Disciple - The Long Review, and Screentimes
Damn, I feel rusty at this! Feels like its been months. Oh wait, it sort of has....
First we begin with the screentime minutes, which brings us, or me, a pleasant surprise
Running Time: 41m, 45s (previously on: 1m, 24s)
Clark: 16m, 7s
Chloe: 8m, 23s
Lois: 9m, 54s
Oliver: 13m, 55s
Zod: 8m, 12s
Mia: 7m, 18s
BoredAgain: 7m, 20s
Year To Date:
Clark: 177m, 8s (10)
Chloe: 74m, 15s (10)
Lois: 164m, 15s (9)
Oliver: 100m, 13s (8)
Tess: 48m, 2s (7) <-- What the Hell?
Zod: 48m, 38s (6)
The review goes behind the cut, to protect the innocent
Whoops, I noticed I have a typo on the cut tag, which sort of makes it sound dirty. I have no idea how to change that, so oh well. LOL
As I said in my mini-review, this episode gave me great big belly laughs. And I just have to like an episode that makes me laugh, even if its unintentional. Though I wouldn't exactly say I liked Disciple. I think it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, and it far more Clark then I was expecting, and he was sort of marvelous. Though I still found it far too Oliver-centric to me, and I really don't understand why they have to bring in these elements of his story when it has just about nothing to do with Clark. I said in tariel22 's journal, in a response to a JH interview, that it feels to me like they want to tell more then one superhero story here, as opposed to trying harder to figure out how Oliver fits into serving Clark's story. This episode was an example of that to a T.
Lets start with the things I did like, and happily, there were a number of things. Firstly, maybe it was just me, and I've been missing him, but I thought Tom Welling was ON IT! In fact, outside of the actress that plays Mia (and I'll get to that), Tom's acting was just about the only that felt like it was hitting on all cylinders. Everyone else was a bit hit-or-miss with me. And as for Clark, while I have some issues with his current storyline (and when don't I?), thought the character came across really strong, proactive and decisive. Its a look Tom wears well.
Because of this, when Clark was on screen, I tended to like what was going on. He was adorably smitten and flirty with Lois (I wasn't as thrilled with the way ED plays those scenes, but its a minor quibble, as I think I know what she's going for in them). He was formidable in his scenes with Zod. He, rightly in my view, showed his frustration and exaspperation with Chloe and her methods, and her secrets, and this time it didn't feel like he backed off. He then later showed concern for her, as a friend, and took a tentative step in trying to figure out what she needs. He was also faithful friend to Oliver, wanting so much to believe him. And then he was all contained fury in his last scene with Zod. And in every scene, Tom just seemed to find the right vibe. I thought it was a really strong episode for him.
Though, I did notice a "Tom Welling" moment. What that means is that, very occasionally, Clark makes an expression, and it doesn't seem like "Clark". It seems pure "Tom" to me. And in his arguement with Chloe, he had this annoyed, eye-rolly moment which I can easily picture showing up from time to time in La Casa de Welling.
Also, I was a bit confused as to what Clark was suggesting to Lois. About showing her "the galaxy"? Is "galaxy" a euphemism for "my penis"?.
But, with all the praise I just heaped on Tom, and Clark, and saying I enjoyed his scenes, it doesn't change the fact that this episode had major problems. For one thing, it was another "Oh Noes, I have a Darkity-Dark Soul" Oliver ep, and Why??!! Why is this even necessary? Its also an episode that continues to regurgitate the Lollie relationship, which just pisses me off since it was non-existant last season, and Oliver was all about Tess being this big regret in his life, and blah, blah, blah. So, this all of a sudden "Lois is the only one I cared about" crap just feels manufactured. Last season, outside of Bride, when did he seem like he gave that much of a shit about Lois? And according to JH's interviews, they are going to explore Chlollie? After this? Wow, Chloe isn't my favorite character right now, but she doesn't deserve that sort of "well, I guess I'll settle for you". And where the fuck is Tess in all this?.
And let us speak of Chloe. One thing that was glaring for me in this episode was how clunky and annoying some of her dialogue was. Not AM's fault at all. I don't know how you deliver lines about a her vein "being cerviche" or "'I'm starting to think our favorite archer isn't all Green" (what does that even mean?), or "he was a dead hero walking" or "...boxcar to the bad news train". OMG, MAKE IT STOP! Who is writing this shit?
But also, I'm not entirely sure what AM is going for with Chloe. She comes across as surly, condescending, just plain annoyed most of the time. Is this supposed to tie into what is going on with Chloe? Is AM just sick of the show, and has one foot out of the door? I don't know.
Still, I did like the Chlark arguement. Not surprisingly, I'm on Team Clark here, because I felt like what Chloe did in Roulette was reckless, and dangerous, and really scary manipulative. But, I enjoy them arguing it out over the passive/agressive bullshit that seems to be most of their scenes. But, I have to ask, where did Chloe get this image of Clark, and why? She just doesn't seem to like or respect him at all anymore. Is it because he walked away from her, and she isn't over it? And I'm not sure how he can continue working with her under those conditions.
The Oliver stuff? Well, like I said, WHY? I found the whole backstory murky, and boring. The actor playing "BoredAgain" was awful. And while I thought the actress playing Mia gave a much stronger performance then she did in Crossfire, I still don't understand why she's on SV. She belongs on a Green Arrow show. But on SV? What connection does she have to Clark? None. They could've used this episode to introduce Mia to Clark, but they missed the opportunity. We know she's going to disappear for weeks, and Oliver won't, so we'll be left to wonder what the heck she's doing, and where. I just don't get her relevancy. But again, nice job by the actress, Elise Gatien.
So, lets talk Zod. Oh Callum Blue, what the heck is going on with you? Now, I really liked the Clark/Zod scenes, and I liked the Lois/Zod scene well enough (though why Lois wasn't more creeped out and suspicious didn't quite work). But this guy isn't just chewing the scenery, he's making a casserole out of it. I mean, he's making John Glover look like a restrained actor. The mumbly speech is killing me. I have trouble understanding half of what he says. And whats with the whole invasion of personal space he's got going on? The biggest problem with this performance is that its so manic and heavy-handed, you can't believe for one second that Clark would believe he could work with this guy. He's like a rabid dog. There is no real charm, no smoothness. He's not a villain that could charm anyone. And worst of all, I bet he spits on the other actors when he talks. That would be a problem for me, especially since he's always getting in their faces.
And I realize that Michael Rosenbaum was a master at the teary-eyed thing but I wish other SV actors would stop doing it. Why does Zod always look as though he's on the precipice of bursting into tears, or popping a blood vessel? I notice that JH oftens goes to this as well. And last season, Sam Witwer did it all the damned time. Jeez, Nut Up you Mary-Women!!
Speaking of JH, I think he excels far more at playing the breezy, charming, snarky playboy then doing this darkity-dark, brooding angst stuff.
The last Clark/Zod scene brought to light a big problem I had with Pandora. Why the hell would Clark go official with Lois at exactly the same time he outed himself to Zod, and just what did he think would happen? I mean, was he really surprised that Zod got to him through Lois? If he was, why? That didn't take a brain surgeon to figure out. This is something Clark should've factored into the equation before he did what he did. But since we have NO POV from Clark, and in fact, we don't even really know what his plan is in regards to Zod, it just makes him seem shortsighted and foolish. Also, I can't help but think with that last scene that they are doing just as I feared....setting Clark up for failure. And I seriously hate that!
There was some serious bad expositionary dialogue in this episode, and some extraordinarily bad lines. Is Caroline Dries back? That whole scene between Clark and Chloe where they find the maze was terribly written. Why do we need to hear that Chloe is switching to satellite imagery that can see thought clouds? Clunky!
I also found the directing of this episode choppy. The whole maze scene was just badly staged. And Oliver announcing to Clark that he shot BoredAgain in the shoulder, when that was perfectly obvious, and Clark's expression didn't really make it seem as though he needed the exposition. I would've loved a line like "Well, Duh Captain Obvious".
Oh, I forgot to mention what made me laugh so much. Well, the obligatory shirtless scene, JH running like a girl, BoredAgain getting so distracted by a marble statue, he doesn't see Mia come up behind him, BoredAgain's delivery of the line "Come On Oliver". A laugh riot!
Next week, is the big 2 hour event. Don't disappoint me Smallville. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry. .