Wither

DVD, Smallville S6 (Wither)

This one becomes a bit of a Valentine's Day for several characters, namely Chloe and Jimmy Olsen, Lois and Oliver Queen and Lex and Lana, while Clark does a 'cooler king' impression sat in the barn at the end bouncing a ball against the wall. But I got more of a sense of pensiveness from him rather than loneliness or jealousy. Like Lana in the previous episode he has the inevitable meeting with Lex, this time in the Luthor greenhouse just over Lone Pine ridge apparently. Amazing that of all the Luthor estate Lex should happen to be in there at the one time Clark makes a visit, just so he can tell him to get out. I mean what was he doing in there, he certainly wasn't dressed for gardening! The days of Clark entering his house unannounced really are long gone.

Clark paying a visit to Lex on the suspicion he or LuthorCorp's experiments are behind a spate of killings or weirdness is a throwback to the past, and most of the episode is nostalgically reminiscent of the series as it used to be, which, for the most part appealed to me. I wasn't crazy about all the 'romantic' stuff, but I never have been, and I did like the way they had the costume ball with slow-motion shots and the repeat of a trick they've done: having a 'live' band sing and play, presumably one that's famous, but I wouldn't know! Scenes like that were sensitively played and I appreciated dipping into a style that isn't seen so much on the series, with contemporary music suitable for the situation, a return to the horror roots of the series, while neatly tying in to Clark's recent troubles with the Phantom Zone. At the end of the first episode we were shown that he had unwittingly freed some nasties from the Zone, and now we meet one of them, the unassumingly named 'Gloria,' an alien plant that wants to spread her 'beauty,' or seeds, to be more precise.

Jimmy Olsen was quite a fun character, and now we know where Chloe knew him from as they served together as interns on one of her holiday breaks a while back. We may have been given that information before, but if not, it's there. Oliver Queen was a bit more interesting than in his first appearance, seeming to be a bit of a spoilt rich kid to begin with in the way he reacts to Lois' apology - once again she's put her foot in it and looks like a fool, but at least she has more chance of seeing more of Queen since he's likely to be a recurring character, as opposed to other weirdoes/lunatics/superdudes she's fallen for previously. Though Aquaman might just be making a comeback this season, I reckon. The banter between her and Queen works well and we get one of those excellent endings in which a character secretly does something special, but only the audience are let in on it: Lois will only allow him a kiss if he shoots a tin can off a dumpster. He fires just over the top of it, and she goes off smugly, then the camera travels along to the tip of the arrow embedded in the wall, the ring pull still spinning round the shaft!

For those that knew all about the Green Arrow, I'm sure they got plenty of kicks out of this episode, as he dresses up in a Robin Hood costume, which I imagine is an early version of the superhero's design, since he explains it was handed down to him from his parents when they died, and it works on two levels as it's also for the fancy dress ball. Lex is another person to show his character in his costume, wearing Alexander the Great armour (I assume), and the two 'old friends' meet for the first time on the series. Lana's get-up as Cleopatra suits her well (maybe she should go for that Egyptian eyeliner look all the time!), as she makes her choice and decides to live with Lex for real. Uh-oh.

Martha's storyline as a senator continues, seeking support from Queen, and she also has a nice scene early on when she and Clark discuss whether he's changed since losing so many people that were dear to him. He doesn't think so, but Martha says all these things have made him the person he is today, and will help shape who he will become tomorrow - certainly an exciting, tingle at the back of the neck moment.

Sometimes the CGI of the vines which Gloria, the fake ranger, uses to kill people or hold them in place, doesn't look real at all, and the interaction when they go in for the smother can be a bit weak. On the whole however, the use of vines to strangle out all light was a strong visual image, the hospital room in the Smallville Medical Centre being an obvious success, and sometimes the CGI did work. I didn't get how Clark could be pierced through his heart by a thick vine, yet he was fine afterwards. I know it's not Kryptonite, but if it can puncture his thick hide then it must have done some damage. It was also a little disappointing how simple the solution was to defeat the plants and the fight in Lex' greenhouse was over before it had a chance to get going, Gloria the Evil Plant Monster killed off in no time!

It was also very hard to believe the moment when Chloe runs through the woods looking for Clark, turns one way and can't see him, then the camera pans round and she looks the other way to see this massive branch sculpture, with Clark impaled in its midst. She would have easily seen that tall structure from quite a way away. What I did appreciate were the nods back to Chloe's past of sneaking through the dark woods looking for whatever freak-of-the-week had done their dastardly deeds that day. It was quite different from the huge, impersonal scale the series has taken on in recent seasons, and went back to small-town Smallville again - the woods, the Luthor grounds, the Talon, and Lana noting how long ago it seemed that she'd lived there. Less of the global domination and more of this, please…

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