Quest

DVD, Smallville S7 (Quest)

Grisly is one word to describe the opening in which Lex' chest is sliced up by an old guy, later said to be the one at the Swiss bank, some kind of superhero if he can track down Lex, do a Zorro trick on his torso and then leave unmolested. You see, it was to send Clark a clue so he'd know where to go and he could meet Edward Teague and, well, that's when the story falters. The quick, surprise fight in the mansion at the beginning wasn't bad, and of course you want to know more about the thing which can control Clark, but I was most excited by seeing Robert Picardo's name in the opening guest credits, one of the best actors on 'Star Trek: Voyager.' It might have had something to do with the episode being directed by Kenneth Biller, who was also a high-up on that series, so it's a bit of an old Trek reunion. If only the results had been worth it. Because what this is, is a jumble of mumbo jumbo mythology, heavily retconning, even more than had been done before: every action Lionel ever took was towards securing the Traveller? He had the Scottish castle removed brick by brick to Smallville (this we knew from early in the series), because he knew there was something hidden in it that could control the Traveller? Edward Teague has been waiting in hiding as a mad monk all these years to eventually meet the Traveller and has gone half-crazy in venerating this 'messiah' of a pedestal vision, so much so that he'll kill the guy if he doesn't immediately show proper willing when it comes to killing his enemies? The Kawatche caves again?

Retcon mumbo jumbo overkill salad! This really is too, too much. I was rarely more happy than when the caves and their wall paintings (first introduced in Season 2), and the myth of the great Naman, were left behind as the series changed into something else (witches and vampires very much aside!), so to have all that tie in was not my favourite way of resolving the latest quest for the latest artefact, not even a reference to Clark writing a paper on the caves in high school ameliorated me. Why, it's another Kryptonian key thing that when added to a multifaceted bauble gives Lex what looks like the location of the Fortress of Solitude. Big wooh. Okay, so if that symbol in the mantle of the fireplace has always been there and they were observant enough to be able to incorporate it into this latest arc, then they are clever. What they aren't so clever about is actually writing the hackneyed thing. It's another (yet another and another, will I never learn?), making-it-up-as-we-go-along story, rich in prophetic language, Christ- or God-like thematic material and morals (should Clark kill Lex if that will save humanity?), but it's all so full of holes.

Early part of the episode? No problem, it's sudden attacks and moody meetings in the back of limos, rain dashing down and making beautifully alien patterns on people's skin, a tonne of atmosphere. But the real torrent comes in all the 'research' various parties are flinging together. Least expected is that Jimmy, out of the blue, is writing and sells his first story (did Lex allow him to? Is there a case of double standards here?), which could easily lead to information on Clark ending up on Lex' desk. Such concerns are academic now if Lex really has discovered the location of Clark's special hidey-hole, but that too could be academic if the 'prophecies' comes true of an ultimate battle between good and evil (that old chestnut!), in which one should emerge the victor. Guessing it's not Lex, since the series carried on for another three seasons…

Let's get down to the nitty-gritty, though: Robert Picardo plays the presumed dead Edward Teague who claims that his son and wife both died for the sake of the Traveller. Now I can't remember exactly why they died, but I'm pretty sure it was their own greed or desire for power that motivated them. Not that Eddy is talking too coherently - Clark shows up at the grand church in Montreal (didn't they shoot the series in Canada? Handy!), and the guy wants to bow down before him. Lex must die, because, well, he just has to, because, well, he's bad, right? It's all rather vague and nonsensical, but Mr. Teague sees Clark isn't going to take over from the President right there on the spot and this means Clark must die. Riiiiiiight. So he uses his handy Kryptonite-handled cane to subdue the Traveller whom he's been waiting much of his life to meet (notice they don't bother with the old green vein effect any more - when did they stop doing that? Without that effect it makes Clark look merely a bit queasy instead of fighting for his life), then straps him down on a sacrificial slab he prepared earlier, you know, just in case he had to kill his hero, fills the surround with liquid Kryptonite and carves a tasty symbol on Clark's chest. Mmm, grisly, we're back to that again.

Meanwhile Lex has done his own investigations, despite almost having died in the teaser he's running around searching the globe for the fabled clock - amazing what a few stitches can do for you! Yes, you read that right, a 'special clock' that Veritas built to hide part of the device which could control the Traveller. How convoluted did they need all this to be? It ends with a confrontation in which Lex and Ed have a stick fight, Clark rushes in to save Teague for some reason, the clock gets smashed and Lex finds the key thing. It seems likely he has no idea that Clark is the Traveller, the way he appears to be so awed by his proximity to the being, knowing that was whom stopped the fight. So now we have Mr. Teague to look forward to again (and as much as I love Picardo, as a mad monk I can take him or leave him), and Lex with the device fully formed. How exciting, not.

I'm so glad we didn't have the continuation of Kara as Brainiac, comatose Lana, or Lois shoehorned into this as well, as it was already far too overblown and slopping over the sides of the sacred chalice of Krypton. There's some bizarre religious cult impression to be taken from Teague's ramblings and all his lore of Krypton (apparently he was a student of Swann's, not just part of the secret society), but it's all way over the top ridiculous. Even minor niggles like Chloe and Clark waving an A4 colour photo of Lex' injury around in the Smallville Medical Centre (why was Lex not seen by a specialist doctor, he usually has his medical attention that way?), where they would surely be noticed and arrested for breaching patient confidentiality, or at the least questioned over how they got that image, gets forgotten in the bigger, more crazy, picture. Lex is happy to have every millimetre of his mansion searched by a crowd of people to find the artefact, but wouldn't he be worried that someone could find some other secret of his? Or does he no longer have any other secrets, which takes away from the character? I will give credit to a couple of sequences: the dash to save Edward with Clark superspeeding in was good to see, even if it remains a trifle muddled, but the CGI of the internal mechanics of the 'special clock' were artistically done, both visually and aurally, a moment of finesse in a torn up tapestry of a story.

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