"Reunion"
Review!
Written
by Triplet
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NOTE:
This review discusses major plot points. Read no further if
you wish to remain unspoiled.
To be honest,
I really wasn't sure I was going to like this episode before
I saw it.
After all
a major flashback episode to reveal secrets of Lex's past had
been done, and done brilliantly, before.
I loved
the third season episode "Memoria." It was beautifully
shot, had a terrific story and revealed tons about Lex's and
Lionel's relationship. Not only did it have some terrific performances
from John Glover and Michael Rosenbaum in it but the episode
shed some much needed light on the reasons the father and son
have such an epic love-hate relationship. But did they really
need to do another major Lex flashback episode? Upon hearing
about this episode, I didn't think it was needed...
Well, I
was very pleasantly surprised and it turned out it was needed.
While the
revelations in "Reunion" weren't anywhere as devastating
to Lex as the ones in "Memoria" had been, the episode
did expose a particularly dark part of his past. It also laid
out why Lex feels such animosity toward Oliver and revealed
a lot about why Oliver has become the man he is.
This
episode was a particularly solid writing job by Smallville scribe,
Steven DeKnight.
It was awesome
the way that the 'A' and 'B' stories really complemented each
other. It was done far better than in most Smallville episodes.
Clark investigated the murders and the danger posed to his new
friend Oliver while also he used his new connection with the
Green Arrow to find out more about the other 'Zoners' that escaped
the Phantom Zone with him. (I really wish they'd thought of
something other than that for Chloe to call them, but oh well...)
Lois also
had a part to play in both storylines and the way DeKnight interweaved
the intersecting plotlines was terrific. I liked that Lois discovered
some of the same information that Clark did in a different way
and how she tried to take over Clark's investigation, just like
Lois from the comics would do. She's showing more and more hints
of her future-investigative-reporter self in Smallville and
it's a very, very good thing. It is remarkably enjoyable watching
Clark and Lois work together like that.
Lois' line
at end of Act Four is a classic. When Clark tells her that sometimes
people keep secrets to protect the ones they love, Lois said
"That is totally retarded." I actually laughed out
loud.
I loved
that Clark was doing the investigating while Chloe moved into
more of a support role. I love Chloe, but her super hacking
powers shouldn't always be saving Clark's butt. He's Superman,
after all. He should do some saving from time to time.
I think
the best part of this episode writing-wise was how differently
the sins of their pasts affected the men in the show. Oliver's
line about him scrubbing his dirty hands "real hard"
compared to Lex's getting his own dirtier and dirtier was telling.
It revealed a lot about the man Oliver has become in spite of
the boy he was. For Oliver, his mistakes made him see that he
should be a better person.
Oliver's
talk with Clark in the barn during the final act drove that
point home. Clark has also made some bad choices and he's had
to live with the consequences, and will continue to do so. However,
Oliver counseled Clark that trying to make good choices in the
future is the best you can hope for.
That's a
lesson that Lex apparently has never learned. His way of moving
on proved it. He chose to press his father for the test results
of the last treatment the doctors had given Duncan. Instead
of trying to become a better man, he chose to take advantage
of his father's unethical experimentation on his friend.
I thought
the three guest stars, Bryce Hodgson (as Duncan Allenmeyer),
Lucas Grabeel (as young Lex), and Ryan Overton (as young Oliver
Queen) were all wonderful in this episode. Bryce Hodgson had
an intense vulnerability as Duncan that was especially fitting
to the role. Serious kudos to Lucas Grabeel! He did an excellent
job playing a tortured teenaged Lex and it was a bold move to
take the part in the first place since he had to shave his head
to do it. All the teens looked a lot like their adult counterparts,
even Geoffrey and Alden. It was an excellent job of casting
all way around by director Jeannot Szwarc and he got terrific
performances from all of them.
Michael
Rosenbaum's chemistry with Justin Hartley just keeps getting
better and better. The scenes between Oliver and Lex were great.
The two men play very well off of each other. The barely disguised
animosity they both show so ably adds a lot to their scenes.
I'm sorry
Tom wasn't in this episode more, but it looks like we get a
Clark-centric episode next week and he did such a terrific job
here, so I'll deal. Tom portrayed the earnest Clark so well
as he doggedly tried to get to the bottom of the mysterious
deaths. He also showed an easy sense of humor in Clark's scenes
with both Chloe and Lois. It was funny that he was so amused
by Chloe's finding Ollie sexy. In addition, Tom and Erica Durance
have a great comedic chemistry that gives a boost to any scene
they're in together. I love watching them play off each other
like that.
The photography
was simply fabulous in this episode. The flashback scenes were
de-saturated, soft focused and the contrast ratio was extremely
high (the dark areas were very dark and the light areas were
very light), all reinforcing the feeling that the scenes had
taken place in the past. There was more gorgeous nighttime photography
in Oliver's penthouse, which is making me like that set more
and more. Director of Photography David Moxness shot a beautiful
episode.
This was
a wonderfully written episode that was highly entertaining as
well as revealing a lot about Lex and Ollie and some of why
they've become the men they have.
I give "Reunion"
4.5 electronic pulse emitting arrows out of a possible 5.
Note:
The views of Triplet don't necessarily represent the thoughts
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