Smallville: Absolute Justice
I'm torn on this. I'm at odds over it because while on the one hand, the comics fan in me loved parts of this ep, on the other hand the Clark fan in me feels shortchanged. So it's a strange dichotomy. I do have to commend the SV crew though, above and beyond anything, that for whatever modest budget they're working on - the overall look and feel of the ep never felt cheap. And I think that's crucial, given the subject matter of what we were dealing with here.
I'll also admit straight off that this ep contained several squeeworthy moments for me, and I am so incredibly glad that, save for the general premise of the ep, and the fact that Pam Grier would star, I was practically unspoiled for this. I hadn't even seen any trailers. And so the fangurl in me was more than having her share of 'OMG!' moments as we got all those terrific mentions and nods from Jay Garrick, the GL ring, and Sandman to Allan Scott and Checkmate.
And speaking of checkmate, Waller' - "welcome to the suicide squad." What a fantastic introductory appearance for a fascinating character like Amanda Waller. Not too much of her but just enough mystery thrown in there to keep us wanting for more. Checkmate' involvement was also a good way to involve Lois in to the thick of things. And finally, "Agenct Merer." Damn. Why did I not see this coming? That was quite the ending scene. And was it just me, or did anyone else think "Darkseid" when Waller mentioned the coming apocalypse?
I thought the introductions to all the characters were great. Each befitting the context of the hero in question. The initial Icicle / Pemberton fight was well done too - effective without giving away anything too much. Out of all the guest stars this week, Dr Fate was probably my favorite though. Not only did I enjoy his scenes the most, especially with Clark, but I found him the most sympathetic also. And by far, the most interesting. There was a real pathos and poignancy in the scene Dr Fate and Hawkman share where the latter says "my morality may have wavered but yours never did" and the former says "I wish I remembered what my life was like before Dr Fate." I also really liked his scene with Clark which contained probably my favorite line of the ep too - "I see everyone's fate but my own. Sometimes it scares me. But when I see the future of someome like you, it makes me believe in tomorrow again." This, coupled with bar none the most squeeworthy moment of the ep for me - the callback to Clark' cape from 'Hereafter', made these scenes really emotionally resonant for me.
Hawkman was portrayed effectively too, though I had some issues which I'll just get to. It was Stargirl that was the weakest link for me, but even she wasn't too terribly annoying, I suppose.
The other thing I really liked about this ep was seeing certain characters I had no idea were going to be in it. Like Emil and MM. It's terrific to see the latter back with his powers again and really, in a somewhat fitting way it comes full circle with him, if you will. He made a sacrifice earlier to save a fellow hero (Clark) and now another hero makes a sacrifice to save him. Plus, we got o see the briefest of glimpses of his true form, which was completely unexpectedly awesome.
Another scene I liked was the one with Clark in the museum, with all the reveals one by one. I not only loved TW' expressions here but I was actually moved. What could have come off as incredibly cheesy whatwith the apparently ridiculously silly outfits and stuff, actually was, in part, awe-inspiring. And I got that from feeling emanating from Clark too, which is what really sold the scene - that we were chancing upon a slice of hero history here.
And a minor thing, really, since it's not like we didn't already know, but nevertheless - the Lex reveal? Very cool.
Now, coming to the part of the ep where my feelings are decidedly more mixed. Clark. For all the stuff that's genuinely squeeworthy in this ep, there are moments of utter frustration for a Clark fan. For instance, the complete WTFness of having him missing from the final watchtower scene between Chloe, MM, and Ollie. I mean, what is that? Why? What was the point of the exclusion and if there is one, it's not fucking good enough. And if there isn't, then that's even worse because that's just lazy writing. Secondly, yes, I get that we were supposed to have Hawkman sort of at conflict with everything and everyone in the beginning but still, his "haven't quit? You haven't even started yet" rubbed me the wrong way. And I'm willing to concede and admit that it's not even so much this particular instance but just rather the unfortunate history and context of other characters in the past who have just waltzed in and proceeded to berate Clark for this, that and the other. It just elicits a very tired, weary reaction from me now and I hate it. Having said this, there was some stuff here wrt Clark that I did appreciate. For instance the fact that in the beginning, even without knowing her or anything about her, Clark is still compelled to reach out to Stargirl because he sees a young girl in distress. That warmed my heart. Infact, I enjpyed his scene with her later in the ep too, when he spoke of continuing the legacy. That was not only some good advice but I loved how gently he conveyed it. I also found his "I admire their loyalty" line, very telling. It's so rare we get any insight from Clark these days, but I'll take what I can get. The fight scene towards the end was also well done, though the part cynic-part Clark fan in me has to throw it out there that Clark probably could've saved the whole show there, but given what was supposed to be the entire point of the ep, I didn't ultimately mind so much that each hero got their moment to shine and contribute.
But some of my issues with the writing for Clark aside even, I had some other problems with the ep too. The whole Hawkman / GA butting heads for instance, just felt forced to me. Normally, there's an idelogical conflict of some sort that triggers it, but nothing here seems to precipitate it. So while I enjoyed some of Hawkman's dialogue, on the whole it got t a bit grating for me, personally.
And while I was OK with Oliver in the ep, I really was - I'm sorry, but I still instinctively seethed when he said, "when the chips are down, we're always there." All I could think of was, "yeah, right, unless you're the one causing the chips to fall down in the first place!" I know, I realize, this is my issue with Oliver, one that I really ought to get over, and I am trying. I've been alright with his character these last few eps actually, but with statements like these? Not helping.
Chloe' condescending and dismissive tone towards Clark continued, though thankfully briefly, at the beginning of the ep. Again, hate this so much. Also, in the category of "huh?" - what did we make of Dr Fate' "you walk the same path I do, Chloe Sullivan?" Are we going to have Chloe take on the mask, eventually? Because that's not cool with me.
The other "huh?" aspect for me is Lois still being a basement reporter. Honestly, I mean, we have all this talk about her reputation preceding her and one thing or the other starts to feel jarring here when we still see her at the basement level. I think the writers are just too chicken to stray away from their warped version of canon and are keeping her there because they can't seem to think anyone but Perry can get her out of there. Whst they don't get that Lois, sans any kind of promotion at this point, IMO, even the tiniest one, is not only jarring for the character but the story too. Because let's face it, the show is hardly likely to get McKean back and I doubt they'd recast. I can see how they're probably using Tess as the reason for her still being in the basement? Maybe? But it's still wierd for me, by this point. I don't know.
Also, the Clois anvils aren't really needed now. In fact, they're jarring too, especially now that we're actually getting them closer than ever before and with all the great foundation that's been lain for them. We've actually, genuinely been seeing the development now - we have been since S8 now, so the anvils aren't necessary the way they probably were in S4, 5 or 6.
Oh, and random, but I thought AM' reaction to the 'ye-olde-computer-of-yore' were hilarious. And also random? The Ollie/Dinah emails.
All in all, this was a good effort in terms of infusing a new storyline and set of characters within the current set up, but it was far from perfect. But, I will still give it kudos for pulling off what seemed to be perhaps a too ambitious scope and providing comics fans with some truly squeeworthy moments. But as a SV writer, Johns still has a long way to go before getting all the characters and dynamics right.