I love Lana's reaction to Lex
being abducted. It's a mix of shock and awe. Kreuk's performance is
really good here in the intro. I'm not quite sure why Braniac would feel
inclined to tell her anything about what he's doing though, not unless
he needed her to be a part of it, which he doesn't.
Clark is such
an idiot! He calls out, in this very episode, how he keeps making all
the wrong decisions and disobeying Jor-El. And then he goes and does
just that by refusing to use the dagger for its correct purpose. I like
that Clark really doesn't want to kill. It's one of his great heroic
qualities. But how many people will die or suffer as a direct result of
him choosing not to kill the vessel?
I like how Lionel is trying
to convince Clark that, sometimes, an evil act is the only way to serve
the greater good. In many ways this is the very thing that Lex believes
in. He doesn't see himself as evil. He justifies his evil acts by
convincing himself that they are for the greater good. So hearing Lionel
talk to Clark like this once again shows us how Lex adopted his outlook
on the world. It's also great to see a change in Lionel's feelings when
Clark tells him that Lex is the vessel. It's easy to make the ultimate
sacrifice when it's not something or someone you care about.
I'm
not quite buying that Lionel is getting up and walking away from that
car window that Lex throws him into at superspeed. No way, you're dead
bruh! Or at the very least you are in intensive care for the next six
weeks.
I know a lot of fans get really sick of hearing Lana
banging on about "secrets". Indeed, I'm usually one of them. But, in
this case, I can't help but understand where she's coming from. She
knows that Clark knows what is going on after overhearing him talk about
killing Lex. And yet Clark still refuses to tell her anything when she
asks. So I can totally see why she would be as harsh with him as she is
this time around. She says Clark doesn't trust her and it's hard to
argue with that.
Being a Chloe guy, the first time I saw this
episode, I loved the moment where she kisses Clark. With Lana seemingly
moving on it felt like this was the perfect time to explore a more
intimate relationship between the two. But, of course, watching it in
retrospect, knowing where they go in season 6, this moment just seems so
wasted now with no satisfying payoff.
I love the final exchange
between Lex and Clark as Lex really tells Clark what he thinks of him.
Clark asks him, "If that's how you felt then why did you stick around
for so long?" This is a really valid point that calls out Lex's true
nature. Any self respecting person with integrity and no hidden agenda
would ditch someone they could not trust as a friend. But Lex clung on
for so long because he wanted something from Clark. He wanted to learn
his secrets in case he had something to gain from them.
Once Lex
turns into Zod, however, the dialogue becomes a bit heavy handed as Zod
begins to talk like Basil Exposition. Except when he meets Lana on the
rooftop. Here he decides to say nothing at all, leaving Lana to spew out
some wishy washy crap about how she feels for him that, in the face of
everything that is going on beneath them, seems somewhat self-indulgent
and inappropriate
All the stuff with Martha and Lois seems like
it is building to something of great importance for the start of season
6. What is Braniac planning for them? Again, hindsight can be a bitch!
More on that at a later date.
The final shot of Clark in the
phantom zone prison is awesome! As someone who grew up on the
Christopher Reeve Superman films I was really happy to see that visual
cue that allowed fans to instantly know what was happening and set us up
with the promise of getting our first real look inside the phantom zone
come next season.
Not flawless but very fast paced and highly entertaining.
9/10
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