"Clark Kent, you're Back!"
What a fantastic episode!
John Corben/Metallo.
Oh, BAG, please come back in the future! You were amazing.
Now this is how you write villains! Make bad guys layered, and make them sympathetic, without making them pathetic, annoying or woobified.
I love how they told John's story. I'm glad he had a personal reason to resent The Blur. That story about his sister not only made him sympathetic, but it also addressed the issue of people Clark saves, and what if they go on and do bad things. Obviously, Clark is not in the wrong. It's not like he can scan for ID and then run to do a quick search to see how good the person he's saving is. And even if they were bad, he'd still save them, because it's not up to him to decide who lives or dies. We have justice system to deal with criminals when needed. But I so understand how that might not be so clear cut to someone who experienced being on the other side of that discussion, and lost someone because of one of the lucky people Blur managed to save. I like when the show gives us these little moral puzzles, they're fun.
I have to say, bloody hell! Was this one of the bloodiest, most gruesome episodes or what? It looked *amazing*, really realistic. That car crash scene and Corben all bloodied, it was quite chilling.
Loved the kryptonite heart & the whole look. It looked really good. And now when LuthorCorp has their hands on him, I can only imagine they'll turn him into a more shiny looking model, Metallo 2.0. :)
I like how they've explained that kryptonite was poisoning his brain slowly** and how it was obvious he was deteriorating and turning more and more violent. He was *creepy* in his scene with Lois, when he was asking her about The Blur's identity. I don't remember anyone being this creepy on the show before, except maybe Curtis Knox.
[**One has to wonder about Lana, and how long before she snaps, turns into a meteor mutant or gets cancer. Still *palmfacing* over that one.]
And talk about wanting revenge, he literally took out his heart just so kryptonite would continue hurting Clark.
Would love to see him again!
Clark.
"I'm trying to fill the void by hanging out on rooftops earsdropping on people. People who are connecting. And living. Thinking what's the point of protecting life, if you've lost your sense on how to live it. Maybe I can't do this, Chloe. Maybe I can't stay away."
Oh Clark, how I love you for finding your own way to train, deciding what's best for you and sticking to it. \S/
I love that he tried it Jor-El's way, but when it didn't work as good as it was supposed to, he decided to make some changes. I'm so so happy that he was unable to leave his humanity behind. He may be alien, but The Kents raised him to be a good man, and his humanity is part of who he is, so it's no wonder he wasn't able to ignore all that.
I loved that first scene, when he's listening to voices & sounds of Metropolis. He can't let go, and he was getting lonely when he tried to. I love that Lois picked up on his loneliness. I so wanted for someone to hug him, and then there was a hug in the last scene, and all was right again. :D
I also love how he showed empathy when dealing with Metallo. But at the same time he also stood up for himself and what he's doing, and how he can't pick and choose who he saves. I'm so glad that seems to be the trend this season - Clark standing up for himself. Keep that up, show.
Also, loved Metallo's speech here, about The Blur being in the shadows. Amazing delivery, and it obviously hit home with Clark.
I loved all the clever solutions in the episode. How he got Emil to help him with a plan, and get him EMP. And especially how he thought to use that lead to armour Metallo. I love it when our boy is quick and cleaver on his feet. :)
Also, I think this episode made it apparent that Clark needs to be at the Daily Planet to make his job as the Blur easier. If he was still there, he wouldn't have need to call Lois to tell her about the Planet key ring, he could have kept an eye on her, and x-ray everyone to see if they're missing their keys/see if anyone needs to borrow them. And also, researching things would have been so much easier with the Planet database at his disposal. Here, he had to go to Chloe for help.
Loved his interactions with Lois, both as Blur and as Clark.
I love that she was the one he turned to when he was lonely. Loved all the concern he showed for her in this episode. "You're safe now, Lois. I'm here!" scene was great.
And love, love, LOVE that last Daily Planet scene when he came back. The look on his face when Lois hugged him, and he realized just how much she missed him, and he's a bit taken aback by it. Gold. And then the 1000 watt smile when she's telling him how she helped The Blur. Priceless. I love that he just can't stay away, that he finds it so easy to talk to her, and that being around her or just hearing her voice on the phone always puts a smile on his face.
Lois.
I love that she missed Clark so much that she went to check the farm. And that she took Shelby to stay with her, just so the dog wouldn't be alone.
Her bickering with Corben was fun. :D Bonus point for Lois making an \S/ doodle in the dust while on the phone with him. I love how protective she is of The Blur, and how she believes in him.
Kudos for confronting Tess about getting her job back. That was well played.
I always enjoy these two going against each other.
Also, femslash ahoy!!! \o/
Loved her interactions with the Blur. She is clearly smitten, and damn, but I want to know what they talk about when The Blur calls her "just to chat". Loved the "our phonebooth" moment between the two.
I like how her first instinct after the warning that the guy from the hospital works at the Planet is to go and do some detective work. Mwah. I so agree about the rabbit foot, ew. I have to wonder how many people she asked about their keys. lol
Great moment when she realized Corben is the guy from the hospital. I like how she never freaks out, but keeps her cool. And again with managing to see and grab that pipe she used to hit Corben in that abandoned building later on. She might have got knocked out, but she was a badass in this episode.
She also gets the Quote of the Episode Award for
"Heartless bastard!" LMAO It's all in the delivery.
Also, I loved how happy she was to see Clark again! The hug that lasted a bit too long, because she got lost in it. Awkwardly trying to downplay how she missed him. Giddiness over him wanting to hear about her helping The Blur. That whole scene was so good.
Tess.
She seems to have her hands full. Keeping an eye on Zod & co., trying to figure out what they want, spying on Lois, running LuthorCorp and being up to date with what scientists are doing there, training minions and teaching them proper manners, and she finds time to practice her martial arts, too. My kind of girl.
Zod.
I really loved that part of the storyline. I'm so glad that Zod & Kandorians are not just sitting on their assed and waiting for solution to find them. They're out there, actively trying to make the best out of the situation. And they seem damn badass and intelligent. I almost forgot how nice it is to have capable villains on the show.
Chloe.
Here's a rant coming.
If the writers really don't realize that they're making part of their audience hate Chloe, more and more with every episode, I really don't understand what they're thinking.
Because once again she gets the Obnoxious Jackass of the Episode Award for her jealous yelling at Clark about how they've *both* sacrificed a lot so he could be hero, and how he should stop back-paddling. I swear, I really wished that truck that hit Corben would show up and pancake her, too.
She got away with murder, aiding and abetting a serial killer, dumping body parts into dumpster, lying to Clark and manipulating him and talking him out of doing the right thing. And all she admitted to is how they are *both* responsible for Jimmy's death?! Seriously? And nobody is calling her out on her shit?
All the other characters on the show get called on what they did, their mistakes and flaws get pointed out. And they own up to it.
Ollie is drinking his sorry ass guiltily into oblivion, with self loathing at maximum, and owns up when Lois points out he's drunk and calls him an obnoxious jackass. They have Corben point out to Lois that she's known to jump to conclusions occasionally, and they have both Corben and Tess address that she was fired. They even have Lois tell Corben, while thinking he's a cop, that snooping around that train isn't even that big when compared to the other illegal things she's done, thus proving that Lois is aware of her character traits, but rolls with it. They have Clark admit he's feeling guilty over Jimmy dieing
, even though his only "crime" there was listening to Chloe and letting her stop him from sending a serial killer to prison. They have Chloe call Clark on distancing himself, and how that's not really working and how he's fooling himself, and him realizing and admitting that. They even have Clark apologizing to her for not being there for her as a friend.
But did anyone call Chloe on *any* of the things she did? No.
Did she fess up herself to any of the things she did? She admitted *her and Clark* were responsible for Jimmy ending up dead. And then they have her act like a jealous, entitled jackass, because she's not centre of attention 'after everything she sacrificed and has been through'. Dear Bob, show, SERIOUSLY?!
The fact that they're not addressing this makes it impossible for me to enjoy any positive scenes/interactions Chloe has with Lois or Clark. Just - seeing red.
Random thoughts:
- Why did they not think that Lois finding out about Jimmy was important enough to be shown on screen? What is it with writers and Lois [not] finding out people died? She never found out Grant was dead, and now they skip over Jimmy revelation? Not on.
- Make up your mind on Shelby's gender.
I read somewhere that original dog who played Shelby died, so they are using a new one now. Can anyone confirm that? I guess if the new dog is a girl, I could overlook the lazy non existing continuity.
- Also. Lois is allergic to dogs. How hard would it have been to have her sneeze at least once?
- They mentioned Martha!!
- Chloe has a framed picture of Jimmy on her desk. Check out around 25:50, next to yellow roses.
- Chloe suggesting that Kal-El will need his "human disguise" now more than ever?! Um, excuse me?! Clark Kent is not the disguise on Smallville. Put down the Legion ring, and come back to post-Crisis time period, people. Thank you.
- Daily Planet key ring. I want one!!
- "Death of Superman" reference! Did you notice the cape all torn when Lois was dreaming?
- Also, loved the short scene of Lois laughing happily during the Clois!dream!sex, before they kissed. At least one part of that future vision is joyful.
- Hopefully now that Clark is over with his 'leaving humanity behind' phase we might get some colour back on the show. Clark was distant, and the show was extremely dark this two episodes. As soon as Clark Kent is back, there's lots of light and colours. They could have filmed that at night, with Lois working late at the Planet. Kinda like a Odyssey part 2, and Clark coming back again. But they went with a busy Daily Planet scene, filled with lots of light. So, welcome back show. ♥
- Loved all TSCC references. "Hunting down a real life terminator" being the most obvious one. Also, the car just hitting Corben. I may have yelled "come with me if you want to live" during that scene. *g* And Metallo walking like a machine, heh, your old gig is showing BAG, that reminded me so much of Cameron in 2x01.
- What's with the naked guy in the end? House of El? Was that Jor-El?
Poll Metallo
It's 4 AM, and this got really long, and I'm too tired tonight to check this for spelling mistakes. I apologize if there are too many.
John Corben/Metallo.
Oh, BAG, please come back in the future! You were amazing.
Now this is how you write villains! Make bad guys layered, and make them sympathetic, without making them pathetic, annoying or woobified.
I love how they told John's story. I'm glad he had a personal reason to resent The Blur. That story about his sister not only made him sympathetic, but it also addressed the issue of people Clark saves, and what if they go on and do bad things. Obviously, Clark is not in the wrong. It's not like he can scan for ID and then run to do a quick search to see how good the person he's saving is. And even if they were bad, he'd still save them, because it's not up to him to decide who lives or dies. We have justice system to deal with criminals when needed. But I so understand how that might not be so clear cut to someone who experienced being on the other side of that discussion, and lost someone because of one of the lucky people Blur managed to save. I like when the show gives us these little moral puzzles, they're fun.
I have to say, bloody hell! Was this one of the bloodiest, most gruesome episodes or what? It looked *amazing*, really realistic. That car crash scene and Corben all bloodied, it was quite chilling.
Loved the kryptonite heart & the whole look. It looked really good. And now when LuthorCorp has their hands on him, I can only imagine they'll turn him into a more shiny looking model, Metallo 2.0. :)
I like how they've explained that kryptonite was poisoning his brain slowly** and how it was obvious he was deteriorating and turning more and more violent. He was *creepy* in his scene with Lois, when he was asking her about The Blur's identity. I don't remember anyone being this creepy on the show before, except maybe Curtis Knox.
[**One has to wonder about Lana, and how long before she snaps, turns into a meteor mutant or gets cancer. Still *palmfacing* over that one.]
And talk about wanting revenge, he literally took out his heart just so kryptonite would continue hurting Clark.
Would love to see him again!
Clark.
"I'm trying to fill the void by hanging out on rooftops earsdropping on people. People who are connecting. And living. Thinking what's the point of protecting life, if you've lost your sense on how to live it. Maybe I can't do this, Chloe. Maybe I can't stay away."
Oh Clark, how I love you for finding your own way to train, deciding what's best for you and sticking to it. \S/
I love that he tried it Jor-El's way, but when it didn't work as good as it was supposed to, he decided to make some changes. I'm so so happy that he was unable to leave his humanity behind. He may be alien, but The Kents raised him to be a good man, and his humanity is part of who he is, so it's no wonder he wasn't able to ignore all that.
I loved that first scene, when he's listening to voices & sounds of Metropolis. He can't let go, and he was getting lonely when he tried to. I love that Lois picked up on his loneliness. I so wanted for someone to hug him, and then there was a hug in the last scene, and all was right again. :D
I also love how he showed empathy when dealing with Metallo. But at the same time he also stood up for himself and what he's doing, and how he can't pick and choose who he saves. I'm so glad that seems to be the trend this season - Clark standing up for himself. Keep that up, show.
Also, loved Metallo's speech here, about The Blur being in the shadows. Amazing delivery, and it obviously hit home with Clark.
I loved all the clever solutions in the episode. How he got Emil to help him with a plan, and get him EMP. And especially how he thought to use that lead to armour Metallo. I love it when our boy is quick and cleaver on his feet. :)
Also, I think this episode made it apparent that Clark needs to be at the Daily Planet to make his job as the Blur easier. If he was still there, he wouldn't have need to call Lois to tell her about the Planet key ring, he could have kept an eye on her, and x-ray everyone to see if they're missing their keys/see if anyone needs to borrow them. And also, researching things would have been so much easier with the Planet database at his disposal. Here, he had to go to Chloe for help.
Loved his interactions with Lois, both as Blur and as Clark.
I love that she was the one he turned to when he was lonely. Loved all the concern he showed for her in this episode. "You're safe now, Lois. I'm here!" scene was great.
And love, love, LOVE that last Daily Planet scene when he came back. The look on his face when Lois hugged him, and he realized just how much she missed him, and he's a bit taken aback by it. Gold. And then the 1000 watt smile when she's telling him how she helped The Blur. Priceless. I love that he just can't stay away, that he finds it so easy to talk to her, and that being around her or just hearing her voice on the phone always puts a smile on his face.
Lois.
I love that she missed Clark so much that she went to check the farm. And that she took Shelby to stay with her, just so the dog wouldn't be alone.
Her bickering with Corben was fun. :D Bonus point for Lois making an \S/ doodle in the dust while on the phone with him. I love how protective she is of The Blur, and how she believes in him.
Kudos for confronting Tess about getting her job back. That was well played.
I always enjoy these two going against each other.
Also, femslash ahoy!!! \o/
Loved her interactions with the Blur. She is clearly smitten, and damn, but I want to know what they talk about when The Blur calls her "just to chat". Loved the "our phonebooth" moment between the two.
I like how her first instinct after the warning that the guy from the hospital works at the Planet is to go and do some detective work. Mwah. I so agree about the rabbit foot, ew. I have to wonder how many people she asked about their keys. lol
Great moment when she realized Corben is the guy from the hospital. I like how she never freaks out, but keeps her cool. And again with managing to see and grab that pipe she used to hit Corben in that abandoned building later on. She might have got knocked out, but she was a badass in this episode.
She also gets the Quote of the Episode Award for
"Heartless bastard!" LMAO It's all in the delivery.
Also, I loved how happy she was to see Clark again! The hug that lasted a bit too long, because she got lost in it. Awkwardly trying to downplay how she missed him. Giddiness over him wanting to hear about her helping The Blur. That whole scene was so good.
Tess.
She seems to have her hands full. Keeping an eye on Zod & co., trying to figure out what they want, spying on Lois, running LuthorCorp and being up to date with what scientists are doing there, training minions and teaching them proper manners, and she finds time to practice her martial arts, too. My kind of girl.
Zod.
I really loved that part of the storyline. I'm so glad that Zod & Kandorians are not just sitting on their assed and waiting for solution to find them. They're out there, actively trying to make the best out of the situation. And they seem damn badass and intelligent. I almost forgot how nice it is to have capable villains on the show.
Chloe.
Here's a rant coming.
If the writers really don't realize that they're making part of their audience hate Chloe, more and more with every episode, I really don't understand what they're thinking.
Because once again she gets the Obnoxious Jackass of the Episode Award for her jealous yelling at Clark about how they've *both* sacrificed a lot so he could be hero, and how he should stop back-paddling. I swear, I really wished that truck that hit Corben would show up and pancake her, too.
She got away with murder, aiding and abetting a serial killer, dumping body parts into dumpster, lying to Clark and manipulating him and talking him out of doing the right thing. And all she admitted to is how they are *both* responsible for Jimmy's death?! Seriously? And nobody is calling her out on her shit?
All the other characters on the show get called on what they did, their mistakes and flaws get pointed out. And they own up to it.
Ollie is drinking his sorry ass guiltily into oblivion, with self loathing at maximum, and owns up when Lois points out he's drunk and calls him an obnoxious jackass. They have Corben point out to Lois that she's known to jump to conclusions occasionally, and they have both Corben and Tess address that she was fired. They even have Lois tell Corben, while thinking he's a cop, that snooping around that train isn't even that big when compared to the other illegal things she's done, thus proving that Lois is aware of her character traits, but rolls with it. They have Clark admit he's feeling guilty over Jimmy dieing
, even though his only "crime" there was listening to Chloe and letting her stop him from sending a serial killer to prison. They have Chloe call Clark on distancing himself, and how that's not really working and how he's fooling himself, and him realizing and admitting that. They even have Clark apologizing to her for not being there for her as a friend.
But did anyone call Chloe on *any* of the things she did? No.
Did she fess up herself to any of the things she did? She admitted *her and Clark* were responsible for Jimmy ending up dead. And then they have her act like a jealous, entitled jackass, because she's not centre of attention 'after everything she sacrificed and has been through'. Dear Bob, show, SERIOUSLY?!
The fact that they're not addressing this makes it impossible for me to enjoy any positive scenes/interactions Chloe has with Lois or Clark. Just - seeing red.
Random thoughts:
- Why did they not think that Lois finding out about Jimmy was important enough to be shown on screen? What is it with writers and Lois [not] finding out people died? She never found out Grant was dead, and now they skip over Jimmy revelation? Not on.
- Make up your mind on Shelby's gender.
I read somewhere that original dog who played Shelby died, so they are using a new one now. Can anyone confirm that? I guess if the new dog is a girl, I could overlook the lazy non existing continuity.
- Also. Lois is allergic to dogs. How hard would it have been to have her sneeze at least once?
- They mentioned Martha!!
- Chloe has a framed picture of Jimmy on her desk. Check out around 25:50, next to yellow roses.
- Chloe suggesting that Kal-El will need his "human disguise" now more than ever?! Um, excuse me?! Clark Kent is not the disguise on Smallville. Put down the Legion ring, and come back to post-Crisis time period, people. Thank you.
- Daily Planet key ring. I want one!!
- "Death of Superman" reference! Did you notice the cape all torn when Lois was dreaming?
- Also, loved the short scene of Lois laughing happily during the Clois!dream!sex, before they kissed. At least one part of that future vision is joyful.
- Hopefully now that Clark is over with his 'leaving humanity behind' phase we might get some colour back on the show. Clark was distant, and the show was extremely dark this two episodes. As soon as Clark Kent is back, there's lots of light and colours. They could have filmed that at night, with Lois working late at the Planet. Kinda like a Odyssey part 2, and Clark coming back again. But they went with a busy Daily Planet scene, filled with lots of light. So, welcome back show. ♥
- Loved all TSCC references. "Hunting down a real life terminator" being the most obvious one. Also, the car just hitting Corben. I may have yelled "come with me if you want to live" during that scene. *g* And Metallo walking like a machine, heh, your old gig is showing BAG, that reminded me so much of Cameron in 2x01.
- What's with the naked guy in the end? House of El? Was that Jor-El?
Poll Metallo
It's 4 AM, and this got really long, and I'm too tired tonight to check this for spelling mistakes. I apologize if there are too many.