fact - there's genuine warmth there, which I love seeing. I'm not sure how I felt about her scene with Chloe though - it felt a bit forced to me, though I'm pretty certain I was supposed to feel the warm fuzzies instead. As for the Lois/Martha scene, I liked it just fine until we got the "you inspire him" line. Clois are great for each other is something we can very clearly see, do we really need it spelled out every single ep? It takes away from their relationship, I feel.
But speaking of Lois, I really liked how she was written in this ep - driven, focused, and very much in reporter mode, while still doing her bit to help Clark. This is the balance the writers need to find with her more often this season. This is the Lois I love watching. And her liberal stance was far better projected here I felt, with lines like, "then you really have no business calling yourself 'fair and balanced', do you?"
I thought even Chloe was better written this ep, if by virtue of that one Chlo-Lo scene alone. I'm actually surprised by how much I liked this scene - it played to both characters strengths, and the easy, natural chemistry was very reminiscent of the kind of vibe these two shared back in S4 and 5.
Thankfully, there was a reprieve here from the mopey, lovelorn Ollie from the previous ep. He was out there, proactive, wanting to help - a good look on him.
Lionel was in fine form, and got some deliciously funny lines like, "reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated" and "I killed them in that world too, and I had very good reasons", and my favorite, "I liked to buy you presents" - all delivered superbly by JG. That there might be a power struggle between him and Tess, is potentially very interesting to me, and moreover, I felt his return here was used well, by spreading out his interaction with several characters, rather than just limiting it to one, or two. It ups the stakes, this way, and makes his integration in this world feel more real, if you will. I also appreciated the Luthor/clones storyline here because it not only took care to distinguish between Lex and the clone, by referring to the latter as Alexander, but that final scene, with Tess, and the syringe and the ambiguity, nicely set up things to come and raised expectations.
Similarly, I also felt the VRA storyline was done justice to as well - a victory is nice every once in a while, and I liked that scene of all them joyous after the verdict. The pro-her rally, the online testaments - it all provided an almost tangible energy to this storyline that had been mostly missing up until now. The power of the public is anyways such a relevant theme nowadays, that I think they managed to really strike the right note here.
The writing for Clark may still not exactly be what I'd like - for instance, I sort of really disliked how constantly uncertain they had Clark remain on the vote, right up until the end, to the point of defeatism almost. But nevertheless, there were several things I still appreciated about his characterization in this one. I loved that we got to hear him say how he's out there, every day, saving people (only wish we'd see more of it, too, but that's another matter), and I loved that his moral stance, something that should be unwavering, that was so woefully neglected in the last ep, was brought back front and center with his comeback on the Slade issue, and by going in and saving Lionel from the fire. I also appreciated the writers remembering Clark' natural instincts, by having him figure out what Tess might be up to. I liked seeing him out there, deducing the shooters identity - can I just say, I did not miss the dazed and confuzzled look at.all. What I really liked was him coming to the realization about needing to adopt a disguise - this is the final stretch of the show now, and I say it's about time.
Bits and bobs:
- I liked the mentions of Ray Sachs and Bruno Manheim - reminds us of their presence, while at the same time hinting us of the kind of Metropolis our Supes will inherit.
- Chlollie are doing it at the WT--- this gives the workplace romance a whole new angle, I suppose.
- I get that Tess was with Alexander, but where was Oliver during that final WT scene?
- Alexander sort of broke my heart with, "what if I forget you?"
Short review:
Chloe - STFU.
Lois - STFU.
Clark - Why so stupid??!
Not-so-short review:
This ep was bad on so many levels, I don't know where to begin. But I do know that I felt like slapping this ep, straight up. Not only was the dialogue atrocious, rivaling that of 'Patriot' earlier this season, but the acting was awkward, the plot nonsensical, and characterization an absolute mess.
Clark: Though I didn't mind him initially rejecting/mistrusting Chloe on the rooftop, it all quickly went downhill from here onwards. It's as if this ep was designed to make Clark look like a fool, plain and simple. Who wrote this shit, seriously, and what have they written before?? Because the stupid just kept on coming. The 2nd Clois scene made no sense - since when does Clark have a problem with Chloe not telling him why she left? This completely negates his stance on the matter in 'Shield', just this season, for fucks sake. But see, I know why it was put in - to basically make Clark look like like a tool for having trust issues with Chloe. It completely sweeps under the rug all the legit reasons Clark does have to be wary of her post S8, and instead whitewashes Chloe - so, essentially TPTB's mindset, really, if you think about it. But this was expected, as far as I'm concerned, so what really stung was the generally 'Duh' writing for Clark this ep - it's Lois who recognizes not!Chloe, not him, even after seeing multiple Chloe', he's still carrying a dazed and confused look on his face rather than hauling his ass off the damn roof. Did I mention that I want to punch this ep?
Lois: I'm all for the political stance SV has taken on this season, but I'm sorry, Lois came off judgmental and bigoted in her scene with Dinah - and I say this as a godamned liberal myself. And her entire spiel to Clark about Chloe, and all I could think was does she have any clue what Chlark have been like now, S8 onwards? If she does, then I'm completely disgusted, because let's spread the family loyalty around a little, shall we? "Maybe because she didn't confide in you for the first time" - and if she doesn't know what all has transpired, for whatever reason, then she ought to really stay shut on the matter. There's pep talk, and getting Clark to believe in the world being a VR, but the blind devotion to Chloe was beyond aggravating.
Chloe: Of course, we get badass!savior Chloe. ::sighs:: And to make matters worse, we get lines like "somewhere along the line, Clark stopped having trust in me" that just had me absolutely incredulous at the writers audacity to actually have her say that with a straight face. But what really upset me about Chloe' return - because really, the savior and whitewashing was all expected, was how her reappearance has negatively impacted the SS storyline, for me. Them working for Chloe makes no sense to me at all, and it takes away what I felt was their really interesting USP in earlier eps - their conviction of belief.
The 'ships: There's something so right about Clark flying with Lois in his arms, and is something I very much want to see for our version of the couple too, but this? Was not only a copout, because copouts I can sometimes enjoy regardless ('Crimson'), but worse - it made no sense whatsoever. It felt ridiculously tacked on. As for Chlollie, look, I don't get it. And that's fine, but I just wish the writers would stop shoving the supposed epicness of it down my throat.
10x13
Infinitely better than the previous ep. But on its own merits too, a very solid ep. The elements that worked were strong and cohesive, and even the writing for the characters was so much better from the previous ep.
It was great to see Martha back - in her element, as not only the senator fighting for a cause but also as the fiercely protective mother. I loved her line, "life only asks of you what you can handle" - I remember her saying this earlier during the shows run too. I really loved the Clark/Martha scenes in fact - there's genuine warmth there, which I love seeing. I'm not sure how I felt about her scene with Chloe though - it felt a bit forced to me, though I'm pretty certain I was supposed to feel the warm fuzzies instead. As for the Lois/Martha scene, I liked it just fine until we got the "you inspire him" line. Clois are great for each other is something we can very clearly see, do we really need it spelled out every single ep? It takes away from their relationship, I feel.
But speaking of Lois, I really liked how she was written in this ep - driven, focused, and very much in reporter mode, while still doing her bit to help Clark. This is the balance the writers need to find with her more often this season. This is the Lois I love watching. And her liberal stance was far better projected here I felt, with lines like, "then you really have no business calling yourself 'fair and balanced', do you?"
I thought even Chloe was better written this ep, if by virtue of that one Chlo-Lo scene alone. I'm actually surprised by how much I liked this scene - it played to both characters strengths, and the easy, natural chemistry was very reminiscent of the kind of vibe these two shared back in S4 and 5.
Thankfully, there was a reprieve here from the mopey, lovelorn Ollie from the previous ep. He was out there, proactive, wanting to help - a good look on him.
Lionel was in fine form, and got some deliciously funny lines like, "reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated" and "I killed them in that world too, and I had very good reasons", and my favorite, "I liked to buy you presents" - all delivered superbly by JG. That there might be a power struggle between him and Tess, is potentially very interesting to me, and moreover, I felt his return here was used well, by spreading out his interaction with several characters, rather than just limiting it to one, or two. It ups the stakes, this way, and makes his integration in this world feel more real, if you will. I also appreciated the Luthor/clones storyline here because it not only took care to distinguish between Lex and the clone, by referring to the latter as Alexander, but that final scene, with Tess, and the syringe and the ambiguity, nicely set up things to come and raised expectations.
Similarly, I also felt the VRA storyline was done justice to as well - a victory is nice every once in a while, and I liked that scene of all them joyous after the verdict. The pro-her rally, the online testaments - it all provided an almost tangible energy to this storyline that had been mostly missing up until now. The power of the public is anyways such a relevant theme nowadays, that I think they managed to really strike the right note here.
The writing for Clark may still not exactly be what I'd like - for instance, I sort of really disliked how constantly uncertain they had Clark remain on the vote, right up until the end, to the point of defeatism almost. But nevertheless, there were several things I still appreciated about his characterization in this one. I loved that we got to hear him say how he's out there, every day, saving people (only wish we'd see more of it, too, but that's another matter), and I loved that his moral stance, something that should be unwavering, that was so woefully neglected in the last ep, was brought back front and center with his comeback on the Slade issue, and by going in and saving Lionel from the fire. I also appreciated the writers remembering Clark' natural instincts, by having him figure out what Tess might be up to. I liked seeing him out there, deducing the shooters identity - can I just say, I did not miss the dazed and confuzzled look at.all. What I really liked was him coming to the realization about needing to adopt a disguise - this is the final stretch of the show now, and I say it's about time.
Bits and bobs:
- I liked the mentions of Ray Sachs and Bruno Manheim - reminds us of their presence, while at the same time hinting us of the kind of Metropolis our Supes will inherit.
- Chlollie are doing it at the WT--- this gives the workplace romance a whole new angle, I suppose.
- I get that Tess was with Alexander, but where was Oliver during that final WT scene?
- Alexander sort of broke my heart with, "what if I forget you?"