Voice of Reason: Season Five: Vessel

Vessel

Overall

Last season, I made a list of things I wanted to see in the future. Here are the top three: "Clark and Jonathan interacting without petty fighting," " Clark and Jor-El's relationship, and in it their connection, developing – the two of them getting closer, perhaps communicating more freely without the Kryptonian formality of the secret chamber. Hearing Clark call Jor-El 'Father'," and "showing Kal-El and/or Clark interact with someone who knew the significance of who he was". (Sorry about the change of tense, "who knew," "he was"…I think it came from thinking of "Rosetta" in the past.)

This episode virtually fulfilled that top three. Clark didn't exactly call Jor-El "father," but for the first time in a long time, their roles as father and son returned.

The story itself – Zod coming to earth in Lex's body, Clark trapped – was a good one. It contained all the elements of grandeur and hero-choices that we were thirsting for. It widened the scope beyond "five-set, six-character" Smallville*.

The plot and its finer details were less satisfying. Much of the episode involved repetition – old conversations talked through again; one character relaying information to another, relaying information to another; Lex giving a verbal summary of how he thinks Clark feels about him and how he feels and used to feel about Clark. There was much dialogue that could have been cut out altogether.

And, balancing off Clark's ultimate heroism, and the ultimate fulfillment of the ending, the episode began by repeating last season's mistakes.

In Season Four, Clark was passive and oblivious. He was one of the last ones to know, and then to care, about the kryptonian stones, while everyone else took the initiative to energetically do his stone-hunting for him. This episode started off with Clark, in a classic moment of Clark-passivity, ignoring a looming problem. The animals in the stable were alarmed, the shadow was spreading, and Clark, as only Clark can, closed the stable door and turned his back on an event that every instinct in him should have been screaming about.

Clark is supposed to be the keeper of secrets and the center of the mysteries, fascinated by symbols, hanging out in Kryptonian hang-outs, hearing unhearable noises and responding to summons from other planets. Instead he was the only one blind and deaf to it all. Once again, Lex and Lana were the ones caught up in kryptonian mystery. And the way that Clark finally got caught up with his quicker-witted comrades was via Hourly Updates with Chloe.

It is always painful when Chloe has to babysit Clark, and these Hourly Updates with Chloe not only reduced his Superman credibility, but they were purposeless. We had witnessed Lex's disappearance and Lana running through the lights – a gorgeous special effect. We had no need to hear Lana tell Chloe about it and Chloe tell Clark about it. All the writers had to do was let Clark see the lights, hear the noise with super-hearing, or hear the high-pitched sound only Kryptonians hear, and race up to witness it first-hand. As it was, we were given the negatives of a) having to see it, then hear it, then hear it again, b) getting annoyed with Lana's strangely inane, disjointed explanation, and c) watching Chloe teaching Clark, instead of letting young Superman fly on his own.

Also, the symbolism of both fathers (not technically, of course) telling Clark to kill a Luthor was an interesting concept, but severely flawed. For one thing, the Law of Diminished Returns was in effect. Jonathan apparently issued a command to kill last week. How can we be shocked at Jor-El's command? Clark just slipped out of this situation, nobody killed. How can we worry about the outcome this time? For another thing, we couldn't help but compare everyone's reactions to the commands…and it made no sense that Chloe was far more shocked when Jor-El commanded murder than when Jonathan did ("That goes way beyond domineering Dad!"), and that Lionel would tell Clark, "Your father would never make you a murderer," and, in this episode, encourage Clark to become a murderer.

Meanwhile Martha and Lois were passive pawns, and during the obligatory scenes meant to remind us of their existence, little or nothing happened. (Lois trying to egg a confession out of Martha that she "likes" Lionel counts as nothing.)

Finally, the scene that acted as a catalyst to the cliffhanger, transforming Lex into Zod, was based on the premise of Clark holding a knife to Lex's throat and considering killing him. The statement last episode made was that Clark Kent isn't a killer. This scenario might have been possible with Season Three's Clark, but not with Season Five's.

But these flaws were on the surface – the core of the story itself still glowed through. And there were beautiful moments as well as marred ones. Clark's reaction when Jor-El told him of Zod's crime. Milton Fine jabbing Clark's emotions precisely where he knew he would squirm. The beautiful music as Lionel and Clark had their one-on-one conversation over Jor-El's knife. The cinematography and special effects. The emotionally pleasing and the aesthetically pleasing both made appearances, the second at work almost the entire time.

And, most importantly, Clark got a role this episode. He had been flirting with one all season, on again in "Hidden", off again in "Aqua", on again in "Splinter", off again in "Fanatic"…every writer had a different take on Clark and his role, so he never buckled down and got a purpose for more than a few episodes. This episode the writers again took a stance – and it was a good one. It was the stance that they took in the very beginning, when Clark Kent first won us over. The stance that this Clark is a good person, who loves people, even if he's emotionally on the outside. Who wants to save people from their suffering. Remember "Hourglass", when Clark and the blind woman joined hands and shared a vision of men, women, and children? "Who are they?" "They are people you are going to save." This episode, that vision flickered to life. Ultimately, Clark got to act on his own motivation, whether it was punching Milton Fine in the study or, at last, trying to save the world. He started the day in the wrong gear, but by the end he was once again Superman in the making.

I don't know how long that vision will last, but I hope the writers will do their best to keep it alive, and let Clark be that compassionate, loving superhero with a vision for saving the world.

Verdict: 8

*I know Smallville isn't five sets, six characters - I was speaking figuratively. There was something slightly soapish earlier about the revolving relationships (Clark and Lana, Lana and Lex, Martha and Lionel, Chloe jealous, Lex jealous, Clark jealous...) - this episode stepped outside of the usual places and people by putting in an external villain with different goals.

Good/Bad Moments

Classic Clark reaction as we (and the animals) sense something ominous, and Clark closes the door and proceeds as usual. They shouldn't have had this scene. If he had sensed something wrong, especially after the tumult of the past few weeks, he should have gone immediately to investigate; so his passivity means he has no intuition, no spine, or no brain. Any of these conditions handicap him severely.
Neat camerawork used to convey Lex's headache, circling him in the study.
Wonderful special effects as the earth exploded with dirt and light.
"What are you doing?" "I'm preparing him." Somehow it seemed strange to have Lana ask Milton Fine a question and Milton Fine answer it. Too simple. It felt like there should have been more – as if Lana should have protested, pleaded – Milton Fine said something acerbic and disappeared – Lex called out a final time for Milton to leave Lana alone, before disappearing in the light. Perhaps this would have been too much: it might have distracted too much from the special effects, or resulted in heavy dialogue…but it seemed like something was missing, that signature reaction from each of them.
More wonderful special effects as Lana ran through the lights, searching for Lex.
It was a nice touch, and not laid on too heavily, that Martha spilled the hot water and Lionel cleaned it up with a towel. Lionel, is under normal circumstances, anything but domestically inclined; but he seemed quite at home as he picked up the towel and dabbed the water, standing close to Martha all the while. That picture said more than all the awkward dialogues they've had.
Nothing exasperates me more than utter inability with words, so perhaps this didn't bother anyone else; but why was Lana's explanation to Chloe so devoid of rhyme or reason? She blurted out her announcements in random order, and all the important parts had to be prompted. Why didn't the writers just let her tell it all coherently and consecutively, from the beginning? (That is, if they were going to have her tell it at all: see Overall for my suggestion.)
"I know you are still angered by the loss of Jonathan Kent." I liked it that Jor-El had this insight into his son's emotions. At times he seems very remote and detached from human feelings and reasonings, but this was good – there is a bond between them.
Clark finally does what we all wanted him to do from the start – asks Jor-El for the answers he needs. "[He wants me to release Zod.] What am I supposed to do?" "If Fine is part of the ship, then who controls it?" It was so easy. And while we all wondered why he hasn't been spilling out questions ever since he discovered the Fortress, we could still enjoy the moment, the way we enjoy a baby's first step, without questioning too much the late date. It was like the final "Mercy" scene between him and Lionel – inspiring not only pleased surprise, but something almost like pride. Clark was a man. He spoke to Jor-El without any of that random resentment. He knew he was asking someone higher up in knowledge and wisdom (then again, he's in the same position with everyone in Smallville but Lois); and he wasn't angrily disrespectful, with that "I'll-speak-to-you-because-I-have-to, but-I'm-mad" stiffness that he so often assumes for little or no reason. Nor was he shouting at the unseen power. He was collaborating in spirit, not just in body. Good job, writers, on helping Clark grow up.
Pause. "Zod killed you." "And your mother." That was such a good moment. You realize that Clark has some filial feeling in him for his unseen father after all. And the thought of Zod killing his mother, Jor-El, and their people – his people – is enough to make him personally invest in his father's battle. "I won't let that happen." We like to see the other-worldly in Clark, the something in his blood that stirs him.
"Okay, I've heard of fathers asking a lot of their sons, but asking you to commit a murder?" Chloe, why didn't you have this shocked reaction last week? It was strangely comical that she was so freshly horrified at the nerve of Clark's father to insist on murder.
"That goes way beyond domineering Dad." "Chloe, I'm not killing anyone." "Well, I hate to say this, but disobeying Jor-El has had grim consequences." Chloe completely switched sides. For a newspaper reporter, you'd think she would be more decided on her stance. Maybe she was supposed to be neutral, or helping him to thresh out his options, but, as my brother pointed out, it came across as, "You can't trust him!" "No, obey him!"
"Don't underestimate me, son." Interesting moment, Lionel putting his hand on Clark's shoulder. I still don't know why his spurts of Jor-El-ism last for a few seconds until he wakes up, but in his right mind he remains affectionate toward Clark. He seemed to be completely himself when he whispered, "I will protect you, Kal-El" several months ago, and in this conversation he was definitely himself; but he was still protective of Clark and still calling him "son".
Beautiful music as Clark told Lionel the situation, and Lionel counseled him.
"But I can't kill anyone. You of all people should know that." The writers have set up such an interesting situation: that with Lionel, Clark can be open in ways he can't be with others, like Lana.
"The real test of a hero is knowing when the greater good will be served by an evil act." That was so wrong…typical Lionel-twisted logic. He's not the good guy yet.
"To save the earth, the cost of one life is the price that must be paid." "Even if that life is your son?" Long silence, perfect music. There was symbolism in that, a reflection of Clark's Christ-symbolism, except this time in the Luthors. I don't know whether it was intended, but those two lines certainly were strong with significance. Good moment.
"What have they done to you? Lex? What have they turned you into?" This was the perfect Lionel reaction – like the Pilot when he uncovered young Lex's bald head and withdrew with horrified disgust. He can't stand the thought of his son and heir being imperfect. This was definitely the real Lionel.
"I've been given a gift." I loved the way he phrased this.
"Your hand. There's not a scratch on it." Lex obviously shot himself knowing ahead of time that there would not be a scratch on him, so Lana's observation was a bit forced. A whispered, "My god," would be sufficient.
"You need to know the truth about me." (Lana slowly backs away.) "They've turned you into one of them." "I have their abilities, but it's still me." Pause. "Lana, I'd never lie to you. How could I keep something like this from the person I care about most?" (Lana slowly returns.) Intriguing dialogue. This made their relationship even more plausible – Lex is, short-term, succeeding where Clark failed, and Lana's intoxicated by it. This was the right reaction for him to have. Of course, ultimately the reason Lex is honest where Clark isn't, is because Lex is too desperate for someone to share his life with to recognize when his open sharing of dangerous secrets puts Lana in danger. (Showing her the secret lab, for instance.) Clark has more self-control. But Lana doesn't know that, and it was easy to see how Lex's honesty was refreshing after Clark's lies. (Let's face it, we found it refreshing too. We can't blame her for tiring of the "secrets" conflict.)
"It's fear, Lana. My father's infected him with it. Like he used to do to me." This was a good reaction for Lex to have. For one thing, it seemed to sadly recognize Lionel's newfound paternal instincts for Clark. For another, it recognized Lionel's twisted fear of imperfection in Lex – an equally bitter fact. And finally, it didn't accuse Clark of hating him all along or any other farfetched notion, but saw Clark as the victim of the more likely source of fear, hatred, and murder…his own father.
"You know I'll always love you." "You're talking like we'll never see each other again." This was a paraphrase of the "Commencement" barn scene when Lana gave Clark the stone, Clark told her that he loved her, and she said he was talking like they'd never see each other again. They could have been a bit more original here.
"He's not… He's changed." Lionel turns around, revealing his swollen, cut face. Clark reacts. "What happened to you?" That was such an interesting reaction. Clark and Lionel have such a unique relationship now – wary but connected.
"I taught him to survive at any cost, to be completely ruthless." "Maybe that's what'll save him. There's still a part of Lex that can fight this." Now this was the real Clark…always wanting to believe in the good in people. Somehow Lionel manages to bring out the best in Clark, pulling out that contrast of darkness and light.
I love it that in Clark-Lionel conversations the writers abandon The Rule (see Solitude). One facet of the Rule is that Clark can't agree with anyone but Chloe, unless he's being comforted by someone. That's how they create tension…and childish disagreements, and a self-pitying, unstable Clark. But he and Lionel don't argue…they probe one another, bringing up what's in the depths. There's abundant tension there, without needing obstinate stances for or against. What they choose to reveal, what they choose to hide – what they (mostly Lionel) choose to say, what they (mostly Clark) choose to hear – is more intriguing and memorable than all the meaningless, shallow arguments they could have had instead. The writers are doing very well with this relationship.
"Be careful what you decide to do, Clark. Which one are you willing to sacrifice?" This cryptic logic took a second viewing for me to decode. What he was saying was that if Clark allowed Lex to live and be a vessel for Zod, Lana would be Zod's natural prey; in order to protect Lana from Zod, Clark would need to sacrifice Lex. Lionel seemed to be having a Chloe moment. He just finished looking stricken at the idea of Lex being killed…I don't think he would finish the conversation by telling Clark to consider his options, think of Lana, after all. On the other hand, I can't think of another way to show the viewer Clark's choice between Lex and Lana…it would be worse if Clark explained his dilemma out loud to someone. But did they need to show it? We knew that things would be catastrophic if Zod came. Maybe throwing in the risks that Lana would be exposed to was too much.
The whole jet scene, with Lois intently watching Martha read the card, asking her about her feelings for Lionel, etc., should have been cut down to about ten seconds. Little or zero dialogue. They shouldn't have talked about Lionel at all. They should have walked up to the jet, with the Luthorcorp sign on the side, and Martha should have hesitated, troubled. Lois: "You coming?" Martha follows Lois inside the jet and looks out the window, silently uneasy. That would have been quite enough, and allowed more time for the important action.
"You have all these different sides to you, and I can't tell if any of them is the real you." I wonder if this was supposed to be an inside joke, like all the mentions of Lex's lack of security. Clark has morphed several times in the past years - from the unrestrained passion of the third season to the grinning high school jock act of the fourth season to the self-centered "I just want to be normal" attitude of the fifth season to the superhero who suffers for mankind in this episode. Whether it was intentional or not, this line was almost comically apt. Now the writers need to take that idea and make him multi-dimensional instead of schizophrenic.
"If you have ever really cared about me, tell me what's happening to Lex." Lex has just told her everything. She's giving Clark the same chance, and he's turning it down. And I'm not sure why he's turning it down. She knows that Milton Fine is from another planet, she "saw" Lex get sucked into a spaceship, Milton Fine told her that Lex was being "prepared", and she should know that Milton Fine injected Lex with something mysterious. Clark doesn't have to tell her how he gets his information…all he had to say was, "Fine injected Lex with a virus that changed him. I need to know his symptoms so we can find a cure before it's too late." Either she would take his word, or she would hold out and say, "It's not a disease, Clark." In which case, he would definitely have the final word. "Lana, my dad had the same thing happen to him. His got heart problems from using powers that his body couldn't handle." That would definitely make her think. And she would end up agreeing with him. Problem solved. He didn't have to give her all the details of Jor-El and Jonathan's deal – she knows about the spaceships and extraterrestrials and kryptonite and superpowers, so she can draw her own conclusions. It would work for the plot, because it would add to the cloud of mystery surrounding Clark. It's hard to watch when they have Clark lie or keep secrets and ruin relationships...when he might as well just tell the truth.
"You don't trust me. You've never trusted me, have you?" Pause. Clark doesn't answer. "I don't know how I could have ever loved you." Considering his behavior, I completely understood this. Clark wanted to marry Lana…that was definitely the point when common respect demanded trust. She felt disrespected because, in a way, she was. I was surprised that I was able to sympathize with her so much. The writers showed that she had a good point.
Wonderful scene between Milton Fine and Clark. "And to think…that loyalty could have been yours if you had been honest with her. I'm sure Zod will cherish her allegiance." Clark turns around and punches him. I loved that. We saw the inner Clark. It's so rare that he gets to express his feelings without restraint.
"It's your own fault, Kal-El. You were supposed to be the Vessel. But your father's spirit was too strong in you." Jor-El is a major part of who Clark is. Often everyone (including, strangely enough, Clark) finds a reason to resent him – but he saved Clark's life by sending him to earth, and he's been watching over him ever since. It was a nice touch that, after all the Jonathan plaudits, Clark remembered his real father this episode, and Milton Fine and Zod both saw his father in him.
"If you'd have released Zod the first time, they would have been spared. I'm giving you one more chance." It's too soon to make this call, but the impression I received from this moment - Milton Fine offering Clark another chance to release Zod - was that the writers were trying to give Clark a moment where he could make a choice and say, "Never." That would have been perfectly all right - even great - if there was a logical reason why Milton Fine would again try to get Clark to release Zod. But since Lex was physically ready to become the Vessel and Zod was ready to enter, this moment of offering Clark another chance to release Zod seemed contrived. Of course, Milton Fine plays mind games, and perhaps he wanted to make it clear that it was Clark's choice that sent the humans into panic and suffering; but it might have been better if he'd hovered his hand over the computer and said, "You have made your choice." "Nothing can make me release a monster like Zod." Hand on computer, instant chaos. That would have made more sense, and would have made Clark's "never" to Zod's face (Moment be) more dramatic.
"Nothing can make me release a monster like Zod." "Except, maybe, your one weakness…humans." It was such a good idea that the finale would show Clark frantic to save people, when the season began with his self-centered happiness at losing his abilities. It was the perfect way to "make up" for his selfishness – emphasize (and make part of the plot) his quality of compassion.
"They're so fragile. They'll never survive without their technology, no matter how crude. Take that away, and they'll devolve, back into the animals they really are. And you can't save all of them." This was actually a very relevant observation, with this generation's need to be entertained.
"I'll never do what you want." "Then it begins." Hand on laptop, jammed signals – lights out. "Enjoy the show." Beautiful dramatic moment. They'll definitely use that for next season's recap.
I would have liked to see everything Chloe described, the panic growing, the people rushing to get home, the criminals coming out of the shadows. The atmosphere of alarm growing and swelling, before the outright madness. As it was, as we were shown the footage of the havoc being wreaked, there was an uncomprehending moment of, "How did this happen from that?" If they'd shaved down the Martha-in-the-jet scene, they would have had time to show it all. But there might have been budget reasons.
"Clark. I don't know if I'm ever going to see you again…" (Chloe runs up to Clark and kisses him…and he kisses back.) This was their first real kiss, without any external forces messing with their heads. (Clark mentioned that in eighth grade she'd kissed him "to get it out of the way", but that's hardly the same thing.) It was so natural...the perfect way for their first real kiss to be. Imminent danger brings out the real in people, takes away the pretences and masks.
"Hello, Clark. I heard you wanted to see me." Lex calls Clark. It took me a while to realize that the reason Lex had that self-sacrificial parting with Lana ("You know I'll always love you." "You're talking like we'll never see each other again.") was because he was going to confront Clark and he was afraid Clark would kill him. But once I realized it, I liked the angle. For one thing, it was about time someone put all the secrets out in the open; for another, despite all his powers he somehow understood that Clark could still kill him. That was the right application of the "There's something unique about Clark" theme – not suspicion that he's lying, but recognition of his power. I always said that the reason Lex would turn against Clark would be fear.
"You'd tell me if I had drool all over my face, wouldn't you?" Cute, surprisingly winsome line from Lois. She always is best when she's guileless, off her guard – much more entertaining than when she's acting neurotic ("Fragile," Fade").
"So what did you decide, Clark? Are you going to kill me?" "You can't blame me for this, Lex. You did it to yourself." What was that supposed to mean? "This", meaning Lex's powers? In what way did Lex inject himself with a kryptonian solution, then suck himself into a spaceship? Or "this," meaning "my having to kill you" - an even more bizarre statement coming from Clark? Clark's blame-casting here was a bit odd. Of course, he might have meant that if Lex hadn't poked around where he didn't belong, and formed dangerous alliances, he wouldn't have become their victim...but since Lex couldn't have foreseen the consequences and judged by them, that's a rather unsympathetic attitude to take, particularly toward someone he's considering killing.
"Oh, come on, Clark! You love it!" This delivery was a little over-the-top. It reminded me too strongly of "Onyx".
"Oh, come on, Clark! You love it! Ever since that day on the bridge, you've always seen yourself as my savior, the one thing that would pull me off the dark path I'd started. See, that's why you cling to the idea that there's still some good in me. You don't want to face the fact that you might have failed." "And what does he do? He starts monologuing!" And not only is he "monologuing", but while we're waiting for him to get to the point, he's making absolutely no sense. He says that Clark doesn't want to believe he's evil, but that Clark loves it. What? The dialogue was also written very ramblingly, as if they were trying to fill as much time as possible – "the dark path I'd started", etc. It was also delivered very ramblingly. This whole moment should have been cut.
"You don't want to face the fact that you might have failed." "Or maybe I just can't believe that someone would have so little willpower." It's so rare that Clark comes up with a killer reply to Lex. I love it when he does.
"It's a little hard to compete with the iron willpower it takes to kill one of your best friends." Then he changes the subject. "I used to think you had this strong inner core…that you were so virtuous. And yet you lie, all the time. To me, to Lana, to all the people who cared about you. What kind of sick person would do that?" This was totally irrelevant…why was this even here?
"If you thought this friendship was so doomed from the beginning, then why did you fight so hard to keep it?" "Because I wanted everything you had. The family, the inconspicuous life, the girlfriend." Characters should never make announcements about themselves and their own psychological states, for obvious reasons. (As Thom Parham pointed out, remember "Attack of the Clones" when Anakin announced to Amidala, "I slaughtered them like they were animals"? He explained that he was a homicidal psychopath… and we all groaned.) We knew Lex's motives…but they were stronger when he wasn't waving them like a banner. This, too, should have gone.
"Well, at least I walked away with the part you loved the most." Clark flinches, but controls himself. "You're not yourself." As in Moment (y), it's good to see Clark trusting in someone's best. This was the old Clark from way, way back, who stuck with Lex when no one else would. They're not friends now, but Superman in the making can still extend the benefit of the doubt.
"Or maybe I finally am." The most fascinating line in the episode. See "Future".
"I knew there was something different about you." Lex has already said this, when Clark broke him part of the way out of Belle Reve. Somehow it was weaker here, a bit more predictable.
"Do it, Clark." This was particularly repetitive, Milton Fine standing behind Clark urging him to kill someone. I think all the events of this episode would have been stronger without the events of last episode.
"Let's see if you're really your father's son." This remark was calculated to make Clark turn against his father's wishes...and it did. The father-son theme was dramatically carried out in this episode. Usually when Clark ignores Jor-El, it's from sheer stupidity...this time it was from humanity. Much better way for them to clash.
"You have your father's eyes. Hello, Kal-El." This was exactly the quality of other-worldliness that made Season Two's "Rosetta" such a success. Reminiscing about Clark's Kryptonian heritage and the father that Clark does not know, coolly greeting the son of his enemy…this Zod was the ideal personal Kryptonian nemesis.
Clark carries on a tense, guarded conversation with his enemy. It's interesting – Milton Fine and Zod had a similar style of conversing with Clark, almost like an animal circling its prey, while its prey gears itself up. Both know that, presently, it will be a fight to the death. But now Clark is warily talking, the enemy is conversing nonchalantly, without much tenseness. On the surface they are conversing like anyone else. But we know what violence lies beneath the surface.
"Where's Lex?" "Lex is dead." "Why are you here?" "For the same reason as anyone who'd been imprisoned like a beast." Good delivery by Michael Rosenbaum. I didn't even think of him as Lex. It was dignified, bitter Zod.
"And in the end, the only one who survived his pathetic crusade...was his son." "Then this is between us. These people did nothing to harm you." "No, but you feel no pain greater than to see others in agony." Just as in Moment (ai), this moment painted a compassionate Clark. All these moments were preparing him to take on the role of one who suffers to save the world.
"I won't let you destroy this planet like you did Krypton." "You don't have a choice. Unless you join me." "I'll never join you." "I hope that's a decision that you'll be willing to live with…forever." It was somehow pride-inducing that Zod knew Clark's power and was willing, at least temporarily, to collaborate with him in his mission of destruction. We felt pride on Clark's account for two reasons: foremost, because he did the right thing, and second, because it was a relief to see someone capable of understanding the full significance of Clark's identity.
Beautiful " Rome is burning" shot of Lex-Zod at the end.

Details

Lana certainly moved on quickly. I thought it was too soon to have her snuggly with Lex, for two reasons. 1) She loved Clark in a "meant to be" kind of way. If he'd told her his secret, they would have gotten married. She's not going to move on that quickly, and when she does, she's going to act like someone who's been burned, because she has been. She's not going to immediately jump to the intimately cuddly stage. 2) Her relationship with Lex is (at least, in the best episodes) the relationship a compassionate person has with a needy little boy. Yes, I know that I said in "Fragile" that it was a passion, and that it was good for her to have different types of relationships with different characters; but a) it was only a passion in that episode (consistency, writers), which I didn't like anyway, and I prefer the way it was written in other episodes, and b) it can be a unique relationship without being a reasonless passion, especially since Jason and Clark were both at some point reasonless passions, and c) I hadn't thought of (a) and (b) when I wrote that review. Their relationship's really not based on flirtation or sensuality – he needs her as compulsively as he needed love and family several years ago, and she feels like he's a man who's been wronged and who needs her and loves her. "Lockdown" captured that fully, as she kept him alive and as he held her in the hospital. That kind of relationship is very different from the lie-on-the-couch-together-smiling relationship, at least in its early, three-week-old stages. At this stage, they should still be discovering each other – looking at each other with a small measure of shyness in their affection – not rushing to mark off their dating milestones.
Why doesn't Clark have to grab the floating crystal in order to communicate with Jor-El any more?
It was so strange to see Lex dashing places. Every time I saw him dash, I thought, "He's going to get a concussion, traveling so quickly and then stopping suddenly." I never thought that with Clark, because he's invincible; but I still wasn't thinking of Lex as invincible. It was a difficult and interesting transition.
"I don't want anything to happen to him." "Like what? Having your best friend turn against you?" Um, why did she say "you"? That made no grammatical sense. It should have been, "I don't want anything to happen to him." "Like what? Having his best friend turn against him?"
Why is Clark stricken when Lana acts unfazed by Lex's powers? He knew that he could have told her his secret and she would react with joy ("Reckoning")…what's the surprise?
Some of the random letters on the computer screen: BSF Zod Zod DRFP ELR BW DL PF FDML. If there were words, they were very well-hidden.
Milton Fine tells Clark that nothing can make him release Zod but his one weakness, the pain of seeing humans suffer when their technology is taken away. But the thing that makes Clark unintentionally release Zod is his inability to kill Lex. It has nothing to do with the technology-deprived masses. Was there any connection with what Milton Fine was saying and what he was doing? Was he weaving lies without a purpose, or did he have a Plan A that didn't go off?
How would destroying Milton Fine with a kryptonian weapon from Jor-El release Zod? He’s been destroyed by kryptonian forces from Jor-El three times now, and Zod wasn’t channeled through him the first two times. Of course, Zod didn't have a Vessel prepared before; but since the source of Milton Fine's destruction was always Jor-El, one would think that Kryptonian technology could instill some precautions, let the knife react differently for different victims (like in Season Two, when Dr. Walden was sent into a coma by the key that enlightened Clark).
The dagger appears to say "RIDS ME" in Kryptonian characters.
“You have your father’s eyes.” Some consider this to be a mistake, since when Jor-El was seen on earth he looked exactly like Clark. However, Jor-El was sent to earth for a time, temporarily, by his father. It was implied that he underwent a transformation when he came to earth. In Season Three’s finale, Clark was “reborn” in the crack containing the spirit of Krypton, and had to be sent back to earth in a bolt of lightning. Might it not be that Jor-El and Clark took the same form when they were sent to earth, but in Krypton looked different? That something Zod saw in Clark’s eyes might have been his father’s spirit.
At first I didn't understand why Clark chased after the Phantom Zone "bracelet". Then I realized that before we saw Zod-Lex take it off his wrist, he deliberately turned his back to Clark; and when we saw it being flung, we were seeing it in "bullet time" - extreme slow motion. Clark did not see what it was, but dodged out of the way, then saw it flash brightly in the sky. Zod had just stated his determination to make the world suffer, so when he flung something shining out the window, Clark thought it was something else to hurt the world (remember, for a few weeks he's been geared for a viral attack or some other attack against the planet) and ran out to intercept it.

The Future

How long will Zod remain in Lex?
- Personally, I wouldn't mind if he stayed for a while.
1. It's beneficial in every way for Clark to have a Kryptonian nemesis on earth. Milton Fine served this purpose until "Solitude" and his disappearance, after which he never really came across as imposing. It's good to have a character that forces Clark to become a man.
2. All the attempts to make Lex madly evil this year failed. It's not going to happen overnight – if done believably, it will take years. There are only two reasons he would turn against Clark quickly: fear and possession. And while fear might make him turn against Clark, it's not going to make him turn against others just yet. Possession by Zod actually isn't a bad way to go, at least for the moment. "You're not yourself." "Or maybe I finally am." That allows Lex to become the bad guy without mangling his character, and keeps in the bittersweet element that made the first three seasons so poignant.
What will happen to Chloe, Lois, and Martha?
- It's impossible to tell. One would think that Martha would not be allowed to die so abruptly, but the writers have gotten more reckless than they used to be. The Lois-Chloe identity question remains open, so either of them could die. Or, of course, the obvious, and my personal favorite: they could all survive. If characters are going to die, I prefer that they do it dramatically, and that before their deaths they make statements with their lives and their relationships with Clark.
When Zod does leave Lex, will Lex retain any memory of what happened?
- I don't know…and frankly, I don't know, at this point, what to want to happen.
What will Jor-El channel through Lionel?
- Because you know he'll channel something.
Will Clark be passive until he is released?
- It appears that he has no choice. I hope, though, that they wouldn't let him be rescued by Lionel, let him rush to save Chloe, let Chloe give him the update on everyone, and let him rush to save them.