Superman on Television

Smallville: Episode Reviews

Season 9 - Episode 13: "Warrior"

Reviews:

Warrior

Reviewed by: Douglas Trumble

Super Short Run on Sentence Summary: Clark and Lois find themselves at a geek con where Zatanna is there tracking down a cursed comic book that ends up stolen by a little kid who ends up cursed, older, powerful, and hunted by Chloe the Cougar.

I had a hard time with this review. I needed to take some time and think about it a bit. Two problems. One I really enjoyed the episode. I mean a lot. Yet there were a couple of things that really bothered me and one even kind of ticked me off.

Let me start with the bad.

Did anyone else find it creepy when Chloe was making ogle eyes at the 12 year old? I mean I know she didn't know the guy was a kid and I know nothing happened but there were a few scenes where they were obviously showing Chloe going SWING! with the boy and that really rubbed me the wrong way. I don't know. Maybe I am over reacting to it but I got a little angry with those scenes. I know she's feeling lonely and all that but I think we could have cut those parts out of this episode and still kept the same good story. At least we could have had a story with out some kind of creepy pedophile vibe to it.

The other big complaint I had was Clark's identity protection in this episode. Not only did Zatanna come right up and call him "Blue" in front of Lois but after saving the boy he brings him back to the Kent ranch in Smallville then to his work in Metropolis? I don't remember them ever telling the boy that his name was Clark Kent but now there is a kid in Metropolis that knows where the Blur lives and works.

Let's not even go into the silliness of saving the boy in Metropolis, bringing him a 3 hour drive away to Smallville, and then bringing him back to Metropolis. Sure I get that they were trying to get the charges dropped and Clark rightly felt the boy could use a pep talk from his hero but I did think the location change was a poor choice. Speaking as a father of a 12 year old, I'd be a bit miffed if my boy was taken out of the city like that even if it was Superman and even if the motives and results were honorable.

But that just adds to my trouble with reviewing this episode because I really REALLY loved that scene in the loft. One of the best loft scenes of the series even. Clark putting his arm around the troubled boy and giving him a straight talk and being, not just the hero, but the boy's friend? Fantastic. Tom Welling is at his best in these kinds of scenes.

Sure it wasn't smart to let the boy know where the Blur hangs out and it was a scene that would have worked just as well and made more logical identity protection sense on a roof top, Chloe's place, or anywhere really, but gosh darn if it wasn't awesome. The drawing from the boy with Clark's future look and the comments about liking the \S/ more than the RBB was fantastic. Plus I really loved how Clark was straight up with the kid. No talking down to him. He was real, to the point, but also nice and friendly. It was a very well written, acted, and filmed scene. Just poorly set.

Lastly on the negatives the whole idea that Lois couldn't get anyone's attention in Stormtrooper armor and had to go Amazon to get the story. Really? Is there no one on the staff there that really knows us geeky nerds?

Ok. I might be letting too much out on my own secret identity but I am a part of the 501st stormtrooper costuming club. I am currently inactive but I am a member and do own a set of scout-trooper armor. So over the years I've met and am very good friends with many many girls who own and often wear to con's, parades, and other events full suits of stormtrooper armor. Heck even my wife has gone out in armor before.

So I can tell you without a doubt that geek boys are just as interested in girls in armor as they are girls in Xena/Wonder Woman outfits. Trust me. It's true. I didn't buy she couldn't get noticed one bit.

I am labeling that a problem with a bit of tongue in my cheek though. Why? Because how fun was it? Lois blending in and going native was absolutely hilarious. I loved her talk with Clark about getting into a fantasy. I found it really to the point. Superheroes would need reminders that the fantastic stuff they see everyday is amazing and that they themselves need to revel in it a bit.

Plus I have to admit the scene with the bathroom and Lois changing was particularly funny to me because I have seen exactly that happen before.

It was good story and setting to bring Zatanna back into the mix. (I couldn't help but laugh when Lois asked who she was dressed up as).

I was pleased to see Zatanna has been a part of the team off screen since her first appearance. At least I assume so since she seemed familiar with the Watchtower and knew more about who and what Clark was than we saw her learn. I can see where some might call that a flaw but I for one like this. It shows there is more going on with this Justice League than we see in weekly episodes. It opens the world up to the imagination a bit more. Plus it really makes sense. We can't be shown everything these heroes do in their lives. It also makes sense that Chloe, Clark, and Oliver wouldn't just cut ties with a very powerful potential teammate after their first encounter.

The show is moving through time a bit more than is usual on a series like this and I like that. It's almost moved past Superman year one and is on to Superman year two or even year three at this point.

I can tell they have moved into our own future because Lois' Xbox had the Natal sensor on it and that doesn't even come out until next Fall. It is, however, probably the best product placement imbedded ad Smallville has done to date.

Speaking of Zatanna, I actually really enjoyed how they worked in her kissing Clark in this episode. We all know that was done for the CW and the suits wanting them to follow the standard relationship drama handbook to boost ratings but Smallville pulled it off in a good way which kind of surprises me. Usually someone comes out looking like a jerk, fool, or even a tramp but this time I didn't see it that way. No one was doing anything wrong or crossing lines during the entire thing. Well, okay, maybe Zatanna was pushing the line but I got the feeling her motives were not to take Clark from Lois or even "get with" him but to get him to open his eyes a bit.

Seeing Clark able to fight off the magic despite being weak to it says a lot about his honoring his relationship with Lois. He was never able to fight off things like that before with Lana but this is at least the second time I can think of where he was able to shake off some sort of mind whammy a hot girl put on him because of Lois. So points to Clois fans on this one. I was also very glad to see Clark man up and come clean to Lois about it. Sure he didn't mention the spell put on him, which is a legitimate excuse, but he did take ownership of it and faced the music. Lois' reaction was very entertaining and I actually liked the fact that she was perfectly aware of what happened and was just giving Clark a chance to come clean on his own. Her kissing the random intern actually made me chuckle too. Especially the look on Clark's face.

It was a sticky situation where all three parties involved came out without any knocks on their character. I think that is worthy of a few props.

Not sure how I feel about the obvious set up at the end with Oliver and Chloe, since I would like to see them start working more on the Arrow/Canary story line, but I have to be honest and say it is a believable pairing. Those two developing feelings for each other makes sense. I just hope they can do this in a way that isn't too rough on both characters when it ends.

Clark taking out the robbers while on the phone with Lois? That was fantastic. The Emmy awards so need a category of "Best Use of Can Goods in a Series" because Smallville would have just locked up that one.

And we got our first \S/ shirt rip of the series! How awesome was that?!?

Last comment: I think it's time to start working some color back into Clark's costume. The boy and his drawing should have been enough to tell him the black isn't working. No to mention other heroes calling him "Blue" makes no sense if his costume is black. Not saying he has to go full tights but maybe it's time to go back to the red jacket and a blue shirt with the \S/ on it. (Nice Easter egg at the con with the guy in Clark's old costume though.) I know they will not listen to me but I felt a need to say that anyway. The black worked and I like it but it's moving past its time.

I am going to give this a 4 out of 5. Maybe a 3.5 would have been more realistic with my issues mentioned above but I just enjoyed the episode too much to grade it less than 4. Plus you just have to give bonus points for them putting Lois in not only a Xena-esque Wonder Woman outfit but also having her clank around in Stormtrooper armor. If that isn't worth at least a half a point I don't know what is. Plus they even found a way to remind us of some of the other crazy disguises Lois' has put on over the years.

So 4 out of 5 it is.

See you next week.

Doug



Warrior

Reviewed by: Neal Bailey

MAIN POINTS:

  • A young boy opens up the first Warrior Angel comic and turns into Warrior Angel.
  • It's Zatanna's fault, and she reappears to fix it.
  • Clark dallies with her, and Chloe dallies with Ollie, shippy ship ship.

    REVIEW:

    There are a few things here that caught my attention, briefly. Clark rips open his shirt (sullied by it being that weird white S). Warrior Angel paralleling the origin of real-life Superman. A semi-coherent talk of what it's like to be creative and have to continually create masked in Chloe dialogue. Captain Boomerang in absentia.

    These were all commendable, but surrounded by a sea of filler and shippy crap, which is really something any show that's been around for this long should have evolved past by now. The problem is (and has been) that this show has no new tricks in the bag.

    Seinfeld one can accept as having the same plot over and over again because the plot is immaterial to the comedy. The comedy is the purpose.

    I would argue that the point of Smallville is Clark and his journey to adulthood, along with the people who foster that. How many episodes have been about that, really, this season? Debatable.

    But it's obvious this episode has absolutely nothing to do with that, beyond the mention of a red, blue, and yellow suit. It's new and edgy, see, because instead of Ma Kent offering Clark the suit as a culmination of the decision to be a hero, it's a homicidal child who gives it to a Clark seemingly pre-destined to take the mantle despite a bunch of really screwy decisions.

    In other words, it's a Marvel hero situation, not a DC one.

    This episode, despite those things mentioned above, fails pretty catastrophically, not because it has no novel concepts or interesting way of presenting things, but rather, it fails for the same reason I would never watch something like American Idol or most reality shows. I just have no investment in any of the things presented.

    I don't need to see Lois paraded around half naked (although she looked incredibly hot), because I've come to love her character, and honestly, it's outside of her character to need to be defined by how she looks. And yet the show goes back to it repeatedly, because it's Erica Durance, and she's hot. The show even makes light of it. Ah, here's the pleather! Here's the French maid! Here's the stripper outfit! What they don't realize is that these were extraordinary lows for Smallville.

    Don't get me wrong, were the pictures of Lois my wallpaper when they were released? You bet. Easy on the eyes? Yes. But you know what? I also had a picture of Carmen Electra up on my desktop. Doesn't mean I'd want to watch her stripper videos for intellectual entertainment.

    There are times when beauty coupled with story can make sense, and be practical, and follow a line. A good example of this, I would argue, is Cuddy in House. Just last week, there was a brilliant episode that explored what it really means to be a woman in a position of power, and highlighted things my cynical mind might have missed along the path. She gets called a bi#ch for trying to assert herself, and has to walk the line between not being taken seriously for her sex and being taken advantage of in the same way, in a way that highlighted practicalities I have never imagined in my examination of women in the workplace. It starts with her getting up in the morning, adjusting her cleavage, and getting herself to look pretty. Wallpaper material, but in the context of the story it made utter sense. She's looking in the mirror and thinking, "How much is appropriate? What's cheating? What's just me being me?" It's conveyed in the acting, and that's why it works and is strong.

    You take Lois Lane, a proto-feminist figure, and you send her into a bathroom in a fit of jealousy over Zatanna, and have her come out in a Wonder Woman (another proto-feminist figure) outfit that reveals a little more, even, for no apparent reason, and you're kind of abusing the privilege.

    I know the show needs ratings. But look at the ratings. They dropped. This crap doesn't work.

    Throw Erica in a Wonder Woman outfit, take a few pictures, release them as publicity stills, and then write an episode that makes sense next time. We KNOW you have hot chicks. We love how hot they are. Shower scenes are still a waste of my time. I have the internet for ten thousand unimaginable beauties at my beck and call at all times, and Rule 34 means I don't have to go to Baskin Robbins to get every flavor, so enough already. Tell me a story.

    Zatanna essentially rapes Clark, forces sexual context against consent, but nothing is made of it. It's like when a young boy is sexually abused, it's perceived as jolly good fun. Sigh. The moral of this week's show: Rape is okay, women should be in skimpy outfits as a way to get what they want, and it's okay to turn into a devil guy with the power to destroy the world, so long as you like Chloe.

    The themes of this story don't really call to me. Chloe is lonely and shut up in her Watchtower. Yeah? Well, she kind of aided and abetted in the killing of a bunch of people. Good.

    Jealousy plot. Joy. Yeah, I love watching misunderstandings that are ultimately resolved because a woman is being insecure over something stupid. That's why the last romantic comedy I watched was When Harry Met Sally. Clue: It's stupid.

    Zatanna reappears, doesn't offer anything relevant to her character other than the fact that she wants to jump Clark's bones in a skimpy outfit (and you don't need a degree in literary criticism to ride that one to its stupid point), and then just as simply disappears after solving the problem in a way that didn't require Clark in the slightest.

    Point of fact, note, there is no reason for Clark and Zatanna to even interact, given that Zatanna solves the problem completely on her own.

    A young kid becomes Warrior Angel, which at least explains the hair thing that was bugging me, but then it becomes some kind of weird, pedophilia plot with Chloe, where Chloe hangs and interacts with a young child for more than a day without realizing it's actually a young child, which speaks volumes to where her character is at in terms of development or a lack thereof.

    You feel absolutely no identity for the kid, because it's revealed that his behavior is set in place by the "magic" ergo you know he's going to become Devilcus, and thereby it's just going through motions.

    I DID, however, love the bit where Clark throws the can at the robber, just for its sheer hilarious absurdity. It's actually been nagging me since I saw the preview, but I know I've seen this before. This is a riff on someone else's movie, I just can't place it in my mind. For some reason, I see The Rock doing the same move. Someone, for bonus points, write me in and tell me what movie has that long throw. I can't remember the original, but I remember a similar laugh.

    The idea of Warrior Angel becoming a hero figure and then using his powers for evil is something that derives from the original concept for Superman. Even wrote an article about it a while back for a magazine. Early on, Superman was just an average guy given powers by a scientist (a Luthor figure). He then goes nuts, a la Frankenstein's monster. This is an obvious reference in the show, and one of the better ones.

    The last scene might have been sweet, but a few things ate it alive for me. As anyone who's ever dealt with an alcoholic relative will know, the idea of someone who was recently alcoholic and is now "cured" sitting around drinking a single malt in a healthy way is absurd, and almost insulting to the fight alcoholics have to face. But beyond that, all of the dialogue, which could have been good, was swallowed by the fact that their bow and arrow was a compound, and yet they were drawing it with their fingers and not using any effort to draw the string. It just kept screaming prop, especially while they were using the sound effect to make it sound like the arrows were going 900 feet a second.

    There's also the fact that I just don't feel any pity for Chloe in her loneliness. It's reached the point it was at with Lana, where initially you think, poor gal, she wants this guy and she can't have him. And then, either because of that or because of external factors, she turns into a giant turd. Then, instead of letting the wet turd dry and then shaking off the poop, she just lies there, then springs up going, "I DON'T SMELL!" But yeah, your character smells. Like a wet turd.

    I used to say things like, "Smallville, you're better than this." But there comes a point where it's just not. Where this is the rule, and good episodes are the exception. It's been that way for some time now, and this doesn't help.

    2 of 5, but only for the thought that went into the Devilcus angle.

    LETTERS:

    Lex Vader wrote:

    The problem I had with Absolute Justice was that almost none of it mattered. It was the equivalent of reading a really bad Superman comic for so long that when they suddenly have a Hawkman story illustrated in full painted color by Lee Bermejo, you're so blown away that you don't notice it has no relevance. It's like having a Jack Bauer cameo on CSI where he has a brand new flashback of Teri. It's like Quentin Tarantino directing a scene in a Jennifer Garner romantic comedy.

    You mean Alias? Hey-oh!

    It's like watching an Indiana Jones movie that's so bad they just decide to put Han Solo in it. It's like a chocolate truffle tucked inside a terrible pasta. A Sandman cameo is better than no Sandman cameo, but what purpose does it serve other than to punctuate how bad the rest of the series is in comparison to the Geoff Johns Fan Service Experiment?

    This.

    It had nothing whatsoever to do with Smallville apart from introducing the Checkmate derailment, assuming that's the new running B-story. Liking this episode would be akin to liking The Phantom Menace just for the E.T. cameo. No way, man. As much as I wish Doctor Fate, Martian Manhunter and Sandman had a TV show, this was not that. It was no different than the alternate reality episode where Lex was president and Kara had a purpose. That's not a good episode. It's just a good idea that wasn't fully put into action.

    That was a good riff, man. I got a "Yo momma" vibe off it. Like, "Your Smallville's so off the beaten track, it's still called Smallville when it takes place in Metropolis!" But yours were much better.

    Fred wrote:

    Neal,

    The river of cynicism runs deep in your veins. This was the best episode of Smallville in the history of the show. Ok, maybe the ep with C.R. Dr. whatshisname when he told Clark where he was from was the best. But still, in a NINE YEAR SHOW, this was top 2. You've given other eps 5's, which were inferior. How do you not give this a 5? Just curious.

    I wrote a review that explains how that happens. Evidently, you didn't read it. I don't know why I should repeat something I've already typed at least five times for someone who doesn't care to read the work, but hey, I'll give you a shot, because it's obvious the river of "not reading to find a context before you comment on something" runs deep in your veins, and I like doing public service. Besides, every review is someone's first, right? (Cough)

    I rate shows based upon their context. In the first season, the freak of the week was a newer concept for the show, so it didn't grate as much as it does now. A show with an arbitrary freak now would rate probably 1-2 whereas in season one it might be a 3-4, maybe even a 5. This is fairly common sense. When a show goes back to the same well over and over again, some people (you might be one of them) have no problem with it, others grow tired of a stupid device. I am one of them.

    There are shows where this kind of thing doesn't bug me, because it's not a central point of the show. Smallville is about Clark and his reaction to villainy and evil, so when that villainy and evil is contrite, I hate it. But in House, I don't really care that the medical dilemma has a similar format every week, because it's not the focus of the show. House, Wilson, Cuddy, and the team are, and their dilemmas are pretty consistently strong and character sprung.

    And also, no matter how much you might will it to be true, just because you really like something doesn't mean that I have to. I know that's hard. Buck up. You'll live.

    You noted that Johns specializes in cleaning up messes (I'll add, his or others). Yeah, they threw a lot of stuff at the wall, but they also fixed a lot:

    1) Luthor confirmed alive

    2) MM gets powers back

    3) Clark didn't yell at Chloe, and actually acted SUPER for once(see line to Stargirl re: killing, "It's never ok" with calm, direct, certainty).

    4) They acted as TEAM in the (short) final battle. Never on Smallville has anyone been a team before in a honest-to-goodness superhero throwdown.

    That's four things, none of which made up (combined) two full minutes of the one hour, twenty minute show. I'm now wowed by your logic.

    In the end, I throughly enjoyed it.

    I'm glad you did, but before you accuse others of cynicism and insult their work, let's see some work of your own, huh? You don't see me sitting here saying, "Fred, you have low standards!" on the basis of the first paragraph of your letter, because that's presumptuous and dickish. I read your whole letter before I regarded it, gave it fair time, and understood what you were getting at, which is more than you afforded me. It's why I'm publishing this even though it borderlines hate mail.

    I'm glad you had a good time, you should respect the fact that I have my own opinion I didn't force on you, and one I've justified with a lot of words, a LOT of work. And beyond that, fer $#%@'s sake, I gave the episode a "VERY GOOD" rating, and you're calling me a cynic?

    Cannot win.

    Did you notice that when Lois gave "Clark" coffee, and the dude with the Clark glasses turned around, that it was the guy from the old Superboy TV show? No one mentioned that. I remember watching that as a kid with Swamp Thing on USA network.

    That I did not, but good call for noticing it.

    Gary D. Robinson wrote:

    Neal,

    I appreciate the fact that you continue to slug it out with a series that wore out its welcome years ago. Unfortunately, I can't give up my drug of choice either. *Thanks. Honestly, I am considering this as a last season for the review. I do it every year, but I think this might be a 25/75 year leaning toward stopping. I say that now, though, in the middle of the heaviest part of the season while I'm dead in the middle of writing my third novel in 12 months, so what do I know? I may change my mind next week. I just feel very apathetic toward the show and the review thereby in a way I haven't before, and I don't think it would be fair to continue if I can't bring the noise. The last two weeks I've managed, after staring at the screen for a while, but if I ever have to phone it in, I'll stop on that very review. I owe you guys more than that. I'm not a television show.

    Bruce Kanin wrote (RE: Warrior):

    What can I say? We go from "Absolute Justice", which should have been great but for me was "feh" (or at least a disappointment vs. what it could have been), to an episode that really had nothing going for it on the surface - which I thoroughly enjoyed and give at least a "B+" if not an "A". Let me count the ways:

    * Zatanna. Zatanna. Zatanna. She has all but replaced Barbara Eden and become a new Jeannie for me. Yes, for those who worshiped Eden in "I Dream of Jeannie", this is sacrilege. Sorry, but Zatanna rocks. * The episode had very little of SMALLVILLE's usual nonsensical, overly serious dialogue and themes that bring out the worst acting in everyone. Yes, the story kind of stole from the movie "Big", but that didn't bother me. (OK...and Thomas Troy as the Fly and Billy Batson as Captain Marbles. But the kid in this episode had no magic word.) * Like Lois and the kid tried to inspire in Clark and Chloe to be, respectively, the episode was light and whimsical. Not intense and idiotic, as it can be. * I can't stand Clark's dark "S" outfit - they're catering to Warner/DC's only other success ("Dark Knight") - but I loved it when Clark ripped open his shirt to change, with the dark "S" revealed. * It was touching, in a way, for the kid to give Clark a drawing of the super-uniform. The whole Kent barn scene could have been hokey, but for me, it wasn't. * The Lois & Clark relationship went up a notch or three, and I'm loving it. The actors are really into it and it shows. * Plus the new romance between Oillie and Chloe (love the rhyming) - which may seem somewhat forced - didn't bother me one bit. We saw another side of Chloe - and perhaps Ollie did, too ;) * Loved Clark talking to Lois on his cell phone, nonchalantly catching a crook by throwing a soda can at his head. The usually dumb SMALLVILLE writers need to show more of this. * How appropriate for a series whose main character was spawned in a comic book to have an episode that starts off at a ComicCon and revolves around a comic book. Loved it. * Star Wars meets Superman - for the first time! ;) * The kid becoming Warrior Angel could have been a hokey idea, but the explanation of magic via Zatarra's trick is probably the only one I'd accept. I normally abhor magic in comic book stories (nothing against Zatanna ... so to speak) because potentially, when a character is magical, they can do anything. Zatanna could become a regular and in each episode say, "XIF GNIHTYREVE!" Since that's too easy, her actions and spells are forced by the writers to be limited, but perspiring minds have to wonder why, other than the fact that episodes would be short and dull if magicians such as her were allowed to operate on full power. 'Nuf said. I still appreciate her, er, assets.

    Also:

    * Wish I had the time to decipher Zatanna's backward spells. Kind of like playing a Beatles record in reverse to hear a secret message. * When Clark caught Chloe (love the alteration), did he fly? Or was that a leap up to a tall building? Regardless, it was pretty cool. * The special effects of the kid and Chloe flying were so-so but certainly a parallel to Superman flying Lois in the movies and TV. * So the kid knows Clark is superguy? (Sigh) yet another person knowing his secret. * During a scene with Clark and Zatanna, he x-rays something and sees the Warrior Angel comic book. But all we see is Clark aiming his eyes, not what he sees via the "x-ray effect". No complaint - in fact, this is kind of neat and different. * At times Zatanna looked like Teri Hatcher. Kinda sorta. * Did you catch the text message from Ollie to Chloe on her cell, about a crazy guy with boomerangs? No doubt Captain Boomerang, from The Flash's Rogues Gallery! Loved it! * Loved the Clark Kent lookalike at the ComicCon wearing the red jacket - the one who brushed by Clark. Was that a kind of in-joke - someone wearing a "Clark costume" at the convention? If so, pretty funny. * Wish we could have seen Lois & Clark at the costume ball - I thought they'd cut to that. * Early on, at the ComicCon, did you notice someone in an original Green Arrow costume? And... until Zatanna came along, I couldn't shake the image of that woman briefly walking around in a Wonder Woman bikini outfit - she brushes by the kid.

    Glad you liked it, Bruce. Zat must have talked backwards to you, heh.

    Coming distractions: more whimsy next week with Clark affected by chartreuse kryptonite? Speaking of whimsy, let me end on this note: in the movie "Horsefeathers", Groucho and a woman are in a rowboat. The woman says to Groucho, "Oh, professor, you're so full of whimsy". To which Groucho replies, "Can you notice it from there? I'm always that way after I eat radishes."

    And that is, to wit, the exact effect of Gem Kryptonite.

    -Bruce

    Archie Parker wrote:

    Hello Neal, and welcome back to the Smallville scene!

    Thankee!

    I agree with you about Smallville's mid-season premiere episode, Disciple - it certainly was not one of my all-time favorite episodes of the series (I sincerely doubt that it ranks in the top 50), and it was, in my humble opinion, a rather sorry way to kick off the second half of what I feel is a really strong season.

    It needs to be said: I'm **tired** of all of the Oliver-centered plots the show has thrown at us this season. This is **Clark's** show; not Oliver's. I can understand the writers' wanting to focus on other the characters' characterizations; in fact, I encourage it. But to stretch out a character's story arc so far that it sometimes seems to eclipse that of the main character's? (Slaps forehead) No.

    I can understand wanting to explore a supporting character, but then, they're treating this like an ensemble drama as opposed to focusing on the point of the show, Clark.

    That said, it wasn't just the episode's plot that made it a stinker (not that it didn't play a major part). It was (and I can't believe I'm saying this) actually the performances brought forth by almost each and every actor that really brought this episode down. It (to me) did not at all look as though hardly any actor (save Callum Blue, who is always fantastic, and Erica Durance, who has by now learned to channel Lois's character with relative ease) or actress really put their best foot forward. The performances all fell flat.

    Tom Welling seemed uninspired and sometimes bored; Allison Mack looked as though she was for some reason uncomfortable around her fellow cast members; And Justin Hartley seemed...nervous, as though it were his first time being the "star".

    And as for the guest stars...Elise Gatien (Mia)...she's very, very beautful and although she looks to have a lot of potential...she was as wooden as the number two pencil I used in my standardized testing. In contrast to Elise, Steve Bacic (the Dark Archer) was very, very plastic. He was boring, uninspiring, and a pretty one-dimensional villain (though this was not his fault; that blame goes to the writers).

    They also just acted like there hadn't been any gap between the last appearance of Mia and this one. It was odd.

    It was the Clois, Zois (Zod and Lois), and Clod (Clark and Zod) scenes that saves the episode for me. I'd give the episode a 2.5 out of 5.

    Oh, and to adress some of the points you made in your review:

    /"2) The Dark Archer's motivation. First, it's to prevent his successor from having a successor, by affirming the desire to have a successor. Then, when his student refuses to make himself a successor, he tries to kill his successor to affirm his desire to have a successor. This sucks, and is in error. Say that fast."/

    The Dark Archer's motivation was to force Oliver to kill him. He was willing to do that by any means necessary. Oliver killing him was his ****only** motivation, from start to finish. But I agree with you; he should've just killed Mia, shown Oliver the body, and let Oliver kill him in vengeance.

    And I did get that, I was actually making my paragraph purposefully confusing to show the many different things I had to go through to get to the point you make, which is correct. That's too much to throw at the viewer, in my opinion. He had sharks with laser beams on their heads.

    /"5) Mia is too stupid to put together that Green Arrow is Green Arrow despite his extraordinary precision with arrows, and the fact that everything he owns is green and dedicated to archery."/

    I don't think we've ever seen Oliver shown Mia how to wield a bow and arrow. There were targets in the training room, I'll grant you that, but since it was never explicitly stated that he ever taught her archery, we can only guess and assume. And even if everything you mentioned did happen, it really all comes down to perception. Mia, perhaps, could not possibly imagine Oliver suiting up in a green and black pleather costume and going out to fight crime. To put it quite frankly: it's all about how you look at someone. And also: it's that same theory of perception, I believe, that's kept others from concluding that Clark Kent is Superman. (Case in point: Lois Lane.) ;)

    This is true, and that criticism is probably over-harsh. I just watched the whole episode assuming that he'd have told her the secret and when he hadn't, I was surprised. She is, after all, training to be his apprentice, I figured at some point she'd be like, "So what are we training for?" Heh. Silly me.

    All the best,

    A.P.

    Thanks! Awesome letter.

    Next week, the characters come into some catalyst that makes them go WILDLY out of character despite ill-defined character properties! I wonder how that'll turn out. Hint: it might not work out. Neal might pre-judge it. He might just base his opinion on the other versions of this plot that have failed. And that's okay, folks! Maybe... even... wise.

    Don't forget to check out the updated KO Count.

    Neal



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