fajrdrako | Smallville "Asylum".... (Reply)

I'll take this one character by character, in no particular order. I will preface my comments by saying: short of an on-screen kiss, can anything be slashier than this?

Lex Luthor. So himself, even in such adversity. Unafraid, defiant, always thinking strategically - except when overcome with emotion. I loved the way he managed to not take the pills. The way he argued in his defense. The way he used his father's thinking against him. The way he refused to compromise with the little scumbag whose name I forget. The way he acted with his eyes. His painting. His excitement on seeing Clark, even his faith in Clark that seemed to survive anger, mindwipe, and Lionel's techniques.

The doctor, Claire Foster. I found her creepier than Lionel; an interestingly complex person. She was complying with Lionel's wishes because he was blackmailing her, but obviously her slide into professional immorality started before Lionel got his hands on her. Her mixed feelings were intriguing. So was the fact that Clark and Chloe confronted her.

The krypto-mutant villains. I liked them all better this time than on their first appearance. I love it that we saw them again - people who just disappeared into the void where captured mutant freaks go. Now we've seen where they end up.

Lana Lang. Perhaps because she mostly was not interacting with Clark, I found her more interesting than usual. She managed to not tell Adam about her dead parents. Could she be learning and improving - ? Naw, not possible.

I was a little surprised by all the people who turned up at Lana's welcome-back party. Who are all these friends we've never seen her hanging out with before? People who come to The Talon, I guess. I'd had the impression that Lana keeps to herself, that after Whitney left she mostly spent time with Chloe, Clark and Pete, and wasn't the outgoing Miss Popularity type. Except of course for her many krypto-mutant admirers and stalkers.

Matha Kent. Her role was the thing I liked least about this episode. She thinks Clark is pining for Lana and she's playing matchmaker? Or is she just trying to repair a friendship? Whatever she is doing, the meddling is uncharacteristic and unwelcome. From time to time she sounded like Jonathan. What happened to her good sense and quiet intelligence?

Lionel Luthor. My goodness he was scary, fondling Lex and weeping over him. What superb acting from John Glover, who seems to reach new heights. But the scriptwriters outdid themselves too. All Lionel's scenes were riveting and superb but the best, oh the best, was the last one - when he sees on the videotape that Clark and Lex almost discussed Clark's secret. And realizes that he has erased that secret from Lex's mind.

Chloe Sullivan. Wooo. Gorgeous. Wonderful. Let me swoon in a sea of superlatives. Chloe is so sexy and interesting and attractive and resourceful and personable and cute and capable - and she just gets better. There's a new maturity to her that I love. I love it also that she acted consistently as Clark's friend and ally.

Clark Kent. He has a new maturity too. I'm not sure I like it as much, since his quality of young innocence was one of the main attractions to the character for me in the first place. But Tom Welling does a good job of portraying this growth as a difficult process for Clark. Did I understand correctly: did Clark's wish, at the end, to be able himself to forget "the past few months" - was that guilt over what he did in Metropolis? I am still uncomfortable with his apparent lack of regret or concern over theft, working for organized crime, breaking and entering, vandalism, and so on. Not to mention (as my friends reminded me) breaking a bartender's heart.

Oh, I suppose I should mention the scenes featuring Clark with Lex.

Well. It's simply filmed Clex, as far as I'm concerned. Grasping and touching and even caressing at various points of the story. Intense personal conversations. Clark's concern for Lex and his situation. Lex's happiness when he saw Clark and his belief that Clark would help him; his pride in Clark's abilities. And every obstacle in the book between them, to keep them apart. I love it. At the same time, I almost take this for granted: it's as it should be. Including the fact that Clark's friends and family don't approve of the relationship and don't want Clark to trust Lex with his secret or his friendship.

Was that Byron who'd been mind-wiped before Lex? If so: poor guy. He just couldn't win for losing.

Final thought: perhaps more than any other episode of Smallville to date, this reminded me of a comic book. Smallville has always used screen composition like panels and colour as if done by a colorist, but more than ever here - the excess physicality of the torture, the rescues, the visuality of the action - all of that gave it more than ever the feel of a comic book story to my eyes. Especially what happened to Lex, but also the teaming up of the supervillains, the use of the 'medical facility' (which reminded me of Arkham Asylum, but wasn't nearly as scary).