Smallville Review – “Trespass”

Sorry I couldn’t get this up earlier; it was a crazy day at work.

Cast and Crew

Tom Welling as Clark Kent
Michael Rosenbaum as Lex Luthor
Kristen Kreuk as Lana Lang
Allison Mack as Chloe Sullivan
Aaron Ashmore as Jimmy Olsen

Written by Tracy A. Bellomo.
Directed by Michael Rohl.

Original Airdate

Trespass originally aired on Thursday, February 8, 2007.

Premise

Lana’s got her first stalker since high school, but he’s a whole heck of a lot creepier this time.

High Point

A villain with no connection to kryptonite!

Low Point

All this paparazzi concern, and he speeds away when Jimmy turns around? Given how upset Jimmy has been with Clark lately, that’s not a good move, which is why it seems even worse than the latest longing moment shared by Clark and Lana.

The Scores

Yes, Lana has had stalkers before, but the complete shift in tone keeps an original feel to the episode. We haven’t had a really good villain for a while. I give it 5 out of 6.

The effects were few due to the nature of the story, but they were well done. I give it 6 out of 6.

The story was nicely done, with some good suspense. It also effectively integrated the long term arc with the individual episode’s plot. Bellomo’s first episode was good, but not this good. With a learning curve like this, I hope she sticks around for a while. If it weren’t for the standard vices mentioned in the low point, I’d have no complaints at all. I give it 5 out of 6.

The acting was strong all around, including the villain. I give it 5 out of 6.

The production was great. There was an excellent mood and tone set for the episode by the end of the teaser. The entire episode set up a nice counterpoint to the typical February mush, with a great new score by Mark Snow, particularly when Lana was alone in Chloe’s apartment. I give it 6 out of 6.

The emotional response was very good. This is possibly the creepiest episode of the series. I give it 6 out of 6.

Overall, it’s a very solid entry to the season, and a rare level of quality for a mid-season episode. I give it 5 out of 6.

In total, Trespass receives 38 out of 42.

7 replies on “Smallville Review – “Trespass””

  1. mr grumpy redux
    What’s the bit about the negligee (sp) with the message "You will wear this (turn card over) when I kill you"? The guy still like Lana at this time.

    How come Lana was not suspicious when Clark caught her after she fell from over 20 feet without being hurt?

    How could the guy have the authority to dismiss the staff so he was alone with Lana?

    Oh well, at least Lana did a great job of defending herself and no kryptonite was used.

    • Re: mr grumpy redux

      What’s the bit about the negligee (sp) with the message "You will wear this (turn card over) when I kill you"? The guy still like Lana at this time.

      I got the impression that he was trying to scare her more, so he could take her someplace "more secure" (read: remote and alone) as well as save her from the Papparazi guy he was setting up.

      How come Lana was not suspicious when Clark caught her after she fell from over 20 feet without being hurt?

      She’s probably keeping her mouth shut and not asking questions because she’s actively investigating him. One more thing to add to the pile of evidence. She knows asking questions will get her nowhere. Plus, she was probably a little shaken up…

      How could the guy have the authority to dismiss the staff so he was alone with Lana?

      I wondered that, too, but he could’ve lied to them and told them Lex said to go, plus there was a huge snowstorm so they were probably happy to have an excuse to leave and go home.

      Oh well, at least Lana did a great job of defending herself and no kryptonite was used.

      Yeah, I was happy about that. I could still do without the Lana/Clark romance though, it’s gotten rather tired.

      • Re: mr grumpy redux

        Yeah, I was happy about that. I could still do without the Lana/Clark romance though, it’s gotten rather tired.

        It’s well past tired. In fact in my opinion its even stopped twitching….

        It wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t for the fact that we have known all along that they will Never be together.

        • Re: mr grumpy redux

          It’s well past tired. In fact in my opinion its even stopped twitching….

          It wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t for the fact that we have known all along that they will Never be together.

          I almost said "I wish they’d stop beating that dead horse" :)

          If I remember correctly from the Animated series (I didn’t read the comics) Lana did figure out who Clark really was all on her own, but he didn’t know that until years later. It could be (gasp!) that they’re actually trying to stick with Canon on this — assuming it was the same way in the comics.

    • Re: mr grumpy redux
      I’ll join the grumping. While it wasn’t as bad as the previous two, I knew practically from the minute I saw them that it was one of the guards. It’s another overused cliche that they couldn’t bear to avoid.

      I’m also not a big fan of this kind suspense/horror genre, but for that, that much was pretty well done (aside from being predictable).

      • Re: mr grumpy redux

        I’ll join the grumping. While it wasn’t as bad as the previous two, I knew practically from the minute I saw them that it was one of the guards. It’s another overused cliche that they couldn’t bear to avoid.

        Yeah, that’s true, but I still enjoyed it, possibly because I’d guessed the wrong one. By the time you knew which one it was for sure, I felt that the writer and director expected the audience to have it figured out, and that the suspense came from trying to figure out how long it would take the others to clue in. At that point, only one other assumption had to be made: either Clark chose not to X-ray search the camera man for a gun for fear of giving Lana too much evidence when searching out his secret, or he did but said nothing because the camera man actually had a gun, which may or may not have been planted by the guard anyway.

  2. Lex/Clark in the barn
    My favorite part had to be at the end in the barn when Lex gave Clark the wedding invitation. That whole conversation was extremely venomous on both sides, especially Lex’s last line about "seeing what you lost" as the main reason he wanted Clark there. In real life they would have beat each other to a pulp.

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