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Smallville: Looking Back on Season 6 |
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Tuesday, 29 May 2007 |
By John Keegan
Visit Critical Myth for an archive of John's TV Review archives, with more than 1100 entries.
 The fifth season of “Smallville” was plagued by inconsistent writing and a lack of focus. Despite one of the more celebrated guest stars in the series’ history, the fifth season plot arc seemed to fall apart halfway through the season, shortly after the death of Jonathan Kent. In particular, the finale introduced a long-awaited plot development, but in getting there, the writers completely changed details around at the last moment. By the Critical Myth rating system, the fifth season review average was 6.5, or below average.
The challenge for the writing staff was, quite simply, to avoid the laundry list of recurring problems. Above all, the characters lacked consistency in terms of motivation, especially during the period when Clark and Lana hit the skids. Every writer seemed to cover that “final defining moment” over the span of several late-season episodes. Following the death of Jonathan Kent and the emergence of more troubles with Lana and Lex, Clark’s moral compass remained steadfast, squandering a potential character arc in the process. While the beginning of the season, roughly the first 13 episodes, featured a relatively well-paced plot arc involving Brainiac, the second half of the season lacked direction and seemed to meander, with Brainiac absent for far too many episodes. The fifth season also fell flat with several gimmick episodes, mostly requiring Lana to be overtly sexual, something that Kristen Kreuk finds difficult to portray. The result is a lack of convincing seduction on her part. And these are just the most obvious elements that begged for repair.
As any “Smallville” fan must admit, only a handful of these issues were addressed, and the nature of the “fix” is ultimately debatable. The writers appear to be operating under an air of complacency; after all, the series has lasted six seasons and continues to be one of the highest rated hours on the CW network. That said, some of the issues were addressed enough to make this one of the better seasons in recent memory. By the Critical Myth rating system, the sixth season review average was 6.9, or just about average and nearly a half-point improvement.
The main improvement was the exploration of Clark’s moral development. The introduction of Oliver Queen (Green Arrow) was not simply a gimmick; Queen represented a challenge to Clark’s relatively narrow thinking. Queen was all about using his resources to tackle problems affecting the world at large, not just personal threats and desires. This served to highlight the more negative aspects of Clark’s entitled psychology, especially in terms of his attitude with Lana.
 Unfortunately, there’s still room for improvement. For every episode that gave Lex a clear and consistent motivation for his inhumane projects involving alien DNA and super-soldiers, there was an inexplicable moment related to his relationship and eventual marriage to Lana. That entire plot thread fell apart at the seams, particularly in terms of rendering Lana even more of an object to be attained than in previous years. Lana’s own personality was all over the map: devious and calculating one week, weak and victimized the next.
In essence, the familiar pattern for the season arc came into play once again this season. Culminating in “Justice”, the Oliver Queen arc did much to keep the season arc initially consistent. There was also the concurrent search for the Zoners, enemies of Clark’s from his time in the Phantom Zone. Taken together, those plot arcs were the drivers for much of the season. After “Justice”, however, and especially in the last few episodes of the season, the plot seemed to turn more towards the soap opera elements of the Clark/Lana/Lex love triangle.
The most egregious example of the late-season collapse was the introduction of the idea that Lex was behind a plot to induce false pregnancy symptoms in Lana, something that would have required action on Lex’s part from the beginning of the season. In retrospect, that plot twist makes no sense at all, and feels like the producers’ way of eliminating a potential obstacle for future plot threads (i.e., a baby) while still mining the dramatic aspects of a pregnancy for as long as possible. This subplot was unnecessary and undercut any attempt to make Lex seem misunderstood or overzealous.
Another example is the revelation, initially quite impressive, that Chloe was a “meteor freak”. Unlike the sudden change for Lex, this late development contradicted nothing and actually gave the audience hope that Chloe might develop into someone more important than Clark’s intelligence resource. Unfortunately, Chloe’s ability was seldom referenced in any substantial fashion until the very end of the season, when her ability emerged out of nowhere, without a bit of foreshadowing to suggest what the ability might actually be.
 The season was also littered with the usual gimmicks, most of which fell flat. Green Arrow was the first example, and while the character worked as something of a mentor for Clark, Queen’s relationship with Lois didn’t always convince. While many fans enjoyed the “Justice” episode, it relied too much on nostalgia; the concept never came together well by the logic of the story. Add the requisite red kryptonite episode, a guest appearance by professional wrestlers, horrible appearances by Linda Carter and Tori Spelling, and the grueling wedding episode, and it’s clear that the writers are still grasping at fan service straws.
On the other hand, with a few minor exceptions (where an obvious body double was used), Lana’s sexuality was rarely exploited. With so much time objectifying Lana in a completely different manner, that aspect was apparently no longer necessary. Instead, as has been the case since the fourth season, Lois is the one showing skin as often as possible. While some fans find this more than acceptable, it continues to undercut her credibility. In contrast, despite having Jimmy Olsen around, Chloe’s portrayal seems even more conservative than usual.
Like many shows that rely on iconic portrayals over consistent character development, there are moments of greatness surrounded by moments of depressing mediocrity. In this case, the main improvement from season to season was the development of a darker side for Clark, emerging out of his human pettiness and feelings of entitlement.
For the seventh season, the same issues remain to be addressed. The writers would be better served to construct a well-considered set of plot and character arcs and make certain that they come to logical completion. The plot arcs should not fade away around episode 7.13. More than that, every character should have a clear motivation. While they will probably never go away, the gimmicks should be incorporated into the episodes in a more organic fashion. It’s unlikely that these measures will be taken, given the success of the series despite the flaws, but this is what the series needs to end well.
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