Episode 4.22: Commencement

When Genevieve confronts Lana in order to get hold of the stone, Isabelle Thoreau takes control of Lana, killing Genevieve by stabbing her with the very rock she came for. Lex takes Lana back to the mansion for "protection". When he goes to clean up the evidence he finds that Lionel has already done it. Lionel tells Lex to retrieve the stone from Lana otherwise he'll shop her in to the cops for murder. But Lana has given the stone to Clark, believing it is somehow meant for him. This is quite the stroke of luck as there is another meteor shower heading to Smallville and Jor-El tells Clark that the only way to stop it is to unite the stones. However, when Clark does indeed unite the stones, they wisk him away to a snowy mountain landscape. Meanwhile, Jason Teague shows up to the Kent farm and holds Jonathan and Martha at gun point, determined to find the stones.

It's been some years since I had seen this episode and my memories of it were that it was super epic and one of my favourites. However, it doesn't quite live up to my memories of it. It's still an excellent episode, but it does have some issues. Lois makes a few remarks that are little nods and winks to what will happen in the future. But they feel far too on the nose to put it mildly. Add to that a scene where Lois distracts an army officer by barking orders and criticism at him, which is embarrassingly unrealistic, not to mention totally unnecessary.

There's also a moment that made me laugh for the wrong reasons. Clark gets hold of the last stone and takes it to the cave as meteorites rain down upon Smallville. But he moves with absolutely no sense of urgency, strolling through the caves like he's on a summer walk through the park. It just made me chuckle and took me out of the scene.

Other than those criticisms everything else in this episode is on point. I love the showdown between Jason, Jonathan and Martha on the farm. Jason gets a pretty good send off as a meteorite comes crashing through the roof of the house and despite the terrible thing he is doing I can't help but feel a little bit sorry for this man who has been pulled in all sorts of directions and who feels betrayed by everyone.

Lex seems to have truly embraced the darkside at this point. When he tells his father that he got the son he always wanted I believe him. He is willing to allow Lionel to die in this moment and, unlike the final episode of season 1, there is no hesitation or mulling it over. And the way he tries to manipulate Lana into giving him the stone is done in such a calculated way. He is driven by a selfish ambition throughout everything that is going on. He really does not feel like the same person that we met all that time ago in the pilot episode.

The pacing of this episode is pretty relentless. As a result the death of Genevieve Teague feels a bit rushed, but there is a lot of action in the final act that is all pretty well handled, even if some of the effects shots don't quite hold up as well as they once did. It makes for a fairly exciting climax to the season. Roll on season 5.

9/10