Smallville, Season Six

 

Our rating: 3 out of 5

Rated: TV14

reviewed by Charity Bishop
 

The sixth season of the enormously popular teenage Superman drama began as its most controversial, and over the course of twenty-two episodes broke viewers' hearts and floundered a bit before finding solid ground again. The drawn-out romance between Clark Kent and Lana Lang was at an end (or so we hoped), and she had moved on to a newer and much darker man, while fans met a slew of new superheroes and formed alliances.

With Metropolis in flames and most of the world plunging into darkness, the only hope for humanity comes in the form of Kal-El, the Kryptonian warrior sent to earth a number of years earlier to prevent his destruction along with the rest of his family when their planet was obliterated. But the human-raised Clark Kent (Tom Welling) has been banished to the Phantom Zone, a cold existence where the worst criminals of Krypton were sent as punishment for their misdeeds. Enlisting the assistance of a beautiful Kryptonian loyal to his father's memory, Clark returns to earth determined to defeat Zod, an evil dictator from his home planet who has taken over the body of Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum) and intends to unleash mass destruction on earth in his plans to overthrow current civilization and form a new empire. Unintentionally ensnared in his diabolical plan is Lana Lang (Kristin Kreuk), whose sole desire is to prevent Zod from destroying humanity, even if it means ultimately sacrificing her boyfriend in the process. 

Meanwhile, with the death of the Kryptonian deviant who has kidnapped Martha Kent (Annette O'Toole) and Lois Lane (Erica Durance), their plane has crashed in the arctic near the Fortress of Solitude. Haggling with Jor-El, her son's Kryptonian father, Martha manages to return them to Smallville, where Lionel Luthor (John Glover) is attempting to determine how to defeat Zod. But even when the monster is expelled from Lex's body, it does not mean the end of Clark's struggles against the spirits of his home planet. Five of the most dangerous warriors escaped when he opened the portal between the Phantom Zone and earth. Enlisting the assistance of his trusted friend Chloe (Allison Mack) to help find and defeat these creatures, Clark is torn between duty and desire as he watches Lana become more deeply involved with Lex.

Obsessed with the force that took over his body and determined to find a way to fight the meteor-generated freaks that run amuck in the town, Lex secretly builds a series of laboratories to conduct tests on the gifted occupants of the local mental institution. The only thing standing between him and his ultimately self-serving designs is the Green Arrow, a masked do-gooder who makes it his life's work to steal from the rich and give to the poor. Only Clark knows his secret identity, Oliver Queen (Justin Hartley), a billion-dollar businessman and former schoolmate of Lex. The two of them share a mutual loathing for one another that builds to a crescendo as Clark hurtles toward his destiny. Every show has a peak season in which everything works, and for the first half of the year, this was it. The introduction of Ollie was a brilliant move on the part of the writers, who brought a fresh, dynamic new series of plots, intrigues, and romantic triangles to a well-established format. It's really him that spurs the season into new territory, that and the risky move of showing the eventual seduction of Lana Lang to the proverbial dark side.

Even better is Jimmy Olsen (Aaron Ashmore), the perky coworker at the Dailey Planet who just wants to take a decent picture, and be the occasional hero of the hour. To sum it up in a single sentence, season six's first half is intense, exciting, romantic-themed drama with so many moments of sheer brilliance that it's like the cherry on the top of a chocolate-vanilla sundae. How could you not love the formation of the Justice League, the appearance of Martin Manhunter, or even the twisted relationship between Lionel Luthor and Martha Kent? But at around episode sixteen, the season starts to self-destruct. It is as if the writers forgot or changed their original plans, because everything falls apart. The careful distance between Lana and Clark implodes, transforming her character into one of the most-hated women on network television, as she becomes nothing more than a pawn between the diabolical Luthors. 

As an original fan of the Lex/Lana pairing, it was a particular slap in the face to not only myself, but just about every other person I know. In the course of four episodes, they made me hate Lana Lang after five years of standing up for her. There is a decent amount of content, but most of it consists of violence and thematic elements, much more so of the latter than the former. Lana moves in with Lex and it doesn't take them long to start up a sexual relationship. In "Wither," the episode closes with them gently disrobing one another (only her bare back is shown) before the camera pans out. Lois pressures Ollie on more than one occasion to push their relationship forward, but something always interrupts them. That doesn't stop some playful flirting and passionate kissing, however. While possessed by red kryptonite, Clark tries to seduce Lois. They get as far as making out on the couch before he decides to bust in on Lana's engagement dinner and kidnap her. 

Violence involves lots of explosions, car accidents, shootings, and physical combat. Language is nearly nonexistent, but thematic elements involve a miscarriage, a pregnancy out of wedlock, and general romantic angst. There are some fantastic episodes. "Reunion" has a powerful emotional punch, as we learn the tragic history between Lex and Ollie's rivalry. "Static" also gives Kristin Kreuk a lot to work with when she discovers just how much she truly loves Lex. "Crimson" is arguably one of the most fun storylines this season, since it hints at what we all know is coming someday... Lois and Clark. "Noir" gives us an old-fashioned murder mystery when Jimmy is bumped on the head and dreams of a Humphrey Bogart-like black and white world. Like the years before it, Smallville has its ups and downs both character and plot-wise. It entertained and frustrated me more in its sixth year than any other seasons, giving me hope and managing to break my heart at the same time. It continues to be an exceptional, exciting television series, but ultimately it needs to learn to let go. I value maturity in television, not so much for the content quota as the wisdom of the writers, and this is one show that needs to mature.