Splinter

DVD, Smallville S5 (Splinter)

Red and green, and blue and... silver? I don't know how many colours of Kryptonite there, but for once that didn't matter because this is the best installment I've seen from the series for a long time, certainly as far back as Season 4. Somehow all the pieces that are usually missing fell into place in a way that should happen all the time! You actually feel sorry for Lex - he's wronged by all and sundry, thrown through the air with the greatest of ease and his Dad even swans in to dig the boot in, just like the old days. The Kent's are a solid family again, everyone there and a part of it. Such a thing as Chloe revealing her knowledge of Clark to the Kent's goes by the wayside in a story packed with possibilities. Pete's engagement with the family ended sadly and bitterly, but if this is anything to go by Chloe will be a different proposition.

The writing is clever enough that at first it seems Clark is just acting all immature and stupid, like he got out of bed on the wrong side, and while I balked at his bizarre treatment of Chloe I soon twigged that all was not as it seemed - it had to be, with Lionel offering Jonathan a bribe and it being accepted. I thought perhaps Lionel was really Dr. Fine in disguise, causing mayhem for his own reasons, and I was right, in a way. He is finally unmasked (sort of) as the Kryptonian we always knew he was. I suspected either him or Lex of sending the silver Kryptonite in the first place, but I was inclined more towards him because Lex was unlikely to know what effect the rock would have and things were pointing towards Luthor Jr. so it would be too obvious. Fine has so far seemed like a nice guy (a dangerous, murdering one when in his own company, it's true...), but here his penchant for wearing black begins to make sense - it's clear he was the sender of the rock to test Clark or manipulate him by gaining his trust.

There were problems even with such a good episode - I'd have liked to see the episode from Clark's point of view so the paranoid delusions were apparently real until someone got through to him (like the 'DS9' episode 'Whispers'), and it would have been great for Clark and Fine to have a full-blown battle using all their powers, rather than the quick scuffle that ensues. I also didn't like the idea that Chloe told Lana the silver stuff gave Clark temporary powers, because in some ways that makes it harder for him to tell her his real secret with the assumption being he no longer has those powers. At the same time there's no better time than now because she reacted well to the story Chloe spun and didn't 'freak out'. For once I was truly glad it was all simple to make up at the end as it would have been too easy for them to write that she gets all annoyed again ("How can I trust you, blah, blah, blah"), but she accepted it as an aberration.

The friendship between Clark and Lex is again unclear, shifting between best buddies looking out for each other to total distrust on a weekly basis. Now Lex appears set on winning over Lana I foresee trouble, but I can't think about downsides too much when I've enjoyed an episode so much. Will Jonathan die through standing against Lex, and will his heart be able to cope? Just as importantly what is the Kryptonian identity of Fine? I kept expecting him to reveal his real name, but no. Is he Zod or not? For a brief moment Clark's world appeared to be crumbling around him, and I can't help but hear the future in many of the words spoken about Lex and Clark and humans in general. Strange that an episode that so successfully intertwines the Kryptonian mythology with a slightly pessimistic view of the future should also be such a genuinely enjoyable group of interactions that inspire memories of when the series was great.

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