Chloe: "Oh, wow. I have the worst Secret Santa ever."
I was thinking that this episode was doing nothing for me. And then they hit us with two super shockers, and a big "evil double" theme. Way to go.
Shocker number one: I was right about Grant/Julian being a clone, so good for me. Lex may have just created an angry, brilliant clone enemy who also happens to be a Luthor. Oops. I was frosted by them screwing with continuity by making Julian alive, so I liked this development a lot. (How did Lex get hold of Julian's DNA? Did he disinter his body?)
Shocker number two: For the entire episode, it wasn't Clark – it was Bizarro. I've been prepared for Brainiac's return (and they're still talking about it), but not Bizarro. Freaking cool. And they completely threw us off by having Bizarro save Chloe and Jimmy from the bomb. (Cover for Lana, of course. Since Bizarro has Clark's memories, he of course has a thing for Lana. Everyone does. I don't get it.)
Lana said she was dropping her fixation on Lex. Why don't I believe her? Especially since everyone is after Lex now, including Bizarro. Even Lois was writing a Lex Luthor expose, with Julian Luthor's help. I found it a bit sad that Lex is so desperate for love that he's created a clone for a brother. He's so alienated and alone. And evil.
Lots of fun bits in this episode. I loved the aggressively cheerful jingle bell elevator muzak that assaulted Chloe and Jimmy as they were waiting for the bomb to go off, and the shot of the two of them when the elevator door opened. Loved Clark (actually, Bizarro) running through the building at superspeed, too. I'm thankful that they didn't go for a heartwarming Christmas episode this year. This was much better.
Bits and pieces:
— Jimmy now knows about Chloe's meteor freakness, and even what she can do (without tears this time). He doesn't seem to care. Are Jimmy and Chloe an item again?
— Great shot of the Daily Planet globe surrounded by reindeer. I actually thought for a moment that the bomb would blast the reindeer off the globe.
— Lois has been looking gorgeous lately. The teenager/tomboy look is apparently gone for good.
— No Kara, no Lionel. I wonder if either of them, or both, would have realized it was Bizarro. Especially Lionel, with his connection to Jor-El.
Quotes:
Adrian: "Lex made me. And when I didn't work, he made you."
Lois: "You'll have to take that up with my boss."
Lex: "I am your boss. Merry Christmas, Lois. I just bought the Daily Planet."
That was an interesting development, certain to cause scads of conflict.
Jimmy: (to Chloe) "Can you fly?"
No, Jimmy. That's your other girlfriend.
Grant/Julian: "You want to bury the truth, buy the media."
Paging Rupert Murdoch.
Three stars,
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.
I was so stunned by the final shot that I re-watched the episode. One of the nice things about re-watching the later seasons is that I have only seen them once and I can still be surprised.
ReplyDeleteOn the re-watch, there are actually a lot of clues that this Clark is not our Clark. However, they are so well done that if you are not looking for, they go right past.
Well done again, Tom Welling!
I enjoyed this episode a lot. One thing that bothered me, though, was when Jimmy says something like "What made you think I wouldn't accept you?" after Chloe tells him about her powers. But like just a few episodes Jimmy was saying meteor freaks always snapped and turned evil. So maybe that had something to do with her distrust there, Jimmy.
ReplyDelete