"Salvation" Review!

Written by C.M. Houghton ("Triplet")

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NOTE: This review contains some HUGE spoilers, so you probably don't want to read this review before watching the episode if you don't like to learn important plot details before seeing the episode.  Don't say I hadn't warned you, but if you still haven't seen this episode you need to get on it. It's awesome, but come back when you're done and I'll tell you why I think so.

Before I say anything else, I must say that this is probably the best Season Finale since Season 4's 'Commencement.' In fact, it's probably a better season finale than that one.  I adored that season finale, so that's saying a lot.

I'm not sure I really had anticipated that, but maybe I should have.  This season had started off so well, but like a lot of others it had seemed to have stumbled a bit in the run up to the end.  In amongst stellar outings there were more duds than I would have expected.  They've redeemed themselves for their final few outings of the season, but especially had done so with this episode.

There were still a few problems, but they were relatively minor.  They just did so many things right that I can almost ignore what I thought they'd done wrong.  I'll still talk about those things, but this season ender has one thing the last few have seriously lacked and a season finale really needs: a satisfying climax. 

I think it probably deserves an extra point for just that, but I'll have to see how that shakes out.  Written by the very reliable writing/producing team of Turi Meyer & Al Septien, they did an excellent job.  The pacing was great, the dialogue was excellent, and everything fit so well into what the last few episodes had helped to setup.

However, there were a few small problems that might have kept this from being a completely perfect episode.

For example, I wasn't completely wild about the opening.  The prescient dream of Clark's was at times a bit on the hokey side, and I'm not sure Lois was acting completely in character, but I guess this 'dream' was good if only for the fact it helped focus Clark's part of the story.

Clark seeing proof of his destiny, instead of people just telling him about it, finally gave him the wake-up call he needed to finally accept it for real this time.   He had come so close so many times before and it never seemed to stick.  However Clark coming to that realization in the final episode before the final season it makes sense that he finally would. 

Yet, it made me worried that they put the traditional 'S' symbol with a cape and blue tights into everyone's mind right now.    

So now that they put the suit out there, even only indirectly seen in reflections, they will really need to deliver it.  Next season will be (or should be) the last season, so they will likely wait until the final moments of the final episode to show actually show us the suit, but if there is no truly iconic moment then I will be very annoyed.  It's the one big moment that will make or break this series.  If they get that wrong, it will leave a sour taste in the mouth.

With what Tom Welling had said at The CW Up-Fronts last month, they seem to know how serious a thing that is for the fans, so maybe I shouldn't worry.  I know I've seen some show's series finales that didn't measure up.  I loved "Seinfeld," for example, but the series finale of that show seriously didn't work for me.  There had been others that ended prematurely and the series finale had originally been intended as a season finale and that is just awful, so I'm glad "Smallville" will avoid that fate.

It should give them some time to craft the end of the series and make it strong.  Not all shows have such a well-defined end-point added to having the required time to get the characters there, so it could mean that next season will be as epic as we all would wish it to be.  However, we'll have to see how this all plays out and further opining on that is probably best left for reviews next year.

I think the only other problem I had with the script was how shoe-horned-in some of the pieces of expository dialogue felt.  It was good to learn exactly how Martha had known what she did about Krypton and the book of Rao, but why are we just hearing about her inheriting Lionel's Kryptonian library now?  He died two seasons ago.  That's a bit of a retcon, as was Tess pulling a working Kryptonian computer from the burnt out rubble of Zod's tower.  But at least those explanations made sense, for the most part.

The biggest thing they got right: I absolutely adored how Supermanly Clark was in this episode.  He was so earnest and resolved to do the right thing.  I'm glad he finally figured out what his path should be and that he did indeed belong on earth.  It was a tough decision for him to leave, so I applaud the way they handled that.   It wasn't a light-switch moment, he wrestled with the decision for quite a bit before he announced he was going to leave.  Once the decision was made, he stuck to it even though things didn't work out exactly how he'd planned.

I had thought that Zod trying to fool Lois into working against Clark was perfect as he tried to lure Clark's supporters to other places around the world. Zod worked hard to isolate Clark, but in the end it was ironic that it didn't really matter.  Clark beat Zod all by himself, although he wasn't easy and he was left in quite a cliff-hanger of an episode ending.

One thing that had me a bit confused at the end of 'Hostage' was that I had thought that the note from the Blur telling Lois it was time to meet felt a little off.  Clark was down in Smallville when Lois got that note, so it was unlikely that he would have left it.  I didn't think he was quite ready yet to reveal himself to Lois at that point anyway. 

How he did reveal himself to her was awesome, by the way, but bittersweet as it came after Clark had decided to leave Earth.

The only thing I worry about that is whether that her knowledge about The Blur being Clark will stick.  I don’t want Lois to be mind-whammied in some way to 'forget' that.  She'd learned his secret before several times, but she was always under the influence of something (or taken over by some villain) and never remembered.  In the comics Lois does eventually find out about Clark, but it was much later in his superhero career.  She usually only finds out once Superman is fully established as a hero and is wearing the blue tights and red cape and using a pair of glasses as a 'disguise.'
Even though her knowing this early isn't typically how it's handled, the nice thing about Lois finding out the 'Blur's' identity now is that she won't have to be unconscious or altered for Clark to rescue her.  What a relief that will be for the writers and for Erica.  Lois has been spending so much time unconscious after getting knocked around by the villain nearly every week that it's beginning to strain credulity that she doesn't have a lasting brain injury from all those concussions. 

It could even work to the show's benefit. I mean, the comedy potential could be very good, depending on what sort of situations Lois finds herself in.  Or she and Clark could do investigations together where he wouldn't have to use his superpowers surreptitiously and she could seriously geek-out by even the most casual displays of his powers. While some of the things he'd done to work around revealing his secret have been cute (him making her coffee cold to distract her for example), it will be good to see how she deals with him and his powers directly.  I think it would add a great dimension to their relationship so I hope that this isn't somehow erased.
I liked all the cameo appearances by other members of the Justice League.  It's good to see that they are sometimes seen instead of being only mentioned occasionally.  I was sorry they didn't have a bigger presence, but it was still welcome.

I LOVED all of the great cliff-hangers.  They were truly cliff-hanging, although Tess Mercer's demise apparently wasn't permanent since it was recently announced that Cassidy Freeman is coming back as a series regular next year. Was that Granny Goodness (a Darkseid-related villain in the comics) who had walked into Tess' room after she had 'died'?  If it was Granny Goodness, can Darkseid (or Dark Side) be far behind?  Just how is *that* going to work on "Smallville?"

And just who had pounced all over Oliver in that satellite base station? Are they also related to Darkseid?

For those of you who don't know, Darkseid is a god, or an extremely powerful being who might as well be a god, and he causes all sorts of trouble for Superman in the comics. If the beings attacking Oliver were connected to Darkseid, then they might be his troops called the 'parademons.'   With a potential Granny Goodness going into Tess' room and all of the allusions to 'the coming apocalypse' (or 'Apokolips' which is Darkseid's home world) they'd been making all season, it's looking likely they'll bring Darkseid into Smallville next season.  

The show had previously made vague references to an anti-life equation, but those comments hadn't seemed to have been connected to Darkseid at the time.  Yet, the anti-life equation is definitely Darkseid-related.  The equation is a formula which takes away the free-will of others.  In the comics, Darkseid is convinced humanity holds the key to finding all of the pieces of the Equation (he only knows part of it) which is why he constantly tries to take over the Earth. 

So, if there was anyone worse than Zod, Darkseid would certainly be it, more so if he gets hold of the rest of the Anti-Life Equation.  And I'm all for that since Darkseid would make for an interesting villain for next season because his goal would go far further than Zod's: instead of just ruling Earth, he could want the entire human race to become his mindless slaves with no will of their own.  A Kryptonian military dictatorship is bad enough, but that?  It's far worse. Talk about rising stakes…

The other major cliff-hanger that has me interested is the one with Lois.  What is Lois going to do now that she knows that Clark is the Blur?  Like I said earlier, I will be very interested in seeing how they handle that come the new season and whether that will 'stick' or not.

And how the heck is Clark going to survive a fall from the top of that building with a blue kryptonite dagger stuck into his stomach?

I think the only character without a great cliff-hanger was Chloe.  Yeah, she is more in love with Oliver than she had led herself to believe, but her screaming into the walkie-talkie as he gets overwhelmed by some unknown enemy force isn't much of a cliff-hanger.  Maybe they hadn't worked out exactly what was going to happen with Chloe by the time they'd filmed this episode, it's been since the episode aired that it was announced Allison Mack will only be back part-time next season.  I'll be very curious how they handle her character next year.  I haven't been completely happy with what they'd done with Chloe this season, but I do like the character.  I hope they make good use of the limited episodes she will be in.

I can't wait the four months until the 10th season starts up.  It should be epic going from where they left off. Turi and Al did a great job setting everything up.  Aside from the retcons in the expository dialogue, the episode was a completely solid effort.  The pacing was good, the stakes constantly rose and there were almost as many unanswered questions as ones they answered and the final act made for an awesome season cliff-hanging ending that was as satisfying as it was maddening.  The wait for September will be painful...

Tom Welling was completely awesome as Clark Kent.  The resolve he had Clark show, despite his choice taking him away from home and everyone he loves, was perfect.   He had struggled a bit with the decision, and his dilemma was clear with the way that Tom played it. 

I loved the scene in the loft with Lois.  Tom played Clark as so earnest and determined to let her know just how important she was to him, yet he seemed almost relieved that he wasn't going to have to tell her his secret when she told him about that job offer from Perry.  The moment before he decided to lie again, when he was facing away from Lois so she couldn't see her face, I could almost tell what Clark was thinking.  Then he seemed to struggle with that decision as the scene progressed. It was a terrific scene.

And I adored the moment in the street when Clark was in silhouette and we couldn't see Tom's face.  At first it was frustrating for me because I wanted to see the reactions, but then Tom tilted his head and reached out to gently and tenderly hold Erica's hand.  Even without seeing his face, Tom physically helped convey what Clark was feeling.  The tenderness of that moment wasn't at all harmed by not being able to see Tom's eyes.  He played that perfectly: it was a touching moment.  I also loved the final fight scene and the fall he had at the end. 

Maybe falling with the outstretched arms was a bit much, I'm not sure I like Clark being painted as a Christ-like figure, but it fit the moment and I have no complaints about how Tom played it.  He gave Clark almost a peaceful look on his face as he fell, realizing that he'd completed his goal that Zod wasn't going to have a chance to destroy the Earth like he had with Krypton.  That was an amazing moment from Tom and a fantastic way to end the season on a huge cliff-hanger.  What a terrific episode for Tom, I'm so glad we're going to be getting one more season of his performances as Clark.

Allison Mack was terrific as Chloe.  Her reactions with Oliver and Clark were well played.  I adored how emotional Allison made Chloe feel at just talking about the possibility of Clark leaving and she was frantic when she realized Oliver was beyond help.  She had done a marvelous job, so I will be sorry to see her time on the show cut back next season. I've not been totally crazy about everything Chloe has done this year, but I am a fan of Allison Mack.  Hopefully Chloe will see a more satisfying send-off than Lana had had, and hopefully Allison will be moving onto bigger and better things after her stint with the show is over.

Erica Durance was amazing as Lois. Although I'm not sure I totally bought every moment of what she did with Lois in Clark's prescient dream, I did love what she had done with Lois the rest of the episode. My favorite parts were the scenes with Clark in the loft and the next one with him in the street.  It was heartbreaking to see Lois so affected by what Clark had been hiding from her.  Then after Clark had rescued Lois from Zod, she did a great job selling Lois' shame at believing someone less worthy than the real deal had been the Blur.  Then when Clark touched Lois' hand so gently, a look of relief passed over her face which was followed quickly by a look of surprise as he pulled her around and kissed her.  I think those were the right emotions, it made the scene far more touching.  It was unexpected when she gave into the kiss and then realized after it was over that the Blur was in fact Clark.  What a great scene for her, Erica did a wonderful job. 

Cassidy Freeman was excellent as Tess Mercer.  Possibly my favorite scene of her was when she was beating Zod with that set of kryptonite brass knuckles.  That was awesome.  All of her anger and fear needed some outlet and it seemed cathartic for Tess to beat Zod to a bloody pulp.  No more toying with him, Tess finally laid it all out and showed Zod how she really felt about him.  It was wonderful to see Cassidy play that.  I also really liked her scene with Clark in the hospital.  Tess was clearly on her last legs, close to death, but she redeemed herself in the end and Cassidy had done a marvelous job portraying that.

Justin Hartley was awesome as Oliver.  I loved the snarky attitude he threw at Hawkman and yet he believably played Oliver being tender to Chloe too. It was a terrific performance, too bad we didn't see more of him.

Callum Blue was fantastic as Zod.  I loved the way he played Lois, just a hint of menace yet believable enough to make it seem realistic that she would be taken in by his charm and smooth lies.  Yet, when he was trying to console her by putting his hand on her shoulder it seemed so artificial.  It was like Zod didn't have a truly caring feeling in his body.  Zod might be a sociopath and has no empathy, so it was the perfect way to play that bit.  I also liked how he played the last moments before Zod was pulled up to the portal created by the Book of Rao.  He watched Clark start to fall with a smug satisfaction, but then it turned to an almost resignation at being outmaneuvered by Clark.  With him leaving like that, it just doesn't look like Zod will be coming back next season.  That's too bad since he's added to the show, but I wish Callum well.

Director Greg Beeman had been, if you weren't aware, a producer and director of "Smallville" before, but had left years ago to work on "Heroes" and since had worked on the just canceled "Melrose Place."  He last directed an episode for "Smallville" back at the end of the 4th season with its finale 'Commencement.'  Perhaps it's no coincidence that my previous favorite season finale was directed by the same man who shepherded this one. I think I only have one complaint, I thought it odd that Granny Goodness (or whomever she was) hadn't fully put her knitting needles back into that tote. 

It's a minor thing, but why didn't she do that?  When she packed away her knitting, the handles didn't close all the way and her hand was spread out in an odd way to hold it as tightly shut as possible when she walked into Tess' room. That bit of business seemed a bit off to me, someone should have caught that.

Well, maybe I have another.  In Chloe's final scene as the walkie-talkie went to dead air, the shots cut between ones that got further and further away from Allison leaning over that table. The view had gotten too distant and it stunted the emotional impact of the scene for me.  I would have liked to have had a better look at Allison's acting that loss and fear and less of a better look of the larger composition of the scene elements (mise-en-scène). 

Cinematographer Barry Donlevy did a terrific job with the photography.  The camera was very mobile and I thought the slow motion was well-used and used sparingly.  I think a little bit of that goes a long way, too much and it gets tiresome and boring, so I think the restraint used was good.  I actually didn't mind the very Spartacus-like punch that Zod had thrown against Clark's jaw, it far better used than the last time they'd done that sort of thing in 'Checkmate.'  I also really liked the hand-held work when Oliver was crawling around in the air ducts, especially when he was trying to escape from whomever (or whatever) was going to attack him.  It added to the claustrophobic feel of the scene. 

Oh, and I absolutely adored the street scene with Lois.  The chiaroscuro lighting was well used.  That's when there's a thin band of light which illuminates only part, or parts, of the subject, and it's been used since the Renaissance by painters and from film-makers since the 1930's.  The band of light across Clark's chest, with the rest of his figure in silhouette, made that moment seem almost like a panel from a comic book.  It was awesome. Truly.  That one moment was probably my favorite look of the entire episode.  This was another wonderful outing from Barry.

James Philpott did an awesome job with the new 'Crow's Nest' set.  I recently got a laptop that has an HD screen and I paid extra to buy this episode in the HD version from iTunes because I liked the look of everything so much.  And let me tell you that when I'd seen HD versions of the show before sometimes the older sets, like the Luthor mansion library set or the Talon coffee house set, can look old and tired.  Well, the Crow's Nest set looked awesome in HD, both on my TV and when I was watching it later on my computer.  What a great space, I hope they get a lot of use out of it next season.

I also liked how strongly the scene had echoed earlier scenes in the series of the caves and the octagonal key that still is required to get Clark back and forth to the fortress.  The colors and the light, with the way they lit up were so much like how the key was pulled into the cave wall in past seasons, especially in the important canon episode 'Rosetta.'  That was the first episode, by the way, where Dr. Virgil Swann had urged Clark to accept his destiny way back in Season Two.  I like it when the show references past events in the show, the continuity aspects are terrific when they do that.  It rewards fans who follow this kind of thing, but for the Production Designer to echo a design element from past seasons was just awesome.  It's like the show is coming full circle, not only visually but thematically.

I adored the fight choreography staged by Stunt Coordinator Jacob Rupp.  The fight between Zod and Clark wasn't clearly a one-sided affair, with only a few punches thrown and only covering a few minutes of screen time.  The fight needed to be significant and it was.  The slow motion punches, possibly inspired by "Spartacus: Blood and Sand" and films like "300" and their graphic novel-like effects, worked well and only added to that scene.

Tom Welling seems to be a very physical guy.  He's in great shape and it's good to use that to its fullest and it's wonderful that also fits Superman.  In the comics, Superman is a smart guy, but he can act more brawny than brainy and that isn't always a bad thing: sometimes the best solution is to beat the bad guy up, even when the odds aren't in Clark's favor.

This is possibly one of the best season finales of the series. It has what many a season finale has lacked the last few seasons, a gratifying build to the big cliff-hangers in the final act.  This was a very well done episode by everyone involved and it was so close to perfect, I can forgive the few flaws I did find with it.  So I give this episode 5 shiny octagonal Books of Rao out of a possible 5.

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