Tim’s “Hero” Review
What did Tim think of Hero?
I thought this episode was pretty good. It was very nice to see Sam Jones III as Pete Ross once again. It really brought a breath of fresh air to the series. The episode really gave the season a nice moment of levity, which I think was needed at this point, especially with the huge mythology episodes of Traveler and Veritas just around the corner. I also honestly think that Pete was the only character who could provide that kind of levity, as he provided much levity for the series in its early seasons.
That being said, I think that the manner of Pete’s return was handled poorly. I would’ve loved to see him return in any other fashion. I just hated the fact that he was reduced to “freak-of-the-week” status. It was a real shame.
From seeing this episode and watching previous Pete-centric episodes (such as Duplicity, Velocity, Forsaken), I have come to this conclusion; Pete Ross is the weakest character in Smallville. I think he has grown the least, and I think he was way under-developed in the seasons he was in. That being said, he is very loyal to Clark, as afar as his secret has concerned. In those Pete-centric episodes I mentioned, Pete is usually pretty banged up pretty badly when asked about Clark’s secret. So you gotta give him that.
But one thing I think Pete has been weak as a character was in the respect of how he handled Clark’s secret. Even before he was beaten to a bloody pulp by the FBI Agent in Forsaken, he was always complaining about how he always had to cover for Clark. That always bothered me that it was such a burden for him, but it didn’t seem to be a burden for him and Chloe. It’s just something that always bothered me about Pete’s character.
Some thing I did not like about Pete’s return to Smallville was the fact that he was extremely underused. It seems like Pete wasn’t really Pete until the last few moments of the episode when he was about to leave. That kind of bothered me a little bit.
But one thing about Pete’s return I did like was the way he interacted with some of the new additions, that being Jimmy and Kara. Albeit his interaction with them was very brief, but it was still a very nice treat to see. It was also nice to see some more of Pete’s interactions with some of the characters he has interacted before he had left. I really dug his Lex scene that he did.
Another nice thing was when before Pete left, we got a little nod that he was going to try other ways to save the world. I immediately thought that Pete was gonna go the University of Kansas and pursue a career in politics, which is where he
But, luckily, there were other aspects to the episode that made it enjoyable. For example, Lex and Kara. I think Lex and Kara’s relationship is progressing along very nicely. As I said in my Fracture review, this is something that the writers have brought right out of the comics and it was nice to see it continue. Like in the comics, Kara, to Lex, is just a means to an end. He is just using Kara to find out Clark’s secret.
Kara and Lex’s relationship, especially where it stood at the end of the episode, has got some people talking that it’s Lana and Lex all over again. I really don’t think that’s where the writers are going with this relationship. Like I said earlier, I honestly believe that Kara, in Lex’s eyes, is just a means to an end. Lex has reached the point where he really doesn’t care about anyone, as long as he gets what he wants. In earlier episodes of the season, Lex promised to Clark that he would never become his father, and his interaction with Kara clearly shows that he has. His interaction with Kara is not unlike Lionel’s interaction with Chloe in seasons 2 & 3.
I think Lex has also definitely evolved as a character, to the point where he protected Pete in season 3 and then he was torturing Pete for information. We also got to see more of this evolution, as far as Chloe and Lex goes. I thought the scene between Chloe and Lex was just magnificent. I have usually loved Chloe and Lex scenes, because as of late, Lex has kind of evolved a lot since season 3 when Chloe and Lex were working together to bring down Lionel. It also went to the point where Lex tried to save Chloe. Now, he probably wishes he hadn’t. But, anyway, I digress. The Chloe/Lex scenes this season have been great, even tough we may have only gotten two or three. I also so not think that Chloe knows that Lex knows that she’s a meteor freak, which should provide some verry interesting drama for the series.
Also, we got to see more Luthor drama, too. And not just on the Lex front. We got to see much more with Lionel than we have previous episodes this season. It seems that Lionel somehow got a hold of Kara’s Kryptonian bracelet. How did he get the bracelet? Why did Lionel want it? So many questions . . .
This kind of Luthor drama as far as Lionel is concerned is what makes me love Lionel, above all other characters in Smallville: you never know exactly what Lionel is up to. I have to give the writers credit for that. They always are able to come up with the juiciest stuff for Lionel. I love it . . .
This also shook up the Clark and Lionel dynamic. In this season, the Clark and Lionel relationship has been something of a father and son relationship. When Clark discovered Kara’s bracelet in Lionel’s safe, he initially denied it. He acted like a son, who realized a father had betrayed him. He assumed that there was an explanation, probably going off the things that Lionel had done in previous seasons in the guise of protection (which entailed Lionel being Jor-El’s emissary and vessel). But when Lionel showed up, I loved the scene where Clark just glares at Lionel and says, “We have to talk.” I was on the edge of my seat for that one. I think after all is said and done over the next few episodes, we will see a Clark and Lionel confrontation, not unlike the ones seen in Oracle and Phantom.
Another interesting relationship shakeup was the Lana and Kara scene. I think this scene was vital to the episode, as by the end of the episode, we had to see and I think it worked as far as the characters went. I think Lana was the only one who could’ve talked to Kara about the dangers of trusting Lex. But, I thought Kara’s reaction to Lana’s warning of danger was actually quite funny. The reason I think this is quite telling was that it was the exact same reaction that Lana gave when Clark tried to warn Lana about the dangers of trusting Lex. It definitely was an interesting scene.
One thing that also made this episode was the various callbacks to previous episodes. One of the more interesting callbacks to previous episodes was that the date of the first Meteor Shower, which contradicts I’ve always heard from various sources such as the Chloe Chronicles and the Smallville Visual Guide. In those sources, the first meteor shower dates were October 16, 1989, whereas the episode stated that the first meteor shower was October 7, 1989. Since the latter date was stated on the “actual” show, I think we can be safe with this date.
This episode was written by first-time writers Todd and Aaron Helbing. I thought for the most part they did a real great job, with writing this episode and writing in Pete’s return as well as writing the setup that was needed for the next few weeks of really heavy episodes. I think they did write a good episode for their first time.
The episode was directed by Michael Rohl, who has really established himself as a solid director this season, with him directing the season premiere. He even directed the season finale of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles this year. I really thought everything turned out well with the effects, and with how the direction was handled.
As I’ve said in previous reviews, the title ususally gives hints to what the episode might contain. I really didn’t feel that. The only way that could’ve been was the fact that Pete was a “hero” to Kara when he saved her life, but that was probably about it.
One thing I did like about the episode that is not related to the episode was the appearance of OneRepublic. I have listened to OneRepublic, and I have enjoyed their music. I love how OneRepublic’s music was integrated perfectly into the episode. It reminded me a lot of Spirit in that regard.
So, all in all, a great episode. I really enjoyed it on many levels. Although not my favorite of the season, it was still a good one and provided much needed levity and fuel for the next few weeks.
RATING: 3.5/5
