Thoughts on Crusade
I had to remind myself before watching this episode that, just because it isn't the show I would create if I were in charge, it could still be enjoyable. I did enjoy it, mostly, though any excitement I felt was more for the start of the season than this episode in particular. They did very well at the stuff they are good at, the eye candy. The plot was the not unusual mediocre fare.
Some eye-rolling moments I have to mention to get out of my system:
Johnathan is brain dead and they want Martha to pull the plug - when you know he is going to recover somehow.
The convenient appearance of black kryptonite.
A mystical warrior princess or whatever just in the right place to infect Lana.
An empty coffin means Chloe is alive. Um, Clark, you do have an in with the writers, but, given the explosion, there could be other explanations.
Bo's sudden recovery at the end. (But see the comments here for some good/funny explanations.)
The good:
Lex, of course, even if there wasn't enough of him. They even explained how he could have gotten onto the Egyptian stuff. He's had three months in control of Luthorcorp, during which he could have found out about the hidden projects. Will this be another case of Lex resurrecting one of his father's projects only to have it get out of control? There are still two pieces missing, so we'll probably see them sometime.
Lionel. Prison seems to have done him well. Has he been waiting for Martha to give up on Johnathan and come to him? When Martha mentioned consequences from the involvement with Lionel, did she mean the hostage incident (which actually gained them information) or something else?
Martha. Nice to see her with a substantial part. I think they pushed the mother-power thing a bit too much but it was a nice change from all the father dominated stuff.
Lois. I liked her more than I expected. I could get tired of her hyperness, but if they don't overdo it, she'll be ok. Still prefer Chloe.
Flying. That effect was cool. I can see why they said it would be too expensive to do often.
The middling:
Lana and Jason. They have chemistry, but their scenes go on long enough that they end up too sweet.
Lois and Martha. I would have liked to see Martha a little more assertive in her home. Lois was awfully pushy.
Overall: IMO the weakest season opener so far, high average with respect to other episodes.