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Monday, 15 October 2007 |
By John Keegan
Visit Critical Myth for an archive of John's TV Review archives, with more than 1100 entries.
The previous episode split the fandom right down the middle, and this installment is likely to do the same. Those who loved “Kara” and enjoy this new version of Supergirl will probably take this episode for what it was. The rest will consider this another example of how the series can fail to live up to potential.
Granted, there’s not much potential in the idea of a Smallville beauty pageant, so there wasn’t much distance to fall. Apparently the writers thought the same thing, because that plot thread was chopped up beyond all recognition. One might have expected the pageant to be covered in a little more detail, if only to highlight how much Kara had to learn about human society and values. That could have given the actress an opportunity to present depth in her performance and the writers a chance to present different aspects of her character.
Instead, the writers introduced the “Weather Girls”. Supposedly, these three con artists roamed the country using their abilities to perform heists. Somehow, according to the logic of the episode, they were able to walk into Smallville and sign up for the pageant as a cover to find a treasure map in a time capsule. Residency didn’t matter; nor did the fact that the Weather Girls weren’t nearly as attractive as they were made out to be in every scene.
This aspect of the plot was as thin as the pageant. Kara is supposedly drawn into the scheme when she learns that the real treasure is a Kryptonian artifact. So she steals the map, only to be betrayed by her new partners, who think they’ve been shafted. Kara is arrested, sure enough, after winning a pageant that we never get to see (except the swimsuit competition), and Clark must try to make things right while teaching Kara the value of keeping secrets. The description of the plot is actually more coherent than the episode, which is hard to imagine.
We are also subjected to more of the same with Clark and Lana’s reunion. I still feel that Lana’s decision to fake her own death was wasted, and this episode doesn’t change that opinion. It does bring up an ongoing concern, however. Lana is now completely aware of Clark’s abilities, much like Chloe. One could argue that Lex knows everything as well, with the minimal caveat of “lack of confirmation”. How will the writers bottle the genie again?
The fact that Lex is finally putting the pieces together is one of the best parts of the episode. As usual, when the writers let Lex Luthor be Lex Luthor, the show improves dramatically. The Chloe/Jimmy scenes were all right, particularly the idea that Jimmy’s decision to embrace bigotry will threaten his relationship with Chloe, but that’s not quite enough.
The core problem for the show remains the treatment of Kara as a character, the actress’ choice in how the portray that character, and the tired romance between Clark and Lana. As with so many troubled shows, it’s not simply the ideas that are at fault, but how those ideas are executed. A beauty pageant episode is generally a horrible idea, but it can be done well, if the writers focus on character. This episode was all about plot, and the shoddy execution produced a disappointing result. |
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