Smallville 5.1: "Arrival"
Written by Todd Slavkin and Darrin Swimmer
Directed by James Marshall
In which Clark discovers his Fortress of Solitude, but when his loved ones are threatened by the arrival of enemies from Krypton, he must choose between his humanity and his legacy…
I wasn’t initially interested in “Smallville”. As a kid, I wasn’t really into DC Comics, and while I saw all of the films in the theatre, I didn’t find Superman to be the most interesting character in the world. I was a fan of “Roswell”, and saw a lot of the same elements. It wasn’t until the second season finale that someone convinced me to take another look, and I was strongly intrigued. Once the third season came along, I was hooked. Now, I have all the DVDs and I’ve seen everything I missed in the beginning.
I was quite impressed when the fourth season arc led directly into the creation of the Fortress of Solitude. So I was equally impressed when the design was very close to the design used in the films, yet appropriate for “Smallville”. I also liked the update to the Negative Zone, though in some other respects, that didn’t work as well as I would have hoped.
The fact that Chloe revealed her knowledge to Clark, and that her survival began the process of Clark turning his back on Jor-El and the legacy of his homeworld, was one of the better moments in the episode. I like the fact that this barrier has been dropped, and now that Chloe knows something about Clark that Lana doesn’t know, she may not feel so unwanted. (Though how a gorgeous young woman like Allison Mack could ever feel unwanted, I don’t know!)
Less effective is Lana and her gambit with the Followers of Zod. In fact, that entire plot element didn’t work for me. Lana should have been toast more than a few times in the episode, just as it didn’t make sense for Lois or Jonathan to survive their encounters with the FoZ throughout the episode. Needless to say, the resolution of the whole problem of the FoZ seemed way too quick and easy, given the buildup. That was a real disappointment, since the arrival of two people with Clark’s power should have been more substantial.
Lex acts exactly as one would expect, tracking down just enough information to know that Clark is lying to him, yet little enough to jeopardize Clark and his secret directly. The writers have been walking that fine line for so long that it will be interesting to see this latest overt deception take him further over the edge. I like this aspect of the series best of all, and it still doesn’t disappoint: Clark’s own need to keep the truth from Lex actually contributes a great deal to Lex’s descent into evil. Clark helps create his own most famous nemesis, and this season is likely to pay some of that off.
One thing I wasn’t expecting, though I should have seen it coming, was the loss of Clark’s abilities. How that works is going to be interesting to explore, if the writers bother with explanations at all, because it may not be what Clark thinks it is. Could Jor-El really do something like that so indirectly? And what would be the point? Regardless, Clark is foolish to jump right into the assumption that the condition is permanent and that his relationship with Lana won’t hit serious problems in the near future.
Despite my dislike of the Followers of Zod element, I look forward to this season. I find James Marsters to be a strong genre actor, and I’m intrigued by the possibilities presented in the premiere. And even more than last season, the three young women at the center of Clark’s life have truly blossomed into adulthood, and that additional maturity really shines through. If this is the final season, as is widely rumored, then this is a fine enough start.
Writing: 1/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 1/4
Final Rating: 6/10
Directed by James Marshall
In which Clark discovers his Fortress of Solitude, but when his loved ones are threatened by the arrival of enemies from Krypton, he must choose between his humanity and his legacy…
I wasn’t initially interested in “Smallville”. As a kid, I wasn’t really into DC Comics, and while I saw all of the films in the theatre, I didn’t find Superman to be the most interesting character in the world. I was a fan of “Roswell”, and saw a lot of the same elements. It wasn’t until the second season finale that someone convinced me to take another look, and I was strongly intrigued. Once the third season came along, I was hooked. Now, I have all the DVDs and I’ve seen everything I missed in the beginning.
I was quite impressed when the fourth season arc led directly into the creation of the Fortress of Solitude. So I was equally impressed when the design was very close to the design used in the films, yet appropriate for “Smallville”. I also liked the update to the Negative Zone, though in some other respects, that didn’t work as well as I would have hoped.
The fact that Chloe revealed her knowledge to Clark, and that her survival began the process of Clark turning his back on Jor-El and the legacy of his homeworld, was one of the better moments in the episode. I like the fact that this barrier has been dropped, and now that Chloe knows something about Clark that Lana doesn’t know, she may not feel so unwanted. (Though how a gorgeous young woman like Allison Mack could ever feel unwanted, I don’t know!)
Less effective is Lana and her gambit with the Followers of Zod. In fact, that entire plot element didn’t work for me. Lana should have been toast more than a few times in the episode, just as it didn’t make sense for Lois or Jonathan to survive their encounters with the FoZ throughout the episode. Needless to say, the resolution of the whole problem of the FoZ seemed way too quick and easy, given the buildup. That was a real disappointment, since the arrival of two people with Clark’s power should have been more substantial.
Lex acts exactly as one would expect, tracking down just enough information to know that Clark is lying to him, yet little enough to jeopardize Clark and his secret directly. The writers have been walking that fine line for so long that it will be interesting to see this latest overt deception take him further over the edge. I like this aspect of the series best of all, and it still doesn’t disappoint: Clark’s own need to keep the truth from Lex actually contributes a great deal to Lex’s descent into evil. Clark helps create his own most famous nemesis, and this season is likely to pay some of that off.
One thing I wasn’t expecting, though I should have seen it coming, was the loss of Clark’s abilities. How that works is going to be interesting to explore, if the writers bother with explanations at all, because it may not be what Clark thinks it is. Could Jor-El really do something like that so indirectly? And what would be the point? Regardless, Clark is foolish to jump right into the assumption that the condition is permanent and that his relationship with Lana won’t hit serious problems in the near future.
Despite my dislike of the Followers of Zod element, I look forward to this season. I find James Marsters to be a strong genre actor, and I’m intrigued by the possibilities presented in the premiere. And even more than last season, the three young women at the center of Clark’s life have truly blossomed into adulthood, and that additional maturity really shines through. If this is the final season, as is widely rumored, then this is a fine enough start.
Writing: 1/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 1/4
Final Rating: 6/10
posted by John Keegan | 15:48
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