mof123
11-09-2008, 10:48 AM
http://tv.ign.com/articles/927/927891p1.html
Smallville: "Bloodline" Review
Supergirl returns, as Clark and Lois are trapped in the Phantom Zone
by Chris Carabott
November 9, 2008 - After the first twenty minutes of "Bloodline", the direction the story was going had me worried. The Phantom Zone had been over-used the past couple of seasons and I had little interest in seeing that bloom-lit hell ever again. Additionally, Kara Zor-El (Laura Vandervoort) had been wasted over the course of last season and I saw very little reason to have her character return so soon, even if it was for a short stay. Thankfully, the story surprised me big time and the latter half of the episode is rich in development that builds upon a few key storylines.
Having Lois and Clark stranded in the Phantom Zone was a little surprising. Up until now Lois has seen plenty of strange events but to have her whisked off to another plain of existence seemed like a bold move. It was a bit frustrating to see that Lois noticed how familiar the Phantom Zone seemed to Clark yet she never bothered to press him on why he wasn't as scared as she was. Her assumption that the same "aliens" that had taken them had also abducted Kara was cute but she never questioned the convenience of Clark's cousin also being in the same predicament. Sure, with comics you have to suspend your disbelief to quite an extent, but this was too much. As expected though, she forgets everything by the end of the episode – convenient.
The story picks up after Lois escapes the Phantom Zone with the help of Kara and Clark. Lois is possessed by the phantom of Faora (Another DC character introduced!) who in this version of events was once married to Zod and they "created" a child together. We quickly learn that their child is Davis Bloome and that his mission was to be the destroyer of Earth – a.k.a. Doomsday. Davis is obviously oblivious to what she is talking about but that doesn't stop her from driving a metal bar through his chest.
While the show's interpretation of Doomsday's origin is not exactly accurate, I do appreciate that the idea behind the character is still the same. The creature that would eventually become Doomsday in the DC universe had the ability to become invulnerable to what previously killed it. This is how it eventually became impervious to pretty much anything. Here we see Davis' body adapt and now he cannot be stabbed.
As for Faora, she's never been a major player in the DC Universe (she also was never married to Zod but did work with him) and here she serves her purpose quite nicely. I was a little worried that we were dealing with another random phantom creature after she possessed Lois but she turned out to be critical to this season's story-arc. Unfortunately, Erica Durance was a little stiff in the part and she never seemed quite comfortable playing a drastically different character.
The Chloe we saw at the end of "Identity" seems to have regressed back into a dark recess of her mind because she appeared to be back to her same old self this week. Well, except for the ability to hack into a Kryptonian crystal. The storyline is progressing fairly well, but after last week, I definitely want to see more of the Brainiac-corrupted version of Chloe. It was good to see Ollie concerned about her as well and while Clark has been worried, he hasn't had the opportunity to really do anything about it.
As I mentioned earlier, Kara's character suffered from a lack of focus towards the end of last season and her character felt pointless from a narrative standpoint. Thankfully, they are doing the right thing this season sending her off on a mission to find the lost city of Kandor. Conveniently, the Kandor storyline will most likely bring her right back home in a few months.
What has surprised me the most is the abundant use of characters from the comic books that we have been seeing. Many of these characters may not be the most recognizable faces but they lend a sense of authenticity to the Smallville universe and go a long way towards connecting Clark's story to the larger picture. It's actually a treat to tune in every week and recognize the villain or research a name and have it turn on to be someone relevant in the Superman universe.
Smallville: "Bloodline" Review
Supergirl returns, as Clark and Lois are trapped in the Phantom Zone
by Chris Carabott
November 9, 2008 - After the first twenty minutes of "Bloodline", the direction the story was going had me worried. The Phantom Zone had been over-used the past couple of seasons and I had little interest in seeing that bloom-lit hell ever again. Additionally, Kara Zor-El (Laura Vandervoort) had been wasted over the course of last season and I saw very little reason to have her character return so soon, even if it was for a short stay. Thankfully, the story surprised me big time and the latter half of the episode is rich in development that builds upon a few key storylines.
Having Lois and Clark stranded in the Phantom Zone was a little surprising. Up until now Lois has seen plenty of strange events but to have her whisked off to another plain of existence seemed like a bold move. It was a bit frustrating to see that Lois noticed how familiar the Phantom Zone seemed to Clark yet she never bothered to press him on why he wasn't as scared as she was. Her assumption that the same "aliens" that had taken them had also abducted Kara was cute but she never questioned the convenience of Clark's cousin also being in the same predicament. Sure, with comics you have to suspend your disbelief to quite an extent, but this was too much. As expected though, she forgets everything by the end of the episode – convenient.
The story picks up after Lois escapes the Phantom Zone with the help of Kara and Clark. Lois is possessed by the phantom of Faora (Another DC character introduced!) who in this version of events was once married to Zod and they "created" a child together. We quickly learn that their child is Davis Bloome and that his mission was to be the destroyer of Earth – a.k.a. Doomsday. Davis is obviously oblivious to what she is talking about but that doesn't stop her from driving a metal bar through his chest.
While the show's interpretation of Doomsday's origin is not exactly accurate, I do appreciate that the idea behind the character is still the same. The creature that would eventually become Doomsday in the DC universe had the ability to become invulnerable to what previously killed it. This is how it eventually became impervious to pretty much anything. Here we see Davis' body adapt and now he cannot be stabbed.
As for Faora, she's never been a major player in the DC Universe (she also was never married to Zod but did work with him) and here she serves her purpose quite nicely. I was a little worried that we were dealing with another random phantom creature after she possessed Lois but she turned out to be critical to this season's story-arc. Unfortunately, Erica Durance was a little stiff in the part and she never seemed quite comfortable playing a drastically different character.
The Chloe we saw at the end of "Identity" seems to have regressed back into a dark recess of her mind because she appeared to be back to her same old self this week. Well, except for the ability to hack into a Kryptonian crystal. The storyline is progressing fairly well, but after last week, I definitely want to see more of the Brainiac-corrupted version of Chloe. It was good to see Ollie concerned about her as well and while Clark has been worried, he hasn't had the opportunity to really do anything about it.
As I mentioned earlier, Kara's character suffered from a lack of focus towards the end of last season and her character felt pointless from a narrative standpoint. Thankfully, they are doing the right thing this season sending her off on a mission to find the lost city of Kandor. Conveniently, the Kandor storyline will most likely bring her right back home in a few months.
What has surprised me the most is the abundant use of characters from the comic books that we have been seeing. Many of these characters may not be the most recognizable faces but they lend a sense of authenticity to the Smallville universe and go a long way towards connecting Clark's story to the larger picture. It's actually a treat to tune in every week and recognize the villain or research a name and have it turn on to be someone relevant in the Superman universe.