Smallville,
Season Five
Our rating:
3 out of 5
Rated: TV14
reviewed by Charity Bishop
Some shows fizzle out long before the end.
Smallville
is living proof that others become more powerful the
longer they are allowed to impress audiences. Season
five is remarkable, from its opening credits to the
final dramatic conclusion that paves the way for the
mythology to come.
Much of Smallville, and subsequently the Kent farm,
has been destroyed by a meteor shower created to
conceal the arrival of two Kryptonian warriors
unleashed to destroy humanity. The helicopter
carrying Lana Lang (Kristin Kreuk) crashed into a
field, making her a witness to the alien beings that
emerge from the ship. She is found and taken home by
Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum) who has experienced a
puzzling encounter with the Kryptonians, leading him
to suspect they have ties to the mysterious
disappearance of Chloe Sullivan (Allison Mack) and
Clark Kent (Tom Welling). Both have been drawn
through a portal into the snowy wilds of the Yukon,
where Clark stumbles onto the Fortress of Solitude,
a center of learning in which he will face his
greatest nemesis. Pleading with his Kryptonian
father Jor-El for Chloe's life, Clark risks the loss
of his powers in carrying her to safety and
returning to Smallville to battle the Zod. He
arrives just in time to save Lana from being killed,
but not in time to prevent him from missing his
father's deadline for his return.
As punishment, Jor-El removes his
super human powers. Believing his life will now be normal, Clark
happily pursues a relationship with Lana, but being normal doesn't erase the
past. Lies have deteriorated his friendship with Lex, who is fascinated with
the pursuit of knowledge, and shows political ambitions that may send him
straight to the White House. After Lana shows an interest in astronomy, Lex
encourages her to join him in a study of the spacecraft he purloined from
the field. Their working relationship draws them closer together, while
Clark tackles the academic headaches of college life. Professor Milton Fine
(James Marsters), an openly professing critic of Luthor Corp and its
experiments, wants Clark to see a much bigger picture.
After a successful article on a group of kryptonite-influenced vampires
at a local sorority group catches the eye of the editor, Chloe earns a
position at the Daily Planet. But working in her dream job and juggling
Clark's secret are far from easy. In the meantime, ex decides to prove
once and for all he can escape the legacy his father has created and
chooses to run for senator. Not able to stand the thought of a Luthor in
public office, Jonathan Kent (John Schinder) decides to run against him,
hiring Lois Lane (Erica Durance) as his campaign manager. When
Clark is shot and killed by a freak-slaying madman, Jor-El comes in the
form of Lionel Luthor (John Glover) to restore his son's powers. More
lie ahead for the citizens of Smallville as the senatorial race turns
ugly, the Luthors engage in a power struggle over their multi-million
dollar corporation, Martha Kent is seduced by the dark side, and Lana is
torn between the two influential men striving to earn her love. With
everything comes a price, and in exchange for Clark's salvation from
moral death, the life of someone close to him will be forfeit.
Producers promised us season five would be different due to their newfound
ability to play things on a more adult level. It makes for a much more tightly
written and complex series, and their approach keeps audiences guessing. While
all the characters are granted the opportunity to shine, the season really
belongs to Chloe. Openly knowing Clark's secret grants her the privilege of
being party to many of his rescue missions, and numerous episodes feature her
reporting skills. Lex undergoes drastic changes, not always for the better.
Audiences awaiting his turn toward the dark side will be rewarded, as he shows
calculating and ruthless ambition to pursue his chosen ends. In one episode, he
tortures someone for information. In another, he wants to implant a computer
chip that will remove a bionic man's emotions. Now that the female characters
are of a "legal age," it also opens the door for the love triangle steadily
building over the past four seasons. It's a good season for Lex/Lana fans in
particular.
Violence maintains a standard of bad guys being punched, kicked, thrown
through walls, electrocuted, and shot. The first two episodes feature the
increasing relationship between Lana and Clark, involving lots of passionate
kissing that leads to more off-screen. They wake up in the same bed
one morning, before being discovered and yelled at by Jonathan. Dialogue in
later seasons references Clark's frustration at not being able to continue a
sexual relationship once he regains his powers, as well as Lana's
disappointment at his constant rejection of her advances. Vampire vixens
lure a boy into a hot tub and feed on his blood. One episode ("Exposed")
revolves around a scandal involving a strip club. Lois is forced to go
undercover and makes an appearance in a skimpy outfit. Immodestly dressed
females wander around and dance provocatively. During Lex's campaign
("Fanatic") a woman drops her robe and reveals herself to him; he covers her
back up and tells her to get lost. In "Hypnotic," a bewitched Clark becomes
aggressively intimate with a half-dressed girl. "Fade" shows Lois' naked
silhouette in the shower a couple of times; fearing an intruder, she arms
herself with a shower scrubber and throws open the door... only to shock
Clark.
There are some fantastic episodes this season. "Lockdown" is a tense Panic
Room-like thriller. "Lexmas" includes a haunting glimpse of what Lex's life
would be like if he chose to pursue love instead of money. In "Void," Lana plays
dangerous experiments with drugs in order to see her dead parents. One of my
personal favorites is "Tomb," a
Supernatural-esque thriller in which Chloe must face down a serial
killer. "Reckoning" will also reduce audiences to tears as they give a final
farewell to a major character. Season four's constant antics had me doubting if
the show could make a comeback. I was surprised to find this season back in the
fantastic norm. It took a lot of big risks that paid off, and ignited new
possibilities for a much darker future for Superman.
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