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Smallville: Traveler
by Brad Trechak, posted Mar 20th 2008 11:00PM
(S07E14) Tonight's episode taught us a lot about the Luthor family. They seemed to be more the focus of this episode with Clark and company as supporting characters.How is it that anyone can sneak up on Clark in a barn like that? I know flight hasn't kicked in, but doesn't he have superhearing and supervision? For that matter, doesn't he have superspeed to dodge the tasers? It's a minor quibble (since it could be argued that proximity of the Kryptonite lessened his powers), but it's a quibble nonetheless.
It was cool to see Aaron Douglass taking a break from his Battlestar Galactica duties to guest-star on Smallville as the militant Pierce (formerly of LuthorCorp's 33.1 organization). I always wondered who would win if Superman fought the Cylons. There was certainly a lot of property damage; that barn is going to be a bitch to fix.
It seems to be a television/movie cliche that wealthy villains always listen to opera when they're alone, such as when Lionel Luthor did in the beginning of the episode. Usually, Smallville has kickin' pop rock bands. Perhaps it was to save money this week on the soundtrack.
In this episode, we learn that Christopher Reeve's character from the early seasons of Smallville, Doctor Swan, had a daughter Patricia. Judging by the dialogue of the episode, Patricia is probably either the same as Lex or just a couple of years older. Or at least she was until the end of the episode when Lex had her killed (I'm assuming it wasn't Lionel since Lex has holding her locket at the end).
The mentioning of the organization Veritas is a set-up for next week's episode (not surprisingly titled "Veritas"). It's an example of the smallness of the Smallville universe when we've already met all the member families of this secret organization.
Smallville seemed to borrow a trick or two from The X-Files for this episode; the cinemagraphic style of the meeting between Patricia and Lionel, with the rainy day subtle hues, seemed to have been inspired by that show. Or perhaps that's just a Hollywood style whenever the plot involves clandestine organizations and alien conspiracies.
As usual, Chloe's computer skills get the information to save the day. Why couldn't that be her meteorite power rather than healing? It would have been easier to believe. Thankfully, Lana's whining was at a minimum this episode and I actually started to like her character.
It was pretty easy for the two women to break into Luthor's home like that. I guess it helps when one of them is a computer genius and the other is his ex-wife.
Of course, at the center of the plot was the Luthors. I think this episode highlighted the differences between Lionel and Lex better than any of the previous ones. Lionel is an expert liar and cheat (he is the Picasso of bullshit artists), but he has mostly tried to negotiate his way out of tough situations rather than resort to violence. Whether that has to do with a presence of conscience or a lack of opportunity, I leave to you. Lex, on the other hand, had grown into a cold-blooded killer (giving the orders if not pulling the trigger himself). Also, Lionel seems to think of Clark as some sort of savior while for Lex he is viewed as a means to obtain power.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Pierce thought of Clark as a monster. I found it ironic that the character died from a piece of sharp debris in the midsection. In effect, Pierce was pierced.
I lost count of the number of biblical references in the episode. From Clark being the savior to Doctor Swann's journals becoming a sort of Bible to Kara acting as a guardian angel. She certainly seemed angelic in her stance while being engulfed in light as her powers and memories were returned. Even Clark's nickname of "The Traveler" by Veritas (a religious-sounding organizational name if there ever was one) is reminiscent of the story of Christ.
Jor-El didn't have to talk in this episode. The voice of God was nowhere to be heard. I guess that was another way to save on the budget.
Overall, the episode felt rushed. Kara's sudden recovery and the quick movement of the plot felt like a result of the writer's strike. For that reason, I would rate the episode as "fair". It probably would have been better if it were spread out among more episodes. C'est la vie.
| Lex | |
|---|---|
| Lionel |
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