Smallville Review – “Scare”

Next week’s episodes: the season three finale and
season four premier.

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

Allison Mack as
Chloe Sullivan.

Written by Kelly Souders and Brian Peterson.

Directed by David Carson.

Original Airdate


Scare
originally aired on Wednesday,
December 1, 2004.

Synopsis

A LuthorCorp leak causes everyone to live their worst
nightmares.

High Point

The differences in nightmares. Most people had very
personal
nightmares, although one had a rather global fright
that echoed the
first season. It’s a very nice touch that tells a
lot about that
character. Chloe’s last speech was a close second.

Low Point

Heating the samples. That was a colossal risk.

The Review

The major plot elements are far from
original, but they did
make effective use of them to drive some character
arcs forward. I
give it 4 out of 6.

The effects were plentiful, and very well
done. I give it 5
out of 6.

The main weakness of the story was in the
bad choices Clark
made, but since they were clearly labelled as such on
screen, it’s not
a major failing. I give it 5 out of 6.

The acting from Tom Welling was typical, and
that from
Kristen Kreuk was less convincing than most of this
season,
particularly during the nightmare. The work from
Glover, Mack, and
Rosenbaum is as good as ever. I give it 4 out of 6.

The emotional response was derived from the
implications for
characters more than this week’s threat. (Really,
did anyone not
predict Clark’s bad choice the first time we saw the
device? I even
suspected that the trailers were revealing a major
moment until the
teaser demonstrated the “false reality” nature that
convinced me
otherwise.) The final scenes for Lionel and Chloe
were also
impressive. I give it 5 out of 6.

The production was the usual from Carson and
Miller/Gough
productions. These guys are on the ball. The music
during the teaser
was perfect, too. I give it 5 out of 6.

Overall, it was a good episode, and a solid
point to finish
before the reruns start this season. I give it 5 out
of 6.

In total,
Scare
receives
33
out of 42.

7 replies on “Smallville Review – “Scare””

  1. Can it get any better?
    Spoilers below, you have been warned!


    So am I the only one who thinks it was Jason’s mom who pulled strings to get Lionel out of prison? And is his change of heart for real or just another part of his master plan to destroy Lex and Clark? I’m surprised he hasn’t said more about Clark’s secret (since he certainly knows now). Despite all the excessive sexual stuff this season, which is incredibly annoying btw, this is becoming one of the best seasons yet. How many shows can get consistently better as it’s seasons progress? I can’t think of many.

    Seeing the ever increasing tension and distrust between Clark and Lex, and Lex fighting his destiny, is becoming a highlight for me. I know in the comics Lex and Clark weren’t childhood friends like this, but it adds an awesome dynamic to the mythology. Just the thought of them being bitter enemies makes me sad. But you can see it’s closer than ever now, and that tension is fantastic. I just wish Tom’s acting was a tad bit better. I don’t think it’s horrible, but the point of him seeming more comfortable acting adult parts instead of teenager parts is obvious now. He was great when he had to play Lionel in Clark’s body, and as Kal-El too. Clark just seems forced.

    Anyways, still one of my favorite shows.

    • Re: Can it get any better?

      Spoilers below, you have been warned!


      So am I the only one who thinks it was Jason’s mom who pulled strings to get Lionel out of prison?

      An interesting idea, but why does he know her? For some reason, I’m guessing “Bridgette Crosby” (Margot Kidder) — without Christopher Reeves, they could do everything through her and pretend, but if they get Lionel involved… and since he’s heavily involved with the artifacts now…

      Still, what role Jason’s mom plays in all this is the big question…

      I agree with the Low Point, for even more reasons: aside from anything organic breaking down long before it hit 1000K, if it could be heated quickly, they would have built a machine that would do so. Clark doing the heat ray bit would have destroyed it. It also cooled down way too fast.

    • Re: Can it get any better?

      I just wish Tom’s acting was a tad bit better. I don’t think it’s horrible, but the point of him seeming more comfortable acting adult parts instead of teenager parts is obvious now. He was great when he had to play Lionel in Clark’s body, and as Kal-El too. Clark just seems forced.

      I know Welington’s acting abiltity or lack thereof is a common gripe in this forum, but I would suggest another interpretation.

      Perhaps it is “Clark Kent”, or rather the way he is written that is the problem. We have already established that Welington can act, as demonstrated during the body switching episode.

      When you think about it, Clark rarely smiles, not just grin but a big ear to hear smile. He never relaxes. He never really has fun. He is always hiding, both his nature and his feelings. He has the normal teenage isolation thing going on, but amped by a factor of 10.

      The result is a quite, introvert who displays very little feeling. Even when he has good reason to be happy, he has spent so much time an energy learning to bury his feelings that expressing them is awkward at best.

      If, just for the sake of arguement, you agree with me, now reevaluate Welington’s acting as a portrayal of the aformentioned characterizations.

      Okay, I’ll stop talking… for now.

      • Re: Can it get any better?
        I think it might be a little of both. Tom Welling is a capable actor, as evidenced in Transference, but his portrayal of Clark is stiff and uninvolving – look at the scene where he and Chloe came to see Lana at the Hospital with Jason. Welling’s Clark was completely out of place, uncertain how to act and unable to emote; it was hard to watch, and I think it would have been hard to act, but in Welling’s interpretation of the character, it’s exactly what was called for.

        Clark is not, like Lionel, an open, expressive character who knows how to keep secrets – he’s a closed-off minimalist because of his secrets. Had Scare aired prior to Transference, I might have agreed with the whole “Welling can’t act” vibe, but now I don’t buy it. I think that this is simply his interpretation of Clark coupled with writers who would rather be writing Superman or Kal-El, and the combination of the two leads to the stiffness that people see in Welling’s acting.

        • Re: Can it get any better?

          I think it might be a little of both. Tom Welling is a capable actor, as evidenced in Transference, but his portrayal of Clark is stiff and uninvolving – look at the scene where he and Chloe came to see Lana at the Hospital with Jason. Welling’s Clark was completely out of place, uncertain how to act and unable to emote; it was hard to watch, and I think it would have been hard to act, but in Welling’s interpretation of the character, it’s exactly what was called for.

          In the case of the hospital scene, I think it was more of a “I don’t know how to handle this situation. The woman I love and can’t have is here crying over the person she loves who might die.” I think he handled it in typical Clark fashion. Doesn’t want to show all his emotions because he’s hiding so much. Certain Tom can act very well. But he may be so much older than 17 at this point that it’s hard to act that young when you’re pushing 30 (maybe he is 30 already).

          • Re: Can it get any better?

            In the case of the hospital scene, I think it was more of a “I don’t know how to handle this situation. The woman I love and can’t have is here crying over the person she loves who might die.” I think he handled it in typical Clark fashion. Doesn’t want to show all his emotions because he’s hiding so much.

            I would further posit that because Clark has been hiding so much for so long, he doesn’t know how to express emotions.

Comments are closed.