(S09E07) If Smallville continues to produce episodes of good quality like tonight's, I may have to take back some of the things I've been saying about it. Seriously.Tonight we got a lot of backstory and explanation about some of the stranger aspects of the Smallville universe. Why is Earth such a magnet for Kryptonians, dead or otherwise? Because Krypton has been observing Earth for a long, long time and designated the planet as a bolt-hole. We also learned more about that Kryptonian artifact that has been a mystery in Smallville for a few seasons now.
All this and no Lois, too.
You'd think they'd at least have Lois featured in the episode after the big kiss, but making us wait might be the better tactic. Having Lois around would also be awkward, what with the secret identity thing. Without the relationship melodrama, Smallville is actually a darn good show and has a lot of the potential I'd always hoped for. Granted, there was some father-related angst tonight, but it's forgivable in the context.
We also have learned that Zod and company are clones from their youth rather than temporally displaced persons. Lois' chronological displacement via the Legion ring was only coincidence. This works because if the writers wanted to, they could kill the character by the end of the season without worrying about repercussions to the timeline. As a nerd, I think about things like this.
As the case with this show, there were several comic book rand movie references:
- Chloe states that Clark has liked Lois "since the 1930's." Superman was first published in 1938 and Lois was in that comic.
- The set used for Jor-El's "trial" is pretty much a copy of the one from the first two Superman movies.
- They mention the Sacred Book of Rao (Krypton's equivalent of the Bible). Rao, as mentioned before, is the Kryptonian version of God.
- The terrorist group "Black Zero" was used in the 80's comic book Superman revival.
- The soldiers did "kneel before Zod."
From Tess; "I see my crack security team is on the job." Given the frequency that everyone gets through locked doors in the world of Smallville, this doesn't seem an exception to the rule.
Zod is like an evil Sherlock Holmes, given his ability to decipher the subtext of Jor-El's words. He's also a bit of the Phantom since Clark couldn't detect him in the distance with his various super-senses (unless Zod was only metaphorically there). I wonder if Doomsday was a clone of Zod's son. That would have been an interesting development had the story gone in that direction.
It was also neat to see Krypton before its destruction in the flashbacks. Please note that Zod is anti-death penalty. Did anybody else dig those fashionable berets worn by the Kryptonian soldiers?
Oliver was fun to watch in his brief screen time. Clark is way too melodramatic on his own.
Next week: Wonder-Twin Powers, Activate!
[Watch episodes of Smallville at SlashControl.]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-07-2009 @ 9:38AM
Jason said...
I agree whole heartedly. This was the first time I saw Smallville with potential to make it to another season. Goes to show what good writing and patience can do to a series. Good acting all around, especially from Zod's character. More please.
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11-07-2009 @ 12:09PM
Fullman said...
I agree, this is probably the strongest episode this season so far, and if this keeps up, I may eat my words and stick around for a 10th season.
It's so nice to see what can be accomplished when they're not forcing us to endure the messy relationships of Clark/Lois, Lois/Oliver, Oliver/Tess, or making Chloe the wildcard variable, or having a freak of the week.
I felt this episode moved the story forward quite a bit and helped explain why Zod is the way he is, though he may just be a bitter and disillusioned.
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11-07-2009 @ 2:45PM
Paul said...
Warner Bros needs to give this show a little more money. That desert scene was terrible; looked like a high school production. They just went to a dirt hill, put an orange filter on the camera and turned the brightness up. They couldn't find a big pile of sand somewhere??
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11-07-2009 @ 3:27PM
Fullman said...
It wasn't the scene itself, it was the revelation and visual of the S-symbol that looked the worst. As in: Photoshop + bevel filter = done. Ugh.
11-07-2009 @ 4:22PM
JaySin420 said...
It's totally unbelievable what they have done with this show in the past 2 seasons. It went from being a joke to being must watch every week now.
I'm sure most of you like myself shook your head when we heard about Zod returning but this dude is incredible!
I've never seen Callum Blue before but I cannot imagine anyone playing a better Zod, other than Stamp. He's just so damn freaky with his mannerisms and everything, it's like he's an animal.
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11-08-2009 @ 2:35PM
rachel said...
Smallville has never been better!Its good to know the character of each one (other than Clark,Lois,Oliver) in depth!The show is exciting! I want some more!
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11-07-2009 @ 8:11PM
xnifex said...
"We also learned more about that Kryptonian artifact that has been a mystery in Smallville for a few seasons now."
what artifact? The orb? Wasn't that only introduced last season? Or the crystal that helped make the Fortress of Solitude?
Awesome ep!!!
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11-07-2009 @ 9:03PM
nobody said...
It really seemed to me that Jor El actually did produce the clone of Zod's son (which went on to become Doomsday), and that Zod saying "You are as dead to me as my son" was really just a way to cover it up from "them". Remember when Jor El says "careful, they'll see!". Maybe they were being monitored?
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11-07-2009 @ 9:59PM
Husama said...
Ok, so am I the only one who sees the resemblance in Julian Sands (Clone Jor-El) with Justin Hartley (Oliver Queen) ? I just hate to think that both Julian and Justin are Jor El… and that Oliver stabbed clone Jor-El since he didn’t anticipate the clones to get out of the orb… his talk with Clark at the end was kind of fishy…something doesn’t smell right
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11-08-2009 @ 9:18PM
Lucy said...
First, I must say that Smallville has improved this season I just may start watching it regularly now. There are several intriguing elements. I was also wondering about Zod's son and if he actually did get in the clone pool. It might come up later that would be interesting. I really want to see what Jor-El left so I will be watching this coming week. Last of all I only gave Smallville another chance because Julian Sands was Jor-El. Glad I did, he was great and the show looks promising, too bad they killed him but I guess you really can't have Jor-El running around.
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11-09-2009 @ 8:35AM
Jables said...
"I just hate to think that both Julian and Justin are Jor El… and that Oliver stabbed clone Jor-El since he didn’t anticipate the clones to get out of the orb..."
LOL
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11-10-2009 @ 6:18AM
karagoz said...
Nice episode !!
But Turkey has no desert :)
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