Smallville Review Blog

“Smallville” has never been one of the top-tier shows on the television screen. While it certainly surprised a lot of people in the very beginning with its popularity, it has always struggled with consistency and quality. And being a show long in the tooth on a struggling network, it has been forced to do more with less, season after season.

So it’s great to see the writers and the cast rise to the occasion. There were many sub-par seasons over the years, but it seems like the writing staff took it personally when a number of fans said that the loss of Lex and Lana would drag the series into the gutter. It’s certainly had it’s challenges, but it has been better than I could have hoped.

That said, there are fundamental problems with “Smallville” that I doubt will ever go away. This is especially true given the news that the series will end with the upcoming tenth season. Why fix what has been left broken for nine years? At this point, the remaining fans just want to see one last thrilling season arc with definitive touchstones to the Superman mythos.

One of the biggest problems has been the lack of consistent exposition and clarity. This is true for both the plot and the characters. For example, this season, the character of Tess Mercer was all over the map in terms of her motivations. From week to week, it was practically impossible to know what she was going to do or why. Some would call that “maintaining a sense of mystery”, but it’s really just sloppy writing.

It’s also nothing new. Longtime fans remember when Lex’s personal motivations changed each and every episode. The constant back and forth in the relationship between Clark and Lois is nothing compared to the whiplash relationship issues that drove Clark/Lana into the ground. It’s no surprise that this season saw several groups of people with shadowy goals and motivations warring against each other for barely-mentioned reasons.

The inability of the characters to have a simple, straightforward conversation was at times a source of intense frustration. Most of the conflict between Clark and Zod, for instance, could have been resolved in about ten minutes, if they would have actually talked to each other instead of tossing ominous veiled threats at each other. Never mind the Checkmate organization, which chose to attack people to coerce their cooperation over the difficulties of a proper introduction and request for help!

Whether it was due to budgetary issues or not, the writers contributed to a needless stream of confusion and half-explained plot threads. The status of the Kandorians was constantly in flux, and a great deal happened off-screen. This was never more apparent than in the first act of “Sacrifice”, when I was so confused that I initially suspected I had missed an episode.

The confusion surrounding the Kandorians, however, was nothing compared to the lack of clarity regarding Checkmate. I’ve said many times that the writers often fail when they assume that the audience is intimately familiar with the DC comics canon, and they simply exclude the necessary exposition to establish the characters and organizations within the “Smallville” universe. Checkmate was never adequately explained, and it seemed like they were demolished by Zod just when the writers were finally getting around to shedding some light on the situation.

This season has also seen more and more of the shortcut resolutions to episodes that has been a sore spot for quite some time. This is the scenario where an episode slowly but surely builds to a confrontation, and then the resulting fight lasts about a minute, followed by ten minutes worth of aftermath and denouement. It was precisely what hurt “Doomsday” so much, and it nearly derailed “Absolute Justice” as well. Lingering on consequences isn’t the problem, so much as promising what can’t be delivered. That said, I’m not sure there’s a solution to that problem.

I can’t complain about every example of cutting corners to preserve the budget. It makes sense for Clark to be getting more and more involved with the Justice League, but it’s impossible to have them come and go. Using Chloe as Watchtower and Oliver as a local member with close ties to Clark is the best of both worlds. How they will continue with this tactic in the final season, with Allison Mack only being on the show part-time, is an interesting question.

Another good aspect was the relationship between Clark and Lois. Though the writers did play a few all-too-familiar games, the end of the season was promising. If the writers stick to their guns and don’t reverse Lois’ knowledge that Clark is the Blur, it will be immeasurably better than the usual quick fixes. In many respects, this season of “Smallville” actually felt more like a new envisioning of the classic Superman status quo.

Overall, the Kandorian arc came to a rousing conclusion, even if it felt like the interaction between Clark and Zod could have been more nuanced. The writers seemed to be of two minds with Major Zod. On the one hand, they consistently emphasized that Major Zod was not the diabolical mastermind he would eventually become. At the same time, the default characterization of Zod was violent and scheming. Had it been used to explore Zod’s potential for good and evil in a more balance sense, the season arc might have carried more weight.

As it is, the ninth season of “Smallville” earned a Critical Myth rating of 6.9, which is effectively the same as the rating for the eighth season (7.0). While this is a clear demonstration of the consistency of the series in recent years, it is also a testimony to the persistence of the fundamental flaws that continue to be an unfortunate part of the show’s DNA.

Written by Al Septien and Turi Meyer
Directed by Greg Beeman

One of the biggest problems with “Smallville” over the years has been the writers’ inability to produce a solid season finale. Too often, the writers fail to map out a solid season arc, and the finale reflects the last-minute retroactive modifications to the story required to make it come to a semi-logical conclusion.

Looking back on just the past few seasons, one can point to the final confrontation between Lex and Clark and the final battle with Doomsday as examples of how the writers fail to stick the landing. So going into this season’s finale, I was prepared for another disappointment. After all, the second half of the season was an exercise in frustration, from the spotty treatment of the Checkmate organization to the choppy development of the Kandorians. (In fact, the Kandorian storyline never seemed to come together as cohesively as it could have.)

This season, the writers finally got it right. Not only did this bring the Kandorian arc to a satisfying finish, but it managed to link together with the Clark/Lois relationship arc in a way that has game-changing potential, if the producers are willing to commit. Add to that an opening teaser that just about caused loyal fans to pass out with joy, and it was one of the best finales the show has ever had.

One thing I liked about the episode was how consistently the writers used Zod’s main weakness against him: his ego. Zod always assumed that he was more clever than everyone else in the room, and that was all about convincing everyone that he was. First with Lois, and then the Kandorians, Zod’s notion of his own superiority gets the better of him.

We all know that “Smallville” doesn’t have the kind of budget to pull off a true Clark/Zod throwdown. More and more often, the writers are forced to keep an episode’s resolution short, leaving the audience with a bittersweet taste of what might have been. The solution in this finale is as obvious as it is effective: bring the action to a more human level and let the bloodshed begin.

For instance, there was the confrontation between Tess and Zod. Granted, Tess’ motivations have been all over the map this season, but they managed to bring her character back to where she was at the end of the eighth season: firmly in Clark’s corner. Those kryptonite knuckles were inspired, but the consequences of her defiance drove home Zod’s single-minded desire for power. It’s a solid follow-up to the events of “Sacrifice”.

I also enjoyed the use of Watchtower. It was always supposed to be the central hub for the Justice League, and this episode did a great job of demonstrating how that could be used effectively as a plot point. The story would have suffered from bringing all those characters together in person. Having them conference in for a little exposition and to follow up on Doctor Fate’s prophecy regarding Clark’s leadership was a brilliant use of the “less is more” philosophy.)

It’s wonderful that Zod is completely undone by the results of his own bid for power. He managed to get the Kandorians to follow him far enough to pronounce his impending rise to the world, but lost control long enough to forget that his people would have super-hearing. It’s the pride that goes before a fall, and it would be interesting to learn what happens on whatever planet the Kandorians end up inhabiting.

But that’s merely a side note, since the battle between Clark and Zod was brutal, yet staged to give a reason for Clark’s continued presence on Earth. He’ll have to recover from his stab wounds, of course, but that’s a given. What’s great is that the writers actually planted the seeds for that outcome in previous episodes, so when that plot device emerged, it didn’t feel like a cheat.

The writers are going to have to be very careful to apply the same level of consideration to the Clark/Lois relationship, Tess’ apparent impending resurrection, and Oliver’s encounter with the non-Kandorian threat. All of these plot points were clearly designed to set up the arc for the tenth season, and so far, I’m definitely intrigued.

Before getting into that, the writers have to ensure that they don’t drop the ball on the consequences of the Kandorian incursion. Zod’s mark is everywhere now, and it would be almost impossible to believe that humanity is still in the dark regarding the presence of alien threats in the world. (It’s already hard to believe that the world is still largely ignorant.)

In other words, as this was the reason for Checkmate’s existence, the organization (or a new incarnation under the control of the Red Queen) should have a part in the next arc. And given the various apparent signs of the coming of Apokolips, and the initial hint given to that effect in “Absolute Justice”, it should all be tied together.

This clearly ties into the experience that Oliver had while trying to provide Watchtower with a satellite uplink. Oliver made it clear that he was not being attacked by Kandorians. Since there was no clue that Zod was working with anyone else to achieve his goals, this points to some sort of prelude to the anticipated Apokolips arc. (As I have no experience with Apokolips as a character or the stories surrounding him, I can’t guess what it is Oliver faced.)

I also have to wonder if longtime DC fans were supposed to recognize the character that paid Tess a little visit following her apparent demise. (Seriously, how often is Tess going to die? The actress is going to develop a complex!) Whoever she was supposed to be, the visual reference to one of the Fates was hardly subtle. That said, I would love for Tess to come back with a much more focused direction for her character.

The big test, of course, is going to be the treatment of Clark/Lois and Lois’ realization that Clark is the Blur. The standard treatment would be a quick backtrack in the season premiere, removing the knowledge from Lois’ mind and resetting the status quo. But there did seem to be enough wiggle room to give hope that the writers will completely ignore the usual trappings of continuity and let Lois retain her knowledge. It may not be the classical treatment, but it would fit the “Smallville” continuity far better.

Which brings me to the teaser itself. If nothing else, it is a hedged bet. I’m sure the producers have no expectation that “Smallville” will survive until 2013, and even if they do, they can always say that Clark was simply having a dream, should the need arise. But how much better to believe that the writers have actually given the audience a glimpse of where the story could be going?

After all, 2013 is not that far away, and in the meantime, Lois is apparently married, she seems to know about Clark’s true identity, Superman is front and center, and Lex Luthor is fulfilling the prophecy that he will run for president. While there’s no chance of Michael Rosenbaum coming back to play Lex, they could easily keep that plot thread in the background.

But more to the point, Clark now has his iconic costume in his hands, Lois knows about his abilities, and that could be used as a huge step towards the much-desired evolution of Clark into his destined role. In the past, there were limitations on “Smallville”, based on the film franchise. With the film franchise currently in limbo, perhaps the producers will finally have their hands untied.

Let’s face it: the chances are remote. But if not, why bother with giving a date for the teaser? Do the producers know that the tenth season will be the last, and are they simply setting up some plot points that will come to fruition in the series finale? It’s hard to say, since the series has survived longer than anticipated. But one thing is clear: the producers have given the remaining fans a number of good reasons to come back in the fall.

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 3/4

Final Rating: 9/10

(Season 9 Final Average: 6.9)

Written by Jordan Hawley and Anne Cofell Saunders
Directed by Glen Winter

I mentioned at the end of the review for the previous episode that I thought the CW promotional department may have completely spoiled the big twist in this installment. And of course, that’s exactly what they did. And that’s too bad, because the twist is actually a promising development. Unfortunately, this is an instance where foreknowledge undermined the episode on a fundamental level.

It’s now revealed that Martha Kent is the Red Queen. It’s also revealed that the Red Queen is actually not a part of Checkmate, but rather, the head of a rival effort to prevent Checkmate from achieving its goals. This is actually a nice touch, even if it will rankle the sensibilities of those devoted to the DC comics continuity. It gives meaning to Martha’s quick sendoff to Washington earlier in the series.

For quite a few seasons, it’s been known that government task forces existed to study the potential threats of alien incursion, and that many of those efforts were based on the Kryptonian presence. Lex tapped into those resources during his poorly-plotted stint as a man bent on preventing an alien invasion, and Checkmate was essentially an evolution of those elements into an international package.

With Clark barely able to wrap his brain around global concerns in the past several years, it makes sense that his allies would work to fill that void on his behalf. Chloe’s efforts have been a part of the series’ DNA for a little while, but the presence of the Red Queen helps to explain why Clark was rarely on the Most Wanted list. The notion that the Red Queen was so secret that even Chloe didn’t know about her until recently conveniently explains why this layer of protection was never mentioned in the past.

Of course, this presents a few logic problems. While one might accept the idea that a Senator might have the means and resources to prepare and fund such an organization, Martha Kent never demonstrated the kind of ruthlessness that such a black ops project would require. Sure, a mother will kill to protect her child, but this is very different. The writers try to insert enough suggestion in this episode to make it clear that Martha has the intelligence and cleverness to pull it all off, but it just seems way beyond her skill set.

After all, the red herring in this episode was Tess Mercer, whose background was built over two seasons. Her skills, training, and cunning are an essential part of her character. Even then, it was obvious that Tess wasn’t the Red Queen, because her interactions with Checkmate made it very clear that the covert organization had her outmatched. The idea that Martha Kent would be capable of something Tess Mercer couldn’t reasonably do is a bit ludicrous.

Part of the problem is the lack of definition for Checkmate. The organization was never given a proper introduction, so the various inter-relationships were never clear. I’m still not sure I understand the full extent of their goals and reach, and they still feel like a tacked-on addition to the season. It’s very much like Veritas in the seventh season: a great idea that never seemed to get the attention and time it deserved.

Still, I like the idea of making such a bold choice for the Red Queen, which is why it was so mind-boggling that the network would spoil it so casually. It took the wind out of the sails of Tess’ subplot, since it was clearly an illusion, and it undermined the whole point of the distracting relationship between Martha and Perry White.

For that matter, the Perry/Lois subplot seemed to be used as a means of delivering necessary exposition on the Book of Rao and the Red Queen, because these plot devices were never properly introduced or explained in previous episodes. Perry had enough pull to get Clark and Lois their jobs back, but otherwise, his presence seemed unnecessary, except as a red herring for Martha’s presence in the story.

A good chunk of the story was devoted to Lois’ decision that she can’t handle her relationship with Clark while trying to reconcile her desire to make a difference in the world, based on her work with the Blur. It’s a moment that builds on previously established tensions, and it also points to the possibility that Clark will reveal the truth to Lois in the season finale.

The problem there is that the writers have played this game so many times during the Clark/Lana era that it just doesn’t work. Either Clark will chicken out at the last minute, or Lois will learn the truth, only to have it wiped from her memory by the end of the episode (or early in the tenth season). I’ve liked the Clark/Lois interplay, especially when Lois maintains her strong personality and self-interest (a quality Lana increasingly lacked), so this trite retread promises to be disappointing.

In essence, the entire episode unraveled once the shocking twist was prematurely revealed. But even taking that into account, and trying to look at it with an objective eye, there were storytelling problems. The “red herring” just wasn’t convincing, because it flew in the face of established information. Martha’s purpose for being in Smallville with Perry touched on nostalgic moments, but otherwise seemed unnecessary. And the Clark/Lois breakup seems headed in an all-too-familiar direction.

Writing: 1/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 1/4

Final Rating: 6/10

Written by Bryan Miller, Justin Hartley, and Walter Wong
Directed by Kevin Fair

Just when I was convinced that the writers were going to deliver another late-season collapse, they manage to produce one of the darkest hours in the entire series’ run. There are moments in this episode that I never thought I would see on “Smallville”, and while I’m sure a number of fans will be turned off by some events, I thought this was essential to raising the stakes.

A number of minor plot elements come together in brutal fashion in this episode, strongly suggesting that the writers were intentionally threading the pieces throughout the season. While this works beautifully and displays a level of forethought that has been missing from previous seasons, it doesn’t mitigate the weaknesses of those earlier episodes. For example, as substantial as Zod’s war against Checkmate might be, Checkmate as an organization was never well enough defined.

Similarly, while the schism within the Kandorian camp was referenced here and there, we never got to see it evolve on-screen. Just as Tess’ various machinations were all discussed in passing, making them nearly impossible to track, the politics of the Kandorians were elusive at best and incomprehensible at worst. This was likely a problem of budget and time, but Faora’s tragic end could have been so much more potent.

For me, at least, it took a while to realize how this was quickly and methodically changing the game and setting up the inevitable Clark/Zod battle royale. Checkmate’s assault on Watchtower made me wonder if I had missed an episode. Now it’s obvious why the writers wanted to drive a wedge between Clark and Lois; realistically, Lois had to be out of the way for all of this to unfold as it did. Otherwise, given her character traits, she would have been knee deep in the bloodletting.

The loss of Watchtower is a disturbing sign for Chloe Sullivan. Her role as the keeper of the nascent Justice League’s central hub was the perfect evolution for the character, especially after the events of “Doomsday”. Now, unless she is able to get the systems back up and running in record time, Chloe is expendable. (Why Chloe wouldn’t have remote backup data storage is a nagging question.) The writers have constantly flirted with her potential demise in past seasons, and this feels like yet another scenario where the popular character could be fodder for drama. (And it would leave Clark as the sole remaining original character on the series.)

The assault on Watchtower might have been the centerpiece of a typical “Smallville” episode. But the stakes just continued to escalate from there. Chloe’s moral meandering suddenly became a vital matter of concern in her dealings with Tess. The pace of the episode forced Chloe and Tess to resume their verbal sparring all too soon, but Tess’ reaction to her resuscitation was intense, to say the least.

I was also shocked to see that Oliver was actually wounded so badly, even though it was clear that Zod was on the warpath. The equal brutality of Checkmate was also surprising, especially when they were prepared to wipe out the peaceful Kandorians, Tess, and Chloe. Of course, this was necessary to set up Clark as working with the same humans who were willing to kill the Kandorians, no questions asked.

While it wasn’t plotted out particularly well, it’s clear that the writers intended to show that Zod’s final step into villainy was a combination of many forces. They made it clear that the loss of his son was a huge factor, and his feeling that Jor-El betrayed their friendship. It was easy enough to see that Clark’s decision to push the Kandorians to assimilate fed those tensions. Checkmate was really the final straw; Clark told them that peace with humanity was necessary, but humanity declared war on the Kandorians without the slightest attempt at negotiation. On at least some level, Zod is justified in his attitude.

His actions, of course, are a matter of choice. The point of showing Zod’s background on Krypton earlier in the season was to show that Zod was once a good man. At least in principle, Zod could have been a good man again (though the writers never seemed to capitalize on that notion). It all came down to Zod’s choices, and Zod chose the darker path.

All of which made Zod’s decision to kill Faora all the more tragic and brutal. Zod had been shown as merciless to traitors in the past, which set up this scenario all too perfectly. The fact that Faora was pregnant with Zod’s child, and most likely a son that could have led Zod back to his former self. Callum Blue’s performance during the crucial scene, as he listened to his unborn child’s failing heartbeats, was stunning. One could see what little remained of Zod’s compassion drain with every faltering thump.

“Smallville” has used the death of an unborn child to chilling effect in the past; the end of the second season is a perfect example. The plot device was used much less effectively (and, in fact, quite insultingly) in the sixth season, when Lana’s pregnancy was retconned out of the story. Yet this could be one of the most horrifying moments in the series, even more so for being earned. Zod’s first loss of a child began his descent, and his murder of his second child, however unintended, completes it.

“Smallville” has excelled when it has focused on development of villains that give Clark’s heroism scope and meaning. When Lex finally took the step into full-fledged evil in “Descent”, it paid off a long and laborious process in thrilling fashion. That episode was great because it was so anticipated, and stood as the highlight of a terrible seventh season.

But this episode came out of the blue, delivering one of the darkest tales yet for the series. And it may just be that it was all the more powerful for it. “Smallville” doesn’t often manage to meet the high standards set by the best in the genre, but when it does, it soars.

One final note: it appears that the CW promotional department may have dropped an enormous game-changing spoiler into the preview for the next episode. It may have been some intentional misdirection, but if not, I’m not sure what I think of this development. On the one hand, it would be a bold choice, and I like it when the writers stake out unexpected plot territory. On the other hand, I’m not sure it would be a well-earned plot twist. I suppose only time (and the next episode) will tell.

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 3/4

Final Rating: 9/10

Written by Holly Henderson and Don Whitehead
Directed by Brian Peterson

Much like the previous episode, the complexities of the Checkmate organization in this installment don’t quite make sense, given that almost nothing is known about them at this point. I get the distinct feeling that the writers are assuming that the audience is familiar with the DC comics incarnation of Checkmate.

As I’ve often said, this is a huge mistake. “Smallville” has to stand on its own, and the storytelling logic has to rely on information established within the series itself. That means every new character introduction has to be self-sufficient. While fans of the Superman comics may know who Maxwell Lord is, and how he fits within the Checkmate “royalty”, it’s not at all clear based on this episode.

He seems to be the Black King. Amanda Waller has been previously shown as the White Queen. But what does that mean, exactly? Some information on the internet suggests that the White Queen controls the intelligence aspects of the organization, while the Black King controls the field operations. But that doesn’t quite track with how things went down with the Justice Society, and it hasn’t been explained at all within the show itself.

The problem is that Checkmate was introduced too late in the season to be an effective part of the current story arc. As stated in a previous review, Tess’ activities with the Kandorians are in stark conflict with her duties as an agent for Checkmate, given that Checkmate apparently wants to use recruited metahumans to protect Earth’s interests by eliminating or sidelining those who won’t join.

If Checkmate is meant to factor into this season’s arc exclusively, then it just seems like a wasted opportunity to give the season a more cohesive touch. After all, the first half of the season suffered from a distinct lack of momentum. On the other hand, if this was an early attempt to introduce Checkmate with the hopes of making the organization more prominent in the tenth season, then it may be more reasonable. But the fact remains that the writers are leaving a lot unexplained.

The meat of the episode had nothing to do with Checkmate, however. It was all about the Clark/Lois relationship. There had been some fear that the relationship was getting too serious, too fast, and that it was starting to fall into the same untenable pattern as the Clark/Lana relationship. In other words, it was becoming harder and harder to justify Lois being blind to the evidence right in front of her eyes, especially given her supposed journalistic skills.

The writers are still in danger of playing the same “yo-yo” game that made the Clark/Lana relationship so frustrating as time wore on, but in this case, the audience is well aware that Clark and Lois will eventually be together. This early relationship makes sense to me as a pretext for why Lois would want a relationship with Clark in the future, and this struggle with Lois’ fascination with the Blur provides Clark with insight into how to manage the Superman/Clark dichotomy when the time comes. But that doesn’t make it any easier in terms of the current emotional scarring, even knowing that it all works out in the end.

Writing: 1/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 1/4

Final Rating: 6/10

Written by Drew Landis and Julia Swift
Directed by Michael Rohl

As I’ve said on several previous occasions, the biggest problem with “Smallville”, from a plotting perspective, is the endless and ill-defined tangle of conspiracies, alliances, and hidden motivations that have been in place since the Luthor era. At least in the past it was mostly a question of whether or not Lionel or Lex was an incident’s source of intrigue.

Now we have a situation where Tess, Zod, Chloe, and others are all acting according to secret agendas, and none of them are particularly easy to comprehend. I’ll freely admit that I’m not exactly spending endless hours poring over the details and charting out the various moves and countermoves. But it seems to me that the writers either think they are being clever, or they have a very different definition of clarity than the rest of the world. When I come out of an episode thinking that “Lost” is more straightforward, it’s a problem.

This episode is a perfect example. The conversation between Tess and Chloe was so obtuse that it became practically meaningless. There were too many references to murky motivations to draw any conclusions about how the characters would act or how it would play to their advantage. And that’s the whole point of giving characters complexity: so that the audience can appreciate why the characters are making the choices they make.

So what is Tess doing in terms of John Corbin, the Kandorians, and Checkmate? How does all of that fit together? Because it seems pretty clear that Zod has no intention of joining some effort to protect Earth from alien threats. After all, he is precisely the kind of threat Checkmate is trying to eliminate! Is it that she wants to cultivate the Kandorians as opponents to Clark, to force him to take up the messianic mantle of the Traveler? That’s the problem with Tess; this season, her choices don’t seem to fit into a logical rationale.

Chloe’s actions this season have been a little more understandable. After the events of the eighth season, she’s adopted the philosophy that “the ends justify the means”. It’s pretty close to the kind of thinking that drives Oliver, so they make a natural pair. It’s also fairly clear why Clark would disagree with her tactics. But Chloe seems to go to great lengths to act in ways that invite suspicion, and Clark seems hell bent on misinterpreting her actions in the most negative light possible.

For instance, while Clark’s attitude about Chloe’s secret stash of meteor rock is twisted by yet another exposure to red kryptonite, Chloe doesn’t once justify her actions by pointing out the fact that Zod and the others are supposed to regain their powers sooner or later. Clark saw the same future; it wouldn’t be hard for him to understand the logic. Yet the writers have Clark give that justification to Chloe, not the other way around! It was maddening.

This only fed into the ongoing frustrations with the Clark/Zod interactions. Clark keeps talking about how Zod is the one person who can understand him, that he could have been a brother, and so on. Yet when has Clark ever shown Zod more than token tolerance? Clark has always assumed the worst of Zod. And sure enough, the writers have never really sold the audience on the notion that Zod could be anything other than a villain. Clark’s meditations at the end of this episode feel hollow as a result.

Beyond that, I simply haven’t found John Corbin to be a compelling character. He hasn’t been around enough to generate the kind of sympathetic treatment that he gets in this script, and without much more than a surface consideration for the DC comics canon, I don’t find Metallo to be all that interesting. So all of his interaction with Lois just doesn’t matter much to me, and his part in Tess’ ongoing plots and machinations is just another element of frustration. I suppose that word says it all for this episode.

Writing: 1/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 1/4

Final Rating: 6/10

Written by John Chisholm
Directed by Tim Scanlan

From what I understand, the Checkmate organization has quite the history in the DC Comics continuity. So it’s a worthwhile question to ask: are the writers once again assuming that the audience has prior knowledge of Checkmate, its goals, and its structure? That’s been one of the biggest issues with the series in recent seasons, after all, and a few good steps in the right direction don’t preclude a backward slide.

I think it’s clear enough that Checkmate is similar to all the black ops groups sponsored by LuthorCorp earlier in the series, only funded by the government. And it would make sense that the government, once aware of the potential threat posed by aliens on Earth, would want to put together a small metahuman army to mount a defense.

The desire to protect Earth from outside threats was always a compelling argument for the kinds of projects run by Lex and now the government. Many times, I wondered why the writers didn’t shoot for a little more moral ambiguity by strengthening that argument. Instead, it has always been tied to immoral activities, so the audience has reason to see this threat to Clark as inherently corrupt and evil.

But isn’t there a case to be made that the vast majority of alien activity, and even metahuman activity, has been a problem for the mass population? Looking back on the history of “Smallville”, a lot of people have been hurt, despite the best intentions of Clark and his allies. Checkmate has a reason to exist, and they even have a reason to bring well-vetted metahumans into the cause.

However, blackmailing them into the cause, or otherwise assaulting them as a recruitment tactic, doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. For one thing, while they have information that is convenient to the demands of the plot, the gaps in their database are fairly large. They also seem to have remarkably loose surveillance on their wayward operative if Tess Mercer can be bedding down the increasingly threatening leader of an alien cadre without Checkmate knowing a thing about it!

But the part that seems most ludicrous, however important to the story, is the utter absence of the “soft sell”. Checkmate makes no attempt to recruit Clark or the others with a more positive approach. They go right for the throat, and immediately put the heroes on the defensive. Is it any wonder, then, that Checkmate seems to be gathering villains for their work, more often than not?

Of course, it’s hard to know if my impressions of Checkmate are accurate, because the writers were going for mysterious and ominous, and ended up with vague. It doesn’t help that there’s apparently another organization in competition with Checkmate. I get the feeling this is an ongoing problem for the writers. They know that Clark should be interacting with a much larger and more complicated world at this point, but they really don’t have the budget to make it happen. As a result, a lot happens off-screen.

It would be more of the concern if there wasn’t a tenth season to expand on some of the ideas introduced now. As it is, there are a lot of balls in the air as the season swings towards its conclusion. If the usual pattern holds, Major Zod and the Kryptonians will see their story come to an end this season, leading into the next big thing. Maybe the writers are using the Kryptonians as a bit of a red herring. While it makes sense to assume that Checkmate is meant to counter Zod’s plans, it could be preparing for something much worse that Clark and the others don’t know about yet.

This could help to clarify Tess’ motivations, which are still all over the map. While she is still nominally protecting Clark as the assumptive future savior, she’s hedging her bets with Zod. Is she trying to position Zod and his people as allies in some battle Clark will need to fight, something she’s aware of because of Checkmate? The point is that Checkmate needs to have a reason to exist within the story of “Smallville”. Being a part of the DC universe is not enough.

Writing: 1/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 1/4

Final Rating: 6/10

Written by Genevieve Sparling
Directed by Kevin Fair

With the series now locked into a return for a tenth season, it should be interesting to see how the writers manage to finish out this season’s story arc. Were they initially planning for a big finish, or were they hedging their bets? It’s a fair guess that the Major Zod arc will come to a conclusion, but that doesn’t leave much for the tenth season.

One constant will be the relationship angle, which makes this episode something of a warning sign. I’m not averse to the soap opera elements of “Smallville”; I’ve spent plenty of time discussing them over the years. But the overall plot arc of Superman’s genesis has been more and more important, and when that element is missing, the show suffers. And then the audience suffers, as it no doubt did during this woeful hour.

I’ve never heard of the Silver Banshee before, but I can’t imagine that too many fans were clamoring for her appearance on “Smallville”. It may have been a good excuse for some fan service, between Lois and her uplifting Highlander look or the shower scene, but that was about it. The costume work for the Banshee was hysterically bad, and the conceit of pushing the two main couples together was forced at best.

This was essentially a bottle show: a premise created to minimize costs by utilizing the same sets and the main cast as much as possible, usually by trapping them in a secluded or otherwise constrained location. The inn was the “bottle” in this case. Usually this amounts to the main characters (and perhaps some expendable extras) facing some threat that forces them to stay within the proscribed boundaries.

Because the plot is usually so basic and repetitive (everyone has seen this sort of story before), the emphasis is usually on the characters. Either the story allows for some major psychological insight into the characters (or one in particular), or someone is forced to reveal a major secret. It’s the depth and craft of the character work that makes a bottle show viable.

And therein lies the problem. What exactly was covered in this episode that wasn’t already known to the audience? So Lois and Clark now know about Oliver and Chloe. Oliver and Chloe are admitting that they have something more than a casual fling. Did the writers really think this was something so momentous that it could carry an entire episode? When the best part of the “A” storyline is Oliver pointing out the “little jellies” on the brunch table, that’s not a good sign.

The “B” storyline was definitely better. We may not know exactly what Tess is trying to accomplish, since her motivations have been all over the board this season, but the chess game between Zod and Tess was amusing. I have the feeling Checkmate is behind Tess and her game with Zod.

But what is Zod’s motivation for finding a way to strip Clark of his powers? Is it just a matter of ego now? It should be easy enough for Zod to give his army the same powers as Clark and make him largely irrelevant. So why this desire to break Clark down for being humanity’s emerging hero? It provides a basis for Zod’s inevitable confrontation with Clark by the end of the season, but it doesn’t quite make sense. The writers seem to be relying on the fact that Zod is known to be a villain, rather than developing the character in a way that leads him to villainy for a specific reason.

Writing: 0/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 0/4

Final Rating: 4/10

Written by Al Septien and Turi Meyer
Directed by Turi Meyer

This is another one of those episodes that doesn’t seem to be going anywhere, but manages to sneak in a major plot development in the final moments. In this case, it was a bit predictable. Who didn’t realize that Clark’s blood was going to transfer power to Zod? I have no idea if that was something established in the DC canon as a possibility, but it just seemed like the obvious consequence.

In fact, it could be said that this was a largely transitional episode designed to remind the audience of all the plot threads that are currently up in the air. The situation with the Kandorians is particularly complicated. Some of the Kandorians are eager to follow Clark’s lead, while others are devoted to Zod. Some of the Kandorians are acting without Zod’s permission, experimenting on humans, but somehow this is not to be taken as a lack of confidence in Zod’s leadership. There are enough factions and subsets within the Kandorian camp to allow the writers to do pretty much anything without contradicting themselves.

Unfortunately, it’s a tangle that the writers are going to have to unravel if they want the season to succeed. There are already plenty of fans complaining about the Kandorians, so making them obtuse and fractious is one hell of a risk. It’s already clear that Zod is manipulating Clark with half-truths and lies, so why not simply leave it to that?

Zod’s characterization is another issue. I still think it would have been more interesting to portray Zod in a more positive light, even if he was maintaining a certain degree of Kryptonian brutality. After all, the writers keep reminding the audience that Zod and Jor-El were friends and allies, even with the apparent betrayals that came towards the end. If the message is that Zod has a good and noble side, why do we only see the duplicitous part? It fits audience expectation, but it’s also predictable as a result.

The same complaint can be lodged against the current portrayal of Tess Mercer. In the eighth season, I thought the writers did a capable job of taking her from her Lex-clone origins to something a bit more substantial. Despite her actions and choices, she seemed to have a genuine desire to help Clark. The issue was less her design and more her method. Now, it’s hard to fathom what her goals are.

One bright spot was the revelation of Chloe’s secret plan to defend against powered Kandorians. While the visions of the future may no longer apply, the end of this episode strongly suggests that at least some of the Kandorians will be regaining their powers and making trouble for Clark. Chloe and Oliver now have the weapons to help in that fight. (Of course, as the future vision aptly demonstrated, this could be just as easily used against Clark.)

As far as the rest of the episode is concerned, it was nice to see Lois show off her fighting skills again. Her romance with Clark is coming along very well, even if it sometimes strays into overly sweet territory. The central villain wasn’t particularly interesting, and his methods seemed a bit more gruesome than has been the standard for “Smallville”. It felt like the writers were going for edgy, but settled on “shocking”.

Writing: 1/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 1/4

Final Rating: 6/10

Written by Anne Cofell Saunders
Directed by Christopher Petry

This is one of those sneaky little episodes that seems to be a stand-alone holiday-themed romp, and quickly becomes something a bit more substantial. It’s something that the best genre shows have mastered in the past, and it’s good to see “Smallville” take a page from that book. Too often, it’s easy to see where the writers are planning to go by episode’s end.

Frankly, that’s a good thing. If there’s any doubt that Erica Durance’s version of Lois Lane has evolved into something solid, her shift into a more “traditional” mold should silence the critics. Lois may be occasionally softer than one would expect, but she’s a far cry from the passive homemaker in this episode. Some of Lois’ usual drive and spark shined through, but it was still damned disturbing.

I was also wary of how the writers would treat this latest spin on kryptonite when Chloe decided to protect Clark “by any means necessary”. Her confrontation with Lois just didn’t seem to go far enough. Given Chloe’s darker turn of late, I would have expected something more violent and shocking. Perhaps this was just a matter of working within network constraints, and the pragmatic need to keep Lois and Chloe on relatively good terms.

That said, the fight between Tess and Chloe was surprisingly good, and Clark’s brutal treatment of Tess went about as far as the writers could have taken it, while still keeping Clark’s hands relatively clean. Taken in conjunction with the behavior of the Kandorians this season, I am reminded of how many people were stunned by Jor-El’s original harsh directives to Clark in earlier seasons.

Jor-El’s demand that Clark take his place as something of a ruler over humanity was a surprising direction to take, but the Kandorians are actually acting in a similar mold. While Kara and Jor-El were a bit more measured in their arrogance and violent temperance, it seems that Kryptonians as a people were fairly bloodthirsty and violent. They may have been enlightened in some academic areas, but they certainly had a draconian society.

Of course, that may have simply been the military’s code of justice, or something specific to Zod. But since Zod was, at this time in his career, considered to be a hero of Kandor, his methods and traditions could be seen as representative of Kryptonian ways. What Clark (and the audience) is led to assume as particular to Zod may not be so specific. After all, Alia killed Jor-El, and it doesn’t seem that it was under Zod’s orders, either. Zod keeps having to execute people for taking extreme action and violating moral codes.

This is an intriguing point, because it could so easily be lost in translation. Zod may be absolutely right when he says that Clark is rejecting his Kryptonian legacy, and thus rejecting his people on Earth. Zod’s ambition for power may be incurable, but it might be cultural in origin. This isn’t an excuse for Zod’s behavior; it simply changes the nature of the problem. Clark isn’t fighting someone evil to the core, and corrupting others in his image. He’s fighting a symbol of everything that was wrong with Krypton as a whole.

And that could be seen as an outward expression of an internal battle that was supposed to be at the heart of the season, and hasn’t really been that obvious. In the wake of Doomsday, Clark was intent on embracing his Kryptonian legacy. Major Zod and the Kandorians are that legacy, and Clark is discovering just what that is. While using Zod as an antagonist has worked well to flesh out the character’s back story, making it more viable within the “Smallville” mythos, it may have also distracted from the big picture by providing a character that is too inherently easy to label as “evil”. It’s hard to think of Zod as simply another Kryptonian, even if that’s what he essentially is at this point.

Clark’s decision to destroy the tower is all but a declaration of war against Zod and the Kandorians, and it should be interesting to see how long it takes Zod to realize that fact. It certainly sends the season arc into a different direction. Hopefully this isn’t another example of the writers changing the game in the back nine of a season. Too often, the writers stick with the original premise of a season, only to falter in the resolution. So far, this season has been fairly cohesive, so if the writers can stay on course, this could end well.

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 2/4

Final Rating: 8/10