Lower Decks

I read about this episode a while back, and there seemed to be a lot of internet backlash about the idea of having Jor-El physically appear on an episode of Smallville.  Much like the appearance of Zod as a regular this season, people weren’t really sure how it would work.  In reality, this episode really works, and it actually sells the idea that Jor-El and Zod belong on this show.  Add a huge serving of continuity, and “Kandor” is probably the best episode of the season so far.

I’m definitely not going to say the episode was perfect, but it seemed to be, in a lot of ways, a tribute to the Superman universe and Smallville itself.  The character of Jor-El has been a lot like the character of Lionel Luthor – where you’re constantly questioning whether or not Jor-El is a positive presence or a negative one.  Whether he’s out for the best interests of the Earth or just the best interests of his bloodline.

We’ve seen Jor-El on the show (played by Tom Welling), and that episode portrayed him as a kind-hearted man who looks for the good in people.  But Jor-El’s spirit has flip-flopped several times on the issue of Kal-El’s destiny.  Is he supposed to lead the people of Earth or simply help them?  Jor-El saves Lana’s life, but in exchange, takes the life of Jonathan Kent.

Clark actually references the conflicting messages in the episode, wondering if he even wants to meet Jor-El’s younger self.

By the end of the episode, Jor-El is dead, and Clark is looking for revenge (of sorts).  The funny thing is, though, that Clark wasn’t really able to see the Jor-El that we saw.  And that’s really where Jor-El’s real redemption takes place – in the flashback scenes on Krypton and in his scenes with Zod.

It starts on Krypton during a war.  Jor-El and Zod are shown as friends with a mutual respect for one another as a Kryptonian scientist begins taking blood samples for an elaborate cloning experiment.  Jor-El protests, not wanting to play God, and Zod comes to his defense (even when the Kryptonian High Council wants Jor-El executed for murder).

You see, Jor-El understands that Krypton’s legacy must be continued, but he also understands that it’s unfair to unleash a group of trained soldiers (with superpowers, I’ll add) on a defenseless Earth.  It’s why he disagrees with the experiment in the first place, and it’s why he later “corrupts” the orb containing all of the clones with blue kryptonite.

And that answers a couple of the different questions that have been brought up this season.  How were the Kandorians brought to Earth?  They’re part of an elaborate “Noah’s Ark” type project to continue the Kryptonian race on Earth.  Why are they powerless?  Because Jor-El used blue kryptonite on them all (including himself).

And when Zod finally finds Jor-El, Kal-El’s father dies to protect his son.  He is intentionally captured in hopes that it will keep Zod from ever finding Kal-El.

It’s a noble act, for sure.  And, altogether, it shows that Jor-El (or, at least, the younger version) does care for the people of Earth.  He even shows compassion for Zod in his final words, asking Clark to save Zod before he turns into the monster Chloe described.

But here’s my question – why does Kal-El have to be protected from Zod at this point?  Jor-El says that Zod can’t be trusted – even when he’s powerless.  But you have to think that Clark has the advantage in almost every area – until Zod gets his powers back, that is.

Because think about it – Zod unsuccessfully sent an assassin after Tess.  I’m not really worried about any attack he’d have on Clark.

And the whole plan of tricking Zod into thinking that Jor-El is the blur doesn’t make any sense.  Wouldn’t Zod realize the ruse as soon as he sees another House of El shield in Metropolis?  He’d eventually realize that there’s another Kryptonian on Earth, and it wouldn’t take much effort to realize that it’s Jor-El’s future son.

In the end, though, the stage is set up for the rest of the season.  Zod knows about Kal-El, Clark knows about Zod, and they’re both vowing to take care of each other.  You have to think that, sooner or later, Zod’s going to have to get his powers to even the playing field.  Although I’d really like to see Zod continue to be a Lex-like behind the scenes villain because I think it really works.

Speaking of Zod, I think his character really worked here.  We’re shown a more “human” side of Zod, who is tortured by the deaths of his son and wife in the destruction of Kandor.  It explains why Zod started to collapse into darkness, and it helps set up the rivalry between Zod and Clark (son for a son, if you will).

It’s also pretty easy to see the connection between Zod/Jor-El and Lex/Clark.  Two “best friends” who ended up becoming bitter rivals later in life.  I’m not really sure I buy the friendship angle (they’re not overly friendly with each other, even before the “falling out”), but I suppose we’ll have to take it at face value.

Elsewhere in the episode, I wanted to mention that I enjoyed all of the references to Smallville’s past.  From Clark’s football days to references to “Relic” to the “stones of knowledge,” there was a lot of history in this episode.  We even got a reference to Jonathan Kent, and that’s always nice.

There was also an interesting little nugget in the beginning of the episode.  Clark needs to cross the Atlantic Ocean to get to the place of Jor-El’s appearance, and he’s forced to enlist the help of Oliver (and his jet) to get there.

And that’s something that we’ve never really looked at.  Clark still can’t fly, and there’s almost no way for him to super-speed to places off the North/South American continents.  It was an nice little moment, where Clark actually has to rely on Oliver for some help.

All in all, a pretty nice episode.  I’ve been looking for a complete episode out of this show, and this is as close as we’ve gotten so far.  Hopefully they can build on it going into the fall finale in a couple of weeks.