Lex: "Darkness like that just doesn't come out of nowhere."It was a dark and stormy night. And someone made a serious attempt to kill Lionel Luthor. (That man has spent some quality time in the hospital lately, hasn't he?) Our chief suspect was Jonathan Kent, who was found unconscious, clutching a bottle of tequila in one hand and a gun in the other. They might just as well have put a sign on him saying, "Yes, he was framed." Certainly we know that Jonathan has a temper, but did anyone believe it for a single moment?
At least this was a good whodunit, because I certainly didn't know who, well, done it. And it was fun that so many people had a motive to kill Lionel. They threw Dominic, Lionel's "seeing eye dog," at us as the obvious suspect, and I never once even thought of Ethan, simply because he's been around and benign for so long. Since Lionel just took Lexcorp away from him, Lex had the best motive. But I just didn't believe they'd put Lex away for murder at this point in the series.
I think my favorite scene was Clark and Lex talking about darkness. The bits they often do that point to Lex's future darkness are almost always poignant, because I love Lex. I don't want Lex to turn evil. But we all know he eventually will.
Bits and pieces:
— Lionel was reading Beyond Good and Evil by Nietzsche, which was certainly a relevant title. Nietzsche also wrote a work that was the basis of Shaw's Man and Superman.
— There was so much thunder during the mansion sequences that it just felt utterly fake. Don't overdo the fake thunder, folks. It lessens the impact.
— I bet that John Schneider spent most of a week soaking wet while filming this episode. Acting can be grueling work.
— There's a bar called the Wild Coyote in Smallville.
— Lionel fell from a great height and through a glass coffee table (ouch). Is that one point or two, since he wasn't thrown? Plus we had a wrecked, flamed out car. I probably should have put fire in my greatest hits.
— Clark lost his temper and banged the bartender against the back of the bar. That doesn't happen often.
— Pete: (contemplating the body in the freezer) "Man, talk about sleeping with the fishes."
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.
The aria playing when Lionel is shot is "Ebben?" from La Wally. Appropriately, it is about a child (a daughter in this case) estranged from her father.
ReplyDeleteI love the fact that Lionel listens to opera. It is a wonderful character beat for this complex man.
Don't forget the book Clark was carrying in the pilot, The Portable Nietzsche, when Lana asks if Clark is man or Superman. WE gotta throw in our Nietzsche's.
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