Obsession

[attolia]

Was this episode written by the person who did the other could-have-been-a-season-one episode this season? Because this one also had a first season feel to it. It was a nice to have the FOTW stalking Clark for a change and it was fun to see the return of socially awkward Clark, but then they ruined it by having Alisha go after Lana at the end, since she had to be involved somehow.

There were some nice Lex moments. I liked having Clark go to Lex for relationship advice, although he may not be the best one to give it. I also enjoyed seeing more of Lex getting others to do his dirty work for him. However, he was probably disappointed in how little Lana had to tell him. I thought they made him appear too sinister when he said there are ways to deal with eviction delays. I'd prefer they had him be more subtle and say he would just take care of it and leave us to wonder how far he was planning to go.

Lana. Sigh. She lets herself into her tenant's apartment (doesn't that require notice 24 from a landlord?) and reads his journal, which, from what I could see, could conceivably have been just Adam's thoughts about Lana and what might affect their relationship. Then Lana, who's been spying on Adam, jumps to the conclusion that Adam was sent there to spy on her and Clark. It would be ludicrous, except that ...

It turns out that Lionel did in fact send Adam to Smallville for just that reason. Lionel walks into a lab, pulling on gloves, all but twirling his mustache and announces that he will let Adam die because he is no longer of use. Come on people. He's more devious than that. This plot was just not worthy of him.


Last week I realized I watch Smallville on two levels. The first is emotional. How well do the I connect with the characters that appeal to me (Lex, Lex, Lex, and, to a lesser extent, Clark, Chloe and Lionel). Even if they are in just a few short scenes, good bits with these characters can make even the weakest episode worthwhile. The second is level aesthetic. I'm more aware of this when I watch with my DH, who is not a fan. His presence makes me particularly conscious of the shows flaws since he wouldn't be watching it if it weren't for me. So I can't ignore the problems with plot, continuity, characterization and originality, which are almost always there to some extent.

This episode was weak on plot, since the A plot was too much like season 1, and Lionel's deal with Adam just seemed to stupid for him. The Lex was nice, but there was not enough Lex to make up for the rest of the show. (And it just occurred to me that there is something wrong with having an episode named obsession that has nothing to do with Lex's attitude toward Clark.) I think this will be one of the episodes I can never remember watching.

Comments

[edgecity.livejournal.com]

It turns out that Lionel did in fact send Adam to Smallville for just that reason. Lionel walks into a lab, pulling on gloves, all but twirling his mustache and announces that he will let Adam die because he is no longer of use. Come on people. He's more devious than that. This plot was just not worthy of him.

Word.