Best ep of the 2nd half so far and one of the best this season, in fact. There are several factors that went into making this a strong ep, but the most standout feature was the writing for Clark. Not only was this, along with 'Ambush', the best writing for Clark so far this season, but it was a good, solid ep for him, by any comparitive season scale. I loved how he was written here so much, I immediately rewatched his scenes once I was finished with the ep. This goes to show you not only how great Clark was here, but just how starved we've been for good characterization for him in S10.
Clark was very clearly Supes here, wasn't he. Everything except the costume, basically, because he was smart, pro-active, resourceful, caring, confident, self assured - everything that he can and ought to be more and more of at this stage in the game. On top of this, he got a lot of really great lines too, particularly in his scenes with Lois. What I really loved about this ep, in terms of Clark, was how it got the balance right between show and tell - where we had a scene of Bert telling us how great Clark is, we also got to actually see it, not only wrt capably he was written overall, but also in showing us glimpses of his saves, on a global scale, no less. I often say this - it's the little things, just little touches, but they can make such a world of difference to characterization. And this ep certainly got a lot of the little things right - including getting to see him in investigative reporter mode and his microvision. But above all, what made this a fantastic ep for Clark, was the fact that writer remembered to give him a clear, strong voice. Where too many eps have failed this season, is in their inability to get the balance right - they may show Clark offering a smart insight or two here and there, or doing a save here and there, but they go and detract from these very things by making him so passive, on the whole, and by failing to allow him a natural thought process and the articulation of those thoughts. Here, this ep got that balance just the way it ought to be. Hearing Clark speak about how important saving lives is to him, is actually backed up by showing us him in the action too. Hearing someone articulate his qualities is backed up by actually showing us some of those very qualities in action too. This is the kind of writing I so wish we'd seen more of this season. But I'll take what I can get, and if this is a sign of things to come, I can find myself still quite forgiving of earlier mistakes. Also, and I could be totally off on this, but this season, everytime there's been a strong script, characterwise, TW has shone. He was great in 'Ambush', relishing 'Luthor', and in superb touch here too. He was firing on all cylinders - be it the heroic side, the romantic, banter-y side, or indeed, my personal favorite - the comedic side. I particularly loved TW' line delivery of, "I'm sure I won't feel like one (hero) in the morning." Bravo, BQM, for writing such an awesome Clark.
And you know what was a great little bonus, for me? That BQM got the Clois so right in this one too. In fact, I'd say, these were amongst my favorite Clois scenes so far this season. There was no OOC saccharine, sugary sweetness, no future!Clois carrots dangling, no copouts, just Clois at the unique best. The humor in their scenes, the banter, the spark, the quick repartee - this is the stuff that makes SV!Clois so interesting to people like me, and I'm very glad we got to see it in this one. And again, the balance was great - these two were an incredibly strong, supportive, close unit in the ep, and yet that bond was not written by sacrificing either characters personality. They were still their own selves, they each got to have their own voice, their own stance, and yet make an impact on the other, and the relationship in general.
I thought it was a good ep for Lois. Her planning the wedding could've gone horribly wrong but I think it was played with exactly the right kind of tone here. Yes, she was preoccupied with the wedding stuff, but she also got a scene allowing us to see her keen eye as an investigative reporter (the one where she points out the multiple marks to Clark in the photos) that sets her apart from others. Yes, she was supportive to Clark, but it wasn't on sickeningly sweet cheerleader mode. Instead, she had very legitimate, valid concerns, which she conveyed to him in a very convincing manner. Like Clark, I thought she got some good lines too, but the standout, really, was her "whoosh" comment - so Lois. Great ep for ED too - she was wonderfully entertaining in all her scenes.
The disguise/mask storyline was brought back, with necessity really, at this point in the season, but I thought it was brought back organically, with precedent set up early on, rather than out of the blue and forced. And what was really great, was that the final push to action came from Clark himself. Well done, show.
The darkseid storyline was much better articulated in this ep than in previous attempts, and Dessad is a strong character to help convey that. The actor playing him has great presence, which also helps. Still, unfortunately, I found the Chlollie scenes to be the weakest link in the ep. I get the tone they were trying to go for, but t just failed to resonate with me. Despite my lack of enjoyment of their scenes though, I can't rule them out as unnecessary because of their involvement with the Desaad/Darkseid storyline. Not to mention, the continuation of elements like the fallout of Oliver having come out as GA, still reverberating. Also, there were a couple of scenes that I did actually appreciate - I thought the scene outside the club with Chloe still talking while Oliver' already made his way up the building was cute. And the scene with Chloe flashing to fake!Clark, fake!Oliver abd fake!Lois, I felt was actually quite powerfully presented, and after a long time, I sensed a real, genuinely animated performance from AM.
All in all, very entertaining ep with strong characterization, capped off with a nice twist there at the end too.
Oh, and Bert, was it? Can come back and fanboy Clark anytime he wants to, heh.