Smallville Review – “Gone”

Clark and Lois are back again.

Cast

Tom
Welling
as
Clark Kent

Kristen Kreuk as
Lana Lang

Michael
Rosenbaum
as Lex Luthor

John
Glover

as Lionel Luthor

Annette
O’Toole
as Martha Kent

John
Schneider
as Jonathan Kent

Jensen Ackles as
Jason Teague

Written by Brian
Peterson
and Kelly
Sounders
.

Directed by James
Marshall
.

Original Airdate


Gone
originally aired on Wednesday,
September 29, 2004.

Synopsis

Clark and Lois continue to investigate Chloe’s death
before the Luthor
trial.

High Point

She’s never made a very good damsel in distress, has
she?

Low Point

Shades of the T-1000.

The Review

The new characters help keep an original
feel to the episode
by adding new dynamics. It’ll be interesting to see
how they all work
together next week. It does lose some credit for the
villain,
though. It just seemed a bit too much like the
T-1000 from
Terminator 2, especially given his seemingly
final fate. I
give it 4 out of 6.

The effects were pretty good. The shot with
the reflection
was very nice, indeed. I give it 5 out of 6.

The story was good for the most part. The
bathroom scene
felt a bit forced, but it was still amusing. I give
it 5 out of 6.

The acting from Tom Welling and Kristen
Kreuk are pretty much
back to their normal standards. Durance was more
convincing this time
around, though. Michael Ironside’s appearances were
limited this
week, but I like what he’s done so far. I give it 4
out of 6.

The emotional response was pretty good. I
like the idea that
Lionel’s actions this week were a result of Lois’
conversation with
him last week. I like the way Lois is being written
all around. I
like that our damsel is still self reliant when in a
tight spot, but
still willing to accept help when it’s needed. I
give it 5 out of 6.

The production was what we usually see from
Smallville. Good editing, natural lighting,
vivid colours,
and some well framed cinematography. I give it 5 out
of 6.

Overall, it’s a bit of a letdown after last
week, slowing
down considerably quite quickly, and leaving too many
questions
unpursued. A conversation mentioning that other
things need to be
explored, but that the investigation into Chloe comes
first would have
satisfied me. There was also some lucky timing, and
a few moments in
which Clark got quite sloppy with his secret. I give
it 4 out of 6.

In total,
Gone
receives
32
out of 42.

7 replies on “Smallville Review – “Gone””

  1. Not Bad
    I like Lois’ take no prisoners attitude and think it was done very well. She became quite familiar rather quickly and I like it.

    The bad guy of the week was odd. Not sure where that came from. I’m wondering also why General Lane isn’t asking why clark chucked some of his boys across the acre of land, and it’s convienent that Chloe passed out. But then this is a comic book so things like that happen all the time.

    • Re: Not Bad

      I like Lois’ take no prisoners attitude and think it was done very well. She became quite familiar rather quickly and I like it.

      The bad guy of the week was odd. Not sure where that came from. I’m wondering also why General Lane isn’t asking why clark chucked some of his boys across the acre of land, and it’s convienent that Chloe passed out. But then this is a comic book so things like that happen all the time.

      It’s been SOP in the show that there is a choking or a harsh blow just as Clark has to show up and use his powers where they could otherwise be seen by a victim – they pass out and miss the whole thing, problem solved.

      As for General Lane, it could very well be that he already knows/suspects Clark has superhuman powers. I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that the government/military has been keeping tabs on the weirdness in Smallville since it seems unlikely that a high school reporter would be the only one knowing that something’s going on. Whether he knows the totality of the situation (Clark’s alien origin and his large variety of powers) is probably going to be the question later.

      • Re: Not Bad

        Whether he knows the totality of the situation (Clark’s alien origin and his
        large variety of powers) is probably going to be the question later.

        Too many people know already! Its crazy, I can’t see them resolving this
        without a huge deus ex machina that will leave quite a bad aftertaste…

        • Re: Not Bad

          Whether he knows the totality of the situation (Clark’s alien origin and his
          large variety of powers) is probably going to be the question later.

          Too many people know already! Its crazy, I can’t see them resolving this
          without a huge deus ex machina that will leave quite a bad aftertaste…

          I think Smallville as grown beyond mere “prequel” status. Like it or not, it has evolved into a reimagining of the Superman story, albiet one that starts a bit earlier.

          As for Lois… I finally respect Kent for his restraint. I would have tossed that bossy PIA out of my house in less than an hour. After getting me a grilling from the ‘rents… Oh, we would have had words. Four letter words.

          • Re: Not Bad

            Whether he knows the totality of the situation (Clark’s alien origin and his
            large variety of powers) is probably going to be the question later.

            Too many people know already! Its crazy, I can’t see them resolving this
            without a huge deus ex machina that will leave quite a bad aftertaste…

            I think Smallville as grown beyond mere “prequel” status. Like it or not, it has
            evolved into a reimagining of the Superman story, albiet one that starts a bit
            earlier.

            One where everyone and his dog knows Clark Kent is Superman?

        • Re: Not Bad

          Too many people know already! Its crazy, I can’t see them resolving this
          without a huge deus ex machina that will leave quite a bad aftertaste…

          There’s no need to resolve anything, really. They can bounce from storyline to storyline for about 2-3 more years without the issue becoming a monstrous problem. After all, this is episodic TV with a maximum of 23 episodes per season and multiple episodes could span less than a month of in-show time when they choose.

          The only reason they would do something big to fix the secret identity “problem” is to have a big series finale. Otherwise, it’s a simple matter to just leave people who know the secret (if it turns out to be a problem) out of the show when it’s convenient.

          Finally, I would note that just being really strong isn’t a huge superpower unless he’s caught by someone lifting a tanker truck or something. The kind demonstrated by giving people hard pushes can be explained by more mundane things like martial arts training or a loss of balance. Now, if someone is watching when he suddenly disappears with his super-speed, catches him using his heat vision, etc., then you’ve got a more serious problem. Of course, the fact that Superman doesn’t wear a mask has ALWAYS been the biggest secret identity believability problem (explained in many ways, from super hypnosis in the classics to differing Clark/Supes postures in the modern), and if we can ignore that we can probably ignore quite a bit. :)

  2. High Point

    She’s never made a very good damsel in distress, has she?

    No she hasn’t, but that’s why we like her.

    Is she sticking around, though? I suppose I could wander over to Kryptonsite and find out… but I’m not sure if I want to.

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