Smallville 7-15: "Veritas"

[seriousfic]

That was actually a surprisingly good episode. And at the same time, somewhat frustrating. Lionel Luthor's sorta breakdown was convincing and well-acted (and we finally got some clarification, if in a roundabout way, about his "relationship" with Jor-El), but it comes on the heels of an absolutely asinine plot point last episode. Similarly, the characters refer both to Lex's shooting in Detroit and to Clark's desire to see the good in people/forgive all transgression, yet in the last episode, he wrote off the Luthors, ignoring that two episodes back he realized there was still good in Lex, and so on and so forth. With Smallville, you kinda have to ignore how you get somewhere to appreciate being there.

Now, my initial reaction was that there wasn't enough Brainiac. And considering that this was his triumphant reappearance, having him take a backseat to the Veritas Shenanigans was a tad disappointing. But it's the old "leave 'em wanting more" axiom. Every appearance Brainiac makes, he's advancing the plot while being badass. What's not to love about the supervillain describing the agony Superman's girlfriend (not saying that Superman's girlfriend being Lana at the moment helps...) is enduring? Although I have to say that given the character history, reducing Chloe to insanity would be even more sadistic, while affording some nice shippy moments. But then, anything that reduces Allison Mack's screentime is double-plus ungood.

On a similarly "save it for a fanfic" note, given that Brainiac's plan is supposed to affect Kara, not Clark, shouldn't he go after someone Kara cares about? And didn't we spend an entire arc on Kara feeling for Lex? Now that would be nifty.

And if Chloe and Lionel are going to have a big, balls-to-the-walls confrontation, she should probably mention the time he tried to have her killed in his list of sins.

COOL HEADLINE GOES HERE was an endearing touch.


I'm kinda loving Mercy (we're calling her that, right?) and her obvious crush on Lex. It's like...

Lex: I'm one step closer to ruling the world.
Mercy: I'm part of the world! So ruling me would-
Lex: What was that?
Mercy: Nothing... (licks lips) Is there anything else?
Lex: No, I'm good.
Mercy: (unbuttons the top button on her blouse, takes off her glasses, lets down her hair and flips it) Anything... at all?
Lex: *broods about childhood*
Mercy: I'll just go practice my Yoga then. I'm feeling so flexible lately...

I guess it's kinda like my dad's reaction to Gaston in The Beauty And The Beast and his obsessive quest for Belle when he had those three triplets (or whatever) singing about how big his cock was. "Maybe he should just find someone who looooooooooooves him!" Really, it's nice to have any two characters on this show who relate to each other in ways that aren't BIG! YELLY! DRAMA! Even a simple Clark/Chloe scene usually has to start with him being all shouty about Patricia Swann.

Add to that fanfic folder... what if she'd been named Elizabeth? If she got into a scene with Lana, the combined Mary-Sue powers would suck the show in on itself (which actually happened in season four, if I remember right).

Lana: I'm the Chosen One!
Elizabeth: I'm the Pirate King!
Lana: My boyfriend's the Traveller!
Elizabeth: My boyfriend's a pirate. And my other boyfriend is a pirate lord! And my other, other boyfriend is an admiral in the Royal Navy!
Lana: ...well-played.

Comments

[museofspeed.livejournal.com]

I kind of gave up on Smallville after watching the episode with Black Canary. Is he actually Superman now? I might start liking it after Lana/Clark is officially over. Until then...ugh.

To think, in Season 1, I liked Lana.

Smallville

[(Anonymous)]

I've given up on it as well. God. Every second just drips with cliche. Every moment is recycled. Every polot.