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Smallville 7.12: "Fracture" |
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Tuesday, 26 February 2008 |
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By John Keegan
Visit Critical Myth for an archive of John's TV Review archives, with more than 1100 entries.
| Every season seems to have an episode devoted to the inner workings of Lex Luthor, and every time, the writers seem to approach each such episode as though it’s the first of its kind. At this point, Lex is hardly a mystery, and this particular situation does nothing to change that impression. He has turned into Darth Vader, the sadistic, angry villain with a remnant of goodness still clinging to life within him.
At this point, who expects Lex to step back from the abyss? His future path is clear, and nothing is going to change that. The dynamic between Lex and Clark is moving along at the same pace. As Lex becomes more and more villainous, Clark becomes more and more heroic. That pace could be accelerated to the benefit of the show, but the strength seems to be embracing Lex’s dark side.
Take, for instance, the side of Lex that tortures Clark with the image of Lana professing her mostly-naked love. Lex has seldom been so animated, and Michael Rosenbaum did a terrific job of expressing the twisted pleasure of making Clark suffer. It was just as much fun to watch him manipulate Kara and progress with his plan to understand the Kryptonian connections or dismiss his father’s clumsy attempt at reconciliation. Lex can be over the top of late, but it works. (Note that his dark side, within his mind, wears the same white suit that figured prominently in the vision of his dark future in the first season episode “Hourglass”.)
As much as Clark’s short imprisonment was designed to derail the Clark/Lana relationship, Kara’s amnesia was designed to give Lex a means of discovering more about the Kryptonian “threat” and pursue his ongoing agenda. The season arc is becoming clear now, and while I still don’t like the characterization of Supergirl at all, I appreciate the intentions of the plot. The challenge for the writers will be consistency; in previous seasons, the plot has fallen apart in the second half of the season as solutions to established problems prove elusive.
This episode also continues the slow but steady exploration of Chloe’s ability, which has become incredibly dangerous for her to use. Not to be too cynical, but it feels like the writers wanted her to sacrifice herself for Lois in the sixth season finale, but ultimately gave her a temporary stay of execution. She is quickly approaching a decision point: avoid her ability to save her own life, or use her ability and accept the consequences. I suspect this will come into play in the eventual series finale, so the fans will be appeased by her presence in the interim.
There is one point of interest in this episode that may be overlooked. In one of Lex’s memories, there is considerable drama surrounding Lionel and something called “Veritas”. Considering that the memory takes place when Lex is young, this would coincide with Lionel’s apparent alliance with Virgil Swann, Genevieve Teague, and Oliver Queen’s father, as depicted in the online content provided during the second half of the sixth season.
That alliance was supposedly dedicated to the potential “threat” of Kryptonian visitation to Earth, and had the potential to pull together several elements of the series’ mythology since the first season. I was quite annoyed at the idea that this plot concept had been shunted off-screen, considering that it would be a major revelation. Perhaps “Veritas” is a reference to that alliance. If so, it would be a welcome turn of events, and would do much to overcome the early struggles of the season. |
