Eternal
I don't think this episode had the effect they desired on me.
I ended up laughing few times at scenes that were supposed to be dramatic and serious, rolled my eyes at inconsistencies, emoness or too cheesy dramatic music (last scene, I'm looking at you), or groaned at all the things they tried to retcon when it goes against things previously established on the show, and lets not even start with their (wrong) use of biblical parallels.
OK, so lets start with things I did like:
1)
Use of flashbacks.
They did a good job with this. Plus, it was cool seeing Martha, Jonathan and Lionel again.
And making little Davis part of the scene in the field was done well.
2)
Clark.
I hate Clark blaming himself for everything, but in this episode it made sense. Tess played him. She gave him just enough info about Davis, but she didn't tell him the whole story.
And because what happened to Davis (being captured and experimented on, and then being all alone without family) is Clark's biggest nightmare and something he always feared, I can see why Clark would think that he could have ended up just like Davis, and how things would have been different if the Kents found them both and they grew up as brothers.
And while it is true that Clark is the man he is today because of how the Kents raised him, he doesn't know that it wouldn't have made the difference for Davis, he still would have ended up the same no matter what.
So Clark being sympathetic to Davis is understandable.
Clark trying to find another way to help him, and not wanting to kill him, is also a very Clark thing to do.
I like how he stood his ground in this episode.
I liked his concern for Chloe, and how he made a case against Davis, even before they learned the truth. He listed the facts they know objectively, and he had a point.
And I liked him calling her on ignoring all the proof against Davis later on. They made a nice case in canon now that Chloe is not seeing clearly when it comes to Davis.
Also, yay for Clark for figuring out that there's a serial killer and writing an article (even if he didn't get published)!
Granted, it was something Lois worked on, she mentioned "Jack the Ripper" earlier this season, so I would have liked if she got to write it, or they got to co-write it. But I guess it's not meant to be since she's barely in any of the episodes in second part of the season. Yes, I'm bitter. They better make this up to her in season 9.
3)
Tess.
Great start of the episode for her!
Blowing up Davis.
"I forget, what's the prayer for dismembering a body? *BOOM*"
How hilarious and cool was that?! LMAO
Now *that* is how a badass villain with balls looks like. Take notes Davis. Take notes.
"I apologize for the state that you're in. I didn't expect you to end up like this. I was trying to kill you."
Ha ha ha. She is such a cool heartless whatever-it-takes-I-mean-business bitch! I love it!
4) The kid who played
little Davis.
Good actor, he was convincing.
It was also good to see little Lex again.
"Are you him? Are you Warrior Angel?"
"No. But I want to be."
Great scene.
Things that were...not good:
1) Davis cries, it must be Thursday.
Was the onions scene a joke, and them realizing how pathetically emo they made him? I mean really, how is he the ultimate destroyer? I guess he could try to drown us all in his own tears...
2) Sam is shirtless, it must be Thursday.
I can already imagine Tess, bandaging Davis, and putting some fresh clothes on him and thinking "Oh pants, he'll need those. But nah, why bother with a t-shirt, lets leave him shirtless, at least I'll have something to look at while I wait for him to wake up."
3)
Davis.
Was this episode supposed to make me feel bad for Davis just because we saw him as a kid? Because it didn't happen.
You show him materializing from green slime, after he hatched from an egg/rock! That right there is enough to set of alarm bells, even if I didn't already know everything about him.
You show him killing Lex's bird.
And after getting angry he ends up killing the Luthor minion who dropped him off in that alley. Which means he's been killing for some 20 years now?
Add to that the field filled with corpses. (BTW, did he really drive from Metropolis to Smallville every time he killed someone, just to bury a body?)
The fact that he didn't even consider turning himself in or ending his life to stop himself (isolation obviously is not an option Davis would think of) until *after* he was discovered and caught by Tess.
Then he tries to justify his actions by telling he is killing really bad people.
And then as a way out he doesn't even have the guts to do the deed himself, but guilts Chloe into it with his sad story about how he can't help himself, he wants to stop, and he loves her so she has to help him. Oi! Cry me a river. Oh wait, he did...nevermind.
Then when that doesn't work, he's back, and making puppy eyes at Chloe and asking her to stay with him even though he knows he's dangerous. Newsflash Davis, you can't control it, love will not save you. So if you loved her you'd send her away, not selfishly ask her to stay with you.
Is it sad that he has no free will? That Lionel caught him and experimented on him? That he was then left alone in an alley?
You could say that.
But the thing is, he's not a person. He's not human, and he's nothing like Clark. He's some green alien slime, constructed by Zod, that hatched and was programmed to assimilate and stay low until time comes for his true self to resurface.
Sure, it's a bitter irony that Davis tries but can't control Doomsday, while it's actually Davis who is programmed and not real.
But we saw there was something wrong with him from the first episode he was in, and now know he's been killing since the first week he landed on Earth. I also never got the impression that he's freaked out by the whole killing thing because he feels sorry for the people he killed, but because he wants it to stop because he hates what that's doing to him. And while I understand wanting to have control over your own life, I see no remorse, only him feeling sorry for himself and being selfish. So why exactly should I feel sorry for him?
Sam is acting his socks off, but the character just ain't working for me.
Also, why was he able to cut his finger? After Bloodline that shouldn't have been possible.
4)
Chloe.
Why do you have to go back to being such an idiot again?!
If you want to be on more friendly terms with your husband, as one might assume since you tried to contact him, then stay away from the guy who is partly the reason why you broke up.
Since when were you and Jimmy best friends? You trust your friends and support them, you failed miserably there.
Davis cuts himself, there's a lot of blood, but no cut, and she's not more suspicious?
When they found out Davis is the killer, and she started running away when he showed up I was all triumphant "a-ha! at least she has a survival instinct!" But then he catches her and the first thing she fires at him is
"You lied to me!" What does it matter that he lied? He's a killer, how would it been any better if he told you the truth?
I applauded the plan to "help" Davis. I'm assuming he told her kryptonite made him sick when he was a boy?
I can understand wanting to help Davis stop himself, and maybe helping him end his life if that's the only option left. But did they knew it's the only option left? I understand Davis wanting it to end, but why wasn't Chloe more levelheaded?
Why didn't she contact Clark? They have a lot of resources at their disposal, couldn't they looked into it first?
And then killing Davis as soon as he charged at Clark. He didn't even touch him yet.
I can excuse it by saying Davis wanted to die, so in a way she was just going with his wishes. But that is not why she did it. She did it to protect Clark, like she herself later said.
"He could have killed you, Clark. I won't risk the safety of the world because of your code of ethics. Because you refuse to stop the things that threaten you."
She doesn't agree with Clark's "do not kill" ethics, she thinks killing is sometimes necessary. So how does this 'end justifies the means' manta makes her any different than say Lex? That's how he started. (Ollie, I'm looking at you as well.) And that's the second person Chloe killed this season to protect Clark, and this time there is no Brainiac infection to make it questionable. Yes, it's all very gray, what with Davis being a Kryptonian, serial killer, and unstoppable. But Chloe is taking her "protect Clark at all cause" motto a bit too far.
And can I just say how sick I am of people trying to protect
Clark instead of giving him a chance to try and protect himself first?
Sure, he could have gotten slapped around like he did in Bride. But at least give him a chance to go himself against Davis/Doomsday. Maybe he would have knocked him out before he transformed and that would given them little extra time to do some research. Or something.
Just - let Clark fight his own battles. He's not gonna win every time, but he needs to learn to pick himself up and try again.
As for that last scene. Really?
Davis wasn't forcing her to stay there, not physically, it was an emotional blackmail. So she could have gone up, called Clark and JLA and told them what's going on before she went back to be with Davis. They need to know, and try to be prepared. If she doesn't do that next, then whatever will happen will be on her hands as well.
And as we saw her cry when Davis was dying, and telling him she thought she loved him before she found out he was a serial killer, I think it's obvious she has feelings for him. So I'm not sure she's staying down in the cellar with Davis just to protect Clark and others.
Dear Bob, what a mess. And to think there was a time when I complained that Chloe deserves a love interest. If I only knew...*le sigh*
And no matter what he tells her it can not end well, she can not control Doomsday. This really has "doomed" written all over it.
5)
Tess.
You were doing so well in the first part of the episode.
But then you had to turn into one of the religion freaks. *le sigh*
It was annoying when Veritas psychos did it. It was annoying when Chloe called Clark a God. It sure as hell ain't any less annoying now with Tess doing it.
She's a good villain, I hate to see her destroyed like this.
I get that she wants to manipulate the situation so Davis would challenge Clark, and Clark would triumph over the world's destroyer and then fulfil his destiny. But all the Jesus/Judas references are *killing me*. There must have been another way to explain her actions.
And not to mention that she knows way too much. She knows everything about Clark and Davis. Plus, she has the orb.
Sadly, I think this means chances are Tess won't survive this season.
Also, what's with black leather gloves in that last scene? That is so Lex.
6)
Religion. You're overdoing it. And doing it wrong.
Just stop, show. Seriously, stop.
Or at least read the Bible if you want to use it for parallels.
The story about Jesus and Judas does not fit Clark and Davis!
Judas was a friend, Jesus trusted him. Davis and Clark are anything but. The only way that story would make sense with the current players is if you'd have Chloe in Judas' role. So unless you plan to go there - just drop it.
Also, all the "Clark as Jesus" or "Clark as God" mentions from the last two seasons are *extremely annoying*.
He is not God. Stop trying to force it on him.
Ridiculous retcons:
1)
"Dear diary,
today I decided to start writing in you.
I'll tell you all the deepest, darkest secrets that are for my eyes only.
I'll also make sure to hide you really really well before I die, so my son would never be able to find you after I'm gone. But his successors should have no problems with that at all.
Ain't I brilliant?
xoxo
- Magnificent Bastard"
2) How did Lionel have Traveller Search Team so fast on that field? Were they given orders to go to meteor landing site as soon as the meteor hits? How did they know *which* meteor will carry the Traveller? And why is it that Lionel apparently knew there are special ops guys in those fields, but he didn't try to contact them to help him save his son, but waited on the road for a car to show up and help him?
3) Step away from the Naman and Sageeth legend.
You do not get to ruin that, show. It's about Clark and Lex. End of discussion.
Did everyone forget about small details like the knife in Talisman? Or that Sageeth is a friend of Naman's who is said to be like a brother? Anyone?
I'll just pretend Tess put the whole thing together wrong, and that the show runners aren't actually so incompetent that they can't remember or look up the original mythology that they based the show on in early years.
Other things:
1) Someone take away The Da Vinci Code from Brian Peterson and Kelly Saunders.
2) Did Tess make a Batman reference?!
"It's like keeping bats around, to wipe out the parasites who prey on the city."
3) If they retcon the orb so it could somehow be used to stop Doomsday at the end of the season I just might slap someone.
4)
"The last phrase he used was 'don't call me, don't come by, and if you email me I won't open it.'"
Ha ha, you go Jimbo. Run away, and don't come back because wifey is harbouring a serial killer in the cellar and chances are you'll just end up dead.
5) How much did I like the fact that they looked like dumbasses when they realized Jimmy was right, and telling the truth about Davis being a serial killer?
I chuckled at that scene and thought "suits you right."
6)
"There is a saviour among us. You are here to betray him."
"*insulted* I haven't betrayed anyone!"
LOL
No, you just killed lots and lots of people. *snicker*
7) I never noticed how incredibly ugly, bright pink, is that couch at Isis. It's like something out of T-Mobile commercial.
8)
"Yes, but betrayal. The more you love someone, the harder it is."
Foreshadowing?
9)
"I'm not some problem for you to solve."
...
"Just know I'll wait for you, Clark. I'll wait for you to come to me."
"It's gonna be a long wait."
Ha ha, I love how he can make perfectly innocent sentence sound like "back off, bitch!"
10) With the way things are going with Chloe and Davis on the show, with the Beast, and all the prophecies, and everything. Lets just hope than in season 9 Chloe doesn't end up pregnant and then gives birth to a fully grown up woman. Just sayin'.