Lara

DVD, Smallville S7 (Lara)

I'll bet they never imagined they would one day show life on Krypton in this TV series! They've really embraced the wider mythology as they've more and more run out of ideas with the Earth-bound storyline, but I did enjoy actually seeing Krypton. At first I thought it was a recreation of the beginning of the first 'Superman' film where we saw Jor-el and Lara sending off baby Kal-el, but it very soon became apparent this was something new: Zor-el saying goodbye to his daughter Kara. He's actually shown in a good light after the negative impression we've been given of him, lovingly wishing his daughter well on her mission to protect Kal-el, not to destroy him as I'd initially thought. But it all goes pear-shaped later, when we see Summerholt-inspired technology, wielded by alien expert Agent Carter, reveal flashbacks to her (and a Clark there to rescue her), showing her Father almost assaulting Lara at the Kent farm, and her illusions about him are shattered.

Lara and Kara at the Kent farm was the best thing about this episode. It's only in flashback, and I'm not sure it makes all that much sense (I can't remember if it'd been said before that the Kents were specifically chosen), but it was great to see. It would have been utterly fantastic if the polaroid had been left in a recognisable picture, that we've seen all through the series, but I don't think the photo of a younger Martha had ever been out before. It can easily be rationalised that it was eventually packed away, then Clark got it out because he was missing his Mother, and it is a lovingly inspired twist that she (and Kara), had both visited the farm, while the Kents were at a 'spiritual ritual, known as… church' back in 1986! The dreamlike soft focus prevents us from making nitpicking observations about how close the set is to how it used to be, and in all it's a special moment. If only we could have seen young Jonathan and Martha walking across the fields on the way home and they have to leave so they don't see them!

The rest of the story was mostly filler. I still can't get used to Clark greeting Lionel warmly, because I still don't trust the elder Luthor. Lex remains oddly un-megalomaniacal, Chloe continues to be a bit put out that Jimmy spends time with Kara, and Lana continues to confound with her secret operations. Now, not only does she keep tabs on the Luthor mansion, she's set up a charity to help those infected by meteors, which of course, impresses and pleases Chloe, herself one of the afflicted. It's a bit odd that we see Lana using secret cameras, then in other places, such as the lab where Kara goes to find the crystal, there's apparently no recording of her or Clark. Unless Agent Carter confiscated all such material. It was also strange that Lex was allowed to come all the way down to this top secret lab, only to say a few accusatory words to Carter, then leaves. You'd think security would inform the guy, then make Lex wait in reception, or wherever! Carter's days are surely numbered (he knows both Kents are aliens), if not already over - it was unclear whether Lionel shot the guy dead, wounded or unconscious.

There are weird evocations of the past when the episode ends with Lionel visiting Lex to advise him not to pursue Clark and co., while noting his secret experiments won't go under his radar, Lex jealous that Lionel looks out for Clark more than him. Then Clark shares a secret with Lana, and a particularly strange one, at that. He's swiped the crystal Kara was searching so desperately for because it contains his Mum's DNA. So what's he going to do, ask Lex to clone her? Kara's hardly going to give up on ever seeing her crystal again, and this is only going to go down badly when he's kept this a secret from her. Even Jimmy's got a pointed comment about Kara being honest with him, as if he knows there's something Chloe won't tell him. It's clear Clark still doesn't entirely trust Lionel, since he lies, saying Kara's from his adoptive Father's side, which must mean Jonathan. But Lionel would know every little detail about the Kent family, so it didn't ring true. It's all setting up for bad feelings in future, and the CG wasn't great either, with Kara whizzing over a plane and such. Flying still doesn't look right, so they were correct not to try and include it before. If only the whole episode had been about the flashbacks and Zor-el's advances on Lara, it could have been a classic, but the convoluted plots of the other characters got in the way.

**