Dominion Screentime Minutes,and late thoughts

[jeannev]

  Wow, I never thought I would get this done.  Between a crazy busy weekend, major download issues, and general malaise about the show itself, it felt like a very long journey to this review.

I also think I was having a hard time thinking of what I wanted to say.  Because while this episode had some very entertaining moments in it, and some very

Comments

[awehla]

Lois remembers her time in the Phantom Zone?

Lois didn't get a mindwipe that time - she was convinced it was a drug trip of some kind probably caused by those pesky meteor rocks again.

As if Lois and Clark would just hug after 3 weeks apart, OK it's been a few hours for Clark but Lois would be gagging for it after 3 weeks and we don't even get a kiss.

I agree with most of what you say. I can enjoy the episodes on one level as fangirl entertainment but otherwise I can't help picking holes and even thought why doesn't Clark wear his glasses all the time and fly yet like the "real" Clark Kent? Obviously that Freudian slip reveals a lot about how I view Smallville's take on the character.

Lisa
x

[jeannev]

Ah, OK. Thanks for reminding me of the Lois/P-Zone stuff. I sort of had the impression is was all fuzzy to her.

All I know if that if my fiancee was gone for 3 weeks, and I wasn't sure if I'd ever see him again, I would be hugging AND kissing him.

On the purely shallow, there was a lot of enjoy about this episode, because the P-Zone stuff was fun, and The Gay!, and gorgeous men fighting, and Callum Blue chewing the scenery. Its all fun! But then you think that this is the 3 episodes away from the end of the show forever, and its sort of mind boggling that this is what they went for.

[awehla]

It is mind boggling, my moneys on a rushed, cram it all in finale!

Lisa
x

[christina_kat]

WORD!WOMAN WORD!

I agree with every single thing you just said. I thing that having so many villains for just one season makes the plot confusing and the whole thing is just sloppy.

where they have a heartfelt conversation about something, and ED gets all teary eyed (and Tom frequently looks vaguely bored), and they look deep into each others eyes, and they declare everloving devotion to each other, and there's some hugging, and....ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!!

My.God! This is soooo true. I don't like Clark/Lois any more. I believe that Lois's character has changed a LOT! I miss how Lois was in season 4. She is more Lanalike now. She is also a softy this season and I'm tired of all the talk about their wedding. I also hate weddings but that's not the point I'm trying to make

[jeannev]

It seems to me that this season tried to do so many things, that it ultimately ended up doing nothing particularly well.

I always thought that one of the appealing qualities about Lois was that she wasn't perfect, and that she could be very abrasive, and abrupt, and clash with Clark on things. And the eps this season that remember this are among her best. But it feels to me that they were terrified of introducing any potential realistic and sustained conflict there. And thats kind of boring.

Oliver is such a problematic character to me, and I can see as we enter the home stretch, they continue to make a lot of the same mistakes with him. They could've made him being marked by Darkseid a compelling storyline, if we had seen this struggle within him play out over a number of eps, and if we got some sense of that darkness creeping in, and if it was directly effecting Clark, and his interaction with Clark. But none of that happened, so who freaking cares?

[costas22]

A review like this is worth the wait if it's going to encapsulate how I felt about some of the letdowns of this episode.:) Good job on it and thanks for the screentimes. I've never made this distinction before, but I enjoyed the guys' scenes a lot more than the girls' in this episode. Clark, Oliver and Zod at the PZ with a 300 vibe was something that couldn't fail imo. Tom and Callum's performances were solid and kudos to Justin for balancing his two roles very well. Erica was ok considering what they gave her. Didn't like Cassidy's acting. Can't remember another time where CF went through almost an entire episode with one motion. That of fear. Maybe it's just me, but she looked off, especially in the scene with Lois

[jeannev]

I didn't like Cassidy or Erica in the Tess/Lois scenes. I thought both of them were off their game. But Cassidy in other scenes felt fine to me.

Its so hard for me to form an opinion about the SV writers really, except to say that I think SV has an extraordinarily mediocre writing staff, and even worse showrunners. And its ultimately Souders/Peterson I blame for the quality in the season, and the scripts, because they are in charge. So, they set the pace.

Thanks for the clarification about the gate. But it would seem to me that the gate being open at all should be a threat, but there was really no explanation why it wasn't. Which is lame.

And you're right, there was no point for the 3 weeks thing except to showcase how loyal and steadfast Lois was. Thats pretty much it. But, did any of us doubt those qualities in her? How could we when the show hammers this home every single episode

[costas22]

Not a real shock, but the PZ plot did have its plotholes. If Zod could use Clark's blood to open the gate (and I am not going to start wondering if that's possible), why would he prefer to stay at the PZ? Or how do we know that other phantoms didn't escape when Slade was sent back to Erath? Lol, is Clark the only one that can't contain phantoms at the PZ when he opens the portal?

You are right. We didn't need another illustration of Lois' loyalty. Plus, I think the message of the episode should have been what Tess told her. That she has to accept the sacrifices that come with being in love with a hero. Not that Clark should take her with him next time rather than leave her behind worrying.

[tjw_jaypat]

I missed the last round due to the Easter break, so let me rush to thank you for your work now

[jeannev]

You are very welcome :)

Its hard to come up with things to say because its just so damned disappointing. Its just sad now.

Truthfully, I expected them to portray Clark as even more inept when it came to hand-to-hand fighting, so I was pleasantly surprised that he showed him as capable at all. Small mercies.

The fighting was violent, but that seems to be all the rage nowadays when it comes to fight scenes, especially with this slo-mo stuff. And its pretty clear that SV's stunt team has a pretty tried and true style, so that similarities between scenes is very obvious.

Here's the bottom line...part of Clark turning into Superman is him being out and about and saving people. And that part of his story is just completely off screen. And I think its necessary to show for the transition to Superman. And much like Clark the journalist, they don't care. Instead we get powerless Clark in the P-Zone, and Oliver's skull tattoo.

[ext_374301]

"Oh, and yeah, he looked magnificent." Oh don't pretend that was an after thought.

The ep was alright to me. All actors were good...minus one.
I did think Clark's stance was odd, especially him trying to redeem Clark Luthor.

Really don't like the saint hood of Lois either...and TW does look really bored. Shame. Hope he'll put that to bed for the finale.

I didn't get the whole three week thing..and it's only two days from the wedding? I guess next ep's events all take place in 1 day.

I think they're just saving all the cool stuff for the finale.

[jeannev]

Well, the Tom Pretty is always first and foremost in my mind. Don't think I could've made it through 10 seasons without it.

If they're saving all the "cool stuff" for the finale, it means the finale is going to be crammed full and rushed, which means its going to blow. Yeah, pretty much what I expect.