(S05E19) If you ignore the blatant Saw rip-off, then this episode was super
fantastic. But any episode that centers around Lionel is a winner in my book. This ep was a total incubator for
cliffhangers. In this episode, Lionel is kidnapped by a masked tormentor who forces him to endure all kinds of riddles
and physical challenges in order to live. Of course, Martha gets thrown into the mix, and several amazing things
happen...Lionel reaffirms his love for Martha. And Clark blatantly reveals his superpower secret to Lionel, affirming that he knows that Lionel knows. But, of course, Lionel already knew that he knew. So really, it was all just a big confirmation that everybody knew what everybody else knew. But not really...
A lot of you have speculated that Jor-El is in Lionel somewhere, and this episode certainly proved that point. I mean, he called him "son" two times. And, in the final seconds of the episode, Lionel appears to be choking or having some sort of seizure. He grabs for a piece of paper and begins scribbling something down, but we can't see what it is. Could it be Lionel falling deeper into the clutches of Jor-El trying to right a "Help Me" message? Or, was Lionel simply being overly dramatic about making his grocery list? What do you think the note says and who is it for?
Also, with Lex realizing that his father knows of Clark's secret, how crazy is this going to drive him? Do you think he's above torturing his own father in order to find out what he knows? I don't think he is. In fact, I don't know if Lionel is going to make it past this season. If Lex does something that inadvertently kills his father (in trying to get to the truth about Clark), then that is another thing that will create a parallel between Lex and Clark. Because, in a way, Clark inadvertently killed his father in Reckoning. Hmmmm, I'm just not sure.
Finally, is anybody getting sick of Chloe's super computer CIA routine? Sure, she's been cracking impossible codes for a while now, but every episode seems to get more ridiculous with her abilities. Plus, she is seldom even needed in the episodes other than her code breaking skills. It all feels very Penny from Inspector Gadget.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-21-2006 @ 6:38PM
Adrian said...
Well i have to agree on the Chloe part, she is not longer interesting in the personal relationship matter , we're just waiting for her to suffer some kind of trauma and make Lois focus on journalism. It's hilarious how on each show they manage to get a supergenious with the hability to hack systems or networks.
Reminds me of Alias and ms. hottie fixing a 512-bit code with a pen and a paper.
Anyways, its obvious something is inside of Lionel, Jor-el maybe, for some time i thought he was related to the "other side" of the kryptonian war but it seems i got it wrong. He is protecting Clark in his twisted way.
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4-21-2006 @ 7:00PM
Jimmy said...
I agree with your assessment of the Chloe character, which is a shame because for so long she was one of the most interesting characters. Not to mention Allison Mack has always been great. What I find myself wondering is if the Smallville wrtiers are desperate for story ideas. Two weeks ago it was a Flatliners rip-off, this week it's Saw. Part of me hopes next season will be the last for our superhero in waiting. The writers seems to be having more and more trouble coming up with original, not to mention interesting, story ideas. Unless the writers discover some to fountain of ideas, the show is slowly fading into boring. If they could write more episodes like Reckoning and fewer episodes like the glass girl, the show would be much better.
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4-22-2006 @ 12:07AM
TITUS said...
The way Chloe is going, she can quit her Daily Planet job and team up with the other Chloe over at CTU Los Angeles. Chloe squared. What a dynamic duo they would be.
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4-22-2006 @ 3:20AM
Jordan said...
Even if it was a SAW rip off like the movies it was good....The entire show was great!!! I kind of want CLark to move from smallville because I'mtired of both Lana and Chloe. I'm sick of Lana always having to have a man in her life, and Chloe I never liked. I've been watching the box sets since ABC family took them off the air and it just makes my hatred for Chloe increase. I say they're giving her a huge role in Clark's life because they might make something almost happen....Fast forward and have Lois fall for Clark already! ( we all see it but they don't) I loved this episode, I thought transference would be hard to top but this one really did it for me.
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4-22-2006 @ 11:02AM
Dawster said...
As soon as I saw that guy sweeping Lionel's room and make a little face... I thought... "Oh, that's going to be the masked guy". What a surprise.
I still liked it better in SAW. SAW 2 was okay... not as good as the first. I really think the writers are just calling it in at this point. I don't know if it's a money issue or arrogance, but at this point, the directing and acting are on the top of their game... but the scripts and contents couldn't be more copper coated crap if it was being written by monkeys.
Am I the only one that thinks Lana has become totally useless and needs to be killed off?
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4-22-2006 @ 8:53PM
Erica said...
Ripping off of Saw...come on Smallville writers, you can be better than this.
But anyway, I still thought it was a good episode. Now that Lex knows that Lionel is keeping Clark's secret from him, I can't wait to see how that gets resolved. Also, since Lionel does know about Clark, we know his days are numbered.
As to the women of Smallville, I'm fine with Chloe; she at least has a function in the show. I did want Lana to be killed off, but since it seems she and Clark have FINALLY permanently broken up, I don't care anymore. Lois however adds nothing to the show, and she should have never been on Smallville for more than a few episodes(if at all!).
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5-01-2006 @ 5:18PM
E Hunt said...
So what if they ripped off Saw, it made for a kickass episode, furthermore, chloes usefullness is going quick, but shes so hot they should keep her around anyway, I do agree there need to be more original episodes like Reckoning that episode was awesome, made me want to cry. But i guess every episode cant be like reckoning. Another thing i wish they would go ahead and send clark on his globe trotting adventures like in the comics when he left home and went to a bunch of exotic places.
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