Lazarus

DVD, Smallville S10 (Lazarus)

It's good to be back, after taking an extended break before the final season, and it is the final one, as Tom Welling advises us in the teaser's narration. But how far back are we? With all the focus backwards on people, places and things, you could almost imagine we were back at the beginning of the series again, and that pleases me. It's something I'd heard about Season 10, that it would bring just about everyone important back in some capacity, and I've looked forward to that appreciation of the series' roots, since I never got out of the second season really, never fully embraced the directions the series went, and often felt like I was enduring it more than enjoying. I was surprised to see Allison Mack in the credits, returning as Chloe Sullivan, as something else I'd heard was that she wouldn't be in it. It's possible she'll only appear for a few episodes, and there was a hint of impending doom for her (more than a hint, since she's actually exchanged for the kidnapped Oliver, as if it were a prisoner exchange), but then why put her in the opening credits at all? Something notable by its absence is the lack of a new character joining the series - we always have one, usually a villain, but not always, and they usually last just the one season, like Callum Blue as Zod last time. Hopefully this means their budget was directed towards recurring familiar faces on a regular basis, as they did so effectively with Terrance Stamp as Jor-El and John Schneider as Jonathan Kent here.

If nothing else had exuded the early seasons, it was this, with old Pa Kent showing up from the dead to give Clark a pep talk as he mends a fence as if no time had passed. It was a beautiful scene, and it genuinely brought back one of the best dynamics from early episodes, where Clark is unsure about something and Jonathan puts him straight with simple, manly advice and good humour. There's even the old 'real Dad versus adopted Dad' tension of old, with Jor-El telling Clark he will be the greatest evil the world has ever known, rather than its greatest hero, thanks to his sin of pride, while Jonathan encourages him and reminds him that it's not wise to listen to Jor-El. We've had Mr. Kent back occasionally in previous seasons, but not quite as alive and normal as this, so it was a real delight, despite his ominous warning that Clark will be tested, and it will be the most difficult thing he's faced. We don't bother thinking through how he can be there when he's dead, it's too nice a moment to ruin with logic, and I just hope that they saw fit to include him in Clark's corner, back at the sun-drenched Kent Farm, on a regular basis. I got the impression it was somehow him that sent Clark back to life when he was in a strange purgatory after Zod's knife had stabbed him to death, back at the field from the pilot episode, with the scarecrow's wooden stand that they tied him to - I half expected Whitney and his mates to come barging in and tie him up there and then! Jor-El claims it wasn't he that sent Clark back to the land of the living, so…

I was surprised that there wasn't quite as much thrown at the audience as usual, but maybe I'm forgetting what the baseline is for the series. And we do get plenty to cogitate on, not least being Tess Mercer alive, well, and with a whole face (it would have been a more creative choice to turn her into a Two-Face type, but I suspect the network wanted her face whole again, instead of half burned up and hidden under dressing for a chunk of the season). Since she wakes up in Lex Luthor's old facility, Cadmus Labs, and discovers a selection of Lex clones in various states of age and decay, it's not too preposterous to guess that she also is a clone, since she did actually die in the season finale, and she couldn't have been healed that fast. Well, this is 'Smallville,' so she could have been healed, but it's just as likely for her to be cloned. Either way, it doesn't matter too much. What I was uncertain about was the Lex connection. For one thing, I wish they'd got Michael Rosenbaum back instead of any old actor to be a Lex clone who's aged twenty years, and dies after setting Clark a Joker-like conundrum to choose between saving one, or a group (no doubt 'The Dark Knight' had some influence on the series at the time, considering its huge success). And for another, it's left open as to how many clones there are, so they never need to bring Rosenbaum back at all. Was he even approached? Did he leave under a cloud? Was he just fed up with poor writing, and said so?

Tess has been set up to be some kind of guardian of the Lex clones, or the little guy she finds at the facility, though who knows how many more are hidden away? I was just glad the old Lex didn't hang around as he didn't have the nuance to make a good villain for a season. I don't believe Rosenbaum ever did come back, so we'll have to make do with inferior replicas to carry the story. Not that this looks to be the most immediate threat, as some hooded black smoke creature appears. If I knew Superman lore I'd probably recognise it, but I don't, so I'll have to wait for the series to spell it out in its own time. Each character gets something to do, though Oliver and Chloe get shortest shrift, with Oliver tortured for… information? It's a bit like Bond in 'Casino Royale,' and the series isn't shy about showing us it's not going to let up on the viciousness that has crept slowly up on the nasty scale. We never know who this mysterious group is that captured Queen, just that they plan to do what they're doing to him to all his gang, and now they have Chloe…

Lois' position as last to know the big Clark Kent secret dawns on her, and allows her to have a little fun with him, though she's so far not revealing she knows. They were scheduled to meet in the barn for the usual end of episode sunset chat of understanding, but alas, she gets knocked out by old Lex, saved by Clark when she's tied to the same old scarecrow stand, in that same old field, which he set fire to, and then decides it might be best to hop it to Africa with Perry White after all. I'm not sure why, whether it was a reaction to being captured, since she should be used to that happening by now, or more likely, so the baddies can't use her as a weapon against Clark. It was no sweat for him to save her and stop the Daily Planet's globe from crushing a load of people (and really, wouldn't a massive, shiny metal globe be so noticeable that people would have time to get out of the way?), although it does give him a jolt of pride that he was almost flying, after having pushed himself harder than ever before.

The series has definitely decided to fully embrace its history like never before (not that it was shy of doing so anyway), and with homely references to both continuity old (Clark saving Lex on the bridge; the scarecrow stand; Jonathan Kent; the Kent Farm), and new (Dr. Fate's helmet which enables Chloe to see what's going to happen; that superhero gang's special meeting place, even though I thought it was the Lex Mansion at first, because it's a set redress; Lex' various projects), it's nice to revisit the characters and settings again. The CG effects varied, with the birds in Clark's purgatory not the best, but then the fire he rushes through to save Lois looked realistic, so it wasn't bad on balance, and now we're coming to the end I'm just looking forward to getting back into the series one last time (until I review the first two, superior seasons!). With Tom Welling still Executive Producer it may well have been a case for him of making as much hay as he could while the sun shines, because he was already looking older and fuller of face than he used to, and he probably guessed this was his big gig, forever-after to be typecast in the role. The Fortress of Solitude is seen again, where Mrs. Kent's nicely designed Superman costume ends up residing in ice, ready for when Clark shall don it instead of the black garb he wears now as a kind of hero in waiting. Hopefully we'll have some good stories this season, and if we don't, at least let there be an influx of past characters as much as was crammed into this episode. Because nostalgia is something, even if quality of storytelling isn't quite up there.

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