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Smallville: Hug

Chloe: "Sounds like an interesting story. Tree-hugging hermit versus pesticide tycoon."

Okay, wow. This was the best episode so far. The writing is picking up and the dialogue is getting snappier. And we finally got a glimpse of Lex as evil, and... wow.

Lex is my favorite character, and the mystery and complexity of what is inside him is what has kept me watching. Lex was laughing as he fired the machine gun at Clark; wildly happy. He said fear and respect were what counted, that friendship is a fairy tale. Was that the K handshake talking, or is this what Lex is really like, deep inside? Is he just pretending to feel friendship toward Clark?

Rickman and Kyle were best friends who became mortal enemies. A little Clark and Lex foreshadowing there.

Bits and pieces:

— I loved the horseback riding sequence, with Clark and Lana plodding peacefully along, and Chloe in the background wrestling with her horse.

— The bat exploding against Clark's head was a terrific effect.

— Victoria was still around, but didn't do much in this one.

— Kyle the tree-hugging hermit with the killer handshake now knows Clark's secret.

— Loved Kyle making Chloe kiss Clark. "And why is my mouth minty?"

— Wasn't Rickman's handshake powered by K? Why didn't it adversely affect Clark?

— There was an extreme close-up of Jonathan's eye. They're definitely blue. I heard in a commentary that most of the Smallville cast have green eyes.

— Yet another flaming, wrecked car. Insurance rates in Smallville must be very high.

Quotes:

Clark: "I don't see myself being a farmer when I grow up."
Lana: "What do you want to do?"
Clark: "I'm not sure. As long as it doesn't involve putting on a suit and doing a lot of flying."

Lana: "Whitney wouldn't attack anyone."
Clark: "He strung me up in a field."
Good point, Clark.

Lex: "Clark! You have some 'splaining to do."

At least a three, and possibly a four. Loved this one,

Billie
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Billie Doux had a love-hate relationship with Smallville, which is why some of her reviews are briefer than they should be.

6 comments:

  1. - Rick Peters, who plays Bob Rickman, has been in tons of stuff since smallville, including, but not limited to, Elliot in S5 of Dexter and Dr. Tom Griffiths in S2 of Veronica Mars. Gregory Sporleder, who played Kyle, was just recently in True Blood, as Calvin Norris.

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  2. Also of not.... R. Nelson Brown, who played Lex's medical "specialist" in this episode, also played Frank Jaffey in the Supernatural episode, "Hollywood Babylon".

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  3. "Trust me, Clark. Our friendship is going to be the stuff of legend." Truer words.

    You ask if Lex is just pretending to feel a friendship towards Clark. I think not. To me, Lex is this damaged, lonely guy who desperately wants a family and a best friend. (I find it interesting that Clark refers to Lex as his best friend for the first time here.) Lex wants to be Clark's best friend/big brother, but is so damaged, he just goes about it all wrong -- the fireworks at the party, the Radiohead tickets, etc.

    Jonathan, never my favorite character, sends me around the bend on this one. He is the one who has signed away the farm, yet as soon as Clark suggests going to Lex for help, Jonathan jumps on the "Lex is a Luthor; therefore, Lex is bad" bandwagon. For someone who likes to think of himself as honest, hardworking, salt of the earth, Jonathan is a little to eager to visit the sins of the father. Annoys me.

    But that niggle aside, agree that this episode is excellent. Shall we go with three and a half? :-)

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  4. It was a good episode once it got going but the opening annoyed me because threatening CEO's with restraining orders is SO not how the EPA (or really any environmental agency that I'm aware of) works. It doesn't make any sense to be taking legal action to stop something that's not even in the formal proposal phase yet.

    As you say, Lex is definitely the most interesting character on the show. I can't help comparing Smallville to Buffy, since it's a high-school superhero show which often has a sort of monster-of-the-week format. But even in Buffy's comparatively weak season 1, it had more vivid characters (Lex and Chloe are the only ones that rise above bland in my opinion) and much sharper writing.

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  5. Chloe should kiss Clark a little bit longer.

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  6. i like kyle but it's a little f*cked up that he made a seemingly platonic friend kiss her friend and then not remember it. and clark not physically restraining her from it once he got over the surprise. she still pulled away first... lol. and why does lana know about it? but yeah good episode

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