Starkville’s House of El Podcast

So what did Tim think of Fracture, the latest episode of Smallville?

Read on!

This episode was quite good. There have been many people who have not liked this episode for whatever reason. But I do think it was still pretty good. I do think it was the weakest of the episodes we’ve had thus far. But the weakest episode of this strong season is better than a weak episode in an overall weak season like season 1.

I think why this episode seemed weak for a lot of people, was because it was a very much a transitory episode. There was a lot of set up for future episodes within this one episode. It was also filled with callbacks to earlier episodes of the series and to the Superman mythos in general, which made the episode that much more enjoyable.

The title of a Smallville episode always interests me. With only one word, they can sum up the episode, along with key moments in this episode that happen. This episode is titled, “Fracture.” A fracture means a break, breach or split. How does this affect the title? Well, in the episode, Lex’s personality is broken into two people, Lex (dark side) and Alexander (good side). We also see events within Lex’s mind that helped shape him to the darker individual that he is.

I also thought it was interesting inside Lex’s mind, Lex (as in dark side Lex) is wearing a suit of white, which is an obvious callback to an early season 1 episode, Hourglass. I thought this was a very nice touch.

This episode featured the return of Laura Vandervoort as Kara. This was a really a breath of fresh air, as the last three episodes have not featured her at all, other than the opening credits. This episode definitely had a different feel to it than the three that preceded it, as Vandervoort’s Kara definitely brings something new to the Smallville table.

Another thing that was interesting about this episode, for me at least, was that it took place in Detroit. This was a big deal for me, as I used to live in Detroit. Now, obviously they didn’t film on location but I honestly think the crew on Smallville working on this episode did a really good job trying to make the area of Vancouver look like Detroit. I think, for the most part, it looked pretty good. I definitely looked less than Vancouver than it did when Kara arrived in Detroit in Blue.

I honestly think that the execution by getting Clark into Lex’s mind was kind of weak, with the whole Project: intercept thing and everything. It did give us a springboard into the story but it didn’t seem to work for me.

But the scene where Clark decides to go into Lex’s mind brought some issues that I don’t think has been touched on in the comics. Is Clark’s mind as strong as his body? I would like to say, yes, as we saw a phantom trying to break through the strength-barriers in his mind, so it could control him. But it’s an issue that has been covered on the show before but hasn’t really been talked about in the comics, I don’t think.

Once we got into Lex’s mind, however, I thought it was actually kind of dark and creepy. It makes sense that Lex’s mind would be that way, but I just found it interesting that Lex’s mind was indeed a dark place. As Clark makes his way through Lex’s mind, he sees a shimmering light that was the image of Kara from Bizarro, when she first saved him. Why is this important? I think that this is important as ever since Kara saved Lex from the river, Lex has viewed Kara as someone who saved him from the evil of his ways. It is interesting to note that that is how Lex viewed Clark at one point. So, it makes me wonder, was Clark actually the light in his life at one point and then when their friendship split, he had nothing?

While Clark is in Lex’s mind, we are introduced to an interesting character, Alexander. In this episode, Alexander, in the form of a young, pre-bald Lex, represents Lex’s good side, that the darkness in Lex has been trying to kill for who knows how long. I find this interesting that the good side of Lex is named Alexander, as in the exciting fourth season episode, “Onyx,” Lex’s evil side when it had escaped, was credited as Alexander.

Throughout this episode, there were many references to previous Supergilr comic instances. The first one that is of note is the fact that Kara, with amnesia, goes by the name of Linda. This is obviously a reference to Supergirl’s alter-ego, Linda Lee Danvers, in the early Supergirl comics. It is also a reference to the Supergirl movie, where Kara took on the name “Linda Lee” as her secret identity.

They also alluded to the connection between Lex and Kara, which is another reference to the comics. Shortly before the Death of Superman, Lex died, and was able to clone himself into a new younger body, and adopted the persona “Lex Luthor Jr.,” who was reformed and Australian. This new Lex also had a very intimate relationship with Supergirl. The Lex and Kara character connection is obviously a callback to that.

We then had a very interesting scene inside Lex’s mind. This was a scene in between Lex and Lionel. We saw Lionel in a very abusive light. He was very dark and was very upset that Alexander could’ve touched his briefcase, which had information about the mysterious VERITAS. What is this “Veritas”, which Lionel and Lillian kept referring to? I do think that we will find out in future episodes.

I also thought Lionel’s treatment of Lillian, as well as Lex, was actually a callback to earlier episodes. In the episode Lara, Lex noted that he treated Lex by acting what Lionel did with Lillian and you definitely saw how Lex and his mother were treated by the abusive Lionel. I wonder how this scene will affect Clark’s relationship with Lionel as a surrogate father in the future.

This scene was also very telling in how Lex’s family life will change. In future episodes, we will see Lex develop an enmity for his father, and also he will protect his mother from his father when she tries to kill Julian. It really marked a turning point in the character of the young Lex Luthor.

I have to say that to see Alisen Down as Lillian Luthor was another breath of fresh air for this episode. I love that she brings that sympathy and creepiness that is right for Lex’s mom. I have loved all the episodes that she’s been featured in (Memoria, Lexmas, and Void). It was nice to see her again. It definitely was not the fashion I thought she was going to return in. I thought she was going to take on more of a “angel of warning”-like persona like she did in Lexmas and Void. But I thought the fact that she appeared in a flashback-sense, which brought it full circle, as that’s how she first appeared.

And speaking of Julian, I would have loved to see how maybe the dirty business with recreating Julian as Grant Gabriel would have had a fracture in Lex’s mind. We know that it did, of course. But I would loved to see Michael Cassidy one last time as a phantom (to coin a better phrase) in the chasms of his mind. Would’ve been cool.

Lionel Luthor’s involvement in this episode was more that of a concerned father. Though, you always have to ask the question, which of Clark and Lex is he more concerned about? That is a question that we have been asking since Lionel was revealed as Jor-El’s oracle in season 5. This episode finally brought an answer to that question: Lionel is concerned about both of them. Lionel views both Clark AND Lex as his sons, and was worried equally about their welfare.

We also got to see another scene that I think is an interpretation of Lex’s memories is when Lex forces Clark to see a scene of Lex making love with Lana. I almost want to wonder when this scene took place. When I first saw the scene, I thought it took place in Wither, but when I saw the wedding ring on Lana’s finger made me question that assumption. I honestly that maybe this wasn’t a real scene, but a fabrication by Lex to torture Clark in his own mind. It wouldn’t surprise me if that was the case as throughout most of his relationship with Lana, Lex would often rub it in Clark’s face that he was with Lana.

I also liked how this episode was kind of like Labyrinth in the way that exterior circumstances kind of affected the interior circumstances of the “mindscapes”. When, they decide to defib Lex, you see lights flashing inside the mindscape.

The climax of this episode revolved around a really cool and climactic fight scene between Clark and Lex. I really thought it was an intense fight scene. We have seen very few fight scene between these two before, but this one was just plain awesome! We really got to see Clark cut loose on Lex, and unleash some of the anger that he has felt towards Lex for the past few years for everything he’s done. I also thought it was interesting that no matter how hard Clark punched Lex, he couldn’t seem to do any damage to him. I think this was very symbolic in nature. In the comics sometimes, Superman tries to expose Lex for the criminal mastermind he really is, but due to his standing with the press, and his unlimited resources, Lex is able to sweep it under the rug. I think the punchdown was very symbolic of no matter what Superman did, he could not stop Lex, and Lex would always be shoving it in Superman’s face. I thought it was a very kool scene.

Then, in another cool scene, Clark gives some parting words to the young Alexander, who represents the good side of Lex Luthor, that the dark side has been trying to kill off for several years. I thought this scene really showed the acting skill of Tom Welling. Those of you, who think that Tom welling is only a superior actor when he’s acting outside of Clark Kent, might want to look at this awesome scene. It’s clearly a callback to the comics, where thee are times when Superman tries to appeal to the good side of Lex. This will have more weight to it than it normally would have, as Clark and Lex are friends turned enemies in this interpretation. It was a really sweet scene to watch.

An issue that is never really laid to rest in this episode, in my opinion, is the issue of whether Kara had powers or not. I think at the beginning of the episode, her powers might have been gone. But I think throughout the course of the episode, her healing powers were starting to take affect. But what is causing her powers not to work? Could it be Blue-K? It’s not a stretch tot hink so, as moments before Kara disappeared, Clark smashed a crystal that could have been made from Blue Kryptonite, and shards disappeared everywhere. She could have a splinter of it in her blood like Clark had a splinter of Silver-K in his blood in the episode, Splinter.

We also got to see in this episode the third use of Chloe’s meteor-power of the series. I think this episode was the first of many that we will see Chloe develop her meteor-power further. We learn that Chloe was dead for 18 hours, 15 hours longer than when she used them in the season six finale. Chloe, in this scene, really gets to the core of being a superpowered individual. Why, of all the meteor powers, did she get healing? What is the risk of these powers? If she uses these powers, will she die? I would certainly hope not as I am a huge fan of the Chloe character and have enjoyed seeing her evolution on Smallville. I just hope she is not to rash with these powers, as they could take a while getting used to. With messing with death and all. To quote Chloe, “It is death, after all.”

This whole thing makes you wonder why Chloe decided to use her power to save Lex. Lex hasn’t really been nice to Chloe since season 3, and even then it was because he needed an ally to bring down Lionel. I honestly think that in the course of the episode, when it was learned that Clark could die, when being trapped inside Lex’s mind for too long, it wasn’t even an option anymore. Chloe’s overwhelming love and devotion to Clark has evolved so much that it knows no bounds. It is like a sister risking her love to save her brother.

After this scene with Chloe, we are treated to a plethora of great scenes with Lex, as this episode seemed to focus on him a great deal. The first scene is with Lionel and Lex. Ever since the end of season six, we have been treated to nothing but great scenes between Lionel and Lex. These scenes really showed the evolution of these two characters. In the early scenes with Lionel and Lex, Lionel was the bad one and Lex was the “good” one. But it seemed that there was a real reversal here. When Lionel reveals that he used the healing drug from Rage, Lex doesn’t even respond to it. This shows just how far gone Lex is. Especially in the moment where Lionel says the words that Lex has probably waited his whole life to hear – - “I love you, Lex, my son.” Lex barely responds with a smirk before he leaves the room in that scene. We really see that Lex has truly crossed over into the dark side now. I don’t think Lionel will give up on Lex and will still, like Clark, try to reach Lex’s good side somehow. That is, Lex gives him that chance. But I can honestly say that I think that there are no good feelings left between these two characters.

After that, we are treated to a wonderful scene with Clark and Lex. I have always enjoyed Clark and Lex scenes as I’ve said before. There is always a sense of foreboding that these two will become hated enemies. But now that their friendship is pretty much shot, are there any good scenes left between them? I think this one of them. This episode had a totally different dynamic. It was very much Clark trying to convince Lex to appeal to his good side, and Lex trying to shrug him off. The clincher of the scene, though, was when Clark used his own words against him – - “There’s nothing that’s lost that can’t be found again”, which Lex has said on more than one occasion in earlier this episode to Kara and in the fourth season episode, Jinx to Mxyzptlk.

Than, the final scene with Lex and Kara was also very interesting. Like I said, there is just something very interesting about Lex and Kara’s relationship. I think Lex knew about his amnesia after probably watching her for some time with that tracking system he had used to track Lana and Kara earlier in the season. But I think Lex knows that Kara is connected to Clark somehow and can lead him to the secrets that Clark has been keeping from her. The amnesia helps him in that overall goal. He also plays on Kara’s amnesia by telling her that Clark is not a great guy, and that he is the great guy. So when Lex gets closer in Kara’s memory healing process, will he finally learn the secret of Clark Kent? I also think that Kara is making leaps and bounds already in that process as she gets the sense more and more that she’s different, and belongs somewhere else.

Overall, a great episode. Like I said, very transitory. There was a lot of set up for future events in the season in this episode. That may have caused the episode to suffer a bit as a whole, but I think for the most part, it seemed to work. One thing that I think this episode could’ve used was a Clark and Kara reunion scene. I’m almost pretty sure that one was written and filmed, but due to time constraints and pacing had to be cut.

Another thing that I think dragged the episode down a bit was the character of Finley, who was played by Corey Sevier. Now, I think that this character was all due to the writing, as I have seen the actor who played Finley, in other things that are filmed arounf where Smallville is filmed, and he is a very talented actor. For example, he played a similar character in a show filmed in Canada called Instant Star, (which also stars Laura Vandervoort, coincidentally enough) and he really brought a lot to that role.

But like I said, this episode really was very transitory and was necessary for the overall story of the season. But I thought it was done very well. I thought the many different character connections that we saw in this episode were very well done. One that is to be noted is the connection between Kara and Lois. We may not see more of this connection in Smallville, but we will definitely see it in the future with these two characters in the Superman mythos. I thought it was extremely well done. It is just a shame that we will not see another Smallville episode for some time.

RATING: 4/5

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 26th, 2008 at 1:33 pm and is filed under Reviews.