Loved it? Hated it? What did you think of "Hypnotic?" [Archive]

puddinpiester

03-30-2006, 08:00 PM

Well, TPTB have finally done it for me. And I never thought they could. I didn't even enjoy the shirtless Clark. The scenes with Clark and Simone were so forced (get the pun), paltry, useless, unbelievable, cheap, gratuituous, uninteresting, unpleasant, and unsatisfying. It was so bad that, as I said, a nearly unclothed Clark did NOT interest me. Not at all. I never ever thought that shirtless Clark could get boring. Simone reminded me of a bad exotic dancer gone bad, badder, and baddest. An not a good bad. Her connection to Lex. How very stinking convenient. The plots discussed on the forum were far more interesting. Oh, yes, hypnosis has as a side effect, super strength. Clark seemed so not really concerned with much of anything. Lana's reaction, and this hurts me to say, was one of the best things of the show. Apart from Professor Fine, of course. I did, however, enjoy the slimey move on in move by Lex. Poor stupid Lana. I think she actually thinks Lex is more honest than Clark. I say flog 'em both.

superhippie2000

03-30-2006, 08:03 PM

i thought the episode would have been better wuith just the brainiac stuff. they didnt really need all the slutyness.

suave_man

03-30-2006, 08:09 PM

yes, they did.

rpglord

03-30-2006, 08:15 PM

Well...let's just say I'm a Clana fan.

I hated it.

cotton candy girl

03-30-2006, 08:17 PM

Originally posted by superhippie2000
i thought the episode would have been better wuith just the brainiac stuff. they didnt really need all the slutyness.

Amen!

puddinpiester

03-30-2006, 08:30 PM

I hate slutty stuff. Let me make that perfectly clear. I see no need to have that type of programing on from 7-8 p.m. central time, when young kids might be watching. Let's keep the kids innocent as long as possible. I no longer allow my ten year to watch SM and I'm thinking about banning me as well. Good interesting shows can be written without nudity, profanity, and sex. And they do not necessarily have to be on the Disney channel. It just requires imaginative creative writing. SV could be such a fun medium to write entertaining shows. So many directions it could go. But noooooooo. We get blond hair gel with an ugly blue jewel being blackmailed by a crazy pervert acting like an adolescent to break up two stupid teens so pervert can claim possession of one of the stupid teens. Did Ileave anything out? Aside from Brainiac. I bet he wants to go play with Angel again.

aoa4life

03-30-2006, 08:42 PM

I loved this episode. I love how they make us wait to see what we want to see. This Lana Clark breakup should have happened a long time ago, but it fit in perefectly tonight. Does anyone else think that Simone is hot? She is. I loved this episode. I love how Milton is setting Lex up for a big fall IMO. I did feel a little gross when Lana went to tell Lex her and Clark broke up. I love Michael Rosenbaum as Lex, but I can't stand Lex. Anyway to sum up I loved this episode. I am willing to let them develope these last five episodes of this season because since they promised Everything You've Waited to See then they have a lot to let us see in the remaining episodes. By the way, When is Clark going to go and finish the training and stuff that Jor-El made him start at the beginning of this season. And also when is Clark going to get a visit from his mother instead of Jor-El.

warriorrenegade

03-30-2006, 10:45 PM

I actually liked this episode call me "crazy" lol. I liked seeing Prof. Fine hoarding some sort of virus... can't wait to see that play out over the final episodes. Finally Clark and Lana are over though I did question it, I could have swore it was over like 3 episodes before that, hell I thought Cyborg was the final nail guess I was wrong. I enjoyed Chloes involvement story wise. Loved Marthas final advice about Lana not being the one "surprise" I know. We all know he ends up with Lois. The one thing I did hate was the fast explanation from Lex about Clark throwing him across a room, felt rushed <good word? ahh I can't think of one right now anyways I'd give this episode a B-. Oh also I liked the references to the Mayans and Krptonians visit to our planet good continuity stuff always a good thing.

Omega31

03-31-2006, 12:04 AM

Would have been much happier if the episode had focused on Braniac (and Lex's search for Brainy). The Clark and Lana thing is just tired, and I have to say that I'm tired of seeing them angst out. Shouldn't these kids being growing up?

j-kent

03-31-2006, 12:19 AM

For me....FORCED is a great way to describe tonight's episode in furthering the plotline of Smallville. I mean, I understand they must move a pace to fit about 22 episodes per deducing season, but the way they are doing is a bit...overwhelming? I don't think breaking up Clana should have been that abrupt. I mean go ahead and break them up, but at least don't do it to make Clark's character an ******* image and Lana degrading as she is with the plotline moving her towards Lex...I mean just let her be...but I guess this is Smallville....anything goes! whatever! so-so episode

vyperman7

03-31-2006, 01:06 AM

Can anyone explain to me why this episode is getting so much hate from the people on this site?

I thought the episode was outstanding.

The Clark and Lana break up was long overdue. I really like the way that it was done too. Clark realized it was the right thing to do. Although the Clana shippers must be really hating life right now considering they waited 5 years for Lana to find out the secret and Clark would rather lie to Lana than tell her the truth. What really cracks me up is how many people were saying they short changed the reveal in Reckoning to serve as a preview for what's to come.. :lol:

I loved the Lex/Fine subplot. I found it to be extremely interesting and very well done. The ship with the multiple Fine's is very cool. It is always great to see Lex embracing his curious side, because as we all know it is what eventually makes him become who he is destined to be.

I actually enjoyed the hypnotize plot. I thought the actress who played Simonne was extremely attractive which helped, but I really thought TW was on tonight in the role. The way he delivered that line about Lex "Then he's a dead man" was just so perfect. Cracked me up.

While I hate the idea of Lexana, I liked the way they put the spin on it of Martha saying " I hope you don't force Lana to do something we will all regret" like Lana and Lex both becoming evil. That would be interesting to see.

Chloe was great as always. Really liked the references to various types of Kryptonite too.

Gripes I had :

- Why was Lois in this episode? Everytime she is used, it feels forced. There is never a real point to the appearance of the character. She is always just there. Although, she did have a few good lines tonight, and the way Clark knocked her out was funny.

- How in the hell did Lana get to Smallville so fast? Last time I checked, Metropolis was not ten minutes away.

- Lex's attitude about how Clark was able to be so strong. "You are under hypnosis, how else do you think you could throw me across the room?" The whole reason Lex hired Simonne besides breaking Clark and Lana up was because he suspected Clark of being unusual. Then he just casually dismisses it? How many times has he suspected Clark? Hell, has he forgotten how Clark and he met? Also, why in the hell is Lex still defending Clark?

The trailer for next week makes me want to puke. Where do they come up with these lame Lana episode plots. Holly Harold does it again.

yellowqueen22

03-31-2006, 01:20 AM

Originally posted by vyperman7
Can anyone explain to me why this episode is getting so much hate from the people on this site?

I thought the episode was outstanding.

I wholeheartedly agree with your review. This was a good episode with substantial plot and character development... and everyone seems to be hating it.

My highlights of the episode:

1) Clark & Lana finallly took action... any action is good... perhaps we can finally gain closure on Clana

2) Chloe was excellent, as per usual

3) Fine was back and had great chemistry with Lex

4) I'm a big fan of Lexana and hoped for it since S1, including the hope that she turns evil... so I'm really liking the way this episode turned

5) The b-plot was strong but able to make fun of itself. Notice Chloe purposely commenting on the ridiculous number of times characters haven't been themselves or lost their memories due to the odities that take place in Smallville.

shadowcat20x

03-31-2006, 02:24 AM

Hated it.

The only parts I liked were with Lex and Fine.

I love Clark and I never said this before tonight, not even during Reckoning, but that boy is an idiot. And a cruel one at that.

LionelLuthor

03-31-2006, 04:50 AM

I think that everyone has such high standards when it comes to Smallville. I was happy to see the return of Brainiac, and Smallville for that matter!

FotW

03-31-2006, 04:55 AM

I really liked the Prof. Fine manipulating Lex plotline, and the mysterious virus - but sadly the most interesting thing was made a b-plot. The main plot was so ridiculous, almost like a bad retelling of season two's "Heat" (remember Desiree who could manipulate men with her pheromes?). We have seen this femme fatal fotw before, only with a different French sounding name. And the fact that an alchemist's stone - with no apparent connection to Krypton - has the power to influence Clark (who has no weaknesses on Earth other than Green K ) so completely, is also silly. I could complain about how having Clark lie (yet again) to Lana and purposely break her heart was a lousy way to end their relationship, but I already did that on another thread. As for Lex's attempt to break them up, I'm reallyvery impressed by his expanding "super" villainy now that he had an "evil" plot to end Clana. (That's sarcasm!)

NeoSuperman

03-31-2006, 05:03 AM

I don't see what there isn't to like in this one...

A hot girl taking off her clothes, the clana breakup (because to me, it can only mean its leading to Lana finding out his secret in a non boring way like she did in reckoning), and the brainiac scenes were good.

I guess some people had way too much expectations with this one. That or either you were an offended parent by the sexuality or an offended girl that was offended by the sexiness of the hypno girl for some reason. :rotfl: :lol:

smallvilleobsessor17

03-31-2006, 05:22 AM

I HATED THIS EPISODE!!! POOR CLANA!!!

CallMeClark

03-31-2006, 05:31 AM

I have to agree, this episode was great. For me, it has been a pick-me-up from three episodes ago when they weren't too hot. I loved every bit of it. Especially since Chloe and Lois were working together and the whole Brainiac and Lex thing. However, next week looks lame. Lana would never do drugs.

Fly by guy

03-31-2006, 06:18 AM

To paraphrase Alfred, "Hell hath no fury...". I brought in a special guest for his view on Hypnotic. Red, would you like to say something the the person responsible for last night's episode? Red: "Dumbass"
The Simone plot was not as cheesy as I expected but the breakup, Martha's reaction, and Lana going to Lex was beyond awful. This season started so strong, but for me, has become the pits. Except for Cyborg, it has been a very long time since I enjoyed a majority of an episode and Void has the look of a real "winner" (grabbing barf bag and dark shades). If it wasn't for the weight I'm losing I'd stop watching.

Clarkified

03-31-2006, 06:41 AM

Originally posted by KEakaCK
... when Martha was telling Clark that deep inside, Clark knew Lana wasn't the one for him and that was the reason why he never told her the truth.

Talk about inconsistencies. Martha was always the one supportive of the Clana, telling him that she was the one for him, and then in this episode, she lightswitches and tells him the contrary.

Almiles are becoming experts at lightswitching lately. :\

tw190

03-31-2006, 06:48 AM

I liked it. Some of it really made me laugh like when Lois was saying how she'd have to bring Clark down. The FOTW was OK... would have been better without the PG-13 and all, but it wasn't bad and the Brainiac/Lex bits were great. I also like how Chloe was trying to figure out why Clark was acting the way he was by going trough the kryptonites... LOVED that. And Aunt Nell got a mention! :eek:

7/10

hbkid21

03-31-2006, 07:17 AM

Originally posted by Clarkified
Talk about inconsistencies. Martha was always the one supportive of the Clana, telling him that she was the one for him, and then in this episode, she lightswitches and tells him the contrary.

Almiles are becoming experts at lightswitching lately. :\

I don't remember Martha ever saying that, She always been supportive but I never recall her saying she the one...BTW, Simone was hot(Sry for the randomness, but she was...lol).

pags3223

03-31-2006, 08:05 AM

I really enjoyed this episode, as did my wife (who is hard to impress when it comes to this show).

We both really liked the Lex/Fine interactions. We got a good chuckle when Lex thought he had Fine pegged as a government agent. It is very entertaining to watch Lex be the one who is manipulated, especially when he thinks he is one t doing the manipulating.

While we both felt that the Simone scenes could have been done more tastefully, we were both glad to see the end of Clark and Lana's relationship. He needed to be harsh to make it final, and we both enjoyed Martha's critique that perhaps deep down, Clark knew Lana was not the one for him. The fact that he also didn't argue and even seemed to agree was equally interesting to me.

I found it interesting that Lana went straight to Lex to tell him the news about the breakup. If that's her first reaction then she wasn't entirely in the relationship with Clark either. I think this could make for some nice drama through the remainder of the season.

We thought the episode was well-acted and well-set (aside from the stripping scenes). The ending left us wanting to watch again because neither of us could figure out why Fine needed more samples of blood.

All in all, especially since it has been six weeks since the last new episode, I'd give this an 8/10. Definitiely missed the show.

bobser

03-31-2006, 08:19 AM

This was a great episode with some major advancement for the series. We have Clark finally getting passed his relationship and doing the "heroic" thing in regard to it, Fine prepping a new plan of havoc (mutiple Fines too!) and Lex perhaps being manipulated, or vice versa. It will be interesting to see what is cooking up and how they play the Lex/Lana, Martha/Lionel dynamic.

Metropolis Hero

03-31-2006, 09:11 AM

I thought it was an alright episode. Some of the episode seemed pretty lame, but other parts like the Clana breakup and the Fine scenes I enjoyed. I'm not a big fan of Clana so the breakup at the end made it worth watching to me.

netlynn

03-31-2006, 09:15 AM

I hated this episode. Clark didn't have to hurt Lana the way he did. A lot of it seemed forced to me not to mention the holes in in plotlines....Why didn't Clark ever pick up on the fact that Lex knew about Simone? Stupid boy

attitudejc

03-31-2006, 11:09 AM

so if there wasn't the clana break up, would you guys have liked it? (not meant to be rude, just a simple question)

netlynn

03-31-2006, 12:32 PM

Well, besides the Clana storyline....nothing really happened!! I liked parts with Prof. Fine & Lex (I love to see someone get the better of Lex) but the writers are just leaving too many holes in the storylines

Space_Ninja_3000

03-31-2006, 12:51 PM

Great episode. I was riveted through the whole show. The writing was very tight, they balanced and moved a number of storyline threads along. There is now quite a bit going on that's interesting which I look forward to seeing how they resolve. They have the Lionel/Jor El issue, Clark/Jor El/Fortress training, Lionel's overtures to Martha, Lex/Lionel Apex take over thing, Martha taking the Senate seat, Clark dealing with the farm and the death of his father, Milton Fine/Lex/Lana and the spaceship, and Lex/Lana & Clark/Chloe pairings. On top of that they introduced Fine with this deadly virus which looks very intriguing. All in all, after a lousy 4th, I've really enjoyed this season's episodes. I think Clark, Lana, and Chloe in particular have grown a great deal as characters since season 1. And I like the direction the show is taking, the second meteor shower/spaceship event has been a great hub to connect the spokes of the various Lex/Clark/Lionel/Lana storylines. That was a great choice. Also, Chloe's role in the program is much more interesting, the passing of J. Kent felt right, and generally the show is almost as good as it was back in seasons 2-3 (can't quite say that, but almost there).

Back to this episode though. I thought first of all, the beginning was the most captivating and intriguing one this season in my opinion. It was interesting to see Lex and Milton in Honduras; it adds a bit of excitement taking the characters any place outside the usual Smallville sets (even if it looked more like South America than Central America). Plus, "Safari Lex" naturally adds a layer of excitement to the show.

The dialogue and acting was fantastic, I found a lot of great subtle acting choices by the cast. Especially Tom Welling, he has done a great job in showing Clark emerge as an adult from his adolescence. The FOTW was attractive and gave a strong performance as well (unlike the exaggerated performances of the guest actresses in Vengeance and Fanatic). I liked that the FOTW involved something non-kryptonite related and it was interesting to wonder if Clark was susceptible to the amulet because it was "magic" referring back to season 4.

The strip scene was very erotic and I would not consider it appropriate for a family program, but I'm not so sure Smallville has been aiming for the family viewing demographic since the end of season 3. In any case, I didn't think it was gratuitous or tasteless, merely very adult in nature.

What's weak? First of all, Lois Lane is not really well integrated into Smallville. They had her working at the Talon and then as Jonathon's campaign manager (?), but she still seems rather out of place. I buy her and Chloe hanging out as they do seem to have good chemistry together on screen, but her involvement with the Kents has never really seemed natural to me. This character is the one weak part of the show. Secondly, although Chloe, Lana, and Clark have been written somewhat consistently, Lex has been written all over the map. Sometimes he's portrayed doing evil like in Aqua and Cyborg and then other times he's back to season 2-3 Lex: conniving but basically still decent. His character was well-written up to season 3, but it seems like they didn't know what to do with him in season 4. I think they are at least on a track with him now, but they need to be more consistent with him. Personally, I prefer the conniving but decent and not full blown evil Lex; it's more interesting to watch.

Lastly, I don't like the blatant T-2 rip-offs in Milton Fine. What's up with that? It's not an homage, it's a rip-off--big difference. Besides, wouldn't it be more efficient to vaporize his enemies with heat vision rather than spike them and leave behind a decaying carcass as evidence? As a machine, I think he would be as efficient as possible. Plus to me it would've been more exciting to see him do that, instead everytime that bland silver spike finger starts protruding I feel the urge to yawn. But I love James M.'s portrayal and it's great to finally have a villain on the show who is even more evil and more powerful and challenging to Clark than Lionel. I can't wait to see where the season ends with Fine.

Summers

03-31-2006, 01:00 PM

Well for an episode that had progression it was lame :\. There were plotholes, WTH, and OOC moments. The first Talon scene with Clana was the first WTH moment since the last time we saw them in "Cyborg" it wasn't all happy. Simone, the sleeze, was one of the worst guest stars we had. Just because you are pretty actress doesn't make up for talent ;). Another WTH moment was the Clex fight..........so stupid :rolleyes:. Fine/Lex scenes were so-so, but seemed James was frankly kinda of awkward in his acting this time. Brainaic's heat vision wasn't the best either :\. Really getting tried of their Matrix and T2 knock-offs. Enough with it already. Plus WTH did Chloe superspeed. The breakup of Clana was actually pretty terrible. They made Clark more of jerk than ever, and what ever consequences come out of it he deserves. To top it off I thought Tom acting was below par especially in the break-up scene. While KK was great in those scenes.

The one line I thought that was actually pretty decent was Chloe's "I just knocked out Martha Kent". Lois & Clark's hypnotic episode was far better than this.

F-Stop Blues

03-31-2006, 01:48 PM

Originally posted by Summers
. To top it off I thought Tom acting was below par especially in the break-up scene.

I agree, Tom's acting was kinda off this ep imo.

Fly by guy

03-31-2006, 02:37 PM

Kristin did some of her best work,IMO, in this episode which along with Chloe is all that I liked. Gotta go, breaking out in a rash, allegeric to heartless jerks (CLARKIE BOY).

Bookwrm17

03-31-2006, 04:27 PM

I thought there were a couple of scenes that were forced, but overall I loved the episode. Of course, I can't stand Lana, so I thought the break up was long overdue.

I think an evil Lana would actualy be pretty cool, though.

LexLuthorMetropolis

03-31-2006, 06:08 PM

HATED IT.

clark25

03-31-2006, 06:11 PM

I liked it also its about time clark gave up
on lana because we all know who he
ends up with down the road.And to
I liked the whole Brainac returns part
to James Masters has really improved
in the role since (solidtude).I think anywho
perty good episode and to I got goesbumps when Martha told Clark that Lana was not the one.That really
forshadowed the Lois&Clark realtion-
ship we all know and love..........

Quadrotriticale

03-31-2006, 06:19 PM

Originally posted by Fly by guy
Except for Cyborg, it has been a very long time since I enjoyed a majority of an episode and Void has the look of a real "winner" (grabbing barf bag and dark shades). If it wasn't for the weight I'm losing I'd stop watching.

I totally agree. The series is going down hill fast and the only way I can describe it is, it's like a bad car reck. You can't help but look, in this case watch.

clois1938

03-31-2006, 08:18 PM

I was surprised, I haven't really enjoyed an episode in awhile. Came into the ep spoiler-free and only watched because I read that Lois was in the ep after all and it's weird, I ended up liking this one.

Smallville has never been good with their writing or execution, I stopped watching after season 1 because of it and just don't look for good writing when I'm watching the show. But the things I liked about the episode:

-I enjoyed the opening scene with Brainiac torching up the place. Good momentum.

-Liked Clark breaking it off with Lana (just hope it sticks)

-enjoyed the Lois and Martha humor and scenes.

-Loved the Lex/Brainiac scenes. Just wish there was more development, the writers don't give enough in that area. Also I found the A/B plot rather jarring.... it should have been all Brainiac. Instead, one minute you have a really good Superman-esque scene with Lex/Brainiac and then the next minute, it's like a different show with the Clana nonsense. I loved the tone of the Lex/Brainiac scenes, just wished the rest of the episode maintained that and Clark got to have some meatier scenes or something to do that's related to the Brainiac arc.

Clair de Lune

03-31-2006, 08:29 PM

It was so-so. The whole seduction scene was ridiculous---needlessly salacious.

The only good things were the big break-up (finally, thank God!) and Chloe. Chloe was the heroine in this episode, and I loved that.

dayne

03-31-2006, 08:37 PM

A great episode!

A lot actually happened in this episode compared to other Smallville episodes. For one thing, Brainiac (James Marsters) is back. And you get the sense that his plot is building up to something big. This is an arc that at least seems somewhat interesting. At least, it's just not about Clark sticking a couple of stones into their slots in specials caves and watching a bunch of lights flashing.

Also, Clark finally cut the chord on his relationship with Lana. The whole tempterous/mind-control thing has been done a lot already, but his experience with Simone at least furthered the plot. Once more, Clark realized his ability to hurt Lana if he didn't tell her the truth. More importantly, he didn't want to tell Lana the truth because as Martha suggested, he knows deep down that Lana isn't the one. Lex's scheming gave Clark the excuse to get out of that relationship.

And the Lex and Lana relationship or friendship is growing. I wonder where it will go, but I am intrigued.

On a side note, Simone (Nicole Hiltz) was as hot as hell! She played the vixen really well. Good casting on that one.

arthurprescott2

03-31-2006, 08:50 PM

this one was quite painful...

this episode is on par with killing Alicia with a Freak-of-the-Week...

using a little gimmicky plot to make major changes/progress in the plot... can these guys drop any lower? what do the writers do all day???

soo many cliches... and so many overused plot lines... how many times is someone on this show gonna be hypnotized/taken out of their own state of mind?

further and further downhill...

its fine if clana breaks up... just do it more discreetly, with more tact, eh?

yet another fluffy episode...

oh and what's with the bad english?
"the look in lana's eyes when she walked in on simone and I?" -simone and I??? jesus... its simone and me... for god's sake...

oh you know what? i just realized... the writers did it on purpose... clark has bad english/grammar because he's a retard... it all makes sense.

Shiver

03-31-2006, 10:33 PM

Ugh. Y'know, I've never thought Smallville was the best written show on tv... but do they need to drop the ball this badly?

1) Clana was "on a break." So now they're back together - and having exactly the same issues - just so Clark can break up with Lana? How many times do we need to watch the same episode?

2) Lex. Since when does hypnosis cause superstrength? I know some people are hoping he was just saying that to fool Clark, and others are hoping it was a "Lex believes in mind over matter" thing, but it's not. It's TERRIBLE writing. The end.

3) The entire Simone plot. We've done this story before, with Alicia. Boring.

4) Fine... well, Fine was fine, and the Lex-Brainiac B-plot would have been interesting if the writers were doing anything smart with it. Problem is, I know they're not.

5) Clark. Probably the worst written character in this episode. What was with the whole "I want to break up with Lana so that I don't hurt her anymore" bs? That angst is old. And if he remembers everything from his hypnosis *he knows Lex set him up.* How stupid are these people?

All about Clark

03-31-2006, 11:53 PM

I'm at so-so to liked it. Being a Clana fan until Reckoning, I saw the need to finally end it and I thought it was done right.

Didn't care for Simone. Clex fight was good. I'd say I liked the second half of the show better than the first half.

Just glad to have the new shows.

watcher4

04-01-2006, 01:27 AM

I told myself that I was not going to watch the new episdoes of SV. However, I had gotten home from work-exhausted after having been sick the week before. All I felt like doing was sitting and watching TV.

I must admit that as the closing credits rolled I kept asking myself,"Why did I watch this?". Even though Clana "ended" (for now, IMHO), it still felt like a "filler episode". It felt inconsistent to me-for ex. Martha's attitude toward Clana. IMHO, Tom's acting was not up to par. Those sex scenes were not necessary. Although, for me, this episode "had it's moments" (and very few of them, IMHO) over-all I found it below average.

dfm82

04-01-2006, 06:45 AM

It was an OK episode, i wasn't surprised at all by some scenes since i was a little bit spoiled... anyway i enjoyed the whole Lex/Brainiac scenes and i found the FOTW a little bit stupid, like someone said in other thread i didn't buy at all that Clark was hipnotized so easy... i think is was a little bit forced so they can finish the Clana "for real"... well at least we'll not see Lana whining anymore about Clark not telling her the truth(i hope)...

Now i'm waiting for the final episodes to see what is exactly Brainiac doing and specially why he went to Honduras and what the hell is that virus...

puddinpiester

04-01-2006, 07:53 AM

Clair de Lune, Salacious? I love that word describing that first loft scene. It was salacious.

Clair de Lune. Nice piece of music. Debussy rocks. Play piano?

clana20

04-01-2006, 01:34 PM

Didnt really care for it,

I'm a clana fan so that explains alot of it. But like most I realize they cant be together forever, but break them up gracefully, not where lana hates him because of it. I hope she finds out his secret before the end of the season and realizes why he wouldnt tell her, then somehow end them on better terms.

And I aree with most of the other comments about the writers dropping the ball on this episode. There were alot of holes. Like someone mentioned earier, lana getting from metropolis to smallville faster than clark could? along with many others. I personally found it amusing how the little village kids in honduras were decked out in pretty nice soccer jerseys. :-)

The braniac aspect shows promise, and as long as lana and lex dont get too close, I'll keep watching.

SnowQueen

04-01-2006, 01:42 PM

I love any Smallville episode.. we had to wait way too long in between!!!! I hope they don't do that again! I felt weird watching Clark and Simone and then Lana catching him, it was almost like I was embarrassed! lol But, I think the Clark and Lana thing should be done. Clark has always just been in lust with her not in love. I want to see Clark and Lois start something! I also love Milton Fine, James Marsters is awesome!! Love to see him and Lex together.. someone who can stand up to Lex finally! :)

Krypton935

04-01-2006, 03:43 PM

I thought that it was really cheesey. The only good part was when Clark went to kill Lex.

SuperConartist

04-01-2006, 04:32 PM

well...it had to happen sometime. It was fun while it lasted seeing the potential that Clark and Lana had but as the storyline goes, it is not going to turn out that way. Painful to watch, but it was necessary.

I just hope this is the end of "I'm watching this becuase there's sex in it" episodes.

6.5/10

GooN

04-01-2006, 06:05 PM

k i have just watched it, and haven't read anyone's post yet so here goes......

i thought everything which wasn't to do with clark and lana was really good. the fact that lex wanted clark out the picture,and the way he tried having it done was great (evil lex wehaaay) the milton fines (spell check?) story was very interesting, especially with the clones and all that......

Now the clark and lana thing, good move in ending it on this episode..............but i really think the 100th episode ruined any story they could have come up with. With smallville you have to allow for bs sotrylines from time to time, kryptonite freaks mainly, but they handled this thing all wrong. the fact that he wanted to marry the girl........and then thru no fault of her own he ended up wanting her to hate him? i dont buy it, never did before this episode.....i always felt that, although the 100th episode was very good, it was bittersweet cos after i saw it i thought to myself "how in the hell they gonna end this relationship in a believable way now?" and apparently i wasn't the only one. He should have never revealed his secret to her in that episode, and if he did, she should never had accepted it.....id prefer thinking of lana as a shallow person in that respect rather then what they actually went along with.

The stuff about them not bumpin uglies cos he thinks he might hurt her? come on....but thats not the worst bit.....him thinking she'd be in EVEN MORE danger if he told her, like she lives a life so trouble free already.....and of course the last one, which his mummy said, that maybe she was NOT the one and he knew deep down, so the last 5 and a half seasons of him thinking of nothing but her up until the point of him wanting to marry her and reveal all to her, changes within a couple of months. his dad dying can't be the reason, even if it was it'd be much better then what i just saw!

thats all i gotta say on that....but now it will be very interesting because the REAL story will kick off hopefully, which is all the stuff about the T1000 and how it's using lex. smart move on keeping lionel out of the episode by the way....im sure his return will be of great impact.
so here's how i rated it:-

unrelated to clark&lana stuff - 8.5/10
lana&clark stuff - 4/10 (only cos they did their best to try make the break-up under believable circumstances after shooting themselves in the foot, and for finally ending this dawson's creek drama)

Overall - 6/10

Clarkified

04-01-2006, 06:53 PM

Originally posted by arthurprescott2

oh and what's with the bad english?
"the look in lana's eyes when she walked in on simone and I?" -simone and I??? jesus... its simone and me... for god's sake...

oh you know what? i just realized... the writers did it on purpose... clark has bad english/grammar because he's a retard... it all makes sense.

Actually, you can say "simone and I" but "simone and me" is preferable. And well, it's obvious that the writers don't do their best to make Clark look intelligent. :\

hanemg

04-01-2006, 06:56 PM

I have to say, in my own opinion, this was either the worst episode ever or at least among the bottom 5. Maybe I’m just tired of the same old nonsense being repeated over and over again, but sometimes I think the writers just have no clue how to structure things and not only don’t think 5 steps ahead, but don’t think at all.

I knew that Clark and Lana would eventually break up, but when they did I at least thought the entire matter would make sense.

First of all, why wouldn’t Clark tell Lana his secret? We and he both know that she would take it well because he already told her in one version of history on the show and she not only took it well, but agreed to marry him. I mean even ignoring the fact that in “Reckoning” it would have made much more sense for him to have still told Lana the second time and simply warned her about Lex (I mean seriously, “honey, I have super powers and I’m an alien” is OK, but for God’s sake don’t tell her you traveled back through time and why?!), but why couldn’t he tell her now? There’s never been a good reason for this.

Secondly, for me at least I need to see why Lois ends up being “the one” when Lana didn’t. I don’t want to see her as the consolation prize because he couldn’t be with Lana. That’s stupid. Clark and Lana needed to not work simply because of Clark and Lana not because “well, duh, if only I had figured out how to juggle my public and secret identities before I could have been with Lana. Oh well, at least I have Lois I guess.” Again, that’s stupid.

Maybe I’m just frustrated at this point, but I think the writers have done a poor job so far with the overall story. Sure, there have been plenty of really good standout episodes, but as far as keeping any long range plan in mind to move things along …well, I haven’t seen it.

Clark’s going to be a world class journalist, but so far I haven’t seen him writing since sometime in early to mid high school and I never really saw an interest despite his lame essay to his principal. The same with Lois.

I understand that they want to show all of the main characters as being far from their eventual destinies, but they still need to at some point at least show a direction beginning to form. Drawing out a storyline for an original series is one thing, but even when you’re dealing with fictional characters when the overall story is known to the general population it gets silly after awhile. It would be like George Lucas doing 20 prequels to Star Wars and never once showing any hint of Anakin’s volatile personality just to give the illusion of keeping us guessing only to suddenly end it with a rushed footnote that “…and Anakin decided to turn to the Dark Side and kill all of the other Jedi. The End.”

This late in the game TPTB need…to paraphrase the old saying…to defecate or vacate the porcelain waste disposal unit.

The only saving grace in this entire episode was the Brainiac arc. Milton Fine is at least an interesting character and fun to watch as he manipulates and stays a dozen steps ahead of everyone else.

Other than that though the episode in my opinion was pitiful.

Drew

04-01-2006, 07:50 PM

I thought the episode was pretty good (although there hasnt been an episode I havnt enjoyed). I did think the plot was pretty cliche.

Chloe mentioned that fact, so that made it a little better. She said somthing along the lines of "Clark you were hypnotized, who in Smallville hasnt had some kind of identity chrisis?"

I also laughed out loud when Lana walked in on Clark.

CLS

04-01-2006, 08:52 PM

Wow that was underwhelming!

Uh Simone who cares?
Not me. Did you get lost on your way to One Tree Hill?

Thanks again for making Clark look a total wimp and a total dick simultaneously!
Future Superman eh? I don't think so.

The Clana breakup, uhm okay.
Clark Kent Dick moment I mentioned. It's inevitible but not in this crappy way. Bullcrap!

He and Simone makes up the CK Wimp moment.
Okay he was able to resist Krista Allen's character's pheremones in season 2's Heat.
Yet here he's puddy in Simone's hands? Sure, oh wait magic right?

The Lex/Fine stuff was better, not great but good.
So Fineiac stated an alien race was poised to invade. Yeah, it's him! We get it Uncle Milty.

Next week's show has Lana speaking with her dead parents and she comes running to Clark again? So that no trusting him was just her talking tough.

Hypnotic made me sleepy, very sleepy. Unforutunately there was no snapping of fingers and me having no memory of what transpired.
.
Damn you Kreskin!

-cs™

Kryptomaniac

04-02-2006, 12:53 AM

HAHAHAHAHAHA! Totally fooled by Apr. 1st Page. What a GREAT page..too good to be true but I totally bought it!

I totally bought this episode, too, even though I was dreading yet another behavior change plot. It was better than I was expecting though pretty racy for the 8 p.m. timeslot IMO.

Held my interest due to some good directing and editing. Hoorah! Chloe to the rescue again! And, did anyone else clap and cheer when Clark broke up with Lana? See how premarital sex can ruin a relationship?

Creepy to find Braniac can drip into multiple Braniacs. Cool. The suspense is building and Lex is a main pawn.

A 3.5 rating out of 5 because of the re-used, re-written, re-cycled behavior change plotline and no Shelby dog.

Clarkified

04-02-2006, 10:47 AM

Ok, so here's my two cents...

I don't want to be extreme but I have to say it: This episode makes Redux/Reaper/Dichotic/Magnetic et al look like Citizen Kane. Seriously.

I was thinking in retrospective and wondered why we hated all those episodes. Well, because they weren't up to par with the rest of the season. And we had Rosetta, Insurgence, Pilot, Stray, etc. Our standards were pretty high, then. We really hated those episodes because they were the "least best".

Of course, we never really knew what a bad season of Smallville would be. What if Smallville some day jumps the shark and gets really bad? I, for one, didn't even contemplate that possibility. With these writers, these cast, these FX team, what does the show have to lose? Well, here we are. It happened in Season 4 and now we are in a season that apparently started good, but now since Reckoning it's on a downward
spiral and it gets worse and worse.

Depressing. That would be one word to describe this episode. That's how I felt when it ended. I also thought that was the overall feel of the episode. Have the writers done this on purpose? Maybe. It makes sense given that the main point of the episode was the decline of the Clana.

I think I have had enough of Clark acting like a jerk, in Red K/Silver K/possessed or not. It comes to a point that it's not even funny anymore. It's not justifiable. This is one more episode in a string in which Clark hurts the people he loves. How much can these people take?

Aren't they fearful that someday Clark will go mad again and kill them for real? It's just not realistic and the writers are to blame for this one. It's a terrible lack of continuity.

The plot is a mix of Heat with Red. What would happen if Desiree had a
red meteor rock with her, aside of her powers, and lured Clark into sleeping with her/being her boy toy? And surprisingly" Lana walks in on
them? Just change the name Desiree for Simone and you'll get the same result. Add also another plot in which Lex sent her to split Clana. It's all the same.

Lois again had no purpose in this episode, other than having seen Clark
and Simone. At this stage in her life, they haven't developed her interest in journalism. God, she should be entirely in college, even if that means her leaving the show.

The dialogue isn't as good as it used to be, and even then there were problems. It's all a product of bad continuity. Nothing new here.

I hated the way Clana broke up. Couldn't Clark just be honest with her
and tell her that he was hypnotized (he had Chloe's backup to prove it!) but that he still can't continue this relationship because he realized his feelings have changed because he really can't trust her his secret?
Is it that difficult? But no, he had to bank on what happened with Simone so he can have the excuse to break up with her? I'm sorry but Jonathan was truly wrong (and OOC) when he said that Clark was a man and that he didn't need him anymore. This Clark is definitely more coward that S1 Clark. It's like the writers have regressed him to less than square one.

The Fine/Lex plot was okay, but it wasn't enough to redeem this episode.
Even if they expanded the storyline.

I thought it was creepy and terrible the whole sending out a seductress
to split Clana up. Would Lex Luthor step that low? I always thought Lex had a classy way to do things. That's what will make him a great villain. He's not the conventional criminal, he's a mastermind.

It would be more coherent if Lana goes to Lex, not because she's angry with Clark, but because she truly likes him. Even also if she discovers she is in love with Lex. That would be one way for
her to give up easily her relationship with CLark. That way Clark doesn't need stupid excuses, he just has to let her go. Again and again, the writers. Almiles don't care anymore.

Next's week episode looks a little better, but I'm not holding my breath. It seems that otherworldly drugs are an excuse to act OOC again.

F-Stop Blues

04-02-2006, 10:53 PM

Not the best, not the worst. The Lex/Braniac stuff was great. As a filler it progressed the main story arc which I like.

I thought how Clark broke up with the Lana was right. I know people disagree but he couldnt go the Peter Parker way because Lana wouldnt excpet it just like MJ didnt. I felt bad for Lana but not that much and Im sure we will be seeing her locking lips another man shortly since she cant go too many eps without a boyfriend.

Anyway decent ep, didnt hate it but nothing to write home about. Im really not looking forward to next week but oh well.

kal-05

04-03-2006, 01:27 PM

I didnt care much for this episode at all. Boring and predictable.

Saber

04-03-2006, 02:02 PM

Yawn! :o
There was absolutely no creativity with this one. It was boring, predicable and the only small spark was Fine, other than that it was forgettable.

attitudejc

04-03-2006, 02:59 PM

but alot of things changed. how can you forget it when every episode in the future has something to do with this one.

watcher4

04-03-2006, 06:07 PM

Originally posted by attitudejc
but alot of things changed. how can you forget it when every episode in the future has something to do with this one.

I would like to hear your thoughts on this!

attitudejc

04-03-2006, 06:14 PM

thoughts? uh......
well, almost every episode is somehow connected with the other. (with a few exceptions) for example, in this one event would be the Clana break up. in the next few episodes and throughout the season, things are going to happen because of this event. so, every time it happens, you are constantly reminded of this episode.
im not good with words, so, bare with me:\

Krpyto

04-03-2006, 09:42 PM

Originally posted by hanemg
I have to say, in my own opinion, this was either the worst episode ever or at least among the bottom 5...

Drawing out a storyline for an original series is one thing, but even when you’re dealing with fictional characters when the overall story is known to the general population it gets silly after awhile. It would be like George Lucas doing 20 prequels to Star Wars and never once showing any hint of Anakin’s volatile personality just to give the illusion of keeping us guessing only to suddenly end it with a rushed footnote that “…and Anakin decided to turn to the Dark Side and kill all of the other Jedi. The End.”

I totally agree.

I agree that Clark has to move beyond Lana sometime and end up with Lois (down the road) if they are going to stay close to the accepted mythos (and I think it should), but I really didnt like the way Clark hurt Lana in Hynoptic. It just seems out of character for him to do that. He comes off as a complete dick. Im strained to accept the idea that Clark would just dump on her for fear of hurting her. They should have handled the split more creatively by having Lana know about his powers (in the accepted mythos Lana knew about Clark's powers back in Smallville).

It was good that she was his "first", but he should have had her as a girlfriend for the whole year in season 3 or 4 or something, but they screwed the pooch on that one. In that way we could have had Clana at least for a year and stuck with the idea of Lana as his high school sweet heart.

Im not sure how they can revitalize the series other than seeing Clark becoming closer to actually becoming Superman. Myabe if they just moved on and renamed the series "Metropolis" they would get out of the rut.

......

watcher4

04-04-2006, 06:28 PM

Originally posted by attitudejc
thoughts? uh......
well, almost every episode is somehow connected with the other. (with a few exceptions) for example, in this one event would be the Clana break up. in the next few episodes and throughout the season, things are going to happen because of this event. so, every time it happens, you are constantly reminded of this episode.
im not good with words, so, bare with me:\

Sounds pretty good to me! :)

hbkid21

04-04-2006, 07:01 PM

Originally posted by hanemg
I have to say, in my own opinion, this was either the worst episode ever or at least among the bottom 5. Maybe I’m just tired of the same old nonsense being repeated over and over again, but sometimes I think the writers just have no clue how to structure things and not only don’t think 5 steps ahead, but don’t think at all.

The epi was not that bad. It wasn't even bad to me. But nothing will ever beat Ageless out of the top spot. They could never go that low again.

Watching Smallville

04-05-2006, 01:09 AM

Well, I'm out of the mainstream on this one. I liked everything about Hypnotic except the Tomsploitation. I mean, really -- I like looking at beautiful Tom Welling as much as the next person, but it seems TPTB are scraping the bottom of the barrel to find ways to get his clothes off.

I'm intrigued by the new Brainiac plot line. Everything about it is interesting. To me, this was the payoff of the episode. Scenes with Fine and Lex are great, and Brainiac is up to no good in a big way. I'm going to enjoy seeing this story unfold,

I found the Clark/Lana breakup sad and overdue.

The only redeeming aspect of the hypnotic jewel was the comic fallout. This was some of Annette O'Toole's best screen time. I didn't know she coulld be so funny.

It was good to see that Lex hasn't given up trying to dig out Clark's secret, using underhanded methods to do so. I'm also curious about his attraction to Lana. Is it real? Is it more about Clark? How is it going to play out?

And there seems to be some ominous warning about Lana's temper. Both Chloe and Martha warned Clark that she was going to hate him. I'm guessing this is some forshadowing of a new side to Lana's character that we'll see by the end of the season. Could be fun.

Last but not least, I love the moments between Clark and Martha. They almost make up for Jonathan being gone. I thought the heartwarming family scenes had left the show with JS, but AO is filling the empty space.

All in all, a good set up for the future. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Sweetie

04-05-2006, 11:56 AM

It was an interesting episode mostly the Lex & Brainiac's scene.I can't wait to see Zod,I think he will bring out the hero in Clark.Chloé saved the day again,I liked that very much.As for the Clana's breakup,it had to happen,they were on this rollercoaster ride for too long now.Clark had to be that crual so,Lana would understand that it was really over,there was no coming back for them and to make it really clear in the Clana's shippers minds too.

dhacker615

04-06-2006, 12:41 AM

I found 'Hypnotic' to be very uneven.

The basic premise was one of the most over-used in the 'Smallville' toolkit (i.e. someone has a radical personality change). The twist was moderately fresh in that it was a person, not an object, causing the problem. That gave some fun bits of business, like Lex knowing to stay out of the room with Simone.

The 'big plot twist' was overworked, too. Clark accidently hurts Lana is a long way from 'fresh Smallville'. So is the 'big break-up scene'. You know it is a hackneyed device when the writers wink at the audience by saying (in effect) "it's real this time'. It meant a lot more when they did it the first time early in Season 3. If they are going to split them up for good, then they should have found a fresh way to do it.

That said, there was still a lot to like. The good points were:
- Lex and Fine. The first comic I remember reading as a kid was a Luthor/Brainiac team-up. The writers and actors did a great job bringing that dynamic to life and making it feel modern. With the Clark-Lex relationship and the Clark-Lois dynamic, I would say that is what 'Smallville' does best. They should tap the Silver Age well more often.
- The Lana-Lois-Chloe dynamic is interesting and under-played. They have struggled with what to do with Lois. She is just a bit older, so they are constantly shoving her into role she is either too young for (i.e. the campaign manager thing) or too old for (i.e. going back the High School last season). She is 19-20 years old, which really plays when she is in scenes with Lana and Chloe who are 18ish. She has just a little more life experience which makes her over-confident. Perfect.
- The Lex-Lana scenes were great. They played on a lot of different levels and hit every note just right. Lex is totally manipulating her, butt he thinks it for the right reasons. Lana is so focused on Clark that she is missing what Lex is doing. I hope they speed this up, because I am not sure it will hold my interest for another 20 episodes. However, it works now.

The bad:
- The arc for Clark's character was pretty key and they blew it. You knew that Clark loves Lana, but doesn't trust her fully. He needed to realize what that meant in this episode, but he didn't. He broke up with her for the same tired reason he had the last six times. I have a lot of time invested in that couple and I want some pay-off. This episode had none.
- The scene with Martha and Clark at the kitchen table was too expository. You should have seen the stuff she was saying during the previous 50 minutes, but you didn't. They tried to patch it, but it was too late. Then, they beat you over the head with psychic Martha fore-shadowing.
- Clark has to be bailed out by someone ... again. We've seen the various loved ones breakout kryptonite to slow down CK at least a half dozen times. What we've never seen is Clark overcome one of these mind-control deals. Might be nice for a change.
- Ditto Clark lying to Lana and telling everyone else the truth. It would be more interesting if tried telling her some of the truth and THAT was the nail in relationship. Otherwise, it just seems like we are going backwards to the circa early Season 3 Clark, who loves Lana and cannot be with her for his own obscure reasons.

dhacker615

04-06-2006, 12:19 PM

Originally posted by Clarkified
Ok, so here's my two cents...

I don't want to be extreme but I have to say it: This episode makes Redux/Reaper/Dichotic/Magnetic et al look like Citizen Kane. Seriously.

I was thinking in retrospective and wondered why we hated all those episodes. Well, because they weren't up to par with the rest of the season. And we had Rosetta, Insurgence, Pilot, Stray, etc. Our standards were pretty high, then. We really hated those episodes because they were the "least best".

Of course, we never really knew what a bad season of Smallville would be. What if Smallville some day jumps the shark and gets really bad? I, for one, didn't even contemplate that possibility. With these writers, these cast, these FX team, what does the show have to lose? Well, here we are. It happened in Season 4 and now we are in a season that apparently started good, but now since Reckoning it's on a downward
spiral and it gets worse and worse.

Brutal, but I don't think it is early to call 'Reckoning' a true shark jump. The weakness of 'Smallville' from the very beginning was keeping the characters consistent between the milestone episodes, like Pilot, Rosetta, etc. Despite a few bumps along the way, the episodes from 'Arrival' to 'Reckoning' were as good as this show has ever been in that regard. I could have lived without the Deus Ex Machina device from 'Hidden' and the Lois as campaign manager nonesense, but otherwise it was pretty steadily moving forward.

In that sense, the second half of 'Reckoning' was a huge mistake. 11.5 episodes of season 5 had built to Clark revealing his secret to Lana. All that paid off when she died. It was tragic, but it was also logical from a story perspective. Undoing all that and killing off JK undid everything that had happened in the season to date. It cut most of the major plot threads off. Consider:
- The Lex-Lionel rivalry surrounding the political campaign was gone.
- The JK-MK-Lionel triangle over money was gone.
- The Clark-Lana relationship was suddenly in a totally undefined.
- Chloe-Clark debate about Clark being honest with Lana was totally moot.
- The JK-Lex rivalry was gone.

All that was left was Milton Fine and the Lex-Lana flirtation. With Fine off-stage for three episodes, they only had one rickety leg to stand on.

The small piece of good news in this episode was bringing Fine back into the B-story with Lex. That is really the best thing they have left going this season. The final episode is bound to be strong if it is focused on that plot. The milestone episodes are almost always worth it (the exception being "Covenent" and then only because the ending was so absurdly bad). Maybe in season 6, they will learn from their mistakes this year like learned from season 4 this season.

dhacker615

04-06-2006, 01:20 PM

Originally posted by Space_Ninja_3000
Great episode. I was riveted through the whole show. The writing was very tight, they balanced and moved a number of storyline threads along. There is now quite a bit going on that's interesting which I look forward to seeing how they resolve. They have the Lionel/Jor El issue, Clark/Jor El/Fortress training, Lionel's overtures to Martha, Lex/Lionel Apex take over thing, Martha taking the Senate seat, Clark dealing with the farm and the death of his father, Milton Fine/Lex/Lana and the spaceship, and Lex/Lana & Clark/Chloe pairings. On top of that they introduced Fine with this deadly virus which looks very intriguing. All in all, after a lousy 4th, I've really enjoyed this season's episodes. I think Clark, Lana, and Chloe in particular have grown a great deal as characters since season 1. And I like the direction the show is taking, the second meteor shower/spaceship event has been a great hub to connect the spokes of the various Lex/Clark/Lionel/Lana storylines. That was a great choice. Also, Chloe's role in the program is much more interesting, the passing of J. Kent felt right, and generally the show is almost as good as it was back in seasons 2-3 (can't quite say that, but almost there).

Here's the thing about Season 4, if you watched just the Top 5-6 episodes it would seem like maybe the best SV season. The problem was that the other 16 episodes did nothing to suppport the highlights and too often just ignored them. Consider my top five in order of air-date:
1. Crusade
2. Jinx
3. Unsafe/Pariah
4. Onyx
5. Commencement

There an awful lot of threads that were just dropped, like Lex needing medical attention, Clark flying, Level 33, the effect of Alicia's death on Clark, what Lex remembers from being divided, etc. Moreover, the disaster in "Commencement" comes out of nowhere, but is somehow kinda-sorta Clarks's fault. Nothing connected together, nor were any of the set-ups developed much less paid off.

Season 5 is on that exact same path, since about halfway through "Reckoning".

greggbray

04-07-2006, 10:08 AM

Originally posted by dhacker615
Brutal, but I don't think it is early to call 'Reckoning' a true shark jump. The weakness of 'Smallville' from the very beginning was keeping the characters consistent between the milestone episodes, like Pilot, Rosetta, etc. Despite a few bumps along the way, the episodes from 'Arrival' to 'Reckoning' were as good as this show has ever been in that regard. I could have lived without the Deus Ex Machina device from 'Hidden' and the Lois as campaign manager nonesense, but otherwise it was pretty steadily moving forward.

In that sense, the second half of 'Reckoning' was a huge mistake. 11.5 episodes of season 5 had built to Clark revealing his secret to Lana. All that paid off when she died. It was tragic, but it was also logical from a story perspective. Undoing all that and killing off JK undid everything that had happened in the season to date. It cut most of the major plot threads off. Consider:
- The Lex-Lionel rivalry surrounding the political campaign was gone.
- The JK-MK-Lionel triangle over money was gone.
- The Clark-Lana relationship was suddenly in a totally undefined.
- Chloe-Clark debate about Clark being honest with Lana was totally moot.
- The JK-Lex rivalry was gone.

All that was left was Milton Fine and the Lex-Lana flirtation. With Fine off-stage for three episodes, they only had one rickety leg to stand on.

The small piece of good news in this episode was bringing Fine back into the B-story with Lex. That is really the best thing they have left going this season. The final episode is bound to be strong if it is focused on that plot. The milestone episodes are almost always worth it (the exception being "Covenent" and then only because the ending was so absurdly bad). Maybe in season 6, they will learn from their mistakes this year like learned from season 4 this season.

With the exception of 'Covenent' I agree with everything else. Especially how the ball was dropped in 'Reckoning.' It was a beautifully shot and performed episode, but the time travel device eradicated any sense of pay off from the first half of the season. And Season 5 (with the exception of 'Thirst' and to a lesser extent 'Aqua') was doing exceptionally well, right up to Lexmas. I even enjoyed Lockdown (despite the absurdity of Lex being shot twice within 2 episodes), as it seemed like it was a 'building the fire' episode.

With the second half of 'Reckoning' it was all gone. The show recovered a little with 'Vengence,' especially the powerful epilogue. JK was given a more proper exit and remembrance.

Also, in the most recent episode, Void, some of that feeling has subsided a bit.

But the writers have written themselves into a corner with Lana. The only thing they can do with her is write her out of the program, or have her discover Clark's secret based on her own merits.

At this point, I'm not sure how the rest of the season is going to faire. I enjoyed Cyborg immensely, but we need more consistency from episode to episode.

BTW--hypnotic was awful. Even worse than Thirst.

Prodigal

04-07-2006, 05:41 PM

Many people thought this episode sucked, but when i watched it, after many weeks without smallville, i found it very good.

A few points i liked:
+The return of Brainiac
+The new storyline for Brainiac
+The end of Clark and Lana's Relationship
+The last time we saw whine about secrets and truth (Hopefully)
+Lex trying to find out CK's secret
+Simone's Hotness

Very good episode, at least better than Thirst, Aqua, Exposed, Fanatic and Tomb.

Prodigal ®

Mr. Wrong

04-10-2006, 08:18 AM

Despicable episode. I can't believe you made us wait all these weeks for this. You will definitely have to rebuild C.K.'s stature after this debacle. He is supposed to be a role model. I would never want my son to emulate him in this performance. Crushing Lana like that was the act of a true coward.

loistickyfingerz

04-12-2006, 12:07 PM

I didn't think this episode was so bad, but I only got to watch it recently and after I had seen the following episode, so maybe that made it better.

GottaLoveHotSuperHeros

04-21-2006, 06:49 PM

Back to the freak of the week i see. Clark was pathetic. All these women are always taking advantage of him!
And finally... Clark and Lana broke up, best part of the episode! Hopefully they are split for good. She's too needy and helpless. He needs Lois!

Mrs Kent

05-07-2006, 08:55 AM

I loved it, it was hot!

Mr. Wrong

06-01-2006, 10:22 AM

Absolutely one of the worst episodes to date. I was thoroughly disgusted with Clark's behaviour in this one. How dare they leave him looking like such a scum bag!

superdude7

06-25-2006, 05:00 PM

i thought this episode was good.

i thought it was good because they got lana and clark broke up

KryptonX81

06-30-2006, 11:01 AM

What were they thinking?

I imagine that it went something like this.

Miles: Hmm. Thets see, devoted was an ok episode, and heat was a great episode, so you know what would make a phenominal episode? We take the villans from both episodes and squash them together into some mixed up mess!

Gough: Yea! But instead of developing why she has these mind control powers, we can just ake the easy route and say that she has a magic necklace or something else stupid!

Miles: Now your'e talking! But you know what is missing? Sex.

Gough: Yea. We definatly need a sex scene. I know that the audience hasnt liked it before, but maybe if we keep doing it over and over it will grow on them.

Miles: Amen. Better clear off space on that award cabinet!

Ck- Kent

07-30-2006, 03:54 PM

It was really cool :), hes faster now than before. That shows when shes asking him to get chocolate and champagne :D

Ilovebeinglost

08-10-2006, 07:12 PM

Ok I take back anything I ever said about Lana being a drama queen.

I watched this episode again and I have to say that is the worse way to be hurt and to break up. The pain seeing someone you love together with someone else when you don't except it has to be the worse.

Clark told Chloe that he and Semon didn't do anything. do you beleive this. What stopped him if he didn't?

Bilza

11-25-2008, 06:00 PM

Hypnotic was an important episode in terms of how the plot was written in season 5. We witnessed here the return of Milton Fine as Braniac this time with new strategy and devious plan, a more ruthless Lex Luthor with cunning plans and finally the inevitable break up of Clana.

A very enjoyable episode with 1 or 2 mini twists. The first being how Lex (best character on the show) used Simone and her necklace to break Clark and Lana up. It was a cunning plan on his part and his deeper and darker intentions was to find out Clark's secret again. I would class these intentions as a little evil and more so greedy and cunning. Breaking Clana up was just a consolation prize for Lex. His obssession of Clark and his personal life has not swayed. He continues to believe there is something unusual about Clark. This time he's not only got a consolation prize but has gotten away with a sinister move on his part.

I found Lex's expressions when Milton fine described "weapon", ET threat, etc as chilling. I always feel that there are deeper darker intentions than simply protecting the human race from outside threat. I feel at this moment in LEx's life what is trully in his heart? Is his obssession of being the saviour of mankind or are his intentions much more devious? So far I still feel it's the first because of how the meteors has affected his life. He's not totally evil but his intentions are somewhat suspicious with the way he goes about them.

Some of you may feel surely he has to be asking serious questions after a hypnotised Clark threw him across the room. Was the hypnosis the cause of all that strength? Lex had a way of being in denial but maybe he actually already knows because he's always believed it but is unwilling to do anything drastic to expose Clark's secret. Perhaps no hard evidence/proof proves that Clark is not human. Yet again he was distracted in finding out the truth. Unfortunately for him, Simone betrayed him when she refused to provide information about Clark's truth or "anything unusual about him".

Some of you may feel how the hell Clark didn't confront Lex how he knew about Simone and the hypnosis (the necklace etc). Surely he must know that Lex was responsible for his breakup with Lana?? I feel there's only 2 very good reasons why he chose to leave it behind him. One is because he wants to avoid anymore questioning from Lex. Clearly Clark no longer trusts his old best friend especially after everything that Lex has done. He clearly sees Lex as being more and more dangerous with the change of his style and personality in the last year or two. The 2nd reason and probably most significantly he was looking for an execuse to get out this relationship with Lana. I feel Martha Kent is spot on when she tells clark: "I know you didn't want to tell her the truth because you wanted to protect her but maybe there was actually more to it" and goes on to say: "Do you think you didn't tell her because maybe deep down you didn't think she was the one?" That is exactly right..alot of truth to that no matter how Clark wants to deny it with "I'll always love Lana" claim but I sensed he began to get more and more frustrated and annoyed with the way Lana has been acting, whining, and most of all always running to Lex for help. Clark has noticed that she's becoming more and more defensive of Lex, knowing full well how he (Clark) feels about him and what he's done. I think while Lana got what she deserved, I can't help but feel a little sympathy for her. She as much as anyone is very frustrated with Clark's secrecy and it's further compounded by what she witnessed. Clark made it that more painful when he was no longer under hypnosis by regrettably telling her in the eye that he doesn't love her. Lana is obviously in so much pain and you can tell the anguish on her face. But what does she do next? Instead of running to Chloe she runs off to Lex. Again I find that naive on her part. She wanted Lex to be the first person to know but why? The more I look at it, she's obviously got a thing for Lex for blindely believing that she could trust him. Lex while at first trying to defend Clark a little, to his absolute suprise he quickly realised that it was his chance to sweep in as Lana looks vulnerable. His plan didn't even have to work to break them up. The Clana relationship breakdown was unevitable. Lex just added fuel to the fire and sped it up. "You put your trust in the wrong person", a chilling line by Lex to Lana. He had that devillish expression on his face, it may have been anger at Clark with way he hurt Lana but deep down he's got other motives i.e. seducing Lana into a relationship with him.

smallvillefreak24

11-28-2008, 07:45 PM

worst ep of season 5

e-µ-i

12-30-2008, 12:06 PM

It's a terrible episode overall, but there are three amazing things in this episode : we get to see Simone in a bra (probably the hottest moment in SV so far), Clark and Lana break up (YES!!!) and Lex does a half-smile at the end.
Personally, when Lana started crying, I was happy and started actually smiling. And then she went off to Lex like a little ******. I wonder, did the writers made her character so disgusting on purpose or by accident...if on purpose, than they did a great job indeed !

Krpyto

12-30-2008, 12:26 PM

Lana and Clark is a major part of the mythos. They did hook up for a bit, which is something most fans wanted. It's over now, its time for Lois and Clark, thats just the way life works sometimes.

Nimkong

02-28-2010, 06:51 PM

This episode is my favorite in season 5,which is kind of sad because this epsiode isent that good.Liked how brainac came back,the plot was tight, and clana broke up!

Aficionado

06-08-2010, 08:14 PM

Will be watching it again tonight, part of my marathon viewing. Selfishly I always like it when Clark gets some action, plot be damned.

SGuthrie27

08-22-2010, 02:05 PM

Yuck. I HATED this episode. I tremendously DISLIKE that Simone character. She came pretty much out of nowhere, with a pretty thin backstory, and her scenes with Clark, aside from the one where she figured out his super-speed powers, were pretty gag-worthy. And all this just to break up Clana... Don't get me wrong -- I'm glad that the two split, since it obviously was going nowhere with Clark still unwilling to share his secret with Lana, but it was a pretty awful way to make that happen. Martha and Chloe were right in how they talked to Clark. He really did give her plenty of reason to hate him, but at least Martha also helped him start to think about the fact that maybe he'd subconsciously recognized that Lana wasn't the "one" for him. I did like Chloe's scenes, and that she managed to save Clark, Lex, and herself, but still... this was a pretty terrible episode. I give it 1 hypno-necklace out of 10 for too much drama and nastiness. And BTW, I'm glad that this episode brought Milton Fine back, but that intro was disgusting... Those poor people... :(

Simba_Muffy

05-20-2011, 06:20 PM

Supsfan

05-20-2011, 10:32 PM

I never get the hate for this episode. I thought most of it was good but much like alot of S5-7 episodes the Clana/Clexana stuff dragged it down a bit, that being said it was no worse then the Clana/Clexana stuff that dragged down other episodes in that period.

Simba_Muffy

05-28-2011, 09:29 PM

I never get the hate for this episode. I thought most of it was good but much like a lot of S5-7 episodes the Clan/Clexane stuff dragged it down a bit, that being said it was no worse then the Clan/Clexana stuff that dragged down other episodes in that period.

I like it. I just wish Simone would've ran off with Clark.:lol:

Superboogie

07-26-2011, 04:36 PM

I think this episode really lacked scenes between Clark/Lois and Chloe/Martha at the end. I mean Clark even said he did remember all the details while he was hypnotized. He could have killed Lois with his powers when he knocked her out and Chloe hit Martha with a rolling pin. And all they can discuss at the end is some love life problems? Sure Clark was under a spell but they failed to recognize that Clark could seriously hurt or injure people when he is not in control of his actions.

Lana and Clark is a major part of the mythos. They did hook up for a bit, which is something most fans wanted. It's over now, its time for Lois and Clark, thats just the way life works sometimes.
I think you have it reversed. Lois and Clark is a major part of the mythos and Lana is a minor supporting character.

Krpyto

07-27-2011, 06:54 AM

I think this episode really lacked scenes between Clark/Lois and Chloe/Martha at the end. I mean Clark even said he did remember all the details while he was hypnotized. He could have killed Lois with his powers when he knocked her out and Chloe hit Martha with a rolling pin. And all they can discuss at the end is some love life problems? Sure Clark was under a spell but they failed to recognize that Clark could seriously hurt or injure people when he is not in control of his actions.

I think you have it reversed. Lois and Clark is a major part of the mythos and Lana is a minor supporting character.

Of course Lois is a major part of the mythos. But one cannot ignore the fact that Lana was his first girlfriend, that is a major part of someone's life. Besides the name of the show is Smallville. Lana was in Smallville and in the mythos Lois didn't meet Clark until he left Smallville. That was changed for the TV show but as far as the mythos is concerned Lana was the main love interest of Clark until he became Superman.

Raistlin

10-02-2011, 03:40 PM

Loved Marthas final advice about Lana not being the one "surprise" I know. We all know he ends up with Lois.

I did not like Martha's advice and wanted to smash her in her old face. What exactly does she want for her son? To be a monk and social failure until sometime in the future when he finds THE ONE? Is she kidding me? Instead of helping Clark find middle ground so that he can have a normal dating life, like any other young adult, without being totally unfair to the girl(s) he dates, she clings to this stupid "maybe you didn't tell her because she isn't the one." But starting a sexual relationship with her was A-Okay, right? *head slams on desk* And let's just sweep under the rug Clark's often stated reasons for withholding the truth from Lana: fear of Lana's rejection and fear for Lana's safety.

This scene just added to my steadily building dislike for Martha Kent. BTW, Clark doesn't know what his future holds and neither does Martha so this vague "somewhere down the road" chatter is just in there to keep the home fires burning Clark/Lois fans. Did Martha refrain from dating until she met Jonathan? I don't think so. If I had been watching this show during its original run, I probably would have quit by now because I hate having my chain jerked. :mad:

----- Added 16 Minutes later -----

What's weak? First of all, Lois Lane is not really well integrated into Smallville. They had her working at the Talon and then as Jonathon's campaign manager (?), but she still seems rather out of place. I buy her and Chloe hanging out as they do seem to have good chemistry together on screen, but her involvement with the Kents has never really seemed natural to me.

That's because Lois Lane had no business being introduced into Smallville period. Her involvement with Kent family has always annoyed me. Thank Martha for that, too. I swear I hate that woman. If I'm not mistaken, Lois's part of the mythology takes place after Clark fully embraces his destiny as Superman. This is why I've never accepted her or liked her on this show.