Voice of Reason: Season Seven: Hero

Hero

With the return of Pete Ross, the writers continued this season’s tradition of righting some wrongs, while perpetuating others. However, in this instance, the wrongs righted outweigh the wrongs committed, making "Hero" a relative success.

Wrongs Righted

The number of people in Smallville who know Clark’s secret has become almost ludicrous. Moreover, the intense danger formerly associated with knowing Clark’s secret – or even being Clark’s friend – miraculously disappeared once Chloe managed to find out. This episode corrected that error, showing Pete’s astonishment at the number of people in on the secret, and remembering the days when Pete slept at the school because he was too frightened to go home. It recalled the good old days where Clark’s circle of friends was intimate and intense. Go writers.
Lionel…you know where I stand on Lionel. This episode, Pete reminded us of the old Lionel’s ways and uncovered Lionel’s secret stash of Kryptonian goodies. Go writers. Moreover, Clark reacted to this curveball very well, telling Lionel that they were going to have a talk after he stopped Pete. Clark’s seriousness, his business-like way of addressing Lionel, the absence of outright animosity or complaint or whiny accusations, all exemplified the way Clark should have addressed Lex years ago. Given this new chance to react to a Luthor’s alleged betrayal – or, at least, potentially sinister secrets – he redeemed himself, carrying himself with dignity. I liked Clark here.
There is often an attitude between Smallville friends of overprotection and meddling. “You have to tell me, because keeping it to yourself isn’t good for you.” Pete became a true hero when he eschewed that attitude, telling Chloe, “Lex told me you had a power. You don’t have to tell me what it is.” He left without ever finding out – and that was perfectly okay with him. This moment was a breath of fresh air.

Wrongs Committed:

Lana and Clark’s inept attempts to communicate with Kara. 1) Lana is gratingly condescending. “Kara, I don’t think Clark would appreciate you going through his things.” There were a dozen less offensive reactions she might have had. 2) More significantly, why are they hiding the truth from Kara? The two potential reasons are that a) she won’t believe them, and b) she’ll immediately tell Lex. However, both of those reasons were null when Kara asked Lana to prove that she was not the liar. Lana had the opportunity to win Kara’s trust, which would have made it far easier for her to appeal to Kara’s discretion. She could have at least asked Kara to keep quiet about the secret temporarily. As it was, she needlessly turned Kara away. Then, Clark buried the bracelet instead of giving it to Kara. What?
More blatant, blatant, blatant product placement. So blatant that I was distracted from the story, thinking things like, “So Stride didn’t mind the show indicating that they stored their gum over kryptonite, thus causing people to display erratic behavior? What about the other gum-chewers? Why aren’t they having symptoms? Did Stride only approve because the writers just showed Pete Ross reacting, not other gum-chewers? There’s a Sprint phone. Wow, that’s two products in just the opening scene.”

However, that is not to measure the episode by "wrongs."

Rights:

Jimmy: “I think the spark kind of fizzled for both of us.” Chloe: “Sorry.” “No you’re not.” Chloe gives him a look. He stammers. “No, no – what I meant was that I…I hope that you’re not.” Frustrated. “I should have just said that I’m not, right?” This was a delightful way of playing with an old cliché, and what made it sweeter was Jimmy’s relatable frustration with himself.
The closing image, as Lex closes the doors, smiling to himself.

Random Observation:

The main plot in this episode ran longer than usual, making it all the way to 34 minutes.

Verdict: Nothing outstanding, but my trust in the writers ever-so-slightly increased. 7.8.




Hero With the return of Pete Ross, the writers continued this season’s tradition of righting some wrongs, while perpetuating others. However, in this instance, the wrongs righted outweigh the wrongs committed, making "Hero" a relative success. Wrongs Righted The number of people in Smallville who know Clark’s secret has become almost ludicrous. Moreover, the intense danger formerly associated with knowing Clark’s secret – or even being Clark’s friend – miraculously disappeared once Chloe managed to find out. This episode corrected that error, showing Pete’s astonishment at the number of people in on the secret, and remembering the days when Pete slept at the school because he was too frightened to go home. It recalled the good old days where Clark’s circle of friends was intimate and intense. Go writers. Lionel…you know where I stand on Lionel. This episode, Pete reminded us of the old Lionel’s ways and uncovered Lionel’s secret stash of Kryptonian goodies. Go writers. Moreover, Clark reacted to this curveball very well, telling Lionel that they were going to have a talk after he stopped Pete. Clark’s seriousness, his business-like way of addressing Lionel, the absence of outright animosity or complaint or whiny accusations, all exemplified the way Clark should have addressed Lex years ago. Given this new chance to react to a Luthor’s alleged betrayal – or, at least, potentially sinister secrets – he redeemed himself, carrying himself with dignity. I liked Clark here. There is often an attitude between Smallville friends of overprotection and meddling. “You have to tell me, because keeping it to yourself isn’t good for you.” Pete became a true hero when he eschewed that attitude, telling Chloe, “Lex told me you had a power. You don’t have to tell me what it is.” He left without ever finding out – and that was perfectly okay with him. This moment was a breath of fresh air. Wrongs Committed: Lana and Clark’s inept attempts to communicate with Kara. 1) Lana is gratingly condescending. “Kara, I don’t think Clark would appreciate you going through his things.” There were a dozen less offensive reactions she might have had. 2) More significantly, why are they hiding the truth from Kara? The two potential reasons are that a) she won’t believe them, and b) she’ll immediately tell Lex. However, both of those reasons were null when Kara asked Lana to prove that she was not the liar. Lana had the opportunity to win Kara’s trust, which would have made it far easier for her to appeal to Kara’s discretion. She could have at least asked Kara to keep quiet about the secret temporarily. As it was, she needlessly turned Kara away. Then, Clark buried the bracelet instead of giving it to Kara. What? More blatant, blatant, blatant product placement. So blatant that I was distracted from the story, thinking things like, “So Stride didn’t mind the show indicating that they stored their gum over kryptonite, thus causing people to display erratic behavior? What about the other gum-chewers? Why aren’t they having symptoms? Did Stride only approve because the writers just showed Pete Ross reacting, not other gum-chewers? There’s a Sprint phone. Wow, that’s two products in just the opening scene.” However, that is not to measure the episode by "wrongs." Rights: Jimmy: “I think the spark kind of fizzled for both of us.” Chloe: “Sorry.” “No you’re not.” Chloe gives him a look. He stammers. “No, no – what I meant was that I…I hope that you’re not.” Frustrated. “I should have just said that I’m not, right?” This was a delightful way of playing with an old cliché, and what made it sweeter was Jimmy’s relatable frustration with himself. The closing image, as Lex closes the doors, smiling to himself. Random Observation: The main plot in this episode ran longer than usual, making it all the way to 34 minutes. Verdict: Nothing outstanding, but my trust in the writers ever-so-slightly increased. 7.8. © Voice of Reason, 2008