Tomb

DVD, Smallville S5 (Tomb)

If I were to compare an episode to Season 1, usually I'd be paying it a high compliment, but in this case I felt like I was watching an episode from that season with the good bits removed. There was all the discomfort and edginess associated with the often horror-oriented early stories, but Clark's unrequited love and fun japes with his school pals were long gone. Then again, he was almost as close to Lana here as he was in those days! She goes to see Lex on finding Chloe crazy, not Clark, and then at the end she has the cheek to point out that couples are supposed to stick together! At least that wasn't the focus, merely a reminder of the troubles between Clark and his girl, although she seems to have forgotten about helping Clark through the difficult time of losing his Dad, something she was all for in the last couple of episodes. Jonathan's absence from any little scenes set in the Kent house is still bizarre and difficult to get used to, whereas the complete opposite is true of Lionel's showing up in the Kent kitchen, the heart of their home - that was just plain wrong!

The story is vaguely Kryptonite-inspired, but a more interesting tale was buried (entombed?) in the traditional, grisly, and basically rubbish ghost story, with equally rubbish dead girl makeup - was it the curse of Michael Westmore; world famous, Oscar-winning makeup artist on all the modern 'Star Trek' series' and films (among many other credits) getting his own back on them for using his name for the serial killer? The whole thing with the bracelets, their power to uncover secrets, could have been the crux of the matter as Clark's secret might have been taken from Chloe's brain, the implications especially potent in front of Lois. She was quick to accept Chloe would try to commit suicide - "Oh I should have seen it coming... school... work... etc..." Clark too, was quick to patronise his friend, although the drugs did make her act out of character. I was partly fooled, as although I suspected the orderly of being a standard 'Suspicious Speaking Part' as soon as his pallid face and weird voice were onscreen, I was just as suspicious of Chloe's psychiatrist and was half expecting them to be working together!

'Mikey's pallid face wasn't the only colourless aspect of the visuals - the palette was pulled back to gloom factor ten, to the extent that when we return to the usual warm glows at the end it was almost blinding! Chloe's slit wrists were a bit grim even for 'Smallville' and in my book it was going too far. Either it was too disturbing to see a familiar character in such a position or it was too sterile and tidy so that it might have been seen as a good way to go, not the right message for a series aimed at teen viewers. I'd like to know how Clark explained the hold in the wall! He still lacks finesse - he could at least have removed the mirror and made the hole look neat so it might have been done with tools!

At least something good came out of such a distressing story - it makes Chloe think about her Mum and go and visit her in a different setting to what she imagined in her nightmare last season, so there was a pleasant ending. And there's a little casual mention that Lex is still searching for the vanished Dr. Fine which leads me to suspect his part in the tale has not yet been concluded.

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