Two weeks in a row. Let’s hope the trend turns around shortly.
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 Genevieve Sparling
Directed by Mike Rohl
Original Airdate
Beast originally aired on Thursday, April 30, 2009.
Synopsis
Clark and Oliver discover that Davis is alive, but don’t immediately realize who has been helping him stay off the radar. Once they do, everyone is forced to make very difficult decisions.
High Point
The interactions between Jimmy and Oliver.
Low Point
I’m with Clark and Jimmy on this one; this is too far out of character.
The Review
This didn’t seem to cover a lot of original ground. It felt like they’d actually covered too much ground in previous weeks, and didn’t leave enough for a whole episode here. It’s like they had two side plots and put them together, stretching them out to fill an episode that was missing a lead plot. The Oliver/Jimmy story worked well, but it took way too long to do what they were doing with Chloe and Davis. If you ask me, Clark should have actually found a killer in Alaska unrelated to Bloome that he then brought in. Giving an extra seven or eight minutes of screen time to that segment would have greatly packed this together. Instead, we get the LONG version of the conversation we’ve seen coming for a month. I give it 3 out of 6.
The effects were all those we’ve seen before, but they were still well done. I give it 5 out of 6.
As already mentioned, the story felt like it had filler. A bit of action with Clark finding and stopping a perfectly human Alaskan serial killer, only to be called back by Oliver, would have gone a long way. I give it 4 out of 6.
The acting was well done. It felt like it dragged and was a lot of the same, but that’s the fault of the writer, not the stars. I give it 5 out of 6.
The emotional response was weak. It just felt plain draggy. The Jimmy/Oliver scenes worked, but the rest needed a little tempo, particularly from an episode this close to the end of the season. I give it 2 out of 6.
The production is well done, as usual. The editor, DP and director really tried to make it look like things were moving, including the “circle completely around Chloe” shot to stall for time while a car drove away and Davis came out of nowhere. I give it 5 out of 6.
Overall, this is a troubled episodes whose problems start and end with the script. If it’s on the PVR, watch the first ten minutes, and then skip to the last ten. I give it 3 out of 6.
In total, Beast receives 27 out of 42.
I really don’t like the direction they have taken Chloe this year, especially with Davis. I know she things she is “saving” Clark by keeping Doomsday at bay, but even she has to realize that the effect is getting weaker and weaker by the hour.
I’m hoping she has some kind of a master plan that she didn’t even want to tell Clark about, but I’m finding that harder to believe as the season draws to a close.
I want to keep Chloe on the show, but the outlook isn’t looking too good these days.
Maybe Brainiac left some remnant that makes her protect doomsday even though she doesn’t want to…
It kind of makes sense in that they have to get rid a Chloe before the series ends. I’ve been fully expecting the writers to kill her off any time.
I was sort of thinking the same thing, re: residual Brainiac, but didn’t he want Doomsday to evolve and destroy? Not sure why that would lead to him suppressing the “Beast”. Guess we’ll really find out here…
I posted a link to an article in last week’s review that said they are doing a lot in the finale this year to realign the show with the DC mythology. Given that, things do not look all that great for Chloe.
I really like her, though, so I hope they find a way to keep her around. Perhaps more into her Watchtower persona.
The part of me that doesn’t want to see Chloe dead really thinks that her dying would be too obvious at this point, and so the writers wouldn’t do it. Then another part of me realizes that all too often, the obvious thing happens… If it’s a cliffhanger, it will be one tough summer.
I’d be surprised if they didn’t off her. She’s not supposed to exist technically. I recall recently the writers or directors or someone for the show said they were wrapping some things up and making it mesh more with the standard DC universe. Chloe isn’t in that.
I think Doomsday will end up turning on her and push Clark to do something drastic, or Clark himself might end up killing Chloe indirectly/accidentally which may shove him in the direction he needs.
I had actually thought that Chloe sacrificed herself and pulled both her and Davis into the phantom zone, saving Clark the guilt of condemning Davis himself. I think it would have made a lot more sense. Jimmy does need more screen time especially after this episode.