Exposition versus Resolution: Resurrection
Written by Hope

Ahhh, now that's how an exposition episode should be done, kudos to Todd Slavkin & Darren Swimmer for taking "Resurrection," a necessary hour of back story, explanation, and story-forwarding for Smallville, and making it fun to watch. This is the kind of episode Verheiden and Greenberg's "Hereafter" could have been, though it was by no means perfect.

Of the good, Slavkin & Swimmer have a real gift for writing the characters in motion. Peterson & Souders is the team they want when you want character reaction, but Slavkin & Swimmer do really well when the characters have to act. Some of their character turns seem a little fast- Jonathan changing his mind that quickly to Clark's plea seemed a little rushed, but because Slavkin & Swimmer know how guys interact, how guys talk, the scene still played well. Another example is Lana's sudden unburdening of all her Adam information- it was convenient to the script that that happen in one scene, so again, it was rushed, but the dialogue was delivered believably, so it still worked.

These guys have a great grasp of how to get things done in an interesting, stakes-raising fashion. Unlike their "Velocity," which featured a linear double climax (both climaxes were fed directly from Clark's need to solve Pete's problem,) "Resurrection" featured a very nifty twist on that- the first climax had nothing to do with Clark's need to solve Garrett's problem; it had everything to do with the continuing Clark-Lex-Lionel triangle. When Clark overheard Lex talking with Dr. Teng, it was both unexpected, joined the A and B lines together in a perfect instance, and forwarded the overall arc for that triangle. That's the kind of subtlety I'd expect to see from a show in its third year, and it was very nicely done.

Another really nice thing that Slavkin & Swimmer can do is create an extraneous relationship for one of the main characters that feels natural. They provided everything we needed to know about Clark and Garrett's friendship in their first scene together, and they did it organically: it makes sense that they would have spent time together in the hospital, it makes sense that Clark (and his family,) would care what happens to him after his brother dies. Clark's care taking aspect, nicely mirrored in Martha's delivery of the same, was nice, strong emphasis for that strength of character we know he has.

At the same time, they showed that Clark is still holding on hard to the vestiges of his childhood- of course he's more interested in staying with his father than helping someone else. And of course, his parents urge him to do otherwise. The whole Kent family was beautifully framed; the parents' positive influence on the son very much evident tonight, and that was a nice refresher. And, in a wonderful nod toward Clark's growth, he finally manages to lie to Lana convincingly; a trait he's unfortunately going to have to cultivate for his future as Superman.

On the Lex front, wow. Slavkin & Swimmer did a fantastic job writing Lex in this episode, really capturing his two-tiered motivation for everything he does, the double-layered way he speaks to people who have something he wants. He continues to cheerfully use Chloe's willingness to share information, but when she verges on territory he'd like to keep annexed for himself, he nudges her out… with a smile, with concern for her safety, and how can a girl complain about that? I don't think it's even occurred to Chloe she's being played, because Lex is playing her brilliantly.

Conversely, Lana's just suspicious enough that I think she's starting to realize that Lex's protector act isn't entirely pure. He asks her too many questions, he's more intimate with her than he's ever been- and how frightening is it to see Lex give Lana the same chin-chuck he gave Molly in "Delete," that 'you're lovely, and I fully intend to manipulate you' gesture? It's fascinating to watch him play Chloe (and I have to admit, I feel kind of bad for her, because that closing shot in the Lex and Chloe scene gave me the impression that Chloe- perhaps briefly- harbored an infatuated moment, believing that he cares about her well-being,) but it really is chilling to see him use Lana as a pawn, considering their history.

The only downside to this script, and unfortunately, it's a problem Slavkin & Swimmer have always have, and haven't *quite* worked out yet, are a point of internal inconsistency, and a lack of resolution on some points. The first happened because they needed to tell the audience what's going on with Adam, Lionel and the Kryptonian Serum of Resurrection. We already know that LuthorCorp will provide a new name, a new life, for one of its medical experiments because that's exactly what happened with Adam. And tonight, LuthorCorp went through the trouble of forging donation and cremation paperwork and making sure the only living kin was notified the remains had been cremated.

So why the hell did Dr. Teng allow Vince to run home to grab Garrett? Well, metatextually, because she had to- Slavkin & Swimmer couldn't show us the full effect of Adam's treatment, unless Vince went home. Intratextually, it doesn't make a bit of sense, even with the brief nod to Dr. Teng's soft touch where it concerns her patients. This is a multibillion dollar corporation with far too much invested in this project to just let its latest guinea pig show off his resurrection to a family member who already believed he was dead. Lionel went to the trouble to hide that Metron Pharmaceuticals was still operational, he went to the trouble of creating a plausible death scenario for the family, he went to the trouble of crafting an entirely new identity for Chad Nash and was apparently going to do the same; it's a failure of internal logic to allow Vince to return home from Garrett. Metatextually, it had to happen; intratextually, the way it happened was foolish.

On the lack of resolution- the A line itself was resolved, but Clark's final scene with his parents was strangely lacking. Clark addressed a specific possibility: his blood could save lives; maybe he needs to think more about that. Jonathan and Martha addressed the fact that they have faith he'll save plenty of lives in his lifetime. They never say revealing himself is a bad idea, that it's a good idea- in fact, they never say anything specifically *about* that proposition. While this could have been done in a way that fostered the idea that Jonathan and Martha want Clark to make his own decisions, it just seemed like they were having two different, only tangentially related conversations.

However, much like a failure of internal logic didn't damage the audience's enjoyment of "Velocity," these two problems didn't sink "Resurrection." They're still issues that need to be addressed in future scripts, but Slavkin & Swimmer do have that gift of making a really good hour of television out of a pretty good script. This was an episode that worked hard, but looked like it was hardly working- this is how exposition gets done right.

Screenwriting: B+
To Watch: A-

Next Week: Okay, I think it's safe to say that Adam is finally going to lose it, and Lana's going to be pretty upset about it. Plus, rain! Wet Clark always works for me.

Note: The views of Hope don't necessarily represent the thoughts and feelings of everyone at KryptonSite.

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