Voice of Reason: Season Four: Ageless

Ageless

Overall

This episode, like many episodes this season, was written for five moments/elements. Most of the episode apart from those moments or elements failed to move you and sometimes failed to interest you. The five are:

Clark and Lana, the new couple (supposedly) acting like parents toward the baby. The quick "formula/diaper" exchange, the calming effect Clark has on the baby, and the novelty of the characters undergoing a parental experience, were all plusses. However, there was a drawback. Although Lana and Clark acted like parents, they didn't act like boyfriend and girlfriend, which was a major loss; it completely missed the point of their getting together. If the point of the baby was to bring them closer during the episode, it didn't really do that.

Young Even gleefully shouting, "Dad!" and jumping into Clark's arms. I loved the Ryan episodes when Clark's "big brother side" was shown; and I loved it that here, Clark's "father side" was shown. It was sweet and pleasant to watch, even heartwarming. But there is a small drawback. This season has consisted of a lot of formerly unseen facets of people - Kal-El in "Crusade", Alexander in "Onyx", Clark with a blank memory in "Blank", Clark on red k in "Unsafe", and, less dramatically but covering five more episodes: people acting like Dawn in "Spirit", the formerly-unseen side of Lex in "Bound", body-switching in "Transference", and witch-possessing in "Spell" and "Sacred". Not to mention Lana transforming from girl-next-door to Paris chick, Chloe going from clever reporter to sympathetic sweetheart, Lionel's double-conversions, Lex's multiple personas, Jonathan's "wants-to-stop-Clark, wants-to-support-Clark", "Lex-was-helpful, Lex-is-evil" flip-flopping, and Jason's ever-shifting position in regard to Lana, Lex, Lionel, his mother, Clark... Maybe this episode, with Lana and Clark showing their "parenting" side, would have come across stronger if it had come in a more stable season of characters.

The scene at Lex's medical place (whatever and wherever it was) with young Evan watching Clark anxiously through the glass, and then with Lana and Clark protecting teenage Evan. That was the most compelling scene, with the most emotion, aside from (D). They didn't give you much time to connect with Evan, as he never really had a specific personality aside from boy genius and, toward the end, desperate teen. But during that scene he was a frightened boy who didn't know what was happening, looking at his parents and worrying and getting his first shot. After the transformation he was still a frightened boy who didn't know what was happening, and whose parents were rushing in to protect him. That was the scene where you connected most with Evan.

The death scene, in which he knew he was about to die. There was simple drama without being trite when Clark came to him and sent Lana away from danger, then bent over him protectively and supported his head with his hand. The dialogue was sweet and wasn't kept going too long. ("I won't leave you." "I wish you were my dad."..."I'm glad it was you who found me." "You found us.") Followed by the contained explosion...they haven't had a good outdoor explosion in a while, and I liked it. The way Lana shielded herself behind the truck was reminiscent of "Tempest", as was the vision of Clark appearing through the cloud of dust and slowly walking out. (In "Tempest" Lana was caught in a storm and her truck was lifted into the air; Clark was seen running into a cloud of dust to rescue her; then in "Vortex" she saw him appear out of the cloud and climb into the truck to protect her.) Tearful Lana, Clark holding her, both realizing what they've lost...it was a good scene, although not well-backed up by the events that led up to it, so naturally it didn't have the impact of something like "Ryan".

The final scene between Lex and Clark, that brief exchange - Clark coming in, looking older and more tired - Clark's first words expressing gratitude, the purpose of his visit being to thank Lex - the inspiring thought that Evan's life would save lives - Lex observing that Clark would make a good father someday - Lex's denial and explanation when Clark returns the favor - the handshake in front of the fire - Clark, still looking older and bowed beneath the emotion of the experience, walking out. The only real downside of the scene was 1) the handshake didn't have the best situation to support it, since you didn't see much of Lex during the episode - an episode like "Hug" with Lex and Clark would have been a better setting, to give it more impact. And 2) the episode ended with the explanation that Lex was really lying to Clark, and you can see no reason why. Viewers are only shocked (and delighted) by cliffhangers when they know what they're guessing about..."will Lana break up with Whitney or not", "will Clark tell Chloe or not", "will Lionel kill himself or not ", "will Lex let Lionel die or not", etc. But since Lex's lie wasn't given a motive or a potential "this could happen or not happen", there was no gasp, no wide-eyed look of shock, when the credits started playing. It was more like, "That's the end?"

If the episode had developed the way the above scenes and elements developed, it would have been an excellent episode. But the scenes apart from those above were weak and unsupportive. The death of Evan's biological father was so abrupt that you didn't have time to feel anything, even shock. The scene where Clark tried to protect Evan from meeting his biological father and was met with a reflection of himself wasn't built up enough, and was perhaps even weakened by Jonathan's mediating presence, which kept them from showing the raw emotion they could have shown if permitted to act on instinct. The scene where Clark initially confronted Evan's father was not intense or emotional, or not enough...it could be summarized with "And then Evan's father wouldn't donate the marrow", because Clark wasn't given a chance to show enough emotion to thicken it. Evan's behavior once he realized he was dying was intensely depressing, but without reaching you. The scene where Evan and Lana were in the house and Evan was freaking out could have played on the emotions; instead it played on the stress. It didn't dwell on the poignancy of Lana taking him to the windmill before he died; it dwelled on the action, giving a "cliffhanger" with Lana looking at him, while you don't know what she's thinking or why she's waiting. (If Clark had been shown explaining to the her the danger when Evan died, or if Jonathan had warned her over the phone to do such-and-such to prevent the explosion or protect herself, it would have been more clear.) Had these points been fixed, it would have been an endearing and poignant episode. As it was, for the most part you felt emotionally uninvolved.

Details

The kid who played teenage Evan was hard to relate to, and looked nothing like the first two Evans, who resembled each other. He didn't have that "everyday kid going through a terrible crisis" look, it was more like he was born burdened. Having Evan in three unfamiliar guises without much chance to adjust to any of them, and with Evan's lack of specific personality, they probably should have chosen someone who resembled the first two Evans, and the writers should have given him more of that bright intelligence, even if he had to be suffering. As it was, the transition was so great that it stole some impact away.

Some have said that there was never any indication that Evan was specially gifted. I disagree. They never pretended that it was normal that Evan could speed-read all of Clark's books and the entire encyclopedia and could quote passages verbatim; they even showed that Lana was astonished, and told him that he was a very special boy. Perhaps the confusion is a result of teenage Evan's failure to demonstrate similar genius, a point which I wish had been fixed before the episode aired.

An episode with a father-son theme might have been enhanced by an appearance from Jor-El. As it was, the father-son issues discussed weren't really relevant to where they were, in the arc or in life.




Ageless Overall This episode, like many episodes this season, was written for five moments/elements. Most of the episode apart from those moments or elements failed to move you and sometimes failed to interest you. The five are: Clark and Lana, the new couple (supposedly) acting like parents toward the baby. The quick "formula/diaper" exchange, the calming effect Clark has on the baby, and the novelty of the characters undergoing a parental experience, were all plusses. However, there was a drawback. Although Lana and Clark acted like parents, they didn't act like boyfriend and girlfriend, which was a major loss; it completely missed the point of their getting together. If the point of the baby was to bring them closer during the episode, it didn't really do that. Young Even gleefully shouting, "Dad!" and jumping into Clark's arms. I loved the Ryan episodes when Clark's "big brother side" was shown; and I loved it that here, Clark's "father side" was shown. It was sweet and pleasant to watch, even heartwarming. But there is a small drawback. This season has consisted of a lot of formerly unseen facets of people - Kal-El in "Crusade", Alexander in "Onyx", Clark with a blank memory in "Blank", Clark on red k in "Unsafe", and, less dramatically but covering five more episodes: people acting like Dawn in "Spirit", the formerly-unseen side of Lex in "Bound", body-switching in "Transference", and witch-possessing in "Spell" and "Sacred". Not to mention Lana transforming from girl-next-door to Paris chick, Chloe going from clever reporter to sympathetic sweetheart, Lionel's double-conversions, Lex's multiple personas, Jonathan's "wants-to-stop-Clark, wants-to-support-Clark", "Lex-was-helpful, Lex-is-evil" flip-flopping, and Jason's ever-shifting position in regard to Lana, Lex, Lionel, his mother, Clark... Maybe this episode, with Lana and Clark showing their "parenting" side, would have come across stronger if it had come in a more stable season of characters. The scene at Lex's medical place (whatever and wherever it was) with young Evan watching Clark anxiously through the glass, and then with Lana and Clark protecting teenage Evan. That was the most compelling scene, with the most emotion, aside from (D). They didn't give you much time to connect with Evan, as he never really had a specific personality aside from boy genius and, toward the end, desperate teen. But during that scene he was a frightened boy who didn't know what was happening, looking at his parents and worrying and getting his first shot. After the transformation he was still a frightened boy who didn't know what was happening, and whose parents were rushing in to protect him. That was the scene where you connected most with Evan. The death scene, in which he knew he was about to die. There was simple drama without being trite when Clark came to him and sent Lana away from danger, then bent over him protectively and supported his head with his hand. The dialogue was sweet and wasn't kept going too long. ("I won't leave you." "I wish you were my dad."..."I'm glad it was you who found me." "You found us.") Followed by the contained explosion...they haven't had a good outdoor explosion in a while, and I liked it. The way Lana shielded herself behind the truck was reminiscent of "Tempest", as was the vision of Clark appearing through the cloud of dust and slowly walking out. (In "Tempest" Lana was caught in a storm and her truck was lifted into the air; Clark was seen running into a cloud of dust to rescue her; then in "Vortex" she saw him appear out of the cloud and climb into the truck to protect her.) Tearful Lana, Clark holding her, both realizing what they've lost...it was a good scene, although not well-backed up by the events that led up to it, so naturally it didn't have the impact of something like "Ryan". The final scene between Lex and Clark, that brief exchange - Clark coming in, looking older and more tired - Clark's first words expressing gratitude, the purpose of his visit being to thank Lex - the inspiring thought that Evan's life would save lives - Lex observing that Clark would make a good father someday - Lex's denial and explanation when Clark returns the favor - the handshake in front of the fire - Clark, still looking older and bowed beneath the emotion of the experience, walking out. The only real downside of the scene was 1) the handshake didn't have the best situation to support it, since you didn't see much of Lex during the episode - an episode like "Hug" with Lex and Clark would have been a better setting, to give it more impact. And 2) the episode ended with the explanation that Lex was really lying to Clark, and you can see no reason why. Viewers are only shocked (and delighted) by cliffhangers when they know what they're guessing about..."will Lana break up with Whitney or not", "will Clark tell Chloe or not", "will Lionel kill himself or not ", "will Lex let Lionel die or not", etc. But since Lex's lie wasn't given a motive or a potential "this could happen or not happen", there was no gasp, no wide-eyed look of shock, when the credits started playing. It was more like, "That's the end?" If the episode had developed the way the above scenes and elements developed, it would have been an excellent episode. But the scenes apart from those above were weak and unsupportive. The death of Evan's biological father was so abrupt that you didn't have time to feel anything, even shock. The scene where Clark tried to protect Evan from meeting his biological father and was met with a reflection of himself wasn't built up enough, and was perhaps even weakened by Jonathan's mediating presence, which kept them from showing the raw emotion they could have shown if permitted to act on instinct. The scene where Clark initially confronted Evan's father was not intense or emotional, or not enough...it could be summarized with "And then Evan's father wouldn't donate the marrow", because Clark wasn't given a chance to show enough emotion to thicken it. Evan's behavior once he realized he was dying was intensely depressing, but without reaching you. The scene where Evan and Lana were in the house and Evan was freaking out could have played on the emotions; instead it played on the stress. It didn't dwell on the poignancy of Lana taking him to the windmill before he died; it dwelled on the action, giving a "cliffhanger" with Lana looking at him, while you don't know what she's thinking or why she's waiting. (If Clark had been shown explaining to the her the danger when Evan died, or if Jonathan had warned her over the phone to do such-and-such to prevent the explosion or protect herself, it would have been more clear.) Had these points been fixed, it would have been an endearing and poignant episode. As it was, for the most part you felt emotionally uninvolved. Details The kid who played teenage Evan was hard to relate to, and looked nothing like the first two Evans, who resembled each other. He didn't have that "everyday kid going through a terrible crisis" look, it was more like he was born burdened. Having Evan in three unfamiliar guises without much chance to adjust to any of them, and with Evan's lack of specific personality, they probably should have chosen someone who resembled the first two Evans, and the writers should have given him more of that bright intelligence, even if he had to be suffering. As it was, the transition was so great that it stole some impact away. Some have said that there was never any indication that Evan was specially gifted. I disagree. They never pretended that it was normal that Evan could speed-read all of Clark's books and the entire encyclopedia and could quote passages verbatim; they even showed that Lana was astonished, and told him that he was a very special boy. Perhaps the confusion is a result of teenage Evan's failure to demonstrate similar genius, a point which I wish had been fixed before the episode aired. An episode with a father-son theme might have been enhanced by an appearance from Jor-El. As it was, the father-son issues discussed weren't really relevant to where they were, in the arc or in life. © Voice of Reason, 2007