Lower Decks

You can tell that the writers of Smallville really want this to be a story about Superman.  Tom Welling is still here, but they want to highlight the differences between their show and the one that was on the WB nine years ago.  Clark is living in Metropolis, is in love with Lois Lane, works at the Daily Planet, and is saving people on a city-wide scale.  But while the show has certainly updated itself, it is still plagued by the same problems it’s had since season one.

In season one, the climax of your typical Smallvilleepisode followed a formula.  One of Smallville High’s teenagers, equipped with a kryptonite-based power, would kidnap one of Clark’s friends.  Just before Clark showed up, Lana (or Pete or Lex or Chloe or whoever) would be knocked unconscious.  As soon as Clark showed up, the villain and Clark would throw each other across the room (literally), and Clark would finally emerge as the winner.  He’d typically outsmart the bad guy, tricking him/her into making some kind of mistake.  Clark’s friend would show up, and the day would be saved.

In “Metallo”, the same exact formula is used.  Clark even, at one point, refers to John Corben as a meteor freak – the terminology used in the early years of the show.  Corben, after going crazy under the influence of kryptonite (like the high school students did), kidnaps one of Clark’s friends (this time, Lois) and takes her somewhere.  Clark finds her, just after she’s been knocked unconscious, and the showdown begins with our hero trying to figure out a way to fight in the presence of kryptonite.

Honestly, take Lois out of the picture, and that could be a season one plotline.  Please know that this isn’t a bad thing.  I own season one on DVD, and there’s a lot of great quality there.  If season one hadn’t been great, there’s no way we’d be at season nine.

But here’s the problem – they’re following the same formula but they’ve removed the fight.  Clark threw around meteor freaks back in season one because he was new at this.  Nine years later, Clark should know how to fight super-powered beings.

Oh yeah…and they removed the fight scene.  This has been one of my primary complaints about Smallville for years, and I’m getting a bit tired of making it.  Time after time after time, this show fails at putting together a good fight scene.  The one last year in “Doomsday” was probably the straw that broke the camel’s back for me because the Doomsday/Superman relationship should strictly be violent and action-based.  Instead, we got almost nothing.

This time, a battle between Clark and Metallo doesn’t happen.  In fact, the only blow that happened was when Metallo threw Clark across the room.  Clark inflicts no actual damage, and Metallo, himself, is the one who wins the fight for Clark.

Is there just no way to do a fight scene in this show?  Actually…that’s not true…we’ve seen solid fights on this show.  One from last year (between Lois and Tess) is even referenced in this episode.  Which makes me wonder if it’s Tom Welling who just can’t pull off a good fight scene.  And what I’m basically looking for is a nice super-powered street fight, complete with punches, kicks, blood, and sweat.  Have we ever had one of those involving Clark?

And the funny thing is that they had two ways of doing the fight.  When Clark put the lead shield over Metallo’s heart, it was the perfect opportunity to have a great brawl.  Corben would’ve had his strength, and Clark wouldn’t have been weakened by the kryptonite.  Perfect opportunity with no actual attempt.

The second would’ve been the use of some kind of lead-lined suit.  When Clark asked Dr. Hamilton (an addition I love, by the way) for something, I was almost certain it would’ve been such a suit.  Clark’s worn them in the past, and it was another great way to allow Metallo and Clark to fight.

And, heck, it could’ve even featured some kind of dark mask over Clark’s face so that Lois didn’t need to be knocked out.  In fact, now that I think of it, it would’ve made the entire act better.  Lois could’ve actually seen the Blur in action, and it would’ve allowed for a better ending than simple backlighting protecting Clark’s face.

Instead, Clark asks for a piece of technology from Dr. Hamilton that would short circuit Metallo’s heart.  That’s right…not only does Clark get to use some kind of Batman gadget, but he’s also willing to do something that could certainly kill his opponent.  Because, while Corben survived, I’m pretty sure (as far as Clark knows) that shutting down someone’s heart (real or artificial) will kill them.

Didn’t we just finish a season where Clark spent the year avoiding taking a life?  Now he’s okay with it if it saves Lois?

And the funny thing is that I liked a lot of the rest of the episode.  I liked Brian Austin Greene’s portrayal of Corben, and I liked the what he was characterized.  I can buy the idea that someone is mad at the Blur for not saving everyone, and I like the idea that he’s mad that the Blur is playing God.

The stuff with Tess and the Zod story was nice, and I like the idea that the Kandorians were behind Metallo’s transformation.  I was a bit surprised that none of them showed up, but the little cliffhanger at the end was a bit of a nice touch.

I liked the argument between Chloe and Clark, as she speaks for the entire fan community in saying that Clark needs to stop being such a baby and choose his own destiny.  Chloe is one of the deeper characters in this show, and she’s been hurt by Clark so many times that it made perfect sense.  She’s loved him for the entirety of the show, but he’s always finding ways to replace her.  And despite all that, she stays by him at the end.

I’ve been rooting for a Chloe/Clark relationship since the show started, but I’m changing my mind.  He doesn’t deserve her.

And it’s funny that this episode felt like a season one episode because there were quite a few lost references made.  The Kent Farm showing up, for example, was nice.  Martha Kent was referenced twice (but it’s about time for her to reappear on the show), and we even got to see Shelby the dog.

But here’s my question.  Where is everyone living?  Apparently Lois lives at the Talon still, even though they’ve made dozens of references to the idea that the drive between Metropolis and Smallville is pretty long.  And considering how often Lois is staying late at the Daily Planet, I can’t imagine she gets much sleep after that long commute.

I thought Chloe stayed at that Watchtower apartment, but she also makes a couple of references to the idea that she lives at the Talon too. 

And where is Clark staying?  He’s obviously stopping by at the farm to check on Shelby, but the amount of dust on the counter either means he’s not cleaning up there or he’s not staying there.  I know he’s trying to live full-time as the Blur, but he has to sleep somewhere, right?  Is he living at the Fortress?

It’s all just a bit confusing to me.

All in all, I thought it was okay.  But like last season’s finale, I’m just starting to expect more from the show.  It seems caught in this limbo where they’re trying to appease the WB crowd, while trying to make the show more adult and true to the comics.  And I’m just not sure that’s working very well for me.

And if they’re going to bother bringing DC characters onto the show, at least make it worth it.  Because if they’re not going to actually fight on the show, I don’t see the point.  I realize there should be more to a show than pure action, but we need some, right?

To make matters worse, we get a zombie episode next week.  Just like Smallville’s take on vampires, I’m sure it will be awesome.