Voice of Reason: Season Six: Fallout

Fallout

Overall

"Fallout" seemed to be this season's "Solitude," in a very bad way.

"Solitude" raised our expectations with trailers and pictures, working us up to a pitch of such expectation that when we were confronted with bad dialogue, flipflopping characters and choppy scenes, we still tried to make ourselves believe it was wonderful. And...it wasn't.

The opening scene dwelt on a meaningless basketball game, solely for the purpose of playing a Bowwow song. Toward the end, an equally meaningless scene between Clark and the Zoner seemed stuck in for more Bowwow airtime, when in truth it had little to say and overstayed its welcome. This airtime could have gone to allowing Martha to meet Raya instead of packing her off until the end - it could even have gone to allowing Clark and Raya bond through working together to rebuild Metropolis. As it was, we saw far too much of Bowwow and far too little of the characters we cared about.

Clark and Raya only knew each other for two days, and in that time period they chatted about Jor-El and raced each other around Smallville. No events bonded them. They weren't joined in a single purpose, they weren't doing anything in particular. And once the Zoner interrupted their complacency, they really didn't do much. A kick here and there, a signal, and the capture of the Zoner. That was it, really. The whole episode seemed to be a giant anticlimax.

Yes, Raya died. But we didn't really have the time to care. We were whizzed so quickly through stark and characterless scenes that there was no time to enjoy character, to enjoy relationships. There were no characteristic moments between Clark and Chloe or Clark and Martha. The relationships were skimmed over.

The ending, as Clark finally grew up? Brilliant. The Fortress lighting up gave me chills. But I have a lingering doubt:

Season Four set up the arc so that three stones needed to be checked off before Clark could go to the Fortress.
Season Six is settng up the arc so that a number of phantoms need to be checked off before Clark can go to the Fortress.

That's a disturbing pattern. Season Four turned into a game of hot potato; Season Six could turn into a game of Phantom-of-the-Week. Making sure some other convenient complication pops up, so the big event coincides with the finale. The writers shouldn't try to stretch this out over the rest of the season: if Clark is going to be trained, he needs to do it long before the end of the season.

Overall...anticlimactic.

Verdict: 3.4 out of 10.

Good/Bad Moments

It was over a minute before the phantom crashed. The time before that was filled with Bowwow-promoting. Then it was another minute before the phantom entered Bowwow, and after that another minute before the credits. So exactly a third of the opening scene was wasted in a basketball game and irrelevant talk.
"Middle of the night, mysterious meeting, suspicious briefcase. You might have just called me, Dr. Groll. Why all the intrigue?" "The precautions aren't for dramatic effect." This opening dialogue suddenly made it all about dramatic effect. It was like the writers were mocking themselves. And automatically we evaluate the scene and think, "Ha. Melodramatic." Without those self-conscious lines, playing down what should have been an important moment, this scene would have reminded me of Season Three.
"Are you in any danger?" "I think we both are. These CDs contain all my research on the box. Every test result, every theory I've written." "You're quitting." "I'm disappearing." "Don't you think that's a bit extreme?" "You'll find that when you're in as deep as we are with the Luthors, they won't let you just walk away." Then he tells her what's scaring him off: "We've started military testing." This was a good exchange – taut and meaty. It told you a great deal in very few words. The conversational flow was perfect.
"You could have just left. Why come to me?" "Because I'm not the only one I'm worried about. Despite our differences, Miss Lang, I thought you deserved a warning. I'm getting as far away from the Luthors as possible. I suggest you do the same." This was a good exchange. The man has daughters, he's been working with Lana, and he doesn't want her to fall under the Luthor net. It made sense, and also made the scene possible.
Nice reveal, as we don't know who has the camera…then Jimmy lowers it.
"Local authorities determined it was made by a shooting star, but that was just wishful thinking. Sorry." Cute moment.
"Your father told me about the family he had chosen for you. About Smallville." Her delivery of this line confused me, as I tried to figure out where she was going with it, what she was trying to say, what she meant. She had a very strange way of speaking.
"But no one who really understands you." This was badly spoken.
"He wanted so much to know what that felt like." "But he never could." They shouldn't have had that second line. We immediately thought about Jonathan fighting with Clark and using his temporary powers in " Phoenix".
"Serious lack of signage down here." This is supposed to be a phantom?
"What about all the research? Just find 'im!" Lex sounded like a whiny little brat here. They're making him more of a Gene Hackman villain – a wig-wearing comic, instead of the imposing, authoritative, commanding figure with a dark and restless soul. This Lex isn't yearning for something he can never have (the bitterest and darkest villains resent their lack of something). He's just being a spoiled rich kid. While that's an element in his nature (remember when he used to dare fate, speeding down the road?), it's not who he is.
"What exactly is your connection with this man, Mr. Luthor, and what was in the suitcase he gave you?" Oh, gosh. I was groaning and laughing through this exchange – which was, granted, very effective. They used Jimmy very well in this scene. He could get the information, but didn't know how to use it. He was ignorant enough to go straight to Lex with the information, and instead of playing the verbal games – almost dances – that Chloe would play, he showed his hand all at once. And though I winced, I liked it. It was natural. Jimmy doesn't know the first thing about interrogating anyone, and although he'll pick up some savvy, he'll never be a reporter. Yet he can be of some use in the plot – he wasn't introduced simply to tag after Chloe, as Lois originally tagged after Clark. And he did have the instinct to snap pictures of Lex's papers. This was a charming, blundering, useful blend of potential instinct and potential bumbling.
"You know, Jimmy, I was very happy when I learned that Chloe finally had a boyfriend. It appears my jubilation was premature." This ominous tone made it sound as if he was going to shoot Jimmy where he stood, instead of tossing him out and getting him fired. The apparent incongruity between his words and his actions ended up reducing the power of having Jimmy tossed out. This is the way Lex should be speaking to his worst enemies, with whom he has a personal and universally acknowledged vendetta. Shortly before these enemies die a mysterious death. With people like Jimmy, he should be suave and apparently gracious, then subtlely try to undermine them. Lex is beginning to lose his subtlety again.
"Jimmy, tell Chloe Lana says hello. And if you ever try anything like this again, you'll be leaving through the window, no matter who you're dating." Yeah…see above. And why the line about telling Chloe hello from Lana? Was this supposed to be a gracious line before smacking another threat in front of him? Was this supposed to be a virulent attempt to drive a wedge between Lana and the others, as if Lana knew about the goings on?
"You sneaking out of the house at midnight…that bothers me." Lex's controlling behavior here would normally send Lana storming out indignantly. Which begs the question…why is Lana still living with him at the end of the episode? It's as if both she and Lex have concealed motives for sticking close to each other.
"I don't like playing cat and mouse games, Lana." "Is it the game you don't like, or the fact that someone's playing it on your level?" She acknowledges that they're battling each other…yet she stays in the house and accepts his halfhearted attempts to make up? This episode destroyed the notion of any attraction between them.
"I don't know where you've stashed the box, but I want it back now." Lex catches himself. "Please." Another control moment. This is the real Lex?
I liked the concept of Clark and Raya doing Kryptonian things together. But I definitely disliked the childish patter that came after that. "You cheated." "I couldn't let a rookie catch me…" It was…well, stupidity. I can understand that they were happy. But it should have been the deep, joyful, unspeakable happiness that found vent in wordless ways – understanding one another, catching each other's thoughts, reacting with the same amazement at the thought that they were alike and together. Not with banter and racing. That could be shared by any human.
"Jor-El would have never let you get away with that." "He planned every detail, down to your baby blanket." I have a confession: I don't like the actress who plays Raya. Her voice was so flat and toneless, and the way her voice emphasized consonants made her sound like a grandmother with a young voice. She deadened all her lines…which weren't particularly lively anyway.
"His only redemption was sending you to save earth." "Save it from what?" "Extinction. Your civilization is going to destroy itself, just like Krypton." This was an interesting moment. This whole exchange was a fluctuation between perking interest and paper-dry boredom. I was wondering why they were recapping the Jor-El story, my mind was beginning to shut down, and then this line. So…they know that humans are going to destroy themselves. Interesting. And then the dialogue went back to paper-dry boredom.
"You should know this. It was part of your training." Somehow this made it all seem like textbook knowledge, which immediately reduced the appeal. The idea of training had some glamour until she treated it as a conveyance of information. Maybe it was just me.
"Jor-El tried to warn me, but I didn't listen. I mean, how could I trust him when he brought so much pain into my life?" We were reproaching Clark all through last season. We thought he was being an idiot. Now he knows he was wrong, and he's still trying to justify himself. He's still being an idiot. Plus we're spending precious minutes on a scene that is largely recap. We've spent half the scene recapping that Jor-El is a good guy who wanted to save Krypton and who loved his son (didn't we go over this in "Zod"?) and that Clark didn't listen to him and turned down his training (we know, and we're still mad about it). This scene could have been so much juicier, but it spent a lot of time stating the obvious and taking Clark a step backward.
"You must accept your destiny." We could see that line coming a mile away.
"What's the matter, Raya? Don't recognize an old friend?" "How do you like the new suit?" "To pay back your old man for givin' me a one-way ticket to hell!" This did not sound like the language of a phantom. Introducing slang to the alien made the whole situation seem confused – we couldn't get past the contradiction. And it made the villain much less imposing.
"Kal-El?" "Where is he?" They look, he's gone. This whole setup was very choppy. First they dwelt too long on the well-known facts, then they exchanged some confusing words with the chatty, in-the-know villain, then we skimmed past the real action in a few seconds. When it went to commercial break, my brother and I looked at each other and said, "This is terrible." (Sorry, writers…but it's true.)
"One of hope for some of us, one of revenge for others." The way she said this line was very lifeless.
"There's only one thing that can stop him – your father's crystal." Raya calmly spouts off all the answers. This was a very boring way of revealing all the facts about Baern. Shouldn't Clark have conjectured that the crystal would stop him? Also, the camerawork here was odd…where exactly was the crystal, and why didn't the camera show us?
"Do you know what this means, Chloe? Lex is working with the Egyptians." That was so unexpected, and welcome, and funny. I burst out laughing. Jimmy was so caught up on the wrong trail during this episode, and it was so endearing.
It was very odd that Raya walked in front of Clark as they went through the Daily Planet building. He was the one who knew the way. In the effort to show her power, the moment was made corny, as automatically you envision her walking straight past the door, like Lois did in " Reunion".
"Chloe, this is Raya." Raya looks at Chloe and smiles. Somehow the makeup they gave Raya made her look sinister and unfriendly when she smiled.
"If he gets hold of it, it will give him enough power to fuel him indefinitely, and kill us both." That revelation, all in one sentence, seemed so random. Somehow it seemed like saying, "If he gets hold of it, he will turn green, and we will turn into soap bubbles." The foundation for her conclusion was skimmed over too quickly for us to understand…her conclusions seemed groundless. It needed to be stated differently, like this: "If he gets hold of it, we may never stop him." Clark, participating: "He can draw its power?" "As much as will sustain him for life, and more." Clark, intensely: "How much?" "Enough to kill us both." Then we could understand.
"Lana, I thought we were in this together." "We still are. Just not on the same side." I liked the way she said this line…seriously, almost apologetically, not wanting to be cruel or defiant or dramatic. But saying it and getting it out there.
" Clark." Lana speaks in the old way…not in the way that innately spits at the person. Her first reaction is relief. She might be mad at him, but, caught off her guard as she is here, he's a welcome figure. Lex is more cool…although courteous in front of Lana. "What are you doing here?"
"I stopped by the mansion and I heard you were taken to the hospital." That would have been an interesting scene – Clark rushing in, scanning everything with his X-ray vision, getting desperate, getting caught by security, making up an excuse. They skipped that for a basketball scene and a recap of Jor-El's history?
"You okay?" "We're fine, Clark. Both of us." This emphasis was very triumphant.
"What happened?" "We had an uninvited guest. But…we're used to that kind of thing." Lana looks embarrassed at Lex's rudeness. She seems to be inwardly remonstrating, though she keeps quiet. Clark is silent, taking it. Pause. "I'm glad you're all right, then."
Lana waits until Lex leaves – then quickly turns to Clark, as if released. "Hate to question your good-natured visit, but are you really interested in Lex's health?" She's dying to talk to him, but she has to frame everything so challengingly. At some point, Lana (and Lana's writers) is going to have to learn how to talk to people she wants to talk to, and be with people she wants to be with, without battering them over the head with verbal hammers.
"Look, you don't want to get in the middle of this." "No, you don't want to get in the middle of it, but it's too late." What does that mean?
" Clark, stop trying to think up excuses and just tell me what's going on." That was actually well put. Clark hesitates…then gives in. He unfolds the paper, and Lana watches, breathing deeply, expecting something that will reveal some of Clark's mystery. Instead it's nothing knew. I wish they'd let something slip here, some hint of mystery, instead of the same old territory.
"Have you seen this before?" "Yes." Lana is perfectly frank. She's finally sharing information. "But it doesn't matter any more. It's just a pile of ash now. That thing destroyed it." Then they suddenly cut the scene off. I thought this was strange. How did Clark get out of that one? Did he say, "I have to go," and leave Lana frustrated with him, or did he make some less offensive, more open exit? She had to have pegged him with more questions – what were they, how did he answer, without brushing her off? She's finally cooperating and talking to him…he wouldn't want to lose that, particularly since she's living with Lex and seeing a lot. This was a sticky situation, and Holly Herold plucked us out of the stickiness without letting us know if it was a clean escape or if it came with wounds to the relationship.
"Raya, I told you the Fortress is dead. Why are we here?" That line was a reminder, whispering, "This is a TV show!"
"It's our only hope to defeat Baern." Ditto.
This exchange makes no sense. Raya reproaches Clark for accidentally destroying the Fortress. Clark says he's sorry, he doesn't know how to bring it back. Raya tells him that Jor-El wouldn't have given up so easily. Clark tells her he didn't give up, he tried everything. Raya says he tried everything but training. Raya, how could he learn how to restore the Fortress by training if the Fortress was dead? I think Holly Herold got her subjects mixed here, or else all the viewers did.
"…to send out a signal," looks at Clark and there are odd strings in the music, looks back, "to let Baern know you're here." Somehow this seemed a bit comical. Almost cartoonish. I think it was the strings that capped it off.
We didn't have any time to feel like Martha was in danger before Baern was called away. It seemed like the time she spent talking to the invisible Clark equaled the time she spent talking at cross-purposes with Baern. Incidentally, her talk with Baern wasn't particularly interesting. One would think that Martha's first confrontation with an enemy alien would be more dramatic.
Raya didn't even try to run. This moment was anticlimactic. She wasn't even dying for Clark…she was just standing there observing.
The scene in the hospital lasted for a strangely long time. We didn't even know this character except for his basketball banter, and we had to listen to him and Clark talk about Kansas and basketball memories and what happened when Clark left the Fortress…all things that should be left offscreen.
"You're going to be a great photographer one day, Jimmy Olsen." Nice, sweet foreshadowing, though a bit obvious. I wouldn't want them to be so overt all the time, but this time was okay.
"Don't worry, Lex. I'm not going anywhere." "You sure?" "Not tonight." Interesting. Why, Lana?
"Do you honestly think I wouldn't have chosen you?" "I guess we'll never know." Good music as the scene ends.
Which transitions to boring flute music as Clark and Martha walk around.
"She barely had enough time to discover it before she gave her life to protect it." We never really saw her discover it or enjoy it, not in a touching real way, and I don't think we saw her dying to protect it. She signaled the enemy, then stood and watched and was attacked. This was another reason why this needed to be an arc, not an episode. Raya needed to have the time and space to make a place in this world before she left it. As it was, we didn't see a hole. Nothing was missing from Smallville. Nothing was missing from Clark's heart.
"When I was with Raya, I didn't feel alone any more." We've seen him more companionable with Chloe, Lana, even Pete. Even Lex. He was close friends and family with them. We never saw him cross that line into true friendship with Raya.
"For the first time, I'm ready to stop running…from who I really am…from my destiny." This whole episode seemed to be about people declaring their emotions and talking about their feelings. What if Lex suddenly said, "For the first time, I'm beginning to realize that I am a dark person. I may as well give in to the future. I'm bad." Playing wonderful music behind's Clark declaration made the moment more bearable, but it didn't make it any better. There were a thousand more subtle and compelling ways to say this.
"Your training with Jor-El. You want to go." Clark nods. "But I can't. Not yet. Not until every prisoner that I released from the Phantom Zone is returned or destroyed. Great music…and startlingly chilling and beautiful as the Fortress lights up.

Details

I've never been able to reconcile myself to Raya's voice. Her delivery always strikes me as self-aware and odd.
"Um, hello, have you met me?" Then, "Chloe, these attacks are in a straight line." "Headed directly towards you." Chloe leaves in alarm. She hadn't noticed that before?
So…why did Clark and Raya go to the Daily Planet?
"Every Kryptonian family has a unique tone, a beacon to identify itself." Why didn't Clark wince when he heard it? Usually every time he hears it, he covers his ears and doubles up.
Raya looked more beautiful when she was dying in the Fortress than when she was perfect and bland in Smallville.
"So the last six weeks…" Clark waited by his bedside for six weeks?
When the Fortress of Solitude lights up, is it because of Clark's will as he speaks in Smallville, holding the crystal-that-looks-like-a-medal, or is it because, offscreen, Clark returns and heals it?
The preview for next week seemed disturbingly reminiscent of "Void" last season…and of the whole out-of-character theme of Season Four. Important events in an arc should never hinge on out-of-character moments. Let’s hope next week doesn't swerve into the numerous pitfalls that seem to be gaping invitingly.
Interesting to note that in the trailer, Oliver wears the Green Arrow costume but speaks in his regular voice.




Fallout Overall "Fallout" seemed to be this season's "Solitude," in a very bad way. "Solitude" raised our expectations with trailers and pictures, working us up to a pitch of such expectation that when we were confronted with bad dialogue, flipflopping characters and choppy scenes, we still tried to make ourselves believe it was wonderful. And...it wasn't. The opening scene dwelt on a meaningless basketball game, solely for the purpose of playing a Bowwow song. Toward the end, an equally meaningless scene between Clark and the Zoner seemed stuck in for more Bowwow airtime, when in truth it had little to say and overstayed its welcome. This airtime could have gone to allowing Martha to meet Raya instead of packing her off until the end - it could even have gone to allowing Clark and Raya bond through working together to rebuild Metropolis. As it was, we saw far too much of Bowwow and far too little of the characters we cared about. Clark and Raya only knew each other for two days, and in that time period they chatted about Jor-El and raced each other around Smallville. No events bonded them. They weren't joined in a single purpose, they weren't doing anything in particular. And once the Zoner interrupted their complacency, they really didn't do much. A kick here and there, a signal, and the capture of the Zoner. That was it, really. The whole episode seemed to be a giant anticlimax. Yes, Raya died. But we didn't really have the time to care. We were whizzed so quickly through stark and characterless scenes that there was no time to enjoy character, to enjoy relationships. There were no characteristic moments between Clark and Chloe or Clark and Martha. The relationships were skimmed over. The ending, as Clark finally grew up? Brilliant. The Fortress lighting up gave me chills. But I have a lingering doubt: Season Four set up the arc so that three stones needed to be checked off before Clark could go to the Fortress. Season Six is settng up the arc so that a number of phantoms need to be checked off before Clark can go to the Fortress. That's a disturbing pattern. Season Four turned into a game of hot potato; Season Six could turn into a game of Phantom-of-the-Week. Making sure some other convenient complication pops up, so the big event coincides with the finale. The writers shouldn't try to stretch this out over the rest of the season: if Clark is going to be trained, he needs to do it long before the end of the season. Overall...anticlimactic. Verdict: 3.4 out of 10. Good/Bad Moments It was over a minute before the phantom crashed. The time before that was filled with Bowwow-promoting. Then it was another minute before the phantom entered Bowwow, and after that another minute before the credits. So exactly a third of the opening scene was wasted in a basketball game and irrelevant talk. "Middle of the night, mysterious meeting, suspicious briefcase. You might have just called me, Dr. Groll. Why all the intrigue?" "The precautions aren't for dramatic effect." This opening dialogue suddenly made it all about dramatic effect. It was like the writers were mocking themselves. And automatically we evaluate the scene and think, "Ha. Melodramatic." Without those self-conscious lines, playing down what should have been an important moment, this scene would have reminded me of Season Three. "Are you in any danger?" "I think we both are. These CDs contain all my research on the box. Every test result, every theory I've written." "You're quitting." "I'm disappearing." "Don't you think that's a bit extreme?" "You'll find that when you're in as deep as we are with the Luthors, they won't let you just walk away." Then he tells her what's scaring him off: "We've started military testing." This was a good exchange – taut and meaty. It told you a great deal in very few words. The conversational flow was perfect. "You could have just left. Why come to me?" "Because I'm not the only one I'm worried about. Despite our differences, Miss Lang, I thought you deserved a warning. I'm getting as far away from the Luthors as possible. I suggest you do the same." This was a good exchange. The man has daughters, he's been working with Lana, and he doesn't want her to fall under the Luthor net. It made sense, and also made the scene possible. Nice reveal, as we don't know who has the camera…then Jimmy lowers it. "Local authorities determined it was made by a shooting star, but that was just wishful thinking. Sorry." Cute moment. "Your father told me about the family he had chosen for you. About Smallville." Her delivery of this line confused me, as I tried to figure out where she was going with it, what she was trying to say, what she meant. She had a very strange way of speaking. "But no one who really understands you." This was badly spoken. "He wanted so much to know what that felt like." "But he never could." They shouldn't have had that second line. We immediately thought about Jonathan fighting with Clark and using his temporary powers in " Phoenix". "Serious lack of signage down here." This is supposed to be a phantom? "What about all the research? Just find 'im!" Lex sounded like a whiny little brat here. They're making him more of a Gene Hackman villain – a wig-wearing comic, instead of the imposing, authoritative, commanding figure with a dark and restless soul. This Lex isn't yearning for something he can never have (the bitterest and darkest villains resent their lack of something). He's just being a spoiled rich kid. While that's an element in his nature (remember when he used to dare fate, speeding down the road?), it's not who he is. "What exactly is your connection with this man, Mr. Luthor, and what was in the suitcase he gave you?" Oh, gosh. I was groaning and laughing through this exchange – which was, granted, very effective. They used Jimmy very well in this scene. He could get the information, but didn't know how to use it. He was ignorant enough to go straight to Lex with the information, and instead of playing the verbal games – almost dances – that Chloe would play, he showed his hand all at once. And though I winced, I liked it. It was natural. Jimmy doesn't know the first thing about interrogating anyone, and although he'll pick up some savvy, he'll never be a reporter. Yet he can be of some use in the plot – he wasn't introduced simply to tag after Chloe, as Lois originally tagged after Clark. And he did have the instinct to snap pictures of Lex's papers. This was a charming, blundering, useful blend of potential instinct and potential bumbling. "You know, Jimmy, I was very happy when I learned that Chloe finally had a boyfriend. It appears my jubilation was premature." This ominous tone made it sound as if he was going to shoot Jimmy where he stood, instead of tossing him out and getting him fired. The apparent incongruity between his words and his actions ended up reducing the power of having Jimmy tossed out. This is the way Lex should be speaking to his worst enemies, with whom he has a personal and universally acknowledged vendetta. Shortly before these enemies die a mysterious death. With people like Jimmy, he should be suave and apparently gracious, then subtlely try to undermine them. Lex is beginning to lose his subtlety again. "Jimmy, tell Chloe Lana says hello. And if you ever try anything like this again, you'll be leaving through the window, no matter who you're dating." Yeah…see above. And why the line about telling Chloe hello from Lana? Was this supposed to be a gracious line before smacking another threat in front of him? Was this supposed to be a virulent attempt to drive a wedge between Lana and the others, as if Lana knew about the goings on? "You sneaking out of the house at midnight…that bothers me." Lex's controlling behavior here would normally send Lana storming out indignantly. Which begs the question…why is Lana still living with him at the end of the episode? It's as if both she and Lex have concealed motives for sticking close to each other. "I don't like playing cat and mouse games, Lana." "Is it the game you don't like, or the fact that someone's playing it on your level?" She acknowledges that they're battling each other…yet she stays in the house and accepts his halfhearted attempts to make up? This episode destroyed the notion of any attraction between them. "I don't know where you've stashed the box, but I want it back now." Lex catches himself. "Please." Another control moment. This is the real Lex? I liked the concept of Clark and Raya doing Kryptonian things together. But I definitely disliked the childish patter that came after that. "You cheated." "I couldn't let a rookie catch me…" It was…well, stupidity. I can understand that they were happy. But it should have been the deep, joyful, unspeakable happiness that found vent in wordless ways – understanding one another, catching each other's thoughts, reacting with the same amazement at the thought that they were alike and together. Not with banter and racing. That could be shared by any human. "Jor-El would have never let you get away with that." "He planned every detail, down to your baby blanket." I have a confession: I don't like the actress who plays Raya. Her voice was so flat and toneless, and the way her voice emphasized consonants made her sound like a grandmother with a young voice. She deadened all her lines…which weren't particularly lively anyway. "His only redemption was sending you to save earth." "Save it from what?" "Extinction. Your civilization is going to destroy itself, just like Krypton." This was an interesting moment. This whole exchange was a fluctuation between perking interest and paper-dry boredom. I was wondering why they were recapping the Jor-El story, my mind was beginning to shut down, and then this line. So…they know that humans are going to destroy themselves. Interesting. And then the dialogue went back to paper-dry boredom. "You should know this. It was part of your training." Somehow this made it all seem like textbook knowledge, which immediately reduced the appeal. The idea of training had some glamour until she treated it as a conveyance of information. Maybe it was just me. "Jor-El tried to warn me, but I didn't listen. I mean, how could I trust him when he brought so much pain into my life?" We were reproaching Clark all through last season. We thought he was being an idiot. Now he knows he was wrong, and he's still trying to justify himself. He's still being an idiot. Plus we're spending precious minutes on a scene that is largely recap. We've spent half the scene recapping that Jor-El is a good guy who wanted to save Krypton and who loved his son (didn't we go over this in "Zod"?) and that Clark didn't listen to him and turned down his training (we know, and we're still mad about it). This scene could have been so much juicier, but it spent a lot of time stating the obvious and taking Clark a step backward. "You must accept your destiny." We could see that line coming a mile away. "What's the matter, Raya? Don't recognize an old friend?" "How do you like the new suit?" "To pay back your old man for givin' me a one-way ticket to hell!" This did not sound like the language of a phantom. Introducing slang to the alien made the whole situation seem confused – we couldn't get past the contradiction. And it made the villain much less imposing. "Kal-El?" "Where is he?" They look, he's gone. This whole setup was very choppy. First they dwelt too long on the well-known facts, then they exchanged some confusing words with the chatty, in-the-know villain, then we skimmed past the real action in a few seconds. When it went to commercial break, my brother and I looked at each other and said, "This is terrible." (Sorry, writers…but it's true.) "One of hope for some of us, one of revenge for others." The way she said this line was very lifeless. "There's only one thing that can stop him – your father's crystal." Raya calmly spouts off all the answers. This was a very boring way of revealing all the facts about Baern. Shouldn't Clark have conjectured that the crystal would stop him? Also, the camerawork here was odd…where exactly was the crystal, and why didn't the camera show us? "Do you know what this means, Chloe? Lex is working with the Egyptians." That was so unexpected, and welcome, and funny. I burst out laughing. Jimmy was so caught up on the wrong trail during this episode, and it was so endearing. It was very odd that Raya walked in front of Clark as they went through the Daily Planet building. He was the one who knew the way. In the effort to show her power, the moment was made corny, as automatically you envision her walking straight past the door, like Lois did in " Reunion". "Chloe, this is Raya." Raya looks at Chloe and smiles. Somehow the makeup they gave Raya made her look sinister and unfriendly when she smiled. "If he gets hold of it, it will give him enough power to fuel him indefinitely, and kill us both." That revelation, all in one sentence, seemed so random. Somehow it seemed like saying, "If he gets hold of it, he will turn green, and we will turn into soap bubbles." The foundation for her conclusion was skimmed over too quickly for us to understand…her conclusions seemed groundless. It needed to be stated differently, like this: "If he gets hold of it, we may never stop him." Clark, participating: "He can draw its power?" "As much as will sustain him for life, and more." Clark, intensely: "How much?" "Enough to kill us both." Then we could understand. "Lana, I thought we were in this together." "We still are. Just not on the same side." I liked the way she said this line…seriously, almost apologetically, not wanting to be cruel or defiant or dramatic. But saying it and getting it out there. " Clark." Lana speaks in the old way…not in the way that innately spits at the person. Her first reaction is relief. She might be mad at him, but, caught off her guard as she is here, he's a welcome figure. Lex is more cool…although courteous in front of Lana. "What are you doing here?" "I stopped by the mansion and I heard you were taken to the hospital." That would have been an interesting scene – Clark rushing in, scanning everything with his X-ray vision, getting desperate, getting caught by security, making up an excuse. They skipped that for a basketball scene and a recap of Jor-El's history? "You okay?" "We're fine, Clark. Both of us." This emphasis was very triumphant. "What happened?" "We had an uninvited guest. But…we're used to that kind of thing." Lana looks embarrassed at Lex's rudeness. She seems to be inwardly remonstrating, though she keeps quiet. Clark is silent, taking it. Pause. "I'm glad you're all right, then." Lana waits until Lex leaves – then quickly turns to Clark, as if released. "Hate to question your good-natured visit, but are you really interested in Lex's health?" She's dying to talk to him, but she has to frame everything so challengingly. At some point, Lana (and Lana's writers) is going to have to learn how to talk to people she wants to talk to, and be with people she wants to be with, without battering them over the head with verbal hammers. "Look, you don't want to get in the middle of this." "No, you don't want to get in the middle of it, but it's too late." What does that mean? " Clark, stop trying to think up excuses and just tell me what's going on." That was actually well put. Clark hesitates…then gives in. He unfolds the paper, and Lana watches, breathing deeply, expecting something that will reveal some of Clark's mystery. Instead it's nothing knew. I wish they'd let something slip here, some hint of mystery, instead of the same old territory. "Have you seen this before?" "Yes." Lana is perfectly frank. She's finally sharing information. "But it doesn't matter any more. It's just a pile of ash now. That thing destroyed it." Then they suddenly cut the scene off. I thought this was strange. How did Clark get out of that one? Did he say, "I have to go," and leave Lana frustrated with him, or did he make some less offensive, more open exit? She had to have pegged him with more questions – what were they, how did he answer, without brushing her off? She's finally cooperating and talking to him…he wouldn't want to lose that, particularly since she's living with Lex and seeing a lot. This was a sticky situation, and Holly Herold plucked us out of the stickiness without letting us know if it was a clean escape or if it came with wounds to the relationship. "Raya, I told you the Fortress is dead. Why are we here?" That line was a reminder, whispering, "This is a TV show!" "It's our only hope to defeat Baern." Ditto. This exchange makes no sense. Raya reproaches Clark for accidentally destroying the Fortress. Clark says he's sorry, he doesn't know how to bring it back. Raya tells him that Jor-El wouldn't have given up so easily. Clark tells her he didn't give up, he tried everything. Raya says he tried everything but training. Raya, how could he learn how to restore the Fortress by training if the Fortress was dead? I think Holly Herold got her subjects mixed here, or else all the viewers did. "…to send out a signal," looks at Clark and there are odd strings in the music, looks back, "to let Baern know you're here." Somehow this seemed a bit comical. Almost cartoonish. I think it was the strings that capped it off. We didn't have any time to feel like Martha was in danger before Baern was called away. It seemed like the time she spent talking to the invisible Clark equaled the time she spent talking at cross-purposes with Baern. Incidentally, her talk with Baern wasn't particularly interesting. One would think that Martha's first confrontation with an enemy alien would be more dramatic. Raya didn't even try to run. This moment was anticlimactic. She wasn't even dying for Clark…she was just standing there observing. The scene in the hospital lasted for a strangely long time. We didn't even know this character except for his basketball banter, and we had to listen to him and Clark talk about Kansas and basketball memories and what happened when Clark left the Fortress…all things that should be left offscreen. "You're going to be a great photographer one day, Jimmy Olsen." Nice, sweet foreshadowing, though a bit obvious. I wouldn't want them to be so overt all the time, but this time was okay. "Don't worry, Lex. I'm not going anywhere." "You sure?" "Not tonight." Interesting. Why, Lana? "Do you honestly think I wouldn't have chosen you?" "I guess we'll never know." Good music as the scene ends. Which transitions to boring flute music as Clark and Martha walk around. "She barely had enough time to discover it before she gave her life to protect it." We never really saw her discover it or enjoy it, not in a touching real way, and I don't think we saw her dying to protect it. She signaled the enemy, then stood and watched and was attacked. This was another reason why this needed to be an arc, not an episode. Raya needed to have the time and space to make a place in this world before she left it. As it was, we didn't see a hole. Nothing was missing from Smallville. Nothing was missing from Clark's heart. "When I was with Raya, I didn't feel alone any more." We've seen him more companionable with Chloe, Lana, even Pete. Even Lex. He was close friends and family with them. We never saw him cross that line into true friendship with Raya. "For the first time, I'm ready to stop running…from who I really am…from my destiny." This whole episode seemed to be about people declaring their emotions and talking about their feelings. What if Lex suddenly said, "For the first time, I'm beginning to realize that I am a dark person. I may as well give in to the future. I'm bad." Playing wonderful music behind's Clark declaration made the moment more bearable, but it didn't make it any better. There were a thousand more subtle and compelling ways to say this. "Your training with Jor-El. You want to go." Clark nods. "But I can't. Not yet. Not until every prisoner that I released from the Phantom Zone is returned or destroyed. Great music…and startlingly chilling and beautiful as the Fortress lights up. Details I've never been able to reconcile myself to Raya's voice. Her delivery always strikes me as self-aware and odd. "Um, hello, have you met me?" Then, "Chloe, these attacks are in a straight line." "Headed directly towards you." Chloe leaves in alarm. She hadn't noticed that before? So…why did Clark and Raya go to the Daily Planet? "Every Kryptonian family has a unique tone, a beacon to identify itself." Why didn't Clark wince when he heard it? Usually every time he hears it, he covers his ears and doubles up. Raya looked more beautiful when she was dying in the Fortress than when she was perfect and bland in Smallville. "So the last six weeks…" Clark waited by his bedside for six weeks? When the Fortress of Solitude lights up, is it because of Clark's will as he speaks in Smallville, holding the crystal-that-looks-like-a-medal, or is it because, offscreen, Clark returns and heals it? The preview for next week seemed disturbingly reminiscent of "Void" last season…and of the whole out-of-character theme of Season Four. Important events in an arc should never hinge on out-of-character moments. Let’s hope next week doesn't swerve into the numerous pitfalls that seem to be gaping invitingly. Interesting to note that in the trailer, Oliver wears the Green Arrow costume but speaks in his regular voice. © Voice of Reason, 2007