"Kandor" Review!
Written by C.M. Houghton ("Triplet")

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SPOILER WARNING: There are major spoilers in this review, so read at your own risk. Don't say I didn't warn you.

I hadn't been sure where this whole Kandorian storyline was going or how they even survived the destruction of Krypton, but you know: this really wasn't what I had expected. Not that I mind what they did, it's just that trying to second guess the writers/producers on this show is a fruitless task. Either they do something completely unexpected or take a story you felt you knew where it was going and into a different direction.

While I had guessed that some sort of cloning had gone on, Zod had been general before the destruction of Krypton and he was also likely older than the relatively youthful version here, the reasons and who else was involved I hadn't guessed. Zod losing his wife and son in the battle long ago, and blaming Jor-El for turning away from him in a time of need, is a very good explanation for Zod's hatred of Jor-El later. It also explains, even if only by inference, just how Jor-El (the dude in the ice crystal palace thingy) had recognized Alia back in 'Echo.'

Writers Turi Meyer & Al Septien have penned probably one of the most canon-centric episodes so far this season. There were so many calls back to previous episodes and the continuity was terrific. Although, I'm not quite sure how the orb that had made Clark powerless at the end of the 7th season had also had the ability to contain cloned versions of Zod and the other Kandorians to be released in the 8th, but maybe that's not that big a deal. I do like the results.

This was a terrific episode. I think the thing I liked about it most maybe was a subtle thing: the fact that Zod and Jor-El had a similar relationship that Lex and Clark had. Lex felt like Clark had betrayed and lied to him, but Clark never truly gave up hope that Lex was still worth saving. Well, maybe he'd considered killing Lex after he'd poisoned Lana's new power suit so that Clark couldn't be with her anymore, but Clark hadn't gone through it and was disappointed in Oliver when he apparently had.

Jor-El seemed to have been a very good friend of Zod's in the flashback at the beginning of the episode, but by the middle of the episode, it was clear they'd had a falling out just like Lex and Clark. Now, just like his son's greatest nemesis, Zod is willing to go to all lengths to destroy Jor-El.

It has a nice symmetry to it and makes Jor-El's plea to Clark to save Zod more touching. He is very much like his son. Zod's betrayal of him at the end also means that Jor-El was right when he told Tess that Kryptonians aren't any better than humans: they have the same weaknesses, the same frailties, as humanity despite also having extraordinary physical strength. Meaning, unlike Clark (and apparently his father), they can be petty and vindictive just like humans.

So, Clark is remarkable even among his people because his goodness and honorability is uncommon, not because all Kryptonians are saintly.

As a Superman fan that makes me very, very happy. It also proves the bastard that is the AI version of Jor-El is that way through some fluke or flaw in its programming, not because Clark's father was that way to begin with. Thank goodness for that, but maybe this difference is the real reason the AI version of Jor-El wasn't willing to disclose that the younger living and breathing version of him might also be on Earth along with the other Kandorians. He probably knew that the comparison wouldn't do him any good in Clark's eyes.

This storyline also follows one in the current comics that had brought comic book readers 'New Krypton', thanks to the released Kandorians from the bottled city. Although I don't think this episode's story of Kandor automatically invalidates the story in the comics, or even the previous mentions of Kandor in this show. Kandor had probably been rebuilt after Black Zero had destroyed Kandor. Yeah, it might be a bit of a retcon in the show, but in the comics, and in the previous live action versions of Superman's story, Krypton was a Utopia where war and disease were all but abolished. Given the large egos, like Zod's, that had undoubtedly been involved, I'm not surprised that it was a far more hostile world than the peaceful planet that had been at times depicted in the comics. Maybe it's different from the most widely accepted version of Krypton, but being different isn't always a bad thing.

I liked that Zod's humanity was explored a bit in this episode, showing what he was before he'd become a 'monster' as Chloe had called him. This episode worked almost more as an origin for him, than it had as a backgrounder for where the orb (and the clones inside it) had come from. Showing that Zod was likely a good father and loving husband before the rebels of Black Zero had destroyed Kandor, before the grief over losing his wife and child had scarred him, was a good choice. It makes his later betrayal of Jor-El almost understandable and his likely coming vendetta against Clark well motivated. He's a bit more sympathetic now that we know a little bit more about the tragedies of his past.

I really liked that along with explaining the orb and just how things had come to pass that brought Zod and his soldiers to Earth, that they also went some way to show us why Jor-El had hidden the stones of power in Earth's past. It makes a little more sense now. I wish they'd explained that back in Season 7, but (like Tess) I'll take what I can get.

I also liked that Jor-El explained a little bit more about his time on earth when he was younger. It gave this aspect of his story a little bit of context, so that was a nice touch. Her surprise makes it clear that Clark hadn't explained everything about himself to Chloe in off-screenville. It was nice to see her side of the story, her adoration of Clark and of his parents, as she talked to Jor-El about Clark and the life he'd led on Earth. She truly is a fan of the Big Blue Boyscout, even if they've sometimes had their differences.

I loved that while the episode revolved mostly around Zod and the origins of the experiment that brought him and the other Kryptonians, in the end it came down to Zod's search for the Blur and him finally discovering the secret despite Jor-El's and Tess' scheme to protect him. It was all about Clark, really. If they can do that every episode that doesn't have as much Clark in them, I think they'll be doing a good job.

I liked the humor of the episode a lot, there were a lot of funny comments thrown in here and there (gotta love Oliver as the comedic relief). I loved his line about buying Clark a sense of humor for Christmas and wondering whether it was his father Clark was talking about when he asked about the 'dude in your ice crystal palace thingy'... very funny.

One thing I thought I had liked, but didn't upon closer examination, was the inclusion of the supposed Shakespeare reference. Zod had said to Tess: "The wine cup is the little silver well, where truth, if truth there be, doth dwell." I originally liked that line a lot. It fit the scene and being a former thespian, I do like Shakespeare so I appreciated the attempt at the allusion, but I was perturbed when I tried to look up the reference. I had wanted to mention the play it was from if I talked about the quote, which I wanted to do, but in researching the line I discovered that it had been erroneously attributed to Shakespeare and was not in any play. I had looked and looked and couldn't find it, I even resorted to asking my followers on twitter if they recognized it... One of my tweeps is actually a Shakespeare professor, and she said it's definitively not a Shakespeare quote.

When I was looking around the web, what I did find was that this same line was in one particular translation of the "Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam", but nowhere else. The entire quatrain reads "The wine-cup is the little silver well / Where Truth, if Truth there be, doth ever dwell / Death too is there,--and Death who would not seek? / And Love that in itself is Heaven and Hell." According to the sources I found on that translation, it was penned in the 1890's, the original poetry coming from the 1100's. So it definitely pre-dated erroneous attributions on the web being copied and pasted on hundreds of web sites.

Just a friendly note to the writers: If you're going to use a Shakespearean quote, and even include a line in the dialog indicating such, you better know which play or sonnet that the quote came from because someone like me just might check and figure out it's really not.

So, that was a bit of an oops. I know a lot of people might not care, especially since my comments on it took up three hundreds words or so of this review. But since I looked it up, and that took about two hours of my time, there was probably no way I wasn't going to mention it. Sorry, Turi and Al.

Another thing that sorta bothered me was how ham-handed Tess' scheme really had turned out to be. As much as I like Tess, when it comes to underhanded ways she probably has a lot to learn from Zod. It's a shame her missteps cost Jor-El his life.

I'm sorry that the writers almost seemed reluctant to let Clark have a sit-down with dear old dad. I would have liked to have seen Clark bond with Jor-El a bit. I guess that final death scene is what we'll have to settle for.

I'm glad that Clark saw that Jor-El isn't the monster he'd thought and that it brought out the fact that Oliver still has a lot of respect for Clark, despite their past differences. I loved that Oliver told Clark that he's got his back.

But I'm really curious what it was that Jor-El had left behind in the Kent's cabinet. I suppose we'll find out soon, but we'll have to see when that tease gets paid off.

Despite the few missteps, I thought that this episode was an excellent outing for Turi Meyer & Al Septien. The episode kept up a steady pace as the stakes got higher and higher for all involved, with wonderful act breaks. I loved that they left Zod with the knowledge he'd been searching for, the true identity of the Blur. It's not going to end well for Clark, that's for sure, so I'll forgive them for the oops they had here and there.

Tom Welling was awesome as Clark, as always, but probably his best scene were the scenes at the end after he discovered that Jor-El was in Smallville. The scene with Chloe and Oliver were awesome, but I loved Jor-El's death scene the best. It was so sad and Tom perfectly portrayed Clark's anger and grief.

Allison Mack delivered yet another rather Chloe-light episode. She didn't have much screen time, but she made good use of what time she did have. I liked the scenes with Jor-El possibly the best, she showed how much affection that Chloe has for Clark; how proud she is of him.

Cassidy Freeman was a pure delight as Tess Mercer. I really liked the scenes she had with Zod the best. Tess really probably needs to catch a ride on the clue bus, but Cassidy plays Tess with such a delightful joy it's really fun to watch. She gives Tess an edge. I really love Tess a lot, it's thanks to Cassidy's portrayal of her.

Callum Blue was fantastic as Zod. Since this acted as an origin story for him, you know I've talked about this before, it was important for him to show how much Zod had changed over the course of the events depicted in Krypton's past. Callum did that beautifully. In the beginning of the episode, he was smart and engaging, but also showed devastation at the loss of his family. That emotional tone colored the rest of the performance beautifully. He gave Zod a hint of vulnerability that was wonderful to see. I really enjoyed his performance in this episode.

Justin Hartley rocked as Oliver. He's had Oliver back as his usual charming self and delivered the comedic relief perfectly. Probably his best moment was in the plane when Oliver was talking to Clark about Jor-El. I loved the moment when the camera lingered on him after Clark had said that he wasn't sure whether he wanted to meet his 'real' father. I could almost see the thoughts that Oliver was thinking in Justin's body language, reluctant to challenge Clark because his life is so different and how can anyone really understand what would drive his decision-making process, but unafraid to confront him when he thought Clark was making a mistake. It was a real moment, a very human moment...

As good as he was as Jor-El, I don't think that casting Julian Sands was the perfect choice. While I love the gravitas of his voice and performance, he doesn't look a thing like Tom Welling. We'd previously seen Jor-El, sort of, back in 'Relic' and he looked enough like Clark that they could be confused for one another (of course it helped that Tom Welling played the part). While I can buy him not being Tom Welling in old age make-up, that would look hokey, but looking this different? I'm not sure that was the best choice. And Julian's very careful and very theatrical enunciation isn't really all that much like the much rougher timber of the AI version of Jor-El as performed by Terrance Stamp. I think he's probably too old as well...

Still, he had some great moments. Maybe looking the part isn't as important as being the best choice for the part. Too many times the "Smallville" powers-that-be chose looks over skill and the show suffered for it, I won't name names or point fingers, but I think the current show runners recognize, the way that Al Gough and Miles Millar I don't think ever did, that sometimes LOOKING good for the part isn't always the same as BEING good for the part.

I did like that he had a bit of a patrician air to him, a good contrast with Callum Blue's apparently more working class accent. Superman's family on Krypton was basically the Kryptonian version of aristocrats, his father a leading scientist in technocracy. Had he been raised on Krypton, Clark likely would have been like a Prince, a noble of their society. I buy that with Julian Sands playing Jor-El, not sure anyone else could have done that better. So overall (despite his look and age not being quite right) I think Julian did an outstanding job. Not sure if it's possible for Jor-El to come back, but since this was a cloned version of Jor-El maybe something could be worked out. I hope so. I liked him a lot.

Director Jeannot Szwarc did a very good job. I did like some of the nice touches he had included in this episode. I liked that the camera lingered on Clark and Oliver as they talked on the plane so we could see Oliver really react to what Clark was saying. That reaction, Justin physically showing that he'd made the decision to tell Clark what he really thought, was terrific.

Although I guess the one complaint I would have was the casting of the ruling council in the trial scene. Most of the other Kryptonians have commanding voices, yet these people's voice were higher-pitched and thin... We couldn't see them all that well since they were only disembodied talking heads, so I would think that their voices would have to exceptional and they weren't.

Barry Donlevy filmed a terrific episode. The photography was beautiful. Probably my favorite scene was the scene in the desert with Oliver and Clark. I liked the bright and very warm yellow tone to the scene.

I'm not sure I liked James Philpott's version of the Kryptonian swirling rings thingy that had originated in the original Christopher Reeve films. I don't think they read well and I didn't see the point, really... It seems a waste of time and effort. As much as I love when they follow the design ideas of previous iterations of the Superman story, I'm not sure they always need to be slavishly so.

I wasn't in love with Melanie Williams' design for Zod's dress uniform. It didn't look like it fit him; the shoulders seemed too broad for Callum's body. And I didn't much like the robes that Jor-El wore, again trying to hard to fit in with previous canon (the robes were a lot like the ones that Marlon Brando wore in the Christopher Reeve films). I liked Jor-El's white jacket from the tease though...

Louis Febre did a marvelous job with the music. I love the Zod theme more and more every time I hear it. And the ending scene was so touching, with the soaring music as Clark stood over his father's grave.

Entity FX and Entity FX North really need to work on things... Again, there was a less than ideal job done in a "Smallville" episode. The House of El shield out in the Turkish desert looked a bit too overdone, or underdone... It LOOKED digital. Although I did really like the effects when Clark burned the House of El crest on his father's headstone. That was cool.

Not quite perfect, but still probably one of the more enjoyable episodes of the series, so I'm going to spot the episode a half point or so and give this 5 House of El Shield headstones out of a possible 5.

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