Superman on Television

Smallville: Episode Reviews

Season 2 - Episode 6: "Redux"

Reviewed by: Neal Bailey

This is probably one of the worst Smallville episodes that I have seen. I'll out that straight.

First, we have the freak of the week, but they don't even have the respect to admit it. It's like some little subplot that they refuse to acknowledge but put in there because they have to. The freak of the week is not inspired by kryptonite, but rather, magic of some other unknown origin. They tried that with the Aphrodite teacher, as well, as if making them not kryptonite inspired would change the fact that they are a freak of the week. Now they think we're stupid or something.

Second, we have many, many, unresolved subplots. One resolved makes the rest tension, none resolved makes an angry crowd. Like the people who hated Fellowship of the Rings, but didn't know that there was more coming and how things would go. Except here, there's nothing epic. We won't find out what the resolution is with Granpaw for a while. Lana will find out about her Dad (?) perhaps next episode, but it's unresolved here.

Third, we have shoddy editing and bad writing. Clark finds out about the potential threat of the freak of the week in one scene, then the next he's reconciling with his grandfather, and then the next scene, he's running around searching for the freak with a sense of urgency that is not really understandable. He learned two scenes ago, the urgency should have been then. And you'd think that a lady who'd been a live a hundred some years might have learned to keep a more ready supply of people around, or chosen a more prudent plan of action than to suddenly dissolve and die as a convenient way to tie off a plot point.

So, what, Lionel and his intrigue are absent this issue? As, I might note, is Pete's grievous injury sustained at the hand of the poetry spewing fool last episode? Confusion, confusion, confusion. Add on top of this a lack of really great dialogue as we have come to expect, not knowing whether the principal lived or died, man, this episode almost flat out sucked.

I give it some credit for setting up plots that last longer than one episode, but for the freak of the week, unresolved plot issues, and no real explanation for a number of things, I give this episode my third 2 of 5 in the series' run.



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