Smallville: Persuasion
The lightheartedness of the mindwhammy plot and the seriousness of the Zod/Towers/Clark-searching-answers-for-JorEl'-death' didn't mesh together very well for me. It's not that I don't get the merging of genres in single eps - long time SV and not to mention Buffyverse fan here after all, but rather I think in this particular ep, the two tones didn't really find a way to come together in cohesive harmony. It honestly felt at times as if I as watching two different eps altogether.
Having said that, I do think this ep admirably moved along some important plot points, the most crucial of which at this point is the Zod storyline, which, much to my surprise, actually gained some momentum here.
We discovered, for one thing, (or maybe we already had but I was just too dense to have not heard it till now) that perpetual!ponytail!Kandorian was Faora. We also find out that Alia was the one who killed Jor-El. This confirmation, one way or the other of the identity, despite the can of worms it opens up, was a welcome development, I have to say. The towers, as crazy rapid as their being built was, are also shown ready to be inaugurated. And finally, we are also told that Clark has been helping rehabilitate the Kandorians with new lives and identities, and without Zod' knowledge. All of this nicely sets up the events that actually follow.
Clark, Tess, Zod, and Chloe were all involved in this part of the plot - Clark and Chloe being dual players, in that they were also involved in the mindwhammy plot. I thought the writing for Clark in this one was uneven, in the sense that that were aspects about the way his characterization was handled that I both loved and hated. As far as Clark' role in this side of the plot goes, I was hardpressed to understand why Clark would think he would be able to get it past Zod that he was providing the Kandorians with new identities. I also didn't appreciate that the writers didn't think it a better idea to have Clark snap himself out of the mindwhammy, as opposed to Chloe saving the day. It's not the fact that I didn't understand Clark in the moment that leads to the mindwhammy in the first place, because I do. I can completely see how it must sometimes be a definite task not giving in to the more base temptations and commend Clark for having the strength not to do so. This is, after all, what makes him Supes. But I think it would have been so much more fitting for him as a character and the story if in that ring of fire, we'd have been shown a Clark fighting the whammy and eventually triumphing over it due to his own innate goodness and better sense - which already is extraordinary, IMO, rather than the Green!K we ended up getting. The moreorless unfortunate neglect of the Clark/Zod/Kandorians storyline up till now was also made abundantly clear towards the end of the ep as Clark makes the pivotal decision to destroy the towers. Because it all seemed a bit abrupt. Yes, we are to infer presumably that Zod killing was finally the proverbial last straw, and that while Clark knew some aspects of the future were already changing, others would still be set in motion if he didn't make some changes of his own in the now - but it seemed rushed, nonetheless, or conversely, way overdue and delayed - whichever way you want to look at it. What I did love was the idea of Clark actively trying to find and give the Kandorians a fresh start and new hope, and his adamant stand against sending them to the PZ. I agree with him btw, on this, as its a completely contrary situation to the Davis one. More on this when we get to Chloe though. And I have to say, the scene itself? Of Clark destroying the towers? As a little hammy as it was, I still got a real kick out of it. I also loved the line right before that - "this isn't my kind of justice." Sometimes these scenes juat work, even if they are a little melodramatically done.
And what made this even better were Zod' reactions to watching the towers burn. CB does this incredible mix of incredulousness, disbelief and 'oh-you-just-declared-war' in those brief seconds which is amazing. For all the OTTness of Zod, CB, for once went subtle here. Rest of the ep though CB was in fine, mostly hammy form, and I loved it. I think it was just the right mix, as opposed to too much OTTness, which was becoming a problem for me in 'Pandora' and 'Disciple.' Zod baiting Clark about his father was, well, a very Zod move, and his scenes with Tess were terrific too.
Though Tess' motivations and where she's coming from, still, half of the time, continue to elude me. I'm still not exactly sure where she stands on the whole Zod/Clark/Towers issue as she keeps seemingly flipflopping so much. Or is just me, and I'm missing something? I will say though that I thought the chemistry between CF and CB in the bathtub scene was on. The horrendous Luthor security and Tess' impossibly quick shift from -horrified-to-see-you-in-my-bathroom' to 'oh-won't-you-join-me' looks were funny though. Tess also, very, very cruicially knows of Clark' weakness now - the Green!K. I wonder if this will come in to play or not later. It has to, I'm thinking. Tess and Chloe also shared a scene together and it was interesting to see the former offer the latter to join hands with her, as its a nice bit if continuity from 'Pandora.' Obviously Tess is doing so for her own ulterior motives - keep your enemy closer and all of that jazz. The Tess/Chloe fight itself I thought was very well done - brutal. Chloe can hold her own, but man, can Tess land a punch. She completely heaves her whole self in to it. Quite intimidating.
Chloe' part in this side of the plot, as in her conversation with Clark about sending the Kandorians to the PZ, honestly left me scratching my head. Wasn't it Chloe herself who last season so passionately argued against Clark' plan to send Davis there? Huh. Talk about a double standard. Needless to say, I'm with Clark on this one, as I was then, and as I am now too. Davis was a killer. Known killer. Multiple murderer whose destiny included killing Clark. Now, as shady as the Kandorians are, and they are, I fully see that, and their potential for mass-murderness too, but they still haven't done anything yet IMO that warrants sending them as humans no less to a place such as the PZ.
The Chlark scenes didn't really work for me in this one either, I'm afraid and I absolutely cringed at Chloe' "sometimes protecting you means having to protect you from yourself." I can really, really live without hearing this from her again.
Finally, two aspects about the Kandorians plot really stood out for me, and in a good way. Firstly, I liked that the Zod/Alia scene so effectively highlighted the almost uniquely righteous yet brutal way of functioning for these people - all for "justice." Alia kills Jor-El and then Zod kills Alia. Secondly, I thought the funeral scene was stunningly filmed and the music score complimented the proceedings very well.
Now, coming to the mindwhammy side of things, I thought this whole part of the ep was so unnecessary and pointless. Whammied!Chloe with Lois was another cringeworthy scene though I did appreciate that the writers let us know towards the end how apologetic Chloe was by leaving Lois all those messages. That unfortunate scene needed some sort of resolution at least, and I'll take what we got. Better than nothing.
Whammied!Lois, for the most, was also quite annoying, for me. I completely commend ED for giving it her all, and I'm not blaming Lois, because, hello, mindwhammy, but it was all just so unnecessary and not even that funny. Though I do have to admit I LOL'd at the dancing, which, anyone else get 'Spell' flashbacks? Heh.
That said, there were parts of the Clois involvement in this side of the storyline that I did like. I liked the opening teaser - it's always nice to see Lois investigating and out for a story, with or without Clark. Their respective takes on Valentines felt in character to me, mostly. Most importantly, for me, I do think this side of the storyline saw Clark written well. I love that even though he may seem old fashioned, he was real quick to miss the 'old Lois' and was genuinely worried about her career. I also liked how great it was of him to let Lois call the shots in that final scene of theirs. That was incredibly sweet, especially given that he had seen Lois' meltdown earlier where some of her genuine insecurities came out to play. I think the barn scene was in any case an important one for them, because when Clark reaffirms his promise to Lois here - it almost dawns on him as a sort of realization or revelation too. Subtly played by TW, but nicely done. Finally, in their last scene together, I immensely appreciated how once again, what could've been a moment for Lois to pressurize Clark about her suspicions re: secrets, what we got instead was her actually questioning herself and stressing how important it is for her to be exactly the kind of person Clark can trust. I thought it was lovely that Clark followed it up with "you're the most trustworthy person I know" because in so many instances now, alt timelines or reversed timelines, he's seen Lois' reactions to his secret, so he's not just offering lip service here.
I enjoyed the Ma Kent, Lucy and The General' mentions, but bar none, my favorite part of the mindwhammy plot was Emil. It was absolutely hilarious watching him in non-plussed-laidback guy mode. "Whatevs." Heh!
Random bits and bobs:
Were the flowers at the WT from Oliver?
Was the kryptonite dust supposed to be jewel Knite?
I LOL'd a bit at DP!co-worker' WTFesque "Lane?"
Shelby!
I found Zod' "you are his first born" a little wierd. Only son/child would have been more appropriate.
That Alia killed Jor-El - is that why she apologizes to Clark in 'Savior?' But then, how the hell does that make any sense at all, timeline wise?