Theshadow129x
05-12-2008, 01:10 AM
Even though the Veritas plot has come out of nowhere in the latter half of this season, it has been one of the better-developed storylines on the show in a long time. The story of four families and their pact to find The Traveler has dealt with a good amount of the mythos that the show has created within the Superman universe and combined that with the larger picture of Clark and Lex's destiny. This week, Lex's quest to find the device that will control The Traveler (Clark) continues as he unravels the mysteries of the enigmatic clockwork device he retrieved a couple of weeks ago. At times, "Quest" almost feels like an episode of Alias with a mysterious Rambaldi style device and a globe-hopping adventure. Well, if you count Montreal as "globe-hopping."
While some may have enjoyed last week's alternate universe storyline, it's hard to deny that "Apocalypse" lacked focus. Thankfully, a bloated plot that tries to do too many things at once doesn't hamper "Quest." Instead we are treated to a much more focused story that features Lex trying to decipher the clues left by Veritas. It's a very refreshing attempt at trying to tell a larger storyline on a Smallville budget.
Michael Rosenbaum is in good form here and we have to give him credit for his consistency in playing Lex Luthor over the course of the series. Some actors grow noticeably tired of playing a part over the years but Rosenbaum has delivered quality performances every week. We just wish that he had been given better material to work with this season. "Quest" does allow him to shine though, especially in the final moments of the episode as he makes a key discovery.
"Quest" does have a few noticeable shortcomings. As usual of late, Clark is absolutely useless for the majority of the episode. Chloe puts the pieces of the puzzle together, sending Clark on a trip to Montreal where he is quickly captured by a kryptonite cane wielding Edward Teague (Robert Picardo). I'm starting to think you can buy kryptonite on every street corner in the Smallville universe as everyone seems to have some. I'll concede that Teague is definitely in a position to get his hands on kryptonite but it would be far less of a crutch for the writers if these green pieces of rock were much harder to come by.
Also, Chloe's miraculous appearance in St. Christopher's cathedral to save Clark, yet again, was a bit too convenient. Lex's jet was in the air before Chloe left and yet she managed to arrive in Montreal not too long after him. Are we to assume that Ollie's jet is twice as fast? It would have been nice to see Clark work his way out of this situation on his own, instead of relying on Chloe to save the day.
The character of Edward Teague was horribly underdeveloped. He's been hinted at over the course of the last few episodes and while it was an interesting twist to see that he really wasn't dead, his surprise appearance wasn't all that exciting. Robert Picardo is a great actor who has given a lot to sci-fi, but even he couldn't make me interested in this character. Someone who could have been a fascinating new addition to the Smallville> universe comes off as nothing more than a clichéd religious zealot.
Once again, Lana's absence is noticeable but is she really missed? Besides being the damsel-in-distress, there really is nothing else left for Lana to contribute to this storyline. The show is already juggling so many characters that it doesn't know what to do with (Kara, Jimmy and Lois) that Lana has fallen by the wayside. "Quest" benefits from cutting most of these characters out of the story and only focusing on four regulars from the cast.
Having the final piece of the Veritas puzzle be Luthor mansion was a nice touch and a good way of bringing the story home. The map appeared to show the arctic as Lex's next destination so we'll assume that is where we are headed. Also, calling the next episode "Arctic" helps. Don't forget, Lana, Kara and Brainiac's stories have all yet to be resolved so it should make for quite a jam-packed conclusion to this season.
final score : 7.7 out of 10
i agree. this was a decent episode but Veritas is making the story convoluted.
While some may have enjoyed last week's alternate universe storyline, it's hard to deny that "Apocalypse" lacked focus. Thankfully, a bloated plot that tries to do too many things at once doesn't hamper "Quest." Instead we are treated to a much more focused story that features Lex trying to decipher the clues left by Veritas. It's a very refreshing attempt at trying to tell a larger storyline on a Smallville budget.
Michael Rosenbaum is in good form here and we have to give him credit for his consistency in playing Lex Luthor over the course of the series. Some actors grow noticeably tired of playing a part over the years but Rosenbaum has delivered quality performances every week. We just wish that he had been given better material to work with this season. "Quest" does allow him to shine though, especially in the final moments of the episode as he makes a key discovery.
"Quest" does have a few noticeable shortcomings. As usual of late, Clark is absolutely useless for the majority of the episode. Chloe puts the pieces of the puzzle together, sending Clark on a trip to Montreal where he is quickly captured by a kryptonite cane wielding Edward Teague (Robert Picardo). I'm starting to think you can buy kryptonite on every street corner in the Smallville universe as everyone seems to have some. I'll concede that Teague is definitely in a position to get his hands on kryptonite but it would be far less of a crutch for the writers if these green pieces of rock were much harder to come by.
Also, Chloe's miraculous appearance in St. Christopher's cathedral to save Clark, yet again, was a bit too convenient. Lex's jet was in the air before Chloe left and yet she managed to arrive in Montreal not too long after him. Are we to assume that Ollie's jet is twice as fast? It would have been nice to see Clark work his way out of this situation on his own, instead of relying on Chloe to save the day.
The character of Edward Teague was horribly underdeveloped. He's been hinted at over the course of the last few episodes and while it was an interesting twist to see that he really wasn't dead, his surprise appearance wasn't all that exciting. Robert Picardo is a great actor who has given a lot to sci-fi, but even he couldn't make me interested in this character. Someone who could have been a fascinating new addition to the Smallville> universe comes off as nothing more than a clichéd religious zealot.
Once again, Lana's absence is noticeable but is she really missed? Besides being the damsel-in-distress, there really is nothing else left for Lana to contribute to this storyline. The show is already juggling so many characters that it doesn't know what to do with (Kara, Jimmy and Lois) that Lana has fallen by the wayside. "Quest" benefits from cutting most of these characters out of the story and only focusing on four regulars from the cast.
Having the final piece of the Veritas puzzle be Luthor mansion was a nice touch and a good way of bringing the story home. The map appeared to show the arctic as Lex's next destination so we'll assume that is where we are headed. Also, calling the next episode "Arctic" helps. Don't forget, Lana, Kara and Brainiac's stories have all yet to be resolved so it should make for quite a jam-packed conclusion to this season.
final score : 7.7 out of 10
i agree. this was a decent episode but Veritas is making the story convoluted.