Voice of Reason: Season Four: Blank

Blank

Overall

This episode, despite being extremely well-executed, evoking a variety of emotions, and using the Moment I've been waiting for (secret communication via distant whisper to Clark), involved three hard-to-believe scenarios (Chloe teaching Clark, Clark's blank memory, Lex lying without blinking), yet another out-of-character plot in a season already out-of-character, and so many logical leaps that they occasionally overshadowed the brilliance of an otherwise good episode. Many key points involved some strange gaps in logic, or simply an unbelievable premise. However, the concept was a good way to advance the plot, plus make Lex and Jason ominous, endear Chloe, reveal the Clark within who strongly wanted to be honest and trust people, and bring back the girl-next-door sweetheart Lana we wanted all season. And it succeeded in indirectly addressing a current issue, although not covering the moral angle when they had ample potential to do so: they portrayed the danger that memory erasure technology in the wrong hands could cause. By the end of the episode, about everything that you wanted to happen, with an exception or two, had happened. Even down to the music choice at the end (who can resist classic Switchfoot?). But the concept and the outcome are two very different things. Although the concept was brilliant, and the flashbacks awesome, the final product - except for the end - lacked life. I wasn't emotionally involved. The one thing that I really, unreservedly liked about this episode was the ending, beginning in Lex's study with "This Is Your Life" starting up. 7.2

Logical Leaps

Clark, deprived of all memory, including his memory of being a baby in Krypton (play the lost memories in slow-motion and you'll see it), looks at life as a human being would, although only once in his life has he ever experienced a normal human being experience. He remembers the English language (though he does not remember speaking it to anyone or hearing anyone speak it to him); he knows what a barn is (though he should have no memories of barns, what they are or what they look like); and when confronted with a door, he wants to knock on it and wait for someone to answer. All this would indicate that he retained certain instincts...but other instincts that he used every day in his previous life were totally missing. He should have been taking his abilities for granted, not being surprised at them. As the writers portray it, it's as if he has been brought up knowing certain laws of physics that make certain things impossible. But he's been breaking those laws of physics almost ever since he existed: the act of breaking them should be far more natural than the idea of being restrained by them. (The strangeness grows proportionally when he fails to recognize his own house, but knows what the barn is and how to find Audrey's Field.) This episode, like many episodes this season, wasn't thought out thoroughly enough.
Why would the father erase the son's memory and not erase his own? He talks to Chloe of the freedom of letting go of painful memories, he tells his son that the memory torments him every day, but it's his son's memory he changes, and not his own.
Why would the son regain his memory? Summerholt is supposed to be frighteningly adept at what they do, yet it only takes a visit to the location of the incident and he remembers it all again.
Why would the beams intended to erase weeks of memory restore Clark's entire memory? The explanation "I guess I'm just not like other people" can only be carried so far, and certainly wouldn't explain a complete reversal of procedure. Some little nonsensical "explanation" of the technology wouldn't have been out of place, something from Chloe to explain Clark's restoration of memory instead of further loss of it.
Why would the sheriff show up at Summerholt? It isn't in her jurisdiction. And, speaking of the sheriff, what happened to her constantly misplaced caution, and her perpetual suspicion of teenagers? Chloe broke into Summerholt to illegally access information, the sheriff had no hard evidence to give reason to her siding with Lois (except the history of Ryan), and Clark was yet again found at a crime scene. Not that I'm not glad she's softened, but this episode made her part look like it was written for a different character.
Didn't anyone wonder why the door was in the front yard? As long as Clark had amnesia, Chloe could half-explain it away; but once he recovered, he should have been curious. Unless he managed to fix the door in lightning-speed before recovering his memory, in which case Lois would have been the one who was curious as to how it got back on.
Lana was scared to death of Jason by the end of his first scene, he was hinting (in a sinister fashion) at terrible things he protected her from, with the unspoken insinuation that he could withdraw that protection if he chose. Yet her next scene, she's acting carefree, laughing with that unseen person holding flowers; the scene after that, in school, she's more natural and open than she's been in weeks; and in the final scene, there's nothing but joy. Even when Clark mentions Jason, she doesn't get worried or say anything. Why is it that it takes Jason grabbing her shoulders and half-threatening her to make her lighten up?




Blank Overall This episode, despite being extremely well-executed, evoking a variety of emotions, and using the Moment I've been waiting for (secret communication via distant whisper to Clark), involved three hard-to-believe scenarios (Chloe teaching Clark, Clark's blank memory, Lex lying without blinking), yet another out-of-character plot in a season already out-of-character, and so many logical leaps that they occasionally overshadowed the brilliance of an otherwise good episode. Many key points involved some strange gaps in logic, or simply an unbelievable premise. However, the concept was a good way to advance the plot, plus make Lex and Jason ominous, endear Chloe, reveal the Clark within who strongly wanted to be honest and trust people, and bring back the girl-next-door sweetheart Lana we wanted all season. And it succeeded in indirectly addressing a current issue, although not covering the moral angle when they had ample potential to do so: they portrayed the danger that memory erasure technology in the wrong hands could cause. By the end of the episode, about everything that you wanted to happen, with an exception or two, had happened. Even down to the music choice at the end (who can resist classic Switchfoot?). But the concept and the outcome are two very different things. Although the concept was brilliant, and the flashbacks awesome, the final product - except for the end - lacked life. I wasn't emotionally involved. The one thing that I really, unreservedly liked about this episode was the ending, beginning in Lex's study with "This Is Your Life" starting up. 7.2 Logical Leaps Clark, deprived of all memory, including his memory of being a baby in Krypton (play the lost memories in slow-motion and you'll see it), looks at life as a human being would, although only once in his life has he ever experienced a normal human being experience. He remembers the English language (though he does not remember speaking it to anyone or hearing anyone speak it to him); he knows what a barn is (though he should have no memories of barns, what they are or what they look like); and when confronted with a door, he wants to knock on it and wait for someone to answer. All this would indicate that he retained certain instincts...but other instincts that he used every day in his previous life were totally missing. He should have been taking his abilities for granted, not being surprised at them. As the writers portray it, it's as if he has been brought up knowing certain laws of physics that make certain things impossible. But he's been breaking those laws of physics almost ever since he existed: the act of breaking them should be far more natural than the idea of being restrained by them. (The strangeness grows proportionally when he fails to recognize his own house, but knows what the barn is and how to find Audrey's Field.) This episode, like many episodes this season, wasn't thought out thoroughly enough. Why would the father erase the son's memory and not erase his own? He talks to Chloe of the freedom of letting go of painful memories, he tells his son that the memory torments him every day, but it's his son's memory he changes, and not his own. Why would the son regain his memory? Summerholt is supposed to be frighteningly adept at what they do, yet it only takes a visit to the location of the incident and he remembers it all again. Why would the beams intended to erase weeks of memory restore Clark's entire memory? The explanation "I guess I'm just not like other people" can only be carried so far, and certainly wouldn't explain a complete reversal of procedure. Some little nonsensical "explanation" of the technology wouldn't have been out of place, something from Chloe to explain Clark's restoration of memory instead of further loss of it. Why would the sheriff show up at Summerholt? It isn't in her jurisdiction. And, speaking of the sheriff, what happened to her constantly misplaced caution, and her perpetual suspicion of teenagers? Chloe broke into Summerholt to illegally access information, the sheriff had no hard evidence to give reason to her siding with Lois (except the history of Ryan), and Clark was yet again found at a crime scene. Not that I'm not glad she's softened, but this episode made her part look like it was written for a different character. Didn't anyone wonder why the door was in the front yard? As long as Clark had amnesia, Chloe could half-explain it away; but once he recovered, he should have been curious. Unless he managed to fix the door in lightning-speed before recovering his memory, in which case Lois would have been the one who was curious as to how it got back on. Lana was scared to death of Jason by the end of his first scene, he was hinting (in a sinister fashion) at terrible things he protected her from, with the unspoken insinuation that he could withdraw that protection if he chose. Yet her next scene, she's acting carefree, laughing with that unseen person holding flowers; the scene after that, in school, she's more natural and open than she's been in weeks; and in the final scene, there's nothing but joy. Even when Clark mentions Jason, she doesn't get worried or say anything. Why is it that it takes Jason grabbing her shoulders and half-threatening her to make her lighten up? © Voice of Reason, 2007