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Smallville: Patriot

Lois: "The VRA is a steaming pile of Spanish Inquisition served up with a side of fear and loathing."

I have to say that Darkseid and his insidious gathering darkness thing is starting to intrigue me. It may very well be the most complex evil plot we've ever seen on Smallville. I always thought certain politicians were possessed by evil, anyway. In fact, this whole thing with the Vigilante Registration Act and the waterboarding (with an actual board) is giving me flashbacks to the Bush Administration.

Michael Hogan, who obviously just scored a continuing villain role as General Slade Wilson, was also terrific as Colonel Saul Tigh on Battlestar Galactica. I could almost hear the Battlestar fans shrieking at the end of this episode (I certainly was) because he wore an eyepatch on BSG, too. It was even on the same side of his head. Doctor Emil (Alessandro Juliani) was back, too, and even though they didn't have any scenes together, that made this episode a mini-Battlestar reunion.

How many Battlestar actors have been on Smallville? Aaron Douglas, Tahmoh Penikett... who am I forgetting?

And there was lots of other good stuff. Clark finally introduced Lois to Watchtower. Way past time. Lois also discovered that Tess made it to Watchtower before her. I rather liked Tess in this episode; she treats her Watchtower responsibilities so seriously. And this was probably the best appearance yet of square-jawed Aquaman, and he even had his nasty new wife Mera in tow.

This episode reminded me yet again that Oliver does the superhero thing without superpowers. All he has is courage, agility, terrific aim, and a really large bank account, all of which did nothing for him in this situation. Oliver is quite a guy; he took all the risks with the VRA and Slade, and nearly died for Clark. I've always liked Oliver, and not just because of Justin Hartley's amazing chest.

Bits and pieces:

— Lois called Mera "squid lips," and Oliver referred to Aquaman as "Flipper." I also liked Lois telling Mera that they "got off on the wrong fin." Yes, I'm easily amused.

— This episode was directed by Tom Welling. Seriously, he could move right into directing when Smallville is over. If he doesn't get the Superman movie.

— Slade: "It's time we took these heroes under our control and prove who is really fighting for truth, justice and the American way."

Three out of four squid lips,

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.

2 comments:

  1. I like how the gov't is after the vigilantes; that is a reasonable assumption of what would happen.
    I also like how A.C. stayed true to character and just went after em blowin up their holdings.
    Clark keeping Lois out of it to protect her is also true to character--and her getting involved anyway. classic. great ep

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kandyse McClure played Harmony on Season 4's "Spirit," another BSG alum

    ReplyDelete

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