Starkville’s House of El Podcast

Find out what Tim thought of last week’s “Wrath” below.

Was it a copycat or another awesome episode to an already awesome season?

Also don’t forget to read his other reviews here on the site!

This episode was definitely better than expected. I have to confess I was a little worried about this episode of Smallville. When you read on paper that in the episode Lana is going on a vengeance streak with Kryptonian superpowers in an accident of Leech-like proportions, you tend to get a little skeptical. But I was not the least bit worried about when time came to actually watch the episode.

One thing that lent to this episode was Kristin Kreuk’s amazing acting. I have always felt that she was able to convey emotions very well as an actress, but it seems this season she has been given loads to do. Almost makes me wonder if the seventh season of Smallville will be her last. One can hope not. But I don’t think this episode would not have been as strong as it was were it not for Kristin’s ability as an actress. This episode was definitely a look into Lana’s damaged psyche through absorbing Clark’s powers. And she was able to convey all of these “damaged” emotions such pure fury, corruption, and vulnerability perfectly all in one packed episode.

This episode was written by Kelly Souders and Brian Peterson. They delivered us a surprisingly well-written script, with what could’ve been a weak concept. But their writing which has given us such greats as Bizarro, Reckoning, and Hidden.

One way this concept couldn’t have been played well was that it could’ve been a season 7 copycat of Leech, which at first read it was. I am glad they gave both Clark and Lana the superpowers after the transference, instead of just one or the other. I am glad, though, that Leech was at least referenced. And Chloe does not even think for a second that Eric Summers resembles her ex-boyfriend, Jimmy. Hmm . . . .

Something else that this episode did a lot of was reference past episodes as far back as season 1. I always enjoy these nice little references to the past. It gives the series more depth and makes the Smallville universe in it of itself more vast and wide. So it was really kool. I loved it.

One thing that surprised me is the set-up for Brainiac’s return in a few episodes. I knew it would come into the series fairly soon, but I expected it to be in the episode following this one. But I really enjoyed his return. I half-expected Marsters to materialize in this episode after all was said and done. But, alas, we have to wait a few episodes.

Something this episode did do was bring the Clark/Lex/Lana triangle back to the forefront of everything. It seemed it had been a while since Clark, Lex, and Lana all had equal interaction with each other. Now, Clark, Lex, and Lana have always had interactions before in the series, but it seemed that this was more interesting. You can definitely tell that Lana’s relationship with Lex has definitely changed her. Lex, on the other hand, still has that longing for Lana.

One more point I’d like to hit on relationship-wise is the Clark and Lex relationship. In the past few episodes, it seems we were kind of returning to that ground where Clark and Lex were regressing back to their solid friendship from the first half of the series. (Seasons 1-4) But I really felt in this episode that the Clark and Lex friendship was damaged beyond repair. I have felt so through the whole of last season, but there were a few episodes this season that have made me doubt that stance. I am glad that they are sticking to this non-friendship with these two characters. Because I, for one, want to see this friendship split apart and sink like the Titanic. So I am glad to see that it is still doing so.

I do think that Lex tracking these events is a kind of regression/depression for his character. The Kryptonian goings-on in Smallville, as most fans know, have been somewhat of an obsession for Lex. He sort of dropped it in the middle of season 6 with the loss of the Core of the ship, and didn’t really press it too much that season. One of the reasons that was, I think, was that Lana was somewhat of a calming influence and kind of backburned those “obsessed with anything regarding Clark” instincts that have prevailed him through much of the series. Now that he does not have Lana, he is back to his obsession of tracking these strange visitors from another planet. On some strange twisted level, it’s what made Lana’s relationship with him work for him.

I think that this can definitely be described as the episode of darkness, as you got to see a glimpse of a majority of our characters’ dark sides. This is something that has not been done since season three. But I believe the characters have evolved since then so much that we deserve a glimpse of their dark side to see how far the characters have come in their journeys on Smallville.

Something this episode did bring up was the character of Grant Gabriel. Now, Grant’s character is not one I’ve particularly cared for, but I don’t hate him by any means. I just don’t care for his business relationship with Lois. From past episodes, you kind of get the feeling that he is somehow connected to the Luthors. This episode basically confirmed that gut feeling. My theory is that Grant was placed by Lionel or Lex (probably Lionel though) to make sure that no one was placing any scum on the Luthor name. hence, why Grant is always discouraging Lois’ little digs into the Luthors. The cleaning out of her hard-drive of all files on the Luthors at the end of the episode. It almost makes me wonder if Grant really has romantic feelings for Lois, or if he is using the feelings that he know she has for him as a means of keeping her off the Luthor scent. Almost seems as if our wonderful, little editor has a bit of a dark side to him. A dark side that will be interesting to see in future episodes. Perhaps he was not a total waste of a recurring character.

This episode did solidify a theory that I have had since the fourth season closed with Commencement. In fact, it was stated by Jor-El that the meteor shower was only the beginning. You can actually track everything that has happened in Smallville and to the characters within it was started with the meteor shower. The meteor shower brought the Ship, which was Brainiac, who in turn released Zod, who sent Clark to the Phantom Zone, where he inadvertently released the Zoners within, one of which being Bizarro, whose fight with Clark at Reeve’s Dam released Kara, who sought a crystal, which Clark now has, which will lead to things in the next episode of Smallville. So, the meteor shower is responsible for everything in Smallville as with the meteor shower of ‘89, only this time on a more epic scale. But now, Lex is tracking these events . . .

But just as the season 4 finale was the catalyst for the Kryptonian-related happenings in Smallville these past couple of seasons, I believe this episode was the catalyst for everything to happen in the next eight episodes of the season. Lex is obviously tracking all these Kryptonian events that have happened and will cause him to encounter Kryptonians head-on. It shall be a remarkable final episodes to behold. “It’s time to save Smallville . . .” should be the motif for the next few episodes. There will mot definitely be a huge Kryptonian presence these next few episodes. Our fledgling superhero will have to rise up . . .

One character we saw the dark side to in addition to Lana, Lex, and Grant, was that of the character of Chloe Sullivan. Chloe has been a tad bit darker than we have seen in past seasons. This darkness we have seen, I attribute to her newly discovered meteor power. Meteor powers in past FOTWs have caused their emotions to be amplified on a darker level. Could this be happening to Chloe? Is this why she came out on Lana like she did at the end of the episode? Well, I certainly hope not. I am a huge Chloe fan and loved this moment where Chloe has gone to. Perhaps six years ago, she would not have done this against Lana, but it’s still awesome. One would think that would stem from romantic feelings that Chloe might still have for Clark. As much as I love Chloe, I don’t think that Chloe has too much romantic feelings for Clark. Their friendship has evolved from awkward friends to a brother-sister friendship that this protective gesture Chloe exhibits. It’s awesome.

Something that was cool for me was the biblical throwbacks that everyone kept making in this episode. Something that always strikes me about Smallville is how biblical and mythological references seem to enhance the story of a particular episode and/or season. Definitely gives the show more depth as a result. The biblical/mythological references in this episode referred to things that have happened to the characters, are currently happening, and something that could happen. The first one was obviously was Samson and Delilah, and that was in relation to Clark and Lana’s current open relationship. the next one being Paul on the Road to Damascus, which was obviously a reference to Lex’s life-changing event six years ago, which changed the course of his life. Like the Road to Damascus changed Paul. The final was the reference to Isis, which is an ancient Greek legend. It was an obvious reference to Lana’s current character arc, and where she could go by season’s end.

Relationship-wise, this episode did set in motion the sinking of the Clark and Lana relationship. Some will wish it not to happen, but it really is inevitable. The creators of the show have said that is one of the endgames they do want to meet is the final dissolution of the Clark and Lana relationship. With the past couple of episodes, you can definitely see that Clark’s position in his life will cause this dissolution. Now, in this episode we see the Lana-side of it. So, it will be very interesting to see how long the Clark and Lana relationship will last. I have a feeling that Clark will soon realize that his relationship to Lana just will not work and move on to a bigger and better things.

But overall, this was a suprisingly strong episode. Could’ve been a weak episode, but it turned out to be a vital stepping stone in this building season.

RATING: 4/5

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 14th, 2007 at 1:18 pm and is filed under Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.