Prototype

DVD, Smallville S6 (Prototype)

Project Aries comes to fruition with Wes Keenan, the husband of that woman who kidnapped Lex a few episodes back, tested and found to be a useful super-soldier thanks to the Titan material used in his creation. But there's still some humanity left in him, enough that instead of killing Lois in the back alley when he assassinates the crooked Senator (foolish enough to threaten Lex and plan to shut down the project), he kidnaps her to the place they met years ago - amazing that there should be a connection between them which leads to a showdown where Clark gets walloped across a room, then beats the 'baddie' because Wes is no match for the Man of Steel - he was only a real danger to normal humans. But this wasn't really Clark's story as such, he was just a part of it, there to save Lois after she conveniently and predictably became unconscious - I'd love to see a bit more invention in how Clark handles things in front of people that don't know his secret instead of them just getting knocked out. I think back to that Season 1 episode where he arrives at a building in time to see the bad guy shove Chloe (or whoever) over a balcony, superspeeds up there to punch out the villain, then pushes a sofa under her to cushion her fall, rushes out and runs in at normal speed!

There are a lot more people that know Clark's secret than don't these days, and one more is 'officially' added to the list in Clark's eyes: Lana gets to tell him she knows, though I suppose that could have been interpreted differently, that she knows something, unfortunately there's no time for a definitive chat on the subject because Lex enters, but I certainly got the impression this was the big moment and that she has now admitted her knowledge to Clark. It wasn't the amazing scene it should have been, but it does leave us wanting more: will she and Clark ever get to sit down and talk about it? Will Lana be in grave danger when Lex inevitably finds her spying for his Dad? Is Lionel the one really pulling the strings? Take Martha for instance: the murder of Senator Burke leaves a slot open for her to fill, move to Washington and become a real force in politics. That's all very nice, but I sense a conspiracy both from the writers and Lionel. It feels like she's being set up to be written out as a regular, something I'm not surprised about because she hasn't been well used in recent seasons. Lionel on the other hand, whom both Clark and Martha have admitted they don't trust, fully endorses this, so it can't be good.

Clark even goes as far as threatening Lionel that if he finds out he had anything to do with forcing Lana to marry Lex, the gloves will be off, whatever that means. Lex himself seems to have no redeeming features with his army of super-soldiers waiting in the wings, although even now he spouts rationale about this being necessary to counter the increasing levels of criminals with special powers in the world. It was a rather weak argument in the face of a lack of proof for his claims and he seems to be aping Emperor Palpatine of 'Star Wars' in his plots. It will be difficult for Lana to innocently collect information on his secrets now that she's promised not to eavesdrop, but really, what does Lex expect her to do with her time? She's got this huge mansion to wander around in and that's it, she doesn't have much of a purpose any more, and when that happens it often heralds the beginning of the end for a character.

There's a much broader canvas to the story, but that's not necessarily a good thing. We keep hearing about Oliver and his team taking out 33.1 franchises throughout the globe, but what is it they're actually defeating if the super-soldiers aren't actually up to much? Are they just tearing up research establishments and causing headaches for LuthorCorp? We see the footage of the Phantom Zone creature attacking the couple again, only this time it's Lionel who's watching it, and continuing to draw Kryptonian symbols. What is it with him? I guess we'll find out in the last episode of the season, but I do feel the promise shown in the first half has dropped off to become like other recent seasons. In other words not very good character development and same-ey storytelling with a constant bid to suggest great things could be around the corner without showing them. Jimmy wasn't in it, he was off on his assignment, I assume, which means Chloe is reduced to melancholy and not much else. I did enjoy her little comedic moment when Clark dashes off once again while she and Martha are in mid-sentence and they both look a bit put out. "Do you ever get used to that?" How rude.

I just felt this episode didn't really achieve much. It tells us that Lex is willing to have people killed, that he has a host of super-soldiers (the CGI was very good in that shot that shows a huge chamber full of them ling in rows). Lana continues to spy on him for Lionel, Clark continues to dash hither and thither trying to do good. Lois keeps up with her reporting gig, and there's a nice scene where she recalls Wes to the time they met and that that's the reason he brought her to the abandoned base, but the death scene was standard fare. We don't know him well enough to care, even if Lois does. So the episode had that scene, the moment when Clark knows Lana knows, and the end scene where the farm side of the story seems to be sadly coming to an end with the possibility of Martha going to Washington. All the rest was so-so, and even some of the CGI which I would praise in terms of the invisibility and the clone room, didn't look real when it came to the satellite or the LuthorCorp building looming over the Daily Planet.

It was good to have a few references thrown in when Wes is compared to Alicia (who could teleport), or Graham Garrett (who could be invisible), and Titan is mentioned too. There's also the idea of Lois getting so worked up by her former friend's death in the experiments of Lex that she's vows to take him down and stop these things. And there may have been an attempt at some kind of message at the end when Clark talks about how soldiers who just want to serve their country end up as pawns, but it was very brief passing thought. When you have to rely on super-soldiers to advance your story perhaps it's a sign your series has had its day?

**