Kara

Overall

There are two basic views regarding this episode. According to some, the episode injected freshness and potential into a show that, admittedly, had begun to peter out. According to others, the new developments in this episode were so contrived as to be completely unacceptable. Although I am somewhere in the middle, I confess that I tend toward the latter perspective. Not only did most major developments seem contrived, but there were just too many elements to this episode that rubbed me the wrong way.

I’ll start with the problems.

Contrived

• The biggest stretch of credulity was the role that Lana supposedly played. Granted, we could see the clone explanation coming a mile away. The pieces all fit so clearly that it didn’t seem like too great a stretch, especially considering that we knew relatively little of Lana and to what lengths she would go until the last several episodes of S6. But Lana, despite her newfound resourcefulness, could not have seriously penetrated Lex’s security, managed to break into the clone room, zipped up Model 503 in a body bag, wheeled the body bag out past security again, obtained and rigged the bomb, traveled to Shanghai, and set herself up in an expensive apartment wearing expensive clothes without any assistance. Either the writers intend to claim that she actually did all this, or we will discover that someone helped her out in many significant ways. And if the latter, then the portrait they painted of Lana in this episode as an entirely independent woman was completely unjustified.
• Would Lana really leave a trail of “bread crumbs” for Lex to lure him to Shanghai in order to shoot him? (The fact that she could not shoot him in the end answers this question: she simply isn’t that cold-blooded.)
• It’s a given that all editors at the Daily Planet are abrasive and push their writers to be better without any regard for said writers’ feelings. But did Grant’s dynamic personality really require that he bellow every word he spoke? And would such a “boy wonder” editor really be so intrigued by a spaceship story from an Inquisitor reporter? (More on that later.)
• Suspended animation? We saw that when Clark traveled in his spaceship, he aged several years – from an infant to a three-year-old. So why would Kara, living in her spaceship, freeze?

Disappointing

• They've finally admitted it. Chloe Sullivan has lost the magic. We've seen it coming ever since Season Three. But we didn't want them to admit that Chloe isn't the charming intrepid reporter she used to be. We wanted them to wake up and make Chloe the charming intrepid reporter she used to be.
• It’s official. Lex’s entire army has been destroyed. That whole plot, which took up such a large chunk of S6, went nowhere.
• Kara’s character and role kept morphing. I assume that she is supposed to be untrustworthy, matter of fact, and a little detached, even if ultimately we realize that her heart is in the right place. And in spots, she was – cluelessly quizzing little boys, looking and feeling like a stranger on earth, etc. But then at other times she lapsed into pre-teen pettiness (“That’s what happens when you touch my stuff,” knocking Lois out, kicking at Clark, etc.). And at still other times she seemed to slide into a comfortable, intimate, sisterly role (recalling Clark on Krypton, feeling stunned at the discovery of Krypton’s fate). I felt that the writers couldn’t decide who and what she was, and as a result, her character was chaotic and frankly exasperating.
• Kara’s arrival also quenched two important elements on the show – the sense of mystery and distance surrounding Krypton, and the angle that Clark Kent is ultimately a lonely stranger on Earth. Now we’re starting to see Krypton as a place swarming with quarrelsome, irritable families and blue-eyed blondes. And as for Clark, every time he feels a sense of loss and loneliness, a new meteor freak or extraterrestrial shows up at his doorstep, claiming friendship.

The good points:

• They showed Lana acting on her masterplan, instead of simply telling us. I appreciated that they returned to previous events and showed a new side to them…particularly the “mailman” arm pulling Lana into the truck as the SUV exploded. And I wouldn’t mind if, in the future, they returned to the clone room flashbacks and expanded them a little in the same way…revealing the person who must have knocked out the security guards, etc.
• The Department of Domestic Security. First, the fact that such a department was fabricated. Second, the fact that a government department (real or not) is taking notice of Kryptonian relics. It’s what blackmailers like Nixon have always threatened, yet I don’t think it’s ever happened until now.
• Lex. As Jeff Woodie put it, all the fascinating layers of Lex were on painful display. His love for Lana, his neurotic, compulsive need for her love in return, his desperate emotional manipulation as he told her to shoot him, his offer to take care of whatever she needed so that she could return…This was Lex at his most brilliant and most poignant.

And then the points hovering over the line, ready to dip one way or the other. You decide whether or not these were successes or failures.

• Clark’s snippy conversation with Jor-El. I felt that this was intentional on the part of the writers, reinforcing the image of the House of El as one big dysfunctional family. But would it have been better to maintain the cold sense of distance that Jor-El and Clark have always had? I had wanted the two to develop a little more familiarity – they’ve been communicating for four or five years now – but was this going overboard? And, inarguably, the scene did show that the writers still aren’t sure where Clark and Jor-El stand in relation to each other…what Jor-El really desires for Clark, and to what extent Clark trusts Jor-El.
• Lois. She not only gained a more significant and relevant role, but she also stumbled onto The Great Secret. At least part of it.

  Positive

  Lois is finally getting involved in the meteor/Kryptonian mysteries. After years of doing nothing but acting as an obstacle, third wheel, or at best, an entirely peripheral character, she's getting closer to the heart of Smallville. And she has something to do.

  Negative

  Will her involvement have serious consequences? Probably not. To use an odd analogy, consider the mystery of Clark & Co. a sealed tin can. Lois, after overlooking said tin can for years, has finally noticed the tin can and begun circling it and inspecting it. But we can be fairly certain that she's not even going to make a dent in it, much less open it. Instead, she will get knocked out. Repeatedly.

  Positive

  Lois is now developing her "intrepid reporter" persona and working at the Daily Planet. After her S4 groaning about hating to write, and general lack of ambition, this is a relief. Her character is going somewhere at last.

  Negative

  The only reason Lois got the job was because an impossibly young editor had a crush on her and kept talking to her over Chloe's head the first day they met. Grant played favorites with her before he had read a line of her work, so his Lois-worship could only have been due to three factors - 1) her looks, 2) her bluntness, and/or 3) her insisting that she'd seen a spaceship and that there was an alien invasion. None of which are valid reasons why he would have latched onto her that way. It was also clear that Chloe is capable of writing stories based on concrete and provable facts, while Lois tends to write stories based on conjecture and filled with embellishments. So Lois's being lifted on a pedestal and praised as the future star of Daily Planet felt extremely contrived and undeserved.

Were these moments, mixtures of good and bad, forgivable or unforgivable?

No matter which way the balance of the last category tips, for me the bad outweighs the good.

Verdict: 4 out of 10.

Good/Bad Moments

1. “Lois, you’ve had a near-death experience. You should be resting. What are we doing out here?” “I’m going to find out what Lex is up to.” Would Clark really have followed Lois on foot into the woods and waited until then to warn her that she shouldn’t be here, and ask her what they were doing? This was a moment of contrived exposition. A MOCE. (Incidentally, “moce” is also a word of farewell in Fiji. Literal translation, “sleep.” I’m liking this as a term for contrived expositional moments that lose the viewer.)
2. “Besides, it gives me a good opportunity to say goodbye.” “You can’t break up with me, Clark. We’re not even a couple.” A more natural reaction would have been, “Goodbye? Where are you going?” The writers sacrificed believable dialogue here in order to toss in a Future Reference.
3. I liked the moment when Lois realizes that she is going to miss Clark. If I were completely ignorant of the Superman mythology, this would still work.
4. “Come on, Lois. You and I both know they don’t really exist.” As Clark calls to Lois, he nervously looks around for the owner of the spaceship, talking off the top of his head to distract her. This was a well-executed moment.
5. “I was the one who helped you to your feet. Why do you think I’ve got mud all over me.” Clark finishes conclusively and shoots Chloe a look. Somehow this look cracks me up. I like Clark here.
6. “Whoa. Sounds like we got ourselves a true blue super-girl.” Supergirl is part of our vocabulary, but it isn’t part of theirs. And the term “super” really isn’t used any more, so this wasn’t a believable nickname for Chloe to concoct. This Future Reference was contrived.
7. “Yeah, what is it with you people? Are you the only half decent member of your Kryptonian race?” The first sentence was funny. The second sentence was awkward (“member of your Kryptonian race”), injudicious (Lois is in the next room), and a little insulting (half decent?).
8. Chloe blocks the door and says resolutely, “ You know what, Lois, no. I'm sorry. But after everything we've just been through together, I'm not letting you put yourself in danger. I'm taking you to the hospital.” In the background, Clark smiles appreciatively. Chloe shoots him a look on the way out. I liked this moment. I always love it when Clark and Chloe work so smoothly together. And this was fairly subtle, unlike some of their behind-Lois’s-back looks.
9. “He blew up my wife to get back at me?” Lex muses, troubled. This acting was spot on. We can see that he’s been thinking about this for some time. He’s even willing to try to disprove the disgruntled employee’s claim, if it will help him find Lana.
10. “Look, Chloe, you’re Lana’s best friend. If she told anyone about her plan, it would be you. Tell me, Chloe. Tell me everything you know.” Intriguing moment. If Chloe truly was the hidden hand behind some of Lana’s accomplishments, and if we witness some believable resourcefulness and ingenuity on her part, this could go a long way toward restoring her image.
11. “…writing filler stories sandwiched between sofa ads by day.” If Grant has such a low opinion of Chloe’s writing, then why was he so enthusiastic about meeting Lois when he thought she was Chloe? It could be argued that he saw her enthusiasm and curiosity about the unknown, and thought that the talent of The Torch still lingered somewhere, waiting to be reawakened. But more likely he was busier checking her out. This moment was irksome.
12. “See, that's the kind of old-guard thinking that's putting newspapers in the crapper all around this country.” Chloe, in disbelief: “Since when is truth in journalism old-guard?” Grant, as if it’s obvious: “She says it’s true. I believe her.” This was the giveaway. An editor who believes it simply because he heard a complete stranger say it. If he truly operated on a mindset like that, how did he get to be editor at the Daily Planet? This either demonstrated his incompetence or his crush.
13. “You deliver me your spaceship story, a story that will sell papers…” The Daily Planet would not sell papers by running an Inquisitor story. What separated the Daily Planet from the Inquisitor – what made it successful – was quality writing, respectability, and reliability. Again, Grant seems to be revealing either his utter ineptitude or his crippling bias toward Lois.
14. “No. This yellow sun has fried your brain cells.” I know it was supposed to be charming and/or funny that Kara mixed her formal Kryptonian English with very human slang, but this moment only served to make me skeptical…particularly positioned as it was in such a grave moment.
15. Nice image of the red diamond-shaped ship, with bluish smoke rising in the background.
16. I liked the peculiar mix of electric guitar and Superman horns in the ship-inspecting scene.
17. Grant tells Lois that she has the option to pursue the story and become “ Lois Lane, star reporter whose name is synonymous with the Daily Planet”. As far as we know, he has not read a line of her work. This brash assurance…well, see Moments (l) and (m).
18. “I don't care how wide your net is. If you don't find Lana, it's not worth the string it's made of.” This vies with Moment (n) for worst line.
19. All of Chloe’s meetings with Kryptonians end up proceeding with minimal interaction between Chloe and the Kryptonian. In “Fallout,” Chloe gave Raya a line of greeting, then gave Clark some information. He then turned to Raya and they consulted together and Chloe became irrelevant. In this episode, Chloe gave Kara a line of greeting, was offended by Kara’s briskness, then inadvertently gave Clark some information. He then turned to Kara and they consulted together and Chloe became irrelevant. It would be nice if some kind of relational dynamic could be sustained between Chloe and the Kryptonian.
20. The sequence with Clark teaching Kara how to superhear was well done. I appreciated that the writers made this an emotional moment, Kara groaning and doubling up with the pain of hearing it all. The circular camera movement and distorted surroundings were perhaps derivative of Clark’s superhearing last episode, but nevertheless effective. And the fact that we heard shouting and car alarms and other disturbing sounds foreshadowed Superman listening to the pain of the world.
21. “Then we can find it.” This line needed to be cut. It would have been far more dramatic if they’d ended on “I can hear it”.
22. “My ship – it’s gone.” This was another obvious line that could have been cut. It would have been more effective to use a crane shot from behind Clark and Kara, rising to show the empty space where the ship once perched.
23. Beautifully haunting moment, as Lex sits in his chair, staring straight ahead, listening to the recording of his exchange with Lana. Over…and over…and over. It’s impossible to read him. It’s impossible to tell what he is going to do when he finds Lana. The scene even ends with the question…”What are you going to do, Lex?” But we can see that whatever his motives, he loves Lana with a deep and twisted love. And we know that Lex’s destiny is to keep doing what he’s doing now. Torturing himself. Writers – I applaud you. Thank you for this Lex.
24. Lana quietly watches Lex approach in the mirror. She doesn’t turn around until she’s finished brushing her hair. Her slow coolness here, especially in the face of his self-destructive, psychotic tendencies, was chill-inducing. Lana and Lex just became one of the most fascinating couples on TV. Even if it only lasts for one episode, this is a relational situation to remember.
25. “Lana. If I wanted revenge, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.” Lex looks broken here. It almost looks as if he’s about to cry. This was Michael Rosenbaum at his best and most complex.
26. Lex, very softly: “ I don't blame you for wanting to ruin my life. I probably would have done the same thing... only not as elegantly. I always knew you were smart, Lana. I didn't know you were brilliant. Using my own science against me.” The haunting thing about this moment is that he means every word of it. He genuinely admires her for her knack for crime. He really sees her moves as “elegant”. Beautiful.
27. “It wasn’t science, Lex. It was your own psychosis.” Lex swallows, as if this hurts him. The subtlety of this moment was genius.
28. I could have done without Lex narrating over flashbacks. Most of what he said was already evident. “By the time the car exploded, you were safe and sound while Model 503, with your DNA, was being blown to bits.” It would have been worthwhile to cut most of his dialogue and alter the flashbacks so that they could, for the most part, stand alone. The choppy flashes of memory they had told the essential story; a couple more shots tying them together, and changing the color effects back to real color, might have been more compelling.
29. “You’ll never hurt another person again, Lex.” “I don’t want to.” Lex moves slowly forward and presses his chest against the barrel of the gun. Looking at her steadily. “After all the pain I’ve put you through, I deserve to die. Please, Lana. Pull the trigger.” He puts his hand on hers, steadying it. Lana is fighting tears. He breathes earnestly, “I promise you, the world will be a better place. Do it.” In a whisper: “Kill me.” Is this desperation? Despair? Emotional manipulation? Maybe a little of all three. Either way, this moment took Lex’s tragic, messed-up complication to new heights. This was his worst and his best, his most restrained and his most abandoned. I’ve never been so utterly captivated by Lex.
30. Lex and Lana look at each other, souls bared. Lex knows that Lana still has enough feeling for him that she can’t kill him. Lana knows…we’re not quite sure what she knows. But we know that Lex’s suicidal offer was not simply on impulse. In his mind, if she had been willing to pull the trigger, then life would not have been worth living. This moment of mute understanding spoke volumes.
31. Lex gives the best, most sincere apology speech ever given. “ If you want to come back to Smallville, you'll be safe. I'll take care of everything. You can live your life however you want. My father’s gone, presumed dead. And as for me... I would never, ever hurt you again. I’m sorry, Lana.” There could not be a better, more persuasive apology. This was an apology I could see Lana accepting despite everything that had happened. And that’s why it succeeds on a creative level. It is a perfect setup…no matter what happens. This created a history between Lana and Lex far beyond anything they had before.
32. Kara’s description of Lara was refreshingly simple and real. I could easily imagine someone giving this description to the son who had never known his mother; and the description was vivid enough that it was emotionally meaningful.
33. “Well, you're with family now.” As much as I dislike it that Clark is no longer the last son of Krypton…well, the last survivor of Krypton…I liked it that, since the writers did introduce Kara, they went the whole way in integrating her into Clark’s world. It was heartwarming to hear Clark finally greet someone as family. This scene suggested that life around the farm was going to change with the new family member, and that was a suggestion we all needed.
34. The exchange between Clark and Jor-El was awkwardly funny. I’m still unsure as to whether this was intentional or not. It’s possible that this was an attempt to represent this family unit as dysfunctional. It’s also possible that this scene was just poorly constructed. And granted, this sort of amusement does seem out of place in a Fortress of Solitude scene. Either way – whether intentional or not – the comical side to this scene just tickles me.
35. Offscreen, Clark presumably inserts the crystal. Jor-El, gratified: “Kal-El, my son, you have finally chosen to start your training.” (My emphasis, but even without emphasis, it’s still funny.) Clark, ignoring his father: “A Kryptonian girl showed up at my doorstep. Her name is Kara. Last time that happened, you were behind it.” Jor-El is nonplussed. “I know nothing of her arrival.” Clark, brattily: “She says she was sent here by her father, Zor-El. You might remember him, since he's your brother. Care to tell me why you ignored that branch of the family tree?” Jor-El, still speaking slowly and oracularly, despite his son’s attitude: “Whatever Zor-El wanted with you, it was not for the greater good of Krypton. He could not be trusted, and neither can his daughter.” Clark, defensively: “You can’t blame Kara for the actions of her father. She’s not here to cause any harm.” Jor-El, knowing best: “That is an emotional human reaction. Be careful of your feelings, Kal-El. They can betray you.” Clark snaps, “My feelings are part of who I am, whether you like it or not. Now what about my training?” (Actual quote.) Jor-El, admirably maintaining his poise: “Your training starts with Kara. Watch over her, Kal-El. She poses a greater threat than you believe.” Apparently Clark has no comeback for this, because the scene ends. It’s a classic wise-father/rebellious-son exchange, and even though Clark is far too old for this, though Jor-El hasn’t always been a wise father, and though we went into this scene with a beautiful and imposing establishing shot of the Fortress of Solitude by moonlight…I still have to laugh. Unfortunately, since I also laughed when Jor-El kept ignoring Martha, which certainly was not intentional on the part of the writers, it’s quite possible that this exchange was comical only by accident.

Details

1. “My neighbor, Ben Hubbard, is going to run things for a while.” That’s convenient. What farmer would decide on short notice to run two farms at once? Not saying it’s impossible, but this seemed a little too easy.
2. Kara sulkily squeezes the phone, shattering it. The shard with the “Sprint” logo flies straight at the camera. That was very contrived product placement.
3. The first time Clark collides with Kara, she sends him pinballing through the woods. Yet afterward he is clearly much stronger than she is. Was this supposed to indicate that Clark was off his guard the first time, not expecting her speed and strength, or was this simply inconsistency?
4. The Talon finally has a new sign: “Have a laugh/with your decaf.” I’m not sure what it means, but it’s a relief that not every night is karaoke night.
5. The first patient in the Belle Reve file was suspected to have ESP in the form of telepathy. The second patient appeared to have the ability to teleport, and was suspected to be mentally unstable. The third patient had increased physical abilities that included speed and stamina. The fourth patient was merely super-intelligent.
6. We don’t hear or see Chloe move the second patient’s file, but some time while the camera is on her sad face, the top page changes to the third patient’s file.
7. Lois says crankily, “Where’s my laptop?”, whirls around, and looks in the sink, as if she expects to find it there.
8. Nice detail – Lois disappears into the back with blood on her forehead, then emerges with the blood cleaned off. And she didn’t say, “I’m going to go clean up,” or come out wiping her forehead with a towel. This is small, but I appreciated the realism when they didn’t hammer the point.
9. When Kara sets little Cody down on his knees, his head is bent down. Next shot, his head is lifted and he is staring up at her.
10. “Zor-El told me that Krypton's salvation was on Earth.” We have been told that Clark came to Earth in order to conquer and rule, that Clark came to Earth in order to save it from destroying itself, and now we are to believe that Clark and Kara came to Earth to save Krypton. The writers need to make up their minds. (Personally, the first one is still my favorite. I like the idea of Clark breaking free from Jor-El’s vision for him and choosing his own path.)
11. “Prepare to evacuate now. We don’t have a lot of time, people.” It’s as if Evil Government Guy expects the explosion. How is this possible? Interesting development.
12. As Lois and Grant wandered through hitherto unseen rooms, they were surrounded by Superman colors at every turn.
13. Lana placed a call through a landline or cellphone. That’s how they found her. It isn’t a major point, but who did she call? And was this a deliberate “bread crumb”? And if it was, how did she know they would use that particular method of tracking her?
14. When Clark and Kara came racing into the warehouse…or whatever it was…why was Clark flung onto his knees?
15. “ I had always heard whispers of a doomsday scenario, but I never thought anyone would actually do it.” This makes it sound as if the destruction of Krypton was caused by someone. I thought that in the comics, Krypton exploded due to natural causes – in some versions from thermonuclear pressure and in others from the red Krypton sun. Is there an exception I don’t know about, or is this solely Smallville mythology?
16. How is it possible that everyone on Smallville can draw such accurate and helpful drawings from memory? Clark drew maps of the caves, Lana drew pictures of the spaceship, and now Lex has, apparently, drawn a picture of Kara. The first one I could believe, the second one was a stretch, and the third is completely unbelievable.