Angellwings Reviews: “Toxic”
Smallville’s eighth season continues to get better with each episode, and “Toxic” was no different. Check out SHoE’s latest site review by our very own Angellwings!
Click the jump to see what she thought of the origins of the Green Arrow, and Oliver Queen’s ties to the mysterious Tess Mercer.
You can also weigh in on the episode at our new SHoE forums or give Angell feedback directly here!
First I wanted to start out with an apology, and say that I didn’t intend for it to take this long to get this review out to all of you. So here we go with my review of “Toxic”.
Overall I very much loved this episode. Once again I felt Smallville was very technically strong this week, and it is something I am constantly impressed with. I feel that the underscoring impresses me the most. I’m really enamored with the effects of a score instead of popular music.
As for my favorite scenes from this episode I really loved the scene between Tess and Lois. Lois’s defense of Oliver Queen shows a maturity on her part that I really like. At times Lois can grate on my nerves but in this episode I enjoyed this side of her. I also enjoyed Oliver’s scene with the centipede or whatever type of creepy-crawly that was. The idea of eating that thing even grossed me out, and of course I loved that montage of clips showing Oliver learning how to use his bow and arrows. Lois barging into Isis rattling off a hang-over cure quickly became one of my favorite moments from this episode.
Most of the scenes between Oliver and Tess ranked among my favorite moments of the episode, but more on performances later.
I, for one, am a big fan of Chloe’s Brainiac-downloaded abilities. Allison’s gift for exposition makes Chloe’s power work really well. When she revealed to Clark exactly what she could do I was very very impressed. The Tess and Clark scene toward the end resulted in one of my favorite lines Tess has said so far on the show (another favorite line of hers will be brought up later). The discussion of how Lex never abandons a project somehow made me like Tess a lot more than I know I should.
The scene between Davis and Chloe toward the end just brought up more chemistry and more reasons why I want Chloe to think seriously about a potential relationship with Davis. Not to mention there was some major foreshadowing in the dialogue. The final scene of the episode with Tess and Marcos was an exceptional way to end it. The scene really showcased Tess’s potential as a villain.
Top performance of the episode goes to Justin Hartley with Cassidy Freeman not too far behind. Justin’s portrayal of Oliver Queen’s journey to becoming Green Arrow covered so many experiences and emotions, and Justin handled it extremely well. Not only that but Justin had to portray Oliver in the here and now AND in the past. He had to show a distinct difference between the Oliver of once upon a time and the Oliver of today. Cassidy Freeman did much of the same thing, but on a different level.
Cassidy had some of my favorite lines in the episode. My absolute favorite line from the episode is her line “You were one of the men in my life who taught me how to fight back.” This was the line that endeared Tess to me. As much of a villain as she could become I can’t help but see the strong woman that the character is, and how far she has come and how much she intends to fight back. Tess is an amazing character that has a sense of danger and still remains likable which truly speaks to Cassidy Freeman’s talent.
Justin Hartley’s performance portrayed so many things about Oliver Queen. They were all things that were revealing about the character, and allowed Justin to showcase his talents. I loved the scenes that left certain things unspoken like the scene with Tess and Oliver at the mansion. There was a history there that wasn’t specifically discussed but was most definitely felt by viewers everywhere. I also loved Justin’s speech to Clark at the end of the episode. There’s something about Oliver when he’s fired up that makes viewers see and understand his point.
I would like to mention Erica’s performance. Erica did a fantastic job portraying Lois’s insecurity in her decision to let Oliver go. Her speech about her and Oliver’s “deal” was a truly touching moment that I will not soon forget. All in all, I give this episode four poisonous flowers out of five.
