Smallville Review – “Hex”

Serinda Swan as Zatanna Zatara. Works for me.

Cast

Tom Welling as Clark Kent
Allison Mack as Chloe Sullivan
Erica Durance as Lois Lane
Aaron Ashmore as Jimmy Olson
Cassidy Freeman as Tess Mercer
Sam Witwer as Davis Bloome
Justin Hartley as Oliver Queen / Green Arrow

Written by Bryan Q. Miller
Directed by Mairzee Almas

Original Airdate

Hex originally aired on Thursday, March 26, 2009.

Synopsis

Chloe is having a lousy birthday. When Zatanna Zatara offers to grant her a wish, it doesn’t get much better.

High Point

Watchtower is officially online. Let’s get to work.”

Low Point

Explicitly mentioning the spells are normal words backwards. It’s a somewhat goofy mechanism true to the comics, that was playing out very nicely as a subtle in joke. When Oliver pointed it out, it drew attention to a device that I never thought worked very well.

The Review

This is an original take on the standard body swap deal. Instead of the usual rife panic, we see some enjoyment, and we get a chance to move the characters forward when people see Lois while looking at Chloe. Throw in Zatanna and that great closing scene, and it feels like a new way to build on old mythology. I give it 5 out of 6.

The effects were solid. Zatanna’s effects were new, and the rest of the set came together nicely. I give it 5 out of 6.

The story worked better than I expected after the teaser. They managed to avoid a lot of the common trappings of the body swap and actually do something new with it. It’s also nice to see each episode take us one step closer to the mythology we know. The “ground effect” alone when Chloe gave her motivational speech was a great tease, harkening back to previous flight effects. I give it 5 out of 6.

The acting was good, both from the regular cast and from guest star Serinda Swan. Durance had a few strained moments, but generally things worked well. I give it 4 out of 6.

The emotional response was very good through most of it. I felt Clark should have been more nervous when Chloe joined the two of them on the roof, but the nice handling of Zatanna and that concluding scene make up for it. I give it 5 out of 6.

The production is always great on this series. This category is pretty much a given. I give it 5 out of 6.

Overall, it’s a solid episode, that makes definite long term headway. I give it 5 out of 6.

In total, Hex receives 34 out of 42.

6 replies on “Smallville Review – “Hex””

    • Re: Yeah, but…..

      Does she wear the fishnets?

      Yes, she does, as part of her stage costume. When in street clothes, she loses the fishnets but keeps the incredibly short skirts.

  1. Dug this one
    "Watchtower" made me nerdglee beyond reason. I’m glad they didn’t leave that as a one-off from way back. Also, the background of the League getting organized made me smile. Hot new Zatanna didn’t hurt, either. All-around, good ep.

    • Re: Dug this one

      "Watchtower" made me nerdglee beyond reason. I’m glad they didn’t leave that as a one-off from way back. Also, the background of the League getting organized made me smile. Hot new Zatanna didn’t hurt, either. All-around, good ep.

      At least we don’t have to see Green Arrow living on that damn plane anymore. What did they do anyway accidently scrap his clocktower set?

    • This season is a step up from the last couple. Actually, seasons 3-5 were the truly weak ones. It’s gotten better since then, but hasn’t been able to recapture the audience it used to have. Most of this season works because it’s deliberately putting Clark on the path to the role of Superman, which means it’s working now by giving us what we wanted eight years ago, but can’t keep working indefinitely, as he needs to finish the journey at some point.

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