Chief among them was the fact that ... Ares is Helo from Battlestar Galactica! Tahmoh Penikett is a terrific actor who lives in Vancouver, where both Smallville and Battlestar Galactica are shot, but I have a rule of thumb that if one actor is on a fairly popular sci-fi show and then jumps across to another, it's going to rattle a few fanboy brain cells, mine included. If Helo suddenly appeared on say ... Law & Order, it probably wouldn't feel so jarring, but this was a bit distracting for me.
Still, having said that ... this was pretty well done. Ares turned out to not only be a nice foe for Clark to deal with (and possibly see again in the future?) but he also showed some subterfuge with Lex, a senator and Lana. He also had a tied to Lois that was an interesting subplot, and managed to give Ares / Wes a sense of humanity. After all, we'd seen his poor wife blow herself up, and we needed something to make him more real.
The super-powered fights between Ares and Clark were what really made this episode really rock. Frankly, Clark could be battling anything with super-powers and it would be tops in my book. Did you notice that when he used his heat vision on Area, it was the first time it looked like it did in the comics? Instead of pulses of heat blasts, it actually looked like rays shooting out of Clark's eyes. Nice one.
Between Clark apparently (almost) showing his powers off to Lana, and Lex's admitting that he knows Lana has been snooping around, there was a lot going on. That's not even counting those genetically-enhanced and Kryptonically inspired slugfests. Seeing Ares systemically take apart Lex's defenses is pretty cool to start things out with, but Clark and Ares sparring off was great. It's just too bad those scenes were so brief.
It's fairly obvious that the next supply of super-genetic material that Lex is referring to is going to be Clark. They used up some other source in making Titan (HA! I totally called that one) and Area, so he needs a new batch to fuel the fires of the tons of Ares models still on the showroom floor that we saw in this episode. Based on the previews for next week's episode, Lex is going to come gunning for Clark, and a lot of things are going to unravel. I'll be sitting in the front row, waiting to see how this season wraps upQuote of the show:
- After Clark peels off at super-speed -- Chloe: "Do you ever get used to that?" Martha: "Not really ... no."
The TV Squad Podcast: Vik Sahay of Chuck, Oprah talk, brutal timeslots, and more!
TV Squad Ten: Top Ten ESPN shows from worst to first
Andy Richter: The TV Squad Interview
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
5-11-2007 @ 9:17AM
vacelts said...
I was actually a little disappointed with the Clark-Aries battles. Either Clark still isn't sure how to maximize his abilities or he's just dumb when it comes to fighting opponents. I'm willing to chalk in up to it being a young Clark.
Like you, I can't wait for the season finale. I understand smackdown is the word of the night -- on several fronts.
http://www.tvsquad.com/2007/05/11/smallville-prototype/
Reply
5-11-2007 @ 9:24AM
vacelts said...
So does anyone else think that now that Lex has caught Lana spying that her days are numbered?
http://redlightnaps.wordpress.com/2007/05/10/2007-season-finales/
Reply
5-11-2007 @ 9:41AM
Kaye said...
I am so tired of people being knocked out while Clark secretly saves them. I want to not like this show anymore, but every week, something good happens that brings me back.
Reply
5-11-2007 @ 9:44AM
Brenda said...
I thought last night's show was a little boring but I still love the show. I will be sorry to see Michael Rosembaum (sp?) (aka: Lex) leave the show. I read that he is moving on. I think he is one of the sexiest Lex Luthers that has ever been! Good luck to him in furthering his career! I hope Lana's days are numbered. She gets tiring and it's time for Clark and Lois to begin (although it really should be Chloe and Clark--they have great chemistry!)
Reply
5-11-2007 @ 9:49AM
mc said...
The reason for the knife was to make it look like a mob hit. Lex wanted to make it look that way.
Reply
5-11-2007 @ 10:16AM
anna said...
Yeah, it is a little weird when you see someone so prominent on another TV show from the same genre. A lot of Vancouver actors cross over to other shows and after a while it feels like its just the same actors being used over and over.
Reply
5-11-2007 @ 10:29AM
Satyric said...
Ok
a) the knife was for the stealth factor of the character, if he had a gun he would be easily noticed.
b) the "other" source of DNA is the phantom that lex has a video of and we saw Lionel looking at in last nights episode.
b) just because you haven't seen a meteor freak turn invisible doesn't mean there isn't one.
You do actually watch the show .. right?
Reply
5-11-2007 @ 10:35AM
Crambam said...
I didn't like the fight either. Clark got thrown around, used his heat vision, and that was that. Too short.
The cool part was that we learn that the Justice League combined had a lot of trouble with one of these guys and Clark took him out very easily.
That's a sign Clark is going to be the badass he's supposed to be.
They should have established that Clark used his superhearing to find the guy better.
Reply
5-11-2007 @ 10:48AM
anon3803 said...
"They used up some other source in making Titan (HA! I totally called that one) and Area,"
What? Lex didn't make Titan. . . he was a zoner. . . like you stated in your past review. . . And what exactly did you "call"?
I agree with Satyric, the other source is probably the creature in the video Lionel was watching. It's pretty clear it's an alien. I think Lex has a lot of suspicions and theories about Clark, but I don't think he would go after Clark until he's sure. Maybe that will happen in the finale.
Reply
5-12-2007 @ 8:58PM
Alejofm said...
Actually Smallville already fetuared an invisible freak in season 1.
Is it true that Michael Rosembaum is leaving the show? I read that two characters were leaving by the end of the season, after last night it looks like Martha is leaving, but Lex? Im so tired of him anyway, I just thought that this show was about Clark and Lex.
Reply
5-11-2007 @ 11:30AM
Chris said...
I really wish they would make Clark more powerful and more fights. Isn't Michael Rosenbaum leaving the show next year?
Reply
5-11-2007 @ 12:54PM
4ham said...
The knife being used to tie the killings to a mob hit makes sense. But the human-zombie robot talk never does. Ugh. And then his error message, rattling off numbers? I could've gone for it if he had metal stuff in his head, making him look like'd gone cyborg. But without it they should've gone the manchurian canidate route, the lifeless eyes, and the monotone.
It's funny. Lana has become very interesting now that she's gone the dark side, but whenever she and Clark have those tender moments it just kills it. Whatever-it-takes Lana is so much more interesting.
Reply
5-11-2007 @ 1:07PM
Vince said...
Here's my vote for offing Lana. Her time is long past. Clark ought to be focusing on Lois.
I want Chloe to become Lois when her cousin kills herself doing something stupid however.
That would bring the series more in line with the original myth.
Reply
5-11-2007 @ 2:30PM
ac said...
The heat vision scene was great I'll say that. You didnt mention Martha leaving for DC though. Lex isn't leaving till after season 7 so she might be the one leaving this year.
Reply
5-12-2007 @ 12:15AM
Jennifer said...
Yeah, what Lex said was that Titan was the source they used for the Aries project and they'd used him up making Wes and his predecessors, so Lex needed a new source. I'm sure one of the other zoners will be the source.
Reply
5-11-2007 @ 9:07PM
Will said...
I said Lex was involved with Titan somehow, but some of the commenters thought he was just a watcher of the show.
Reply
5-12-2007 @ 4:46PM
Dan said...
Why couldn't clark use his x-ray vision to find wes that annoyed me along with the super short fight. Maybe Lex knows about martian manhunter and hes the next source? the next episode is named phantom and i heard that MM will be in it. I hope a lot of things get cleared up like Chloe's power (which i heard is supposed to happen) and the whole baby thing with lana and lex
Reply
5-12-2007 @ 5:32PM
Daniel said...
Titan's DNA was what made possible for all the meteor freak powers to coexist in a single host, and therefore sthrength was the main trade of the prototype. Obviously the last phantom is the next source. Keep in mind that this one is not only a zoner, but a phantom, so it should be interesting what comes out of that. What i didn't get was why Wes didn't continue to fight Clark invisible?
Reply
5-20-2007 @ 10:26AM
robfran said...
People, you're all forgetting one huge event that happened in this episode: Lana telling Clark that she knows about his secret!!. We've had to endure 6 series and 21 episodes for them both to have a moment of truth and just before they can kiss to seal it, Lex walks in! Clark and Lana forever.
Reply
5-13-2007 @ 9:39AM
Jen said...
"Ares turned out to not only be a nice foe for Clark to deal with (and possibly see again in the future?)"
Err...if you specifically mean Helo's character, he died. That point in your review kind of confused me. Unless you mean the project, and future 'super-infantry' creations...then I'm sure we may see more of them.
Reply