Reckoning

DVD, Smallville S5 (Reckoning)

A big episode. The big episode, in fact. I knew for a long time that Jonathan Kent was going to be killed off, the impression I had that it was because John Schneider was dissatisfied with the role, and if so who can blame him, but that's something else, the production side, and I'm still too encompassed in the reality of the series' world to be concerned about that now. Though the episode title gave away that this was probably the key moment, after much speculation from myself during the last few episodes I had been lulled into a forgetfulness of the impending unfortunate event and the episode could equally have been about the fascinating conflict between Clark and Lana.

That was almost a blind to the real purpose of the episode - to kill off Jonathan. But what a blind! We've had so many close calls and half-moments when Lana has found out or was knocked unconscious or suspected something, that I expected things to break apart and for it all to be a dream or some such disappointing device. But no, they went for it all the way and it seemed to be a massive turning point in the series. On later reflection it would have concluded the plots that had been sown since the first episode. Indeed, Clark being able to tell Lana his secret and for her to react could be said to be the last major storyline still to be run (even Lex has 'discovered' Clark's powers, if only for the course of an episode). It was almost perfect as he takes her up to the Fortress of Solitude, wisely not telling her anything until after she's experienced the warp technology in the cave, that way he's not going to sound like a nutcase when he's says he's from another planet!

It was one of the best teasers the series has ever produced, not since last season's high-octane ski chase in 'Lucy' has a teaser engaged me as much, though this time for different reasons. It seemed to be going in the direction of being one of the best episodes ever as the writers firmly grasped the nettle and pulled for all they were worth. And it worked out, but then I should have realised that Superman never married Lana Lang, and despite the acknowledged differences between the established mythology and the 'Smallville' take on it, they weren't likely to shake things up that much after all. It was still a shocking result that Lana should end up dead, Clark should be so overwhelmed that he doesn't even hide his powers from Lex as he whooshes in in full view to see her bloodied form. There's a clue as to where the story would end up in Mr. Kent's surprisingly quick appearance on the scene, but your brain is whirling so fast with the implications of the accident that you just give it the passing thought that Clark must have told him and he sped at top speed after his son in the truck. In reality he left his party early to meet Lionel and teach him some rough justice.

Usually I'd have a big problem with Clark having a go at Jor-el and then his Kryptonian Dad giving him what is the last crystal he has so he can turn back time and save Lana, but although it was a major deus ex machina it also adds resonance to Jonathan's death and gives Clark even more reason to grieve - if he hadn't saved Lana he could have used the power to save his Dad. Now he could absolutely never have a happy ever after with Lana because even if he told her, not only might she be upset that he was indirectly responsible for her parents death when his ship arrived in the meteor shower, but she also prevented him from saving his Father instead of her. Of course, wise Martha points out that he could never have chosen between their lives, but it's all grist to the mill.

And so he does go back, and that adds a dimension of enjoyment amid all the distressing events, as Clark proves to Chloe what's going to happen, and the odd sequence of events we watch suddenly gain a context. Chloe even gets in a crack about Clark turning the Earth back on its axis in a funny reference to the 'Superman' film. So Lana's life is saved, but everything goes sour as a result - she realises Clark's never going to confide in her, and Lex, devastated at the loss of the election, his one chance to prove himself to his Father, takes a liberty setting off the chain of events that led to her accident, only this time Clark's there to secretly save her while his Dad has a confrontation with Lionel in the barn. It looked like it was going to be a real crowd-pleaser as Jonathan rolls up his sleeves in an 'I mean business' way. Sadly, though he gets to deck the evil mogul, Lionel doesn't fight back so we can't really blame him for the onset of the fatal heart attack. What surprised me was that Lex had nothing to do with it as it always seemed like the kind of thing that was going to turn him irretrievably to the dark side and hammer the wedge forever between Clark and he. But it was Lionel's leering face that Mr. Kent saw and put a fist into, his own temper getting the better of him one last time.

Strangely, during the whole sequence from Lionel and Jonathan meeting, to the stylised funeral scenes I felt detached from what was happening. There was no great outpouring of sadness, there was no big fanfare and look back at Mr. Kent's input into the series, just the absence of him. Shots of the snow-covered farm and fields, the legacy he left behind, then the dialogue-free funeral with obligatory slow-motion heads looking round. It wasn't bad, just a strange choice, quite removed from reality and distancing rather than deeply affecting. A sign perhaps of Mr. Kent's diminution as an important role on the series. I wouldn't agree that Clark had outlived his need for his Dad's advice, and neither did Clark.

Maybe my own foreknowledge of the death coloured it for me, I don't know, but I was left neither satisfied nor unhappy with the way it was handled. It simply was. Where this leaves the series I don't know. Lana could well turn to Lex for good, Clark will be full of self-doubt and Lionel could easily try to take advantage of Martha's grief. The most annoying thing is that no one knows that Lionel was there at the end and was the provocation that inflamed Jonathan. In most versions of the myth Mr. Kent does die, so it wasn't a complete diversion, but he was one of my favourite characters in the early seasons when he was given great scenes, the character fading a bit in recent years as they struggled to use him. For being such a provocative and dense episode with such grand events I have to say it is the best of this season. Four main characters down, but a few still to go...

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