Hex

DVD, Smallville S8 (Hex)

This danced a tightrope, but didn't fall, I'm pleased to say. I never like magic in superhero stories, it's just too far out of the reality that they're trying to make us believe. I know, I know, why believe in aliens and people with powers, and not accept supernatural elements? Well, they have their place ('The Lord of The Rings' is an excellent example), but it's not around superheroes, and although I know Superman has a history with magic being just about his only other downfall (aside from Kryptonite and Doomsday), it's barmy. I don't want witch spirits and vampires, and assorted monster B-film villains amid my super-heroics. And so to the tightrope: the story balances precariously over the pit of magic oblivion, only really looking unsteady when we get to the book Zatanna wants so badly, but most of the time it never falters thanks to the heart of the story being strong themes with a good dose of amusement. It's a high concept idea, pitched, no doubt, as 'Chloe wishes her life was like Lois', and wakes up just like her.' That's a good start for a story to be told. But that's just the beginning, you have to really work the, erm, magic to make it work.

I could suggest that Chloe and Lois are just too similar to make this a really good idea (and I didn't really feel this was a strong performance of one character behaving like another, though there were probably more subtleties than could be noticed in one viewing), they're cousins, they're both around the same age, both have journalism history, and they know each other very well. So this particular crossing of personality doesn't get us into the realms of Season 4's 'Transference' in which Clark and Lionel switch bodies - that had greater implications at the time, and more dramatic moments. No, though the central conceit of Chloe being granted her wish is a good start, it wasn't enough to carry the full episode (unless you really explored it more deeply, but this is more of a comedy episode), so we had to see other elements make their play: we get a Clark who's forgotten his double life and thinks he's human, another idea that's fun for a while, but it's when he has to believe in himself and his abilities that a strong message of the episode hits home.

It's not the only message, there are some ruminations on birthdays (since it's Chloe's), mildly jealous ponderings, another chance to take stock of some of the characters' lives (without getting soapy), reflecting on where they've come from with such things as Clark's gift of the book ('Tales of The Weird and Unexplained'), which I think dates back quite a long way in the series. Thinking about it, the desire to have something unattainable, is universal, but what's almost universal for the characters in this series, is that they've all lost parents or a parent, particularly Clark and Chloe, whom the story revolves around - their loss, and Clark's especially, are what they have in common with Zatanna, the good girl/bad girl mover of the plot. For once it's not a freak-of-the-week, or some wealthy businessman or a person related to LutherCorp who provides the motivation, but a 'real' character (as in one from the comics rather than made up on the series), and in fact one I'd even heard of thanks to 'Batman: The Animated Series' which even had an episode with her name as the title! Otherwise I'd have probably thought it was just another 'Smallville' creation, perhaps until the end when she practically signs up for the (not yet named), Justice League, which is shown in climax to be coordinated by Chloe (how did they manage before her - temps?).

So I liked the 'villainess,' who had a good motive, and there's a good moral about accepting loss and moving on, as well as friendship, belief, and other encouraging things (such as Clark saying that he's finally the man his Father wanted him to be, though he doesn't say which Father…), far from the all-too-common negative soapiness that can pervade the series. One of the biggest problems of said series gets flagged up by Clark when he says that "weird has become so normal it's not even weird any more." This is all too true, and I like that at the end Chloe and he reminisce a little on their days as a double-act discovering and fighting weirdness day to day. That was the part of the series, back in Seasons 1 and 2, that I loved. Now Chloe turns her back on her perceived destiny of journalism in which Lois has been so successful, and joins Oliver Queen's group to be closer to the action - as Lois, she tried to convince Clark that what he really wanted was to be helping to stop crime, not sitting in an office writing about it, and it seems she's taken her own advice to heart.

That's what makes this episode stand out from the usual fare: it has heart to it. It goes from humorous to heartfelt, there's no real villain except what people wish for themselves, and it's a happy ending that has nothing to do with the ongoing plots of Davis 'Doomsday' Bloome, or Tess Mercer's mercenariness, or Jimmy and Chloe's marriage troubles. It's pretty much a standalone episode, but sets up, as they all do, a return for this week's guest character if the need arises. Sadly, as much as I liked the character, she'll probably only be called in when her special services are required, and magic is afoot. Maybe, like Clark's time-travelling ring, this thread will be tugged sooner rather than later? The episode is far from perfect (Oliver tracks down the long-lost book with no trouble at all; and how did the old guy know so much about it? How did Clark and Chloe get off the Daily Planet's roof when he still didn't believe in his own powers?), but for this series, it was a good instalment, made me chuckle occasionally, and was well worth watching.

***