Smallville: Reckoning

Martha: "Do you think you could have chosen between them if you had the chance?"

Now, that was a good fake-out.

When Clark whisked Lana off to the Fortress and proposed, we of course knew she would be the one to die. (I liked the way they blended her death skillfully into the whole election plot and made it Lex's fault.) After Lana's resurrection, I could see the end with Jonathan coming a mile away, but I must admit it still got to me. Right after Clark saved Lana from the second collision, Jonathan drove past in the blue pick-up, and he and Lana exchanged a look that was almost like the baton pass of fate. If Jor-El had told Clark outright that he was exchanging Lana's life for Jonathan's, what would Clark have done?

My disappointment with Lana's resurrection was assuaged by the circumstances. I am thrilled to bits that she and Clark have finally, finally, finally broken up. My favorite scenes in this episode were both versions of the Lex/Lana scene at the mansion; if she's still going to be with us as a character, I want her primary relationship to be with Lex. Until she dies a horrible death and he turns evil, anyway.

At least the endless election is finally over. But we still don't know what's going on with Lionel, and what his "common interest" was with Jonathan. (And again, I'm thinking, is Lionel still channeling Jor-El? Is Clark their common interest?) The final scenes implied that we might be seeing the last of the Kent farm. Will Martha be going to Topeka in Jonathan's place? Will Lionel try to control her, too, or will he start hitting on her again? Or both?

Annette O'Toole was just wonderful in this episode, as was Michael Rosenbaum. And Tom Welling got to do more than bland for a change, and he did well, too. Actually, everybody was good. The scene in the farmyard was very moving. ("Oh, no. Please. Not yet.") I'm going to miss John Schneider.

Bits and pieces:

— That exceptionally romantic opening scene with Clark showing Lana his powers by creating a diamond ring must have thrilled the Clark/Lana shippers. (Are there Clark/Lana shippers? There must be.)

— Jonathan's death scene echoed the one in the Christopher Reeve movie.

— Early in the episode, Jonathan fastened Martha's pearls; near the end, after Jonathan's death, Clark fastened them for her. That was just lovely.

— Although I find Lana and Lex intriguing, I'd still like to see how things would have turned out if Lana had stayed dead.

— Poor Chloe looked like she was concealing heartbreak when Clark told her he had proposed to Lana. By the way, I'm relieved that it wasn't Chloe who died.

— Come on. Gloves and a scarf are enough to combat the Arctic? Please.

— If they're going for major changes, could they please cut Clark's hair now?

Quotes:

Clark: "When you asked me if I believed in life on other planets, you had no idea how ironic that question was."

Lois: "Well, that depends. Are we in arms dealer territory, or are we talking The Crying Game?"
It makes sense that Clark decided he couldn't be with Lana because she can't keep a secret. Lana couldn't even keep a straight face with Lois, much less Lex.

This week's ironic Lois line: "Look, I don't know what's going on, but I would be lucky to end up with someone as honorable as Clark someday."

This week's Superman line: Chloe: "What did you do, spin the earth backwards on its axis?"

Chloe: "You guys are, like, meant for each other. I mean, you're Kansas's version of Ken and Barbie. Except they broke up, apparently, which is kind of weird."

Lex: "So after all the lies he told you, you still chose him."

Chloe: "All right, McFly, do you want to start with how and why?"

Four 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.

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