While moderately
amusing, I can't help but roll my eyes when Lois clamps eyes on Clark
after taking the love lipstick. It's too much of a nudge nudge, wink
wink to the audience. We get it, they are destined to be together some
day! Which is why the love potion angle somewhat cheapens what should be
a genuine love between the two of them. It also becomes another excuse
to get Erica Durance into some sexy clothing. But the bass guitar, soft
core porno music, that accompanies that moment just feels icky. However,
seeing Clark distract Lois so that he could run away at superspeed
absolutely had me in stitches. It was worth the hokey build up just for
that moment.
Chloe's reaction to Lois' mixed cd, that she made for Clark, is priceless. And the artwork that Lois made for the front cover is adorable. But it's definitely enough to put Chloe on the scent of a story.
I remember when I first saw the scene with Lex showing Lana the room he has decorated for the "baby". I thought it humanized Lex and I feared the inevitable loss of the child would be a major turning point in his further journey to the darkside. Watching it now, with hindsight, it becomes perhaps the most evil moment we ever see from him.
I like that Jimmy challenges Chloe on how she is with Clark. It's the first time it has felt like he has some agency, rather than being the silly, pushover lapdog we've seen thus far. The scene between him and the woman who sold the lipstick to Lois is a bit cringey though, as they make her out to be some kind of psychic love guru with a sixth sense about Lois and Clark, which is absolutely preposterous given the fact that she barely saw the two of them together. The inane, wide-eyed grin that Jimmy gives her in response to her comment doesn't really make much sense. I get that he has a vested interest in Lois and Clark getting together, but he doesn't know this woman, so it's more likely he'd be wierded out by her comment rather than going along with her bizarre flights of fancy.
Clark's crashing of Lex and Lana's engagement party is brutal. He insults everybody. And I mean EVERYBODY! Not even Martha gets to walk away unscathed. But Clark wounds them with the truth. He literally just pours it out in an unfiltered way. It's the wrong way of course but he certainly highlights a lot of the things I've been thinking myself over the course of the season. I love all the different reactions that are going on in this scene. It's like an acting masterclass. Martha and Chloe are both hurt but they know full well what's going on with Clark because they've seen it before. The disdain on Lana's face is totally justified. And Lex plays the hurt pride card well enough to be convincing, but Clark is playing into his hands here by victimizing him in front of a room full of party guests, most of whom we've never seen before and never will again. Seriously, who are there people!
Jimmy gets to play hero as he catches the cure, before it falls on the floor, and sprays Lois with it. But then, in typical Smallville fashion, we get Lois having no memory of what happened. If there is one Smallville trope that annoys me more than any other it's the plague of amnesia that seems to strike each character on multiple occasions.
The final confrontation between Clark, Lex and Lana in the barn is frought with tension, as Lana is put on the spot by Clark. Kreuk's performance throughout this scene is top notch. And finally, she bears witness to one of Clark's powers, as Lex stabs him with a metal implement. Martha's timing with the kryptonite is impeccable, making Lex think that he hurt Clark.
I love the compassion that Martha shows to Clark when she acknowledges that he really did mean what he'd said, whilst being on red K, but recognizes that it comes as a result of bottling things up to protect everyone else around him. It's an admirable trait to keep certain feelings to oneself so as not to risk hurting others. But, eventually, something's got to give, which is why it is important to talk about how you feel in a constructive way. This is clearly a lesson that Clark still needs to learn.
Chloe's reaction to Lois' mixed cd, that she made for Clark, is priceless. And the artwork that Lois made for the front cover is adorable. But it's definitely enough to put Chloe on the scent of a story.
I remember when I first saw the scene with Lex showing Lana the room he has decorated for the "baby". I thought it humanized Lex and I feared the inevitable loss of the child would be a major turning point in his further journey to the darkside. Watching it now, with hindsight, it becomes perhaps the most evil moment we ever see from him.
I like that Jimmy challenges Chloe on how she is with Clark. It's the first time it has felt like he has some agency, rather than being the silly, pushover lapdog we've seen thus far. The scene between him and the woman who sold the lipstick to Lois is a bit cringey though, as they make her out to be some kind of psychic love guru with a sixth sense about Lois and Clark, which is absolutely preposterous given the fact that she barely saw the two of them together. The inane, wide-eyed grin that Jimmy gives her in response to her comment doesn't really make much sense. I get that he has a vested interest in Lois and Clark getting together, but he doesn't know this woman, so it's more likely he'd be wierded out by her comment rather than going along with her bizarre flights of fancy.
Clark's crashing of Lex and Lana's engagement party is brutal. He insults everybody. And I mean EVERYBODY! Not even Martha gets to walk away unscathed. But Clark wounds them with the truth. He literally just pours it out in an unfiltered way. It's the wrong way of course but he certainly highlights a lot of the things I've been thinking myself over the course of the season. I love all the different reactions that are going on in this scene. It's like an acting masterclass. Martha and Chloe are both hurt but they know full well what's going on with Clark because they've seen it before. The disdain on Lana's face is totally justified. And Lex plays the hurt pride card well enough to be convincing, but Clark is playing into his hands here by victimizing him in front of a room full of party guests, most of whom we've never seen before and never will again. Seriously, who are there people!
Jimmy gets to play hero as he catches the cure, before it falls on the floor, and sprays Lois with it. But then, in typical Smallville fashion, we get Lois having no memory of what happened. If there is one Smallville trope that annoys me more than any other it's the plague of amnesia that seems to strike each character on multiple occasions.
The final confrontation between Clark, Lex and Lana in the barn is frought with tension, as Lana is put on the spot by Clark. Kreuk's performance throughout this scene is top notch. And finally, she bears witness to one of Clark's powers, as Lex stabs him with a metal implement. Martha's timing with the kryptonite is impeccable, making Lex think that he hurt Clark.
I love the compassion that Martha shows to Clark when she acknowledges that he really did mean what he'd said, whilst being on red K, but recognizes that it comes as a result of bottling things up to protect everyone else around him. It's an admirable trait to keep certain feelings to oneself so as not to risk hurting others. But, eventually, something's got to give, which is why it is important to talk about how you feel in a constructive way. This is clearly a lesson that Clark still needs to learn.
It's easy
to understand Jimmy's frustration with Chloe when, after everything that
happened, she still defends Clark. If I was him, in this instance, I
think I would react the same way. Of course, I understand why Chloe
comes to Clark's defense, but she has to look at it from Jimmy's
perspective. In this instance, I don't think it would have been a
betrayal of Clark to tell Jimmy that, "yeah, he royally screwed up!" But
her unwillingness to lie (again, an admirable trait) forces her
relationship with Jimmy into becoming the collateral damage of keeping
Clark's secret, which is ironic as she has to lie to Jimmy all the time
in order to keep it.
Lex's final words to Lana are extremely
threatening in a passive aggressive sort of way. He's now talking about
her, to her face, as though she were his property. Lana, consequently,
has the look of a prisoner on her face.
This is a very good and,
actually, quite hard hitting episode. It is let down only slightly by
the silly opening set up, which made it seem like it would go somewhere
else that was less interesting.
9/10
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