Smallville 5.3: "Hidden"
Written by Kelly Souders and Brian Peterson
Directed by Whitney Ransick
In which Clark, trying to stop a madman bent on destroying Smallville, is shot to death, prompting his resurrection and restoration by Jor-El, but the price is higher than Clark expects…
This is the kind of episode that I both love and hate. I love many of the scenes in terms of their own content and presentation. A lot of moments hit home exactly as the writers intended. But I hate some of the choices that were made in terms of the overall story. This is especially the case when it comes to Clark’s resurrection and the overall reaction to it.
So Smallville had its share of nuclear missile silos; I suppose that’s easy enough to accept, though one has to wonder how the rain of meteor rocks didn’t set one or two of the warheads off, given the effect of kryptonite on nearly everything else. Whatever the case, I suppose it was just a matter of time before some maniac decided to use those weapons against the mutated populace. Having that person be obsessed over Chloe (a natural enough phenomenon) gives the premise a little more heft.
It is one of the basic tenets of the series that Clark is ga-ga over Lana despite the fact that he acts as though he cares just as much for Chloe. It’s just that the stars go in his eyes when Lana’s around, because she’s been the focus of his obsession for years. Even so, his actions with Lana are complicated by the fact that she’s in the dark about his true nature, and Clark thinks that he’s protecting himself and Lana by not telling the truth. Whatever his reasons in the beginning, it’s definitely an issue now, though the writers have to jump through silly hoops to maintain it.
Chloe, on the other hand, knows all about Clark and his unique nature, and she still doesn’t turn her back on him. I’m not saying that Chloe is more worthy than Lana; as much as I prefer Chloe myself, I don’t hold anything against Lana, as I know others do. It’s simply that Clark isn’t looking at the big picture. He definitely doesn’t want to see Chloe hurt, and he basically puts his life on the line for her in this episode, so there’s something there, even if it’s love for a close friend. Chloe has no issues with his true nature and supports him in his decisions to save the world, and she’s put her life in the line to protect that secret.
Of course, drama is built on complication, and in this case, there’s more complication with Lana. Chloe isn’t shocked by Clark’s survival; Lana ought to be nearly catatonic at the whole situation. Instead she pulls the ultimate Scully and insists that Clark is normal despite the fact that he died right in front of her eyes and showed up without a scratch hours later. And of course, as one might have predicted, Clark has to accept that he’s not human and never will be, and that there is a price for turning his back on his legacy.
Speaking of which, this is where the story didn’t work for me. For one thing, Clark’s reversion to his former state occurs far too quickly. For this plot element to work best, it needed more time to establish itself. Making it such a short-term plot element betrays its true purpose: allowing the Clark/Lana relationship to culminate just long enough to make Clark’s restoration a major issue.
There’s also this issue of the consequence of Clark’s decision not to return to the Fortress of Solitude at the appointed time, which is coming back to haunt him. I like the idea of Lionel Luthor being the temporary “familiar” for Jor-El, since it allows Jor-El to be a more direct presence in Clark’s life. It also adds another thing to Lex’s list of possible grievances against Clark. But the whole “life for life” thing is a bit contrived.
So who would be the likely victim? My money is on Jonathan or Chloe. Jonathan would be the continuity-conscious favorite, because he must die at some point. But that wouldn’t be very shocking, given the past troubles in that regard, so would the writers retread? If it’s a question of shock value, or stabbing at the heart of Clark’s support system, then Chloe is a more dramatically satisfying victim.
Whatever the case, this was an episode with plenty of strong scenes that were, in my opinion, tied together with a rather weak context.
Writing: 1/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 2/4
Final Rating: 7/10
Directed by Whitney Ransick
In which Clark, trying to stop a madman bent on destroying Smallville, is shot to death, prompting his resurrection and restoration by Jor-El, but the price is higher than Clark expects…
This is the kind of episode that I both love and hate. I love many of the scenes in terms of their own content and presentation. A lot of moments hit home exactly as the writers intended. But I hate some of the choices that were made in terms of the overall story. This is especially the case when it comes to Clark’s resurrection and the overall reaction to it.
So Smallville had its share of nuclear missile silos; I suppose that’s easy enough to accept, though one has to wonder how the rain of meteor rocks didn’t set one or two of the warheads off, given the effect of kryptonite on nearly everything else. Whatever the case, I suppose it was just a matter of time before some maniac decided to use those weapons against the mutated populace. Having that person be obsessed over Chloe (a natural enough phenomenon) gives the premise a little more heft.
It is one of the basic tenets of the series that Clark is ga-ga over Lana despite the fact that he acts as though he cares just as much for Chloe. It’s just that the stars go in his eyes when Lana’s around, because she’s been the focus of his obsession for years. Even so, his actions with Lana are complicated by the fact that she’s in the dark about his true nature, and Clark thinks that he’s protecting himself and Lana by not telling the truth. Whatever his reasons in the beginning, it’s definitely an issue now, though the writers have to jump through silly hoops to maintain it.
Chloe, on the other hand, knows all about Clark and his unique nature, and she still doesn’t turn her back on him. I’m not saying that Chloe is more worthy than Lana; as much as I prefer Chloe myself, I don’t hold anything against Lana, as I know others do. It’s simply that Clark isn’t looking at the big picture. He definitely doesn’t want to see Chloe hurt, and he basically puts his life on the line for her in this episode, so there’s something there, even if it’s love for a close friend. Chloe has no issues with his true nature and supports him in his decisions to save the world, and she’s put her life in the line to protect that secret.
Of course, drama is built on complication, and in this case, there’s more complication with Lana. Chloe isn’t shocked by Clark’s survival; Lana ought to be nearly catatonic at the whole situation. Instead she pulls the ultimate Scully and insists that Clark is normal despite the fact that he died right in front of her eyes and showed up without a scratch hours later. And of course, as one might have predicted, Clark has to accept that he’s not human and never will be, and that there is a price for turning his back on his legacy.
Speaking of which, this is where the story didn’t work for me. For one thing, Clark’s reversion to his former state occurs far too quickly. For this plot element to work best, it needed more time to establish itself. Making it such a short-term plot element betrays its true purpose: allowing the Clark/Lana relationship to culminate just long enough to make Clark’s restoration a major issue.
There’s also this issue of the consequence of Clark’s decision not to return to the Fortress of Solitude at the appointed time, which is coming back to haunt him. I like the idea of Lionel Luthor being the temporary “familiar” for Jor-El, since it allows Jor-El to be a more direct presence in Clark’s life. It also adds another thing to Lex’s list of possible grievances against Clark. But the whole “life for life” thing is a bit contrived.
So who would be the likely victim? My money is on Jonathan or Chloe. Jonathan would be the continuity-conscious favorite, because he must die at some point. But that wouldn’t be very shocking, given the past troubles in that regard, so would the writers retread? If it’s a question of shock value, or stabbing at the heart of Clark’s support system, then Chloe is a more dramatically satisfying victim.
Whatever the case, this was an episode with plenty of strong scenes that were, in my opinion, tied together with a rather weak context.
Writing: 1/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 2/4
Final Rating: 7/10
posted by John Keegan | 16:40
1 Comments:
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