Legacy

DVD, Smallville S3 (Legacy)

Some big things happen in this, issues arise, and more questions are left unanswered. There are crowd-pleasers, missing characters and some shocks. But although it starts with a good action sequence, it is the issues that are being worked through that are the focus, with huge plot moments, that revel in the broad canvas. There are elements that span the series, most notably the key, which has caused nothing but trouble since it first appeared in Season One, and has had such a convoluted ownership that you're sometimes left bewildered. He's got it... no she has... no he has... no they have... no, wait, he has got it.

The obvious should be mentioned: not only is Pete completely absent, but Chloe too. But somehow that doesn't matter because events are too twining as they are, that it's almost a relief not to have extra scenes or stories running - it shows that maybe we don't need those characters, unfortunately, in the new kind of series it has become. There was no time for extraneous scenes, as it seems like they're packing in stuff before the season finishes. It is like time travel back to Season Two, with the key a central focus again, Dr. Virgil Swann ably played by the returning Christopher Reeve, Lana and Clark going all honest...

I don't usually appreciate the way those two so often come together to argue, forget, love, argue, forget, get angry, forget, move on, move back, make up, break up, all a lot of shake up– this time their interactions were more real, with Lana's last straw of confusion, Clark still not really getting it, and once again making a promise he can never keep! Does this boy never learn? At least Lana has woken up from the fairytale/nightmare, into the real world. Not to say it's nice, but it does feel a true reaction from her. And it isn't the tag scene at the end to leave you in the blues/ cosy/ confused. Much bigger fish are frying.

Now there were things that didn't seem right for characters, or true to their history. Lionel is about to kill himself, only to stop because someone phones him. Jonathan fobs Martha and Clark off that the sound wasn't really what made him fall. Martha says the only thing taken after the faux-FBI raid on the farm was the key (I don't think she had time to check every belonging the way they were strewn everywhere!). Of course there were some huge surprises, such as the way Jonathan takes on Lionel (it's rare nowadays to see the magnate doing something physical, when in the first season he tended more to that sort of thing, with fencing and such). The point is that Jonathan is revealed as the keyholder (wouldn't it have been simpler for Lionel to have him killed then tell the police the half-truth that he came in rampaging with a gun and was shot by bodyguards. "Probably liquor, if I know these farmhands. And I seem to recall he's been involved in violence several times, plus he doesn't exactly like me..." I can imagine him saying. But then Clark would have shown his power to save his Dad.

What did happen to the key? How did Swann get it? And just what is his game? And is this Reeve's last ever performance? If he'd lived I'm sure he'd still be recurring in it now. As usual Martha's helplessness sells the destruction of the farm even more than the damage done, and that was a shame to see their lovely, tidy place get ransacked, even if it's not something we haven't seen before. Very interesting that Lana now seems to trust Lex more than she does Clark, and it's great to see a more Season Two Lex who is pushed to reveal his plans to Clark to protect their friendship in a gush of info. The plot to catch Lionel moves closer, Mr. Kent's life expectancy seems to grow shorter, and things happen. It's almost as exciting, though Swann's presence had little ceremony and a lot less of the magic of his first appearance. The characters are in a swirl of discomfort, plotlines are heading for somewhere, and best of all Adam's not in it. Perhaps the season is looking up?

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