Upgrade mini review
Welcome to my mini review of "Upgrade," or as I've decided to call it the episode that was so busy kissing Lois' ass it's hard to believe found the time to kiss Chloe's as well.
Honestly I think something is wrong with me because objectively I don't think the episode was very good at all and yet somehow I really enjoyed it.
I'm new at the episode review thing so I'm still figuring out focus/format issues. If it reads like little more than a stream of consciousness I'm sorry, hopefully I do better next time. :)
Mini review below the fold
This was an episode centered more around unlikely allies than upgrades per say. Too bad that as far as I know the English language doesn't has a single word that means strange bedfellows, well other than frenemy which would have only rivaled Lexmas for worst episode title ever. Of the three unlikely team ups one I thought the worked for most part (Lois/Corben), one didn't totally fail but didn't really succeed either (Clark/Zod), and one I thought fell completely flat (Chloe/Tess).
Maybe it's just me [OK it's not me -- I've seen others who made the same connection] but I couldn't help but see a treasure trove of Chloe/Davis parallels in the Lois/Corben interaction. It was like watching a better version of season eight unfold in a single episode. I could write paragraphs (if not pages) about it but will try to condense to just the most biggest things that struck me.
I did like how the episode kind of bookends Savior/Metallo as far as the Blur goes. Lois craved the Blur's trust and the sense of purpose working with him gave her. And now almost a year later as far as she knows finally getting everything she ever wanted on that front but with a fake Blur. I'm actually interested in seeing how all that is going to shake out in episodes to come.
Teaser: Good enough I guess. Not sure why an innocuous looking woman in a lab coat can raise all sorts of red flags in a lab that can lose track of a naked man with a glowing green chest but hey, it's Smallville. I've only watched the episode once and wondered if Lois inadvertently killed a room full of lab workers. We've been assured by one of the SV writers that in fact no one died. So Lois merely almost killed an entire room full of lab workers. Good thing those workers were all fast on their feet.
Clark & Lois: Would have liked a little more from Lois to indicate the secrets she's keeping from Clark are weighing more on her. Either she doesn't care or her stance on secrets has (d)evolved since her Oliver Queen dating days. I'd also like a little more self awareness from Clark on the secrets front. Not expecting to get either any time soon.
Lois & Corben: Probably the high point of the episode for me all around sadly enough. I greatly prefer where the guests interact more with Clark than the supporting cast but I thought Mr. Green did a great job in his scenes with Lois, especially in their last scene. Still I thought the Clark & Corben interactions in Metallo were pretty good and could have had some more of that here. For instance I'd have much preferred a validation of what Clark told Corben back then than just have Corben proxy Chloe "sometimes you have to be saved from yourself" crap.
Clark & Chloe: Egad, where do I start? I could swear I thought one of the producers said Chloe would get some "comeuppance" this episode for her past behavior this year? By that I guess he meant being the victim of an fairly irrational attack from redK Clark followed soon up by an apology for not revealing more details about the alternate future? Seems like the worst she suffered was having to clean up the S Clark burned on the Watchtower wall.
Maybe Clark does just want someone who understands him but his issues with Chloe seem to revolve more around trust. They kind of touched on that in Checkmate but unfortunately that was Chloe projecting feelings onto Clark. I don't know why the writers don't seem able to go there in one of the few episodes when Clark is explicitly set up to be wearing his heart on his sleeve.
Clark & Zod: Blah. The "Bromance" could have been handled much better. And Zod claims he "saved" Clark? Whatever. Aside for the "I have no equal line" the choking/circling scene just didn't do much for me. I did kind of like the impromptu Seattle snow storm I wished they could have used the moment to show the joy Clark can derive from his love of humans. It would give Zod a moment to learn a bit about why the humans love him, maybe set off a bit of arguing over the value of the human race. I personally feel that sort of discussion would have been more interesting than Zod's rather boring kryptonian science/religion exposition.
Chloe and Tess: I was really surprised at how flat they were together. Couldn't believe it because individually they're usually pretty good and the few times they've shared screen times before seemed to work. I have to add I've seen comments where people thought the two of them were great together. As I've only watched the episode once I'll pay better attention to their scenes next time just in case I see things differently the second time around.
FoS fight scene: Aside from the fact I can't believe Metallo essentially defeated not one but two Kryptonians on their home turf what bothered me most scene was the sometimes you need to be saved from yourself line Corben cribbed from Chloe. Boy has that been overplayed this year. It's at least the third mention if not the forth. So not only is Chloe "saving" Clark yet again from himself yet again I'm left wondering how Corben knew what to do once the chip was gone much less know to give Clark that line.
One thing I feel could have kept the tension going is to have kept Corben's true intentions unknown a little longer.
I kept waiting for Zod to save Clark -- what the hell happened to him? Is he a coward? Did he just leave Clark to die on purpose? Wish I knew.
Final thoughts
Clark shoves Chloe and burns an S inside the Watchtower
Maybe it's just me but I thought that was actually a ridiculously mild reaction from RedK Clark upon learning about who is really responsible for a stock pile of weapons that could kill him. I'm certainly not advocating a more violent approach to Chloe -- though isn't a shove the same thing he did to her back in season three for simply showing up at his apartment? And as far as burning his symbol into the wall? What kind of punishment is that? How about a full blown computer meltdown to shut down Chloe's activities for good? That's the kind of reaction I'd expect from RedK Clark.
Chloe knocks out Lois
Not that I don't think Chloe had her own brand of justification but was that scene really necessary? I don't think it does Chloe's character any favors to show the lengths (or perhaps in this case depths) she'll go to to protect Clark's secret. Maybe it's because Chlo-Lo has traditionally been one of my favorite parts of this show that this scene particularly bothered me. Exactly how Lois ends up with the RedK heart of Corben is unclear. I'm going to give Chloe the benefit of the doubt and assume wherever Chloe decided to leave her cousin she also happened to leave the RedK heart for her to find.
But what I'd like better than having to assume is never seeing Chloe knock Lois out in the first place.
The Jor-El AI
I really don't know what to say about this. Can the AI only screw over Clark and humans? Because every single other Kryptonian to saunters in seems to have nothing to worry about. Will it even warn Clark that the rest of the gang now has powers? He is still training, right? Good grief so many unanswered questions.
Honestly I think something is wrong with me because objectively I don't think the episode was very good at all and yet somehow I really enjoyed it.
I'm new at the episode review thing so I'm still figuring out focus/format issues. If it reads like little more than a stream of consciousness I'm sorry, hopefully I do better next time. :)
Mini review below the fold
This was an episode centered more around unlikely allies than upgrades per say. Too bad that as far as I know the English language doesn't has a single word that means strange bedfellows, well other than frenemy which would have only rivaled Lexmas for worst episode title ever. Of the three unlikely team ups one I thought the worked for most part (Lois/Corben), one didn't totally fail but didn't really succeed either (Clark/Zod), and one I thought fell completely flat (Chloe/Tess).
Maybe it's just me [OK it's not me -- I've seen others who made the same connection] but I couldn't help but see a treasure trove of Chloe/Davis parallels in the Lois/Corben interaction. It was like watching a better version of season eight unfold in a single episode. I could write paragraphs (if not pages) about it but will try to condense to just the most biggest things that struck me.
- In the end it just comes down to personal preferences regarding actor performance but I felt more for Corben in one episode than I did for Davis over the course of an entire season. And even though his last scene was little more than a Lois love fest there was something about it that was heartfelt whereas Davis usually came off as simply desperate. And I bought both Lois' concern for Corben as well as her love for Clark. It's so sad I never got the same feeling from Chloe when it came to Jimmy during the Davis arc.
- Even though I enjoyed the Lois/Corben combo and preferred how it turned out 100% more than the Chloe/Davis combo I have say it strikes me as all kinds of unfair on the meta level that the recurring villain who falls for Lois turns good and she even gets to give him a new heart while Chloe's villain turns evil, kills her husband, and tries to rip her heart out in the end.
I did like how the episode kind of bookends Savior/Metallo as far as the Blur goes. Lois craved the Blur's trust and the sense of purpose working with him gave her. And now almost a year later as far as she knows finally getting everything she ever wanted on that front but with a fake Blur. I'm actually interested in seeing how all that is going to shake out in episodes to come.
Teaser: Good enough I guess. Not sure why an innocuous looking woman in a lab coat can raise all sorts of red flags in a lab that can lose track of a naked man with a glowing green chest but hey, it's Smallville. I've only watched the episode once and wondered if Lois inadvertently killed a room full of lab workers. We've been assured by one of the SV writers that in fact no one died. So Lois merely almost killed an entire room full of lab workers. Good thing those workers were all fast on their feet.
Clark & Lois: Would have liked a little more from Lois to indicate the secrets she's keeping from Clark are weighing more on her. Either she doesn't care or her stance on secrets has (d)evolved since her Oliver Queen dating days. I'd also like a little more self awareness from Clark on the secrets front. Not expecting to get either any time soon.
Lois & Corben: Probably the high point of the episode for me all around sadly enough. I greatly prefer where the guests interact more with Clark than the supporting cast but I thought Mr. Green did a great job in his scenes with Lois, especially in their last scene. Still I thought the Clark & Corben interactions in Metallo were pretty good and could have had some more of that here. For instance I'd have much preferred a validation of what Clark told Corben back then than just have Corben proxy Chloe "sometimes you have to be saved from yourself" crap.
Clark & Chloe: Egad, where do I start? I could swear I thought one of the producers said Chloe would get some "comeuppance" this episode for her past behavior this year? By that I guess he meant being the victim of an fairly irrational attack from redK Clark followed soon up by an apology for not revealing more details about the alternate future? Seems like the worst she suffered was having to clean up the S Clark burned on the Watchtower wall.
Maybe Clark does just want someone who understands him but his issues with Chloe seem to revolve more around trust. They kind of touched on that in Checkmate but unfortunately that was Chloe projecting feelings onto Clark. I don't know why the writers don't seem able to go there in one of the few episodes when Clark is explicitly set up to be wearing his heart on his sleeve.
Clark & Zod: Blah. The "Bromance" could have been handled much better. And Zod claims he "saved" Clark? Whatever. Aside for the "I have no equal line" the choking/circling scene just didn't do much for me. I did kind of like the impromptu Seattle snow storm I wished they could have used the moment to show the joy Clark can derive from his love of humans. It would give Zod a moment to learn a bit about why the humans love him, maybe set off a bit of arguing over the value of the human race. I personally feel that sort of discussion would have been more interesting than Zod's rather boring kryptonian science/religion exposition.
Chloe and Tess: I was really surprised at how flat they were together. Couldn't believe it because individually they're usually pretty good and the few times they've shared screen times before seemed to work. I have to add I've seen comments where people thought the two of them were great together. As I've only watched the episode once I'll pay better attention to their scenes next time just in case I see things differently the second time around.
FoS fight scene: Aside from the fact I can't believe Metallo essentially defeated not one but two Kryptonians on their home turf what bothered me most scene was the sometimes you need to be saved from yourself line Corben cribbed from Chloe. Boy has that been overplayed this year. It's at least the third mention if not the forth. So not only is Chloe "saving" Clark yet again from himself yet again I'm left wondering how Corben knew what to do once the chip was gone much less know to give Clark that line.
One thing I feel could have kept the tension going is to have kept Corben's true intentions unknown a little longer.
I kept waiting for Zod to save Clark -- what the hell happened to him? Is he a coward? Did he just leave Clark to die on purpose? Wish I knew.
Final thoughts
Clark shoves Chloe and burns an S inside the Watchtower
Maybe it's just me but I thought that was actually a ridiculously mild reaction from RedK Clark upon learning about who is really responsible for a stock pile of weapons that could kill him. I'm certainly not advocating a more violent approach to Chloe -- though isn't a shove the same thing he did to her back in season three for simply showing up at his apartment? And as far as burning his symbol into the wall? What kind of punishment is that? How about a full blown computer meltdown to shut down Chloe's activities for good? That's the kind of reaction I'd expect from RedK Clark.
Chloe knocks out Lois
Not that I don't think Chloe had her own brand of justification but was that scene really necessary? I don't think it does Chloe's character any favors to show the lengths (or perhaps in this case depths) she'll go to to protect Clark's secret. Maybe it's because Chlo-Lo has traditionally been one of my favorite parts of this show that this scene particularly bothered me. Exactly how Lois ends up with the RedK heart of Corben is unclear. I'm going to give Chloe the benefit of the doubt and assume wherever Chloe decided to leave her cousin she also happened to leave the RedK heart for her to find.
But what I'd like better than having to assume is never seeing Chloe knock Lois out in the first place.
The Jor-El AI
I really don't know what to say about this. Can the AI only screw over Clark and humans? Because every single other Kryptonian to saunters in seems to have nothing to worry about. Will it even warn Clark that the rest of the gang now has powers? He is still training, right? Good grief so many unanswered questions.