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September 28, 2006: Kneel Before Zod
So, how Superman II was it when L-Zod uttered: "Kneel Before Zod"? Then Clark does kneel and takes his hand with Zod thinking he holds all the power in the world. But, of course, that's not how things turned out. Clark got the best of him just like in the movie. Was it me or did the Zod that got flushed out of existence look a tad like Terence Stamp circa 1980? Maybe it's just me.
Martha and Lois ended up in the Fortress of Solitude. (Has everyone on the show been there?) I did appreciate Jor-El thanking Martha for raising Clark. When the action wasn't at the Fortress, it was in the Phantom Zone, where a powerless Clark wasn't a match for anyone or thing on that prison planet, including that Kryptonian dude from the Season 5 premiere — he and his posse got a few good licks in before Jor-El's assistant Raya gave up her life to get Clark out of the Zone. When the action wasn't in the Fortress or the Zone, it was with Lana and L-Zod. In a continuation from last season, Lana continued to get her Dark Angel on in order to take care of the situation herself. Stupid girl, but I guess I'd also do whatever it took to keep from being forced to give Zod an heir. I have to admit, it was painful to see L-Zod skewer Lana's hand to the Luthor manse.
Michael Rosenbaum did a good job playing Zod, the over-the-top villain we all know Lex is going to grow into anyway. As Zod, he got to fly (take that, Clark!); he got to dole out some serious beat downs, and cause mayhem and destruction in order for Krypton to be reborn; and did I mention he got to skewer Lana? Cause as painful as I said that was, part of me took the tiniest bit of pleasure in that part of the episode. Does that make me a bad person?
Here's where I kind of sympathized with Clark: after he saved the day, he went to the "Daily Planet" to see Chloe. I liked the reunion, but then they had "the talk" about "the kiss" that happened in last season's finale. Chloe brushed it off and said it basically was an end-of-the-world kiss; she's not expecting them to hook up. It seemed to me like that wasn't the answer Clark was hoping to hear. It really didn't matter anyway since Jimmy "James" Olsen entered the picture. By the way, how cute is Aaron Ashmore? And I had to look up his bio: He's the Ashmore who was on http://www.tvguide.com/detail/tv-show.aspx?tvobjectid=100565">Veronica Mars, not the one who was in the X-Men movies; that's his twin bro Shawn. Although, Shawn's no stranger to Smallville, either - he's guest-starred on the show a couple of times.
Anyway, Clark's last speech to Martha made me feel sad for him. The guy's lonely, he doesn't have a lot of people he can talk to; he pretty much had to take Lex and Lana off that already short list. Hope the Smallville folks reconcile some of that loneliness just a bit this season.
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Sep 29, 2006 4:41 AM
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Does anyone know if the CW is going to stream shows online? Smallville is the odd man out on a crowded Thursday night, and I'd like to catch them online if possible.
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Sep 29, 2006 9:03 AM
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I thought it was a solid episode. I took delight in the Lana skewering b/c I don't like her. Never did.
I really miss Johnathan Kent. LOVED Lex/Zod. Nice wrap up with Jor-el, and the Fortress being dead. It seemed to me too that Clark wasn't going to blow of the kiss with Chloe but enter Jimmy. He really is adorable.
I think this is going to be a great season. I'm eagerly anticipating Oliver Queen's arrival!!
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Sep 29, 2006 9:42 AM
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I thought Jimmy was totally adorable, too, Tern. I have to admit that I was skeptical when I heard they were brining him in. But I think I'm going to like this version of Jimmy "Call me James" Olsen.
I did think it was odd that Chloe blew off Clark so quickly. Why wasn't she curious about where he was and what had happened to him? Why didn't she want to know how defeated Zod? All of sudden, she's all about going off to get "vending machine dinner"?
Not that I'm complaining, though, because that makes the Lois/Clark scene all that much sweeter. That was the highlight of the episode for me -- Lois thinking that she'd died & gone to heaven. When, in reality, she was at the FoS. And the expression on Clark's face when he's caught holding her hand and he looks away.
Can't wait for Oliver Queen to come in and shake things up.
Oh, and Tina -- yeah, I thought that Zod looked exactly like a ghostly image of Terrance Stamp from the Superman movies, too.
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Sep 29, 2006 10:13 AM
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Loved Loved Loved this show. I've been looking forward to Smallville coming back and it didn't disappoint.
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Sep 29, 2006 10:19 AM
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I agree with the first post. I watched as much as I could, but I'm already taping Survivor and the NBC comedies, while trying to feed and bathe kids, etc. Does anyone know if these episodes are available online??
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Sep 29, 2006 10:19 AM
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Thank God this show is back!! And Thank God for TiVo!!!! Thursday is easily the most packed night for a TV-lover like myself, which is why I have 2 TiVos. I tape Earl/Office and Survivor on one, and Smallville on the other, then record Grey's, Shark and ER throughout the night. It allows me to go out, come home, and not miss a beat.
I also took the tiniest bit of pleasure in the skewering of Lana. As much as I love KK and would drop my practice in a heartbeat to take her to dinner, her character has annoyed me enough to the point where I liked seeing her in pain and realizing that she can't control everything.
Kudos to the writers of the show. It gets better and better each season. Can't wait to see what else is in store.
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Sep 29, 2006 11:03 AM
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I also liked the throwback to L&C when Jimmy/James called Clark "CK"!!! It was very much a chuckle all the other Superman references in this episode including the Terrence Stamp image of Zod I saw as well ( I guess since he provided the voice of Jor-El, they got to use his image)
And what seems to be a change in the L&C relationship with Chloe becoming the Lucy Lane of the comics now (hooking up with Jimmy/James)..
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Sep 29, 2006 11:32 AM
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Are we a bunch of sadists or what? I actually giggled at Lana's little predicament. I thought the Chloe brush off was awesome. Now Clark knows how it feels. I'm tired at yelling at the TV that Chloe is obviously the best girl in Smallville for him (at least until he obsesses over another LL).
However, it was nice to see them actually start to plant the seeds of what will eventually be THE couple of comicbookdom. That awkward moment with Clark and Lois was priceless.
I know redemption is all the rage in fiction, but it just seems odd to me that Lionel and Chloe are worrying for each other's safety when he tried to have her killed in the Season 3 finale.
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Sep 29, 2006 12:35 PM
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You know, I've gotten fairly used to TRP shaking up the Superman mythos, but they're really pushing my limits now... here we've got a Jimmy Olson who gets a job at the Planet BEFORE Clark Kent, Lois Lane OR Perry White. Talk about your career underachievers...
That "kneel before Zod" scene made me grin. It was framed almost identically to its Superman II equivalent, with the "surprise, I'm not powerless" hand crush replaced with a Kryptonian joy-buzzer.
I was sure I saw at least three or four phantoms and/or prisoners follow Clark through the portal. I'm guessing we haven't seen the last use of the joy-buzzer this season, but I'm hoping the show-runners don't fall into the monster-of-the-week trap. They've dodged clichés for 6 years now, so I'm not too worried, but like Clark, I'm wondering... where do we go from here? The battle's done, and we kind of won, so we'll sound our victory chee-- oops, wrong show.
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Sep 29, 2006 12:42 PM
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(fixing double-post error)
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Sep 29, 2006 12:42 PM
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dodged cliches? Are you kidding me? What about the "I wasn't myself" excuse that almost every character has used, or "I don't remember anything so I can't possibly suspect you're super-powered" routine. Give me a break. Still am into this show, I just have to accept the cliches as conventions of the genre.
Rosenbaum's Zod was a great subtle difference from Lex, and at the 'kneel' scene, I just knew it was coming. I was shouting at the screen, 'say it! SAY IT!' and I cheered when they did. I can't believe they actually went there.
the one thing I didn't get is how Martha and Lois happened to crash at the Fortress. I got that Brainiac's copy that was flying the plane was destroyed, thus crashing the plane, but was he taking them to the fortress? For what reason? And does this mean we've seen the last of Spike, um, I mean Fine? And when did Jor-El's spirit gain magical transportation powers?
And I was kinda hoping the cute Kryptonian would escape too and be a wild card out there in the world. It would have been great if she was more ambiguous in her leanings (about how she got into the Zone).
looking forward to the new dynamic with Jimmy. Bring on Green Arrow and the Justice League!
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Sep 29, 2006 2:04 PM
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I got the impression that Jor-El made the plane crashing at the fortress happen. I just hope he remembered to destroy the black box/locator beacon, if one was present. One would not want S&R teams crawling all over the fortress, you know.
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Sep 29, 2006 8:01 PM
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Did anyone notice that Martha's scar switched sides in the barn scene?
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Sep 29, 2006 10:14 PM
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My favorite part of the episode was near the end when Chloe gave Clark the brush-off about last season's kiss. Being a Chloe fan myself, it was refreshing to see Clark chasing after her for a change. I'm happy for her that she's finally able to step away from Clark toward somebody new. I like Jimmy and I think he'll be good for her.
Although I did feel kind of bad for Clark in the end because he really has lost a lot of friends. He's really only got Martha and Lois now. But I guess that's the way it's supposed to be, isn't it?
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Sep 30, 2006 12:29 PM
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