Smallville 10x09 Patriot
Oh, lord - the darkness crap is back. ::shakes head:: Did I miss the scenes/ep where Clark spoke to Lois about his inner drakness? And this is a genuine question, since I fear I might've zoned out when it actually occurred.
An uneven ep, with some truly atrocious acting and at times horrendous dialogue. I liked the fact that we got some action stuff though, and I also appreciate the continuation of the Darkseid storyline, even though I still have some problems with the execution.
But on the whole? No great shakes and from amongst TW' eps alone, far inferior to 'Fragile', 'Hydro' and 'Apocalypse.' Nowhere near as awful as 'Injustice' though, so that's something atleast.
What I probably appreciated the most about the ep was the furtherance of some of the storylines and certain reveals, such as Lois and Tess each now being aware of the others knowledge. I think it was about time. In fact, I really liked the Tess/Lois scenes. There was no need for animosity just for the sake of it, so I'm glad that angle was kept out. They were actually co-operative and amiable - and that's kind of a refreshing dynamic between female characters on this show, not to mention a nice change of pace for these two characters specifically, as well.
Speaking of Tess, I see she hasn't yet come out with her Luthor reveal to the boys. Why do I get the feeling that this is going to hit some serious repurcussions down the road---
This was a good ep for Lois in terms of showing her in full on investigative reporter mode - scenes I feel she always excels in. And in that vein, I liked her quick wit and thinking in her scene with Slade and even the one with Emil. Which, actually came across better than it probably sounded on paper, I'd wager, because of how ED played it with her "for the record, you do know I was just bluffing" line as conciliatory and friendly, rather than smug and condescending. I liked that in her efforts to get through to Clark she ended up providing their search with some valuable information. So far so good.
The ep sort of lost me with her though in the whole debate of 'Clois-must-be-co-captains-because-they-are-now-a-couple' thing. Because, to my knowledge, aren't they already pretty much equal partners in life? To the extent where Clark is even going to propose to her soon. The conflict here seemed very manufactured to me, therefore. Moreover the fact that Lois is exactly the kind of person ideal to handle Clark and what his life encompasses, is also something we are by now, well aware of. What was the point in having that repeated to us? And as far as the actual argument of how much in the loop do they need to be in each others lives, I think it's safe to say, they already are as much as any couple in love can be, especially given Clark' extraordinary existence and heritage, and life work, etc. We didn't need to see an AC and Mera for parallels sake, especially when, IMO, they don't even really parallel Clark and Lois all that well.
AC and Mera have exactly the same life goals, similar heritage/backgrounds and each have the same way of executing those life goals as well. They are quite literally in each others worlds constantly, because they happen to share the same world. Clark and Lois on the other hand, while they too, have very similar life goals and views (truth, justice, working for the greater cause), they also very clearly, IMO have entirely different ways of realizing these goals. Clark, as a superhero has that side of life to do so, while Lois, being a reporter has that side to do so. Now of course, at times, more often than not, in fact, these two sides will converge - that's just par for the course in terms of the work they do. But does it mean constantly checking in with each other before every mission or Clark actually including Lois in every mission? To my mind, no. What these two should aim to work on, and from future scenes we know they will come to master, is the communication and sync factor of it all - learning the art of keeping each in the loop while still doing their own thing. That's what makes their comics counterparts pretty damn amazing, too, if I recall correctly. And this, IMO, should have been the message of the ep for them. Not the one that I felt we got instead, was that Clark and Lois must work together actively on every mission and Lois must now actively be hero support. To me, that's a confused message if there ever was one, because it takes away from what makes Clois, traditionally and also our, SV Clois special and unique in the first place - their ability to provide each other the greatest strength and support while also allowing the other to be the best version of themselves possible. That's quintissential Clois, IMO.
Therefore, I completely understand where Lois is coming from in terms of wanting to always stay in the loop - especially now that she knows everything, and where information could potentially prove crucial with regards to safety issues, etc. And she was also right to suggest that Clark should have spoken to her about his intentions and plans wrt the VRA. Something like this is absolutely the kind of thing that affects both of them. But where I didn't agree with her was her indignation that Clark spoke to Oliver, and not her. That Clark didn't speak to her at all? Yes, but that he spoke to Oliver? No. Because they're two separate things, IMO. Clark talking to Oliver about these matters is perfectly natural - they are allies and part of the same team, with a (hopefully adhered to from now on from Oliver' side) no secrets-all trust policy to follow. They ::should:: be talking to each other about these issues, and if they're not - ::that's:: the real problem. Hopefully though, now that Lois has seen the inner workings of WT and her and Clark start working on that communication thing a bit better, she'll come to realize that it's probably not always easy for Clark to maneuver all that he has going in his life. This is not excusing him not speaking to Lois about his plans, but the situation probably allowed both of them new perspective on the other. Especially Lois, wrt seeing all that Clark has to constantly deal with.
Especially given the fact that he couldn't have reassured her more positively, as he did in that porch scene. Which, personally I found a bit OTT - I don't particularly care for these melodramatic sounding odes - I prefer when Clois are more natural. IMO, they're at their strongest without the overt sap thrown in.
The final WT scene was good. It was actually really nice seeing all our regulars sharing a scene together. I liked the fact that the darkness theme was a little better explained here than in the awful 'Supergirl.' I appreciated how the enormity of the threat was explained here by pointing out that each and every soul out there is prone and capable of being corrupted - that certainly makes a helluva lot more sense than the crap sprouted in 'Supergirl.' This, coupled with the omega sign, and the Slade resurrection actually helped the Darkseid storyline along, even if it was again all thrown in without much background and exposition. Also, Slade=Deathstroke? The SV version?
I didn't mind AC' return. I could actually see both sides of the argument, to an extent where him and Clark were concerned and I quite liked their scene in the barn. It had a nice acknowledgment from both of them of the others POV, plus a strengthening of the trust and communication factor between them, rounding it all off with AC' "we'll do it your way, lead by example, not by resistance."
I'll admit, I liked that line - one of the few good instances of dialogue. I like it when Clark is validated in his viewpoints, but at the same time, it didn't feel as if we trampled on AC' to get there, y'know. I also really liked the moment where, even trapped and in pain, Clark still wanted to get Slade to safety. Nicely played by TW too.
But aside from these bits and pieces, and certain scenes here and there, I honestly felt this was the weakest piece of writing since 'Harvest.' The Lois/Mera scenes were particularly awkwardly written, and almost all of Oliver' stuff was heavy handed and clunky. And even the opening scene, and the first AC / Clark confrontation - bad, bad, bad. Even worse was the acting from Mera and Slade - truly awful, rivalling again, the villagers from 'Harvest.' Mera, in particular, was just simply awful. Atleast Alan Ritchson brings this sincerity to the role, IMO, which helps alleviate the wooden acting. Mera, not so much.
Atleast it seems, with recent eps, that the show is trying to tie its storylines together now - that's a good sign. Now I'm just hoping for better overall quality in the eps, as well.
An uneven ep, with some truly atrocious acting and at times horrendous dialogue. I liked the fact that we got some action stuff though, and I also appreciate the continuation of the Darkseid storyline, even though I still have some problems with the execution.
But on the whole? No great shakes and from amongst TW' eps alone, far inferior to 'Fragile', 'Hydro' and 'Apocalypse.' Nowhere near as awful as 'Injustice' though, so that's something atleast.
What I probably appreciated the most about the ep was the furtherance of some of the storylines and certain reveals, such as Lois and Tess each now being aware of the others knowledge. I think it was about time. In fact, I really liked the Tess/Lois scenes. There was no need for animosity just for the sake of it, so I'm glad that angle was kept out. They were actually co-operative and amiable - and that's kind of a refreshing dynamic between female characters on this show, not to mention a nice change of pace for these two characters specifically, as well.
Speaking of Tess, I see she hasn't yet come out with her Luthor reveal to the boys. Why do I get the feeling that this is going to hit some serious repurcussions down the road---
This was a good ep for Lois in terms of showing her in full on investigative reporter mode - scenes I feel she always excels in. And in that vein, I liked her quick wit and thinking in her scene with Slade and even the one with Emil. Which, actually came across better than it probably sounded on paper, I'd wager, because of how ED played it with her "for the record, you do know I was just bluffing" line as conciliatory and friendly, rather than smug and condescending. I liked that in her efforts to get through to Clark she ended up providing their search with some valuable information. So far so good.
The ep sort of lost me with her though in the whole debate of 'Clois-must-be-co-captains-because-they-are-now-a-couple' thing. Because, to my knowledge, aren't they already pretty much equal partners in life? To the extent where Clark is even going to propose to her soon. The conflict here seemed very manufactured to me, therefore. Moreover the fact that Lois is exactly the kind of person ideal to handle Clark and what his life encompasses, is also something we are by now, well aware of. What was the point in having that repeated to us? And as far as the actual argument of how much in the loop do they need to be in each others lives, I think it's safe to say, they already are as much as any couple in love can be, especially given Clark' extraordinary existence and heritage, and life work, etc. We didn't need to see an AC and Mera for parallels sake, especially when, IMO, they don't even really parallel Clark and Lois all that well.
AC and Mera have exactly the same life goals, similar heritage/backgrounds and each have the same way of executing those life goals as well. They are quite literally in each others worlds constantly, because they happen to share the same world. Clark and Lois on the other hand, while they too, have very similar life goals and views (truth, justice, working for the greater cause), they also very clearly, IMO have entirely different ways of realizing these goals. Clark, as a superhero has that side of life to do so, while Lois, being a reporter has that side to do so. Now of course, at times, more often than not, in fact, these two sides will converge - that's just par for the course in terms of the work they do. But does it mean constantly checking in with each other before every mission or Clark actually including Lois in every mission? To my mind, no. What these two should aim to work on, and from future scenes we know they will come to master, is the communication and sync factor of it all - learning the art of keeping each in the loop while still doing their own thing. That's what makes their comics counterparts pretty damn amazing, too, if I recall correctly. And this, IMO, should have been the message of the ep for them. Not the one that I felt we got instead, was that Clark and Lois must work together actively on every mission and Lois must now actively be hero support. To me, that's a confused message if there ever was one, because it takes away from what makes Clois, traditionally and also our, SV Clois special and unique in the first place - their ability to provide each other the greatest strength and support while also allowing the other to be the best version of themselves possible. That's quintissential Clois, IMO.
Therefore, I completely understand where Lois is coming from in terms of wanting to always stay in the loop - especially now that she knows everything, and where information could potentially prove crucial with regards to safety issues, etc. And she was also right to suggest that Clark should have spoken to her about his intentions and plans wrt the VRA. Something like this is absolutely the kind of thing that affects both of them. But where I didn't agree with her was her indignation that Clark spoke to Oliver, and not her. That Clark didn't speak to her at all? Yes, but that he spoke to Oliver? No. Because they're two separate things, IMO. Clark talking to Oliver about these matters is perfectly natural - they are allies and part of the same team, with a (hopefully adhered to from now on from Oliver' side) no secrets-all trust policy to follow. They ::should:: be talking to each other about these issues, and if they're not - ::that's:: the real problem. Hopefully though, now that Lois has seen the inner workings of WT and her and Clark start working on that communication thing a bit better, she'll come to realize that it's probably not always easy for Clark to maneuver all that he has going in his life. This is not excusing him not speaking to Lois about his plans, but the situation probably allowed both of them new perspective on the other. Especially Lois, wrt seeing all that Clark has to constantly deal with.
Especially given the fact that he couldn't have reassured her more positively, as he did in that porch scene. Which, personally I found a bit OTT - I don't particularly care for these melodramatic sounding odes - I prefer when Clois are more natural. IMO, they're at their strongest without the overt sap thrown in.
The final WT scene was good. It was actually really nice seeing all our regulars sharing a scene together. I liked the fact that the darkness theme was a little better explained here than in the awful 'Supergirl.' I appreciated how the enormity of the threat was explained here by pointing out that each and every soul out there is prone and capable of being corrupted - that certainly makes a helluva lot more sense than the crap sprouted in 'Supergirl.' This, coupled with the omega sign, and the Slade resurrection actually helped the Darkseid storyline along, even if it was again all thrown in without much background and exposition. Also, Slade=Deathstroke? The SV version?
I didn't mind AC' return. I could actually see both sides of the argument, to an extent where him and Clark were concerned and I quite liked their scene in the barn. It had a nice acknowledgment from both of them of the others POV, plus a strengthening of the trust and communication factor between them, rounding it all off with AC' "we'll do it your way, lead by example, not by resistance."
I'll admit, I liked that line - one of the few good instances of dialogue. I like it when Clark is validated in his viewpoints, but at the same time, it didn't feel as if we trampled on AC' to get there, y'know. I also really liked the moment where, even trapped and in pain, Clark still wanted to get Slade to safety. Nicely played by TW too.
But aside from these bits and pieces, and certain scenes here and there, I honestly felt this was the weakest piece of writing since 'Harvest.' The Lois/Mera scenes were particularly awkwardly written, and almost all of Oliver' stuff was heavy handed and clunky. And even the opening scene, and the first AC / Clark confrontation - bad, bad, bad. Even worse was the acting from Mera and Slade - truly awful, rivalling again, the villagers from 'Harvest.' Mera, in particular, was just simply awful. Atleast Alan Ritchson brings this sincerity to the role, IMO, which helps alleviate the wooden acting. Mera, not so much.
Atleast it seems, with recent eps, that the show is trying to tie its storylines together now - that's a good sign. Now I'm just hoping for better overall quality in the eps, as well.