Voice of Reason: Season Two: Insurgence

Insurgence

Overall

One of my favorite episodes, because of its hints at destiny and its epic proportions, this episode - while it definitely could have been improved - was still just as definitely one of the best of the season.

The concept was a good one, and Jonathan's wild and unjustifiable behavior did not steal the impact of such moments as Clark's leap. However, that behavior, incomprehensible and on the edge of insane, detracted from most of the rest of the episode: as caught up as you are, your enthusiasm is seriously damaged by your frustration with the writers, for turning someone who began as a good guy into someone you want to punch in the nose. Also checking my zeal were such peculiar moments as Martha's ambiguous vibe - "I can't accept this watch, but if I get scared I'll hug you". (What's wrong with sending a more vigorous back-off message?) Or (more excusably but still hard to believe) the weird ending with Martha hiding the disk and everyone thinking - "Did I just see what I thought I saw?" The whole episode could have been a stunner like "Rosetta", but there were a lot of logical leaps (mostly stemming from Jonathan's instability) that drained it, so that the virtues of this episode come down to the Big Stunning Situation (hostage situation) and, of course, the Big Stunning Moment (Clark's leap). However, your trip across logical gaps is perhaps overshadowed by the other big leap and situation - they're what you think of when you remember this episode, and in that way the writers succeeded.

Good/Bad Moments

The dark opening with Lex's hands folded on the table, some trembling underling standing in front of him, the dark music - all of it forcibly reminded you of what was to come, and gave insight into Lex's dark side without words. Excellently done.
Nice touch, the transition with morning light flooding through the windows and Lex still crazed, with that manic surge of energy that keeps you going when you need to stay up through the night and also slightly deprives you of your sense of balance.
Clark, casually - "What about your stereo?" He had obviously scoped the room with his x-ray vision - an effect that they didn't show, probably for time or budget reasons, but which gave the viewer the novel opportunity to see it outside Clark's point of view but inside Clark's head, knowing what he was doing. It was equally evident that his remark about furniture was merely a build-up to his stereo suggestion, so that Lex wouldn't have even more reason to make a "bloodhound" comment.
"Hey, Dad, you want me to make this extra crispy for you?" One of my favorite elements to the show is the way the writers take "science-fiction" elements and incorporate them naturally into a healthy family life. (From "Crusade": "So Clark, your mother tells me you can fly...")
"This is between your mother and I." Bad grammar, bad sentiment. It's probably Jonathan's moments like this that create Clark's occasional "adopted kid" wistfulness. Sometimes during Season Two, Jonathan too forcibly makes Clark feel "on the outside", something inconsistent with his kinder, wiser fatherly character as established in Season One.
"I'm sorry, Clark. Do you want to talk about it?" Again, the key to the Clark-Lana friendship/romance. There is that foundation of understanding.
All right, I'm positive that this scene annoyed everybody else watching it, but just in case someone doesn't understand why it bothered me, here it is. I'm talking about the scene in which Clark and Lex offer Jonathan the use of the helicopter. A) After Clark explains that he asked Lex to let them borrow it, Jonathan fiercely tells Lex, "Look. I don't know how things work in your house, but around here we think it's important to respect other peoples' privacy." There isn't a more ungracious or unreasonable way he could have handled that, apart from spitting in Lex's face. B) Lex finally refuses to let Jonathan trample over him, and Clark tells Jonathan that he wasn't being fair. Jonathan replies with some vague but decidedly angry speech, concluding with him walking to the door and flinging over his shoulder at his son, "So just stay out of it." See the above comment about "adopted kid" wistfulness. It's like Jonathan had been exposed to another Nicodemus flower.
"Give Lana and I a chance to get a word it." Bad grammar, and it was unclear what she was trying to say. Did she mean that Henry had been talking a great deal, probably out of nervousness, or was it facetious because he had barely been talking? Either way it was unclear, and seemed to be one of those lines just automatically written without thinking of what exactly it meant.
I was glad that Jonathan fully recognized his role in the situation, large-scale. Meaning that he took responsibility for Martha's being trapped in the building, although it might be argued that this was not directly his fault but also the fault of Martha and Lionel and the kidnappers and Lex who sent the workers there in the first place. But he still didn't acept his role in the damage he did directly, and for which he was entirely responsible - his treatment of Lex.
Lex's graceful handling of the situation, when Jonathan came to him, was pleasing. "Believe me. There's plenty of blame to go around." And, of course, the final scenario. "Lex, I was wondering." Music. "I was wondering if I - " "Sure, Mr. Kent. I'll give you a helicopter ride to Metropolis." Lex has in him the makings of a hero. It's part of what makes the Smallville story so poignant.
Great visual imagery in Metropois: grey crowd of Metropolisians, and then Clark appears in his blue shirt and red jacket.
"If they kill us, those will be the last words we ever spoke to each other." Great tie-in, and I suppose that line was the basis of the Martha and Lionel "connection". However as Lionel wasn't exactly sincere - a season ago, we watched him close the fire doors on Lex when Lex was trapped in his own building - it served for me only as the parallel plot, and not to create any attraction.
The pace of the next few minutes was excellent. That was outstanding in this episode - the pace. So much action packed in, but you're never at a loss: you always understand what's going on. Mapped out, here it is:
1. Meteor bar revelation
2. Daily Planet building
3. Music as he looks up at the building
4. Clark Kent confidential file revelation
5. Octagonal disk revelation
6. Music on the roof as he looks at the LuthorCorp building, looks down, gets dizzy
7. Clark gearing himself up
8. Zoom in on Jonathan as he looks up at the building
9. Birds
10. Clark running, slow motion
11. Stars above him, music
12. He realizes he's going to crash, reflection
13. He laughs with excitement when he realizes he's made it.
At this point, the pace appropriately slows...making room for the next Bad Moment.
"Don't hurt who, Lex?" Jonathan comes storming over. This scene would have had a lot more force if Jonathan hadn't just made a fool of himself and had to apologize (basically) for his own stupidity. As it is, you're thinking, "Good grief, doesn't he ever learn?" He has just finished acknowledging his own role in Martha's predicament. Now he's saying, "If I find out you've got anything to do with what's going on here, you'll pray to God you'd never set foot in Smallville, you believe me." Maybe in a farming accident he suffered some brain damage.
"Pick up the files," and Lionel's expression changes. It worked well. It showed that he had acute awareness of what was in those files, even under the stress and preoccupation of the moment. Not only the revelation, but looks like these, brought his obsession with Clark to a new level.
"I don't know. Why is it so important to you?" But later she deftly removes it from the guy's pocket. Nice to know that Martha is still on her guard.
Great music when they come out of the building.
The reunion (Martha and Jonathan) would have been more moving if Jonathan had done the right thing. But he brought most of his suffering onto himself.
Good moment with the music and slow motion on Lex as Lionel walks away.
I hate it that Lex is left alone while the family walks happily away and completely forgets about him. Some episodes portray Lex as drawn to the dark side by nature. Some portray him as his father's son, the peculiar dynamic that drives Lex to want to please is father while hating him and defying him, the volatile relationship that makes Segeth a father-son duo, one paving the way and the other building on his foundation. That is my favorite portrayal. And other episodes, like this epsiode, make it the anger and betrayal and rejection of supposedly "good people" that you're supposed to like, that drive to becoming who he becomes. This portrayal seems, to me, to be inconsistent. It isn't the Kents who are drawn to the dark side.

Details

You get a glimpse of the cute family picture on the wall again.
It was ironic that the workers attached a bug to the back of the father-son picture in Lionel's office. Symbolic of their relationship.
When Lionel gives Martha the watch, he directs her step-by-step what to do. Thus, when she takes the box out of the desk and sets it on the table, he knows that she doesn't open it but stands there looking at it closed. "Go ahead. Open it." She opens it and removes the watch. I assume he used his other senses - hearing a rustle, feeling movement - and knew that she was examining it. But I don't see how he could have known which side she was looking at. Yet he says, "Turn it over."
When Clark comes into the room, the kryptonite bars light up, and Lionel turns toward them with a strange expression, as if something is happening to him. It is never told when exactly he regained his sight, but this has always seemed, to me, to be the moment. It seems confirmed by the fact that a minute later Lionel shoots the guy, looking stunned and dazed.
Music as Lex is basically abandoned outside the LuthorCorp building: "I'm not scared of tomorrow, I'm only scared of myself."




Insurgence Overall One of my favorite episodes, because of its hints at destiny and its epic proportions, this episode - while it definitely could have been improved - was still just as definitely one of the best of the season. The concept was a good one, and Jonathan's wild and unjustifiable behavior did not steal the impact of such moments as Clark's leap. However, that behavior, incomprehensible and on the edge of insane, detracted from most of the rest of the episode: as caught up as you are, your enthusiasm is seriously damaged by your frustration with the writers, for turning someone who began as a good guy into someone you want to punch in the nose. Also checking my zeal were such peculiar moments as Martha's ambiguous vibe - "I can't accept this watch, but if I get scared I'll hug you". (What's wrong with sending a more vigorous back-off message?) Or (more excusably but still hard to believe) the weird ending with Martha hiding the disk and everyone thinking - "Did I just see what I thought I saw?" The whole episode could have been a stunner like "Rosetta", but there were a lot of logical leaps (mostly stemming from Jonathan's instability) that drained it, so that the virtues of this episode come down to the Big Stunning Situation (hostage situation) and, of course, the Big Stunning Moment (Clark's leap). However, your trip across logical gaps is perhaps overshadowed by the other big leap and situation - they're what you think of when you remember this episode, and in that way the writers succeeded. Good/Bad Moments The dark opening with Lex's hands folded on the table, some trembling underling standing in front of him, the dark music - all of it forcibly reminded you of what was to come, and gave insight into Lex's dark side without words. Excellently done. Nice touch, the transition with morning light flooding through the windows and Lex still crazed, with that manic surge of energy that keeps you going when you need to stay up through the night and also slightly deprives you of your sense of balance. Clark, casually - "What about your stereo?" He had obviously scoped the room with his x-ray vision - an effect that they didn't show, probably for time or budget reasons, but which gave the viewer the novel opportunity to see it outside Clark's point of view but inside Clark's head, knowing what he was doing. It was equally evident that his remark about furniture was merely a build-up to his stereo suggestion, so that Lex wouldn't have even more reason to make a "bloodhound" comment. "Hey, Dad, you want me to make this extra crispy for you?" One of my favorite elements to the show is the way the writers take "science-fiction" elements and incorporate them naturally into a healthy family life. (From "Crusade": "So Clark, your mother tells me you can fly...") "This is between your mother and I." Bad grammar, bad sentiment. It's probably Jonathan's moments like this that create Clark's occasional "adopted kid" wistfulness. Sometimes during Season Two, Jonathan too forcibly makes Clark feel "on the outside", something inconsistent with his kinder, wiser fatherly character as established in Season One. "I'm sorry, Clark. Do you want to talk about it?" Again, the key to the Clark-Lana friendship/romance. There is that foundation of understanding. All right, I'm positive that this scene annoyed everybody else watching it, but just in case someone doesn't understand why it bothered me, here it is. I'm talking about the scene in which Clark and Lex offer Jonathan the use of the helicopter. A) After Clark explains that he asked Lex to let them borrow it, Jonathan fiercely tells Lex, "Look. I don't know how things work in your house, but around here we think it's important to respect other peoples' privacy." There isn't a more ungracious or unreasonable way he could have handled that, apart from spitting in Lex's face. B) Lex finally refuses to let Jonathan trample over him, and Clark tells Jonathan that he wasn't being fair. Jonathan replies with some vague but decidedly angry speech, concluding with him walking to the door and flinging over his shoulder at his son, "So just stay out of it." See the above comment about "adopted kid" wistfulness. It's like Jonathan had been exposed to another Nicodemus flower. "Give Lana and I a chance to get a word it." Bad grammar, and it was unclear what she was trying to say. Did she mean that Henry had been talking a great deal, probably out of nervousness, or was it facetious because he had barely been talking? Either way it was unclear, and seemed to be one of those lines just automatically written without thinking of what exactly it meant. I was glad that Jonathan fully recognized his role in the situation, large-scale. Meaning that he took responsibility for Martha's being trapped in the building, although it might be argued that this was not directly his fault but also the fault of Martha and Lionel and the kidnappers and Lex who sent the workers there in the first place. But he still didn't acept his role in the damage he did directly, and for which he was entirely responsible - his treatment of Lex. Lex's graceful handling of the situation, when Jonathan came to him, was pleasing. "Believe me. There's plenty of blame to go around." And, of course, the final scenario. "Lex, I was wondering." Music. "I was wondering if I - " "Sure, Mr. Kent. I'll give you a helicopter ride to Metropolis." Lex has in him the makings of a hero. It's part of what makes the Smallville story so poignant. Great visual imagery in Metropois: grey crowd of Metropolisians, and then Clark appears in his blue shirt and red jacket. "If they kill us, those will be the last words we ever spoke to each other." Great tie-in, and I suppose that line was the basis of the Martha and Lionel "connection". However as Lionel wasn't exactly sincere - a season ago, we watched him close the fire doors on Lex when Lex was trapped in his own building - it served for me only as the parallel plot, and not to create any attraction. The pace of the next few minutes was excellent. That was outstanding in this episode - the pace. So much action packed in, but you're never at a loss: you always understand what's going on. Mapped out, here it is: Meteor bar revelation Daily Planet building Music as he looks up at the building Clark Kent confidential file revelation Octagonal disk revelation Music on the roof as he looks at the LuthorCorp building, looks down, gets dizzy Clark gearing himself up Zoom in on Jonathan as he looks up at the building Birds Clark running, slow motion Stars above him, music He realizes he's going to crash, reflection He laughs with excitement when he realizes he's made it. At this point, the pace appropriately slows...making room for the next Bad Moment. "Don't hurt who, Lex?" Jonathan comes storming over. This scene would have had a lot more force if Jonathan hadn't just made a fool of himself and had to apologize (basically) for his own stupidity. As it is, you're thinking, "Good grief, doesn't he ever learn?" He has just finished acknowledging his own role in Martha's predicament. Now he's saying, "If I find out you've got anything to do with what's going on here, you'll pray to God you'd never set foot in Smallville, you believe me." Maybe in a farming accident he suffered some brain damage. "Pick up the files," and Lionel's expression changes. It worked well. It showed that he had acute awareness of what was in those files, even under the stress and preoccupation of the moment. Not only the revelation, but looks like these, brought his obsession with Clark to a new level. "I don't know. Why is it so important to you?" But later she deftly removes it from the guy's pocket. Nice to know that Martha is still on her guard. Great music when they come out of the building. The reunion (Martha and Jonathan) would have been more moving if Jonathan had done the right thing. But he brought most of his suffering onto himself. Good moment with the music and slow motion on Lex as Lionel walks away. I hate it that Lex is left alone while the family walks happily away and completely forgets about him. Some episodes portray Lex as drawn to the dark side by nature. Some portray him as his father's son, the peculiar dynamic that drives Lex to want to please is father while hating him and defying him, the volatile relationship that makes Segeth a father-son duo, one paving the way and the other building on his foundation. That is my favorite portrayal. And other episodes, like this epsiode, make it the anger and betrayal and rejection of supposedly "good people" that you're supposed to like, that drive to becoming who he becomes. This portrayal seems, to me, to be inconsistent. It isn't the Kents who are drawn to the dark side. Details You get a glimpse of the cute family picture on the wall again. It was ironic that the workers attached a bug to the back of the father-son picture in Lionel's office. Symbolic of their relationship. When Lionel gives Martha the watch, he directs her step-by-step what to do. Thus, when she takes the box out of the desk and sets it on the table, he knows that she doesn't open it but stands there looking at it closed. "Go ahead. Open it." She opens it and removes the watch. I assume he used his other senses - hearing a rustle, feeling movement - and knew that she was examining it. But I don't see how he could have known which side she was looking at. Yet he says, "Turn it over." When Clark comes into the room, the kryptonite bars light up, and Lionel turns toward them with a strange expression, as if something is happening to him. It is never told when exactly he regained his sight, but this has always seemed, to me, to be the moment. It seems confirmed by the fact that a minute later Lionel shoots the guy, looking stunned and dazed. Music as Lex is basically abandoned outside the LuthorCorp building: "I'm not scared of tomorrow, I'm only scared of myself." © Voice of Reason, 2007