Homecoming

DVD, Smallville S10 (Homecoming)

It's high school reunion time at Smallville High, and this leads to a jaunt for Clark into It's A Wonderful Smallville courtesy of ghost computer of future yet to come himself, Brainiac, complete with magic time-travelling ring from the Legion, which he's a part of now. Or then. There's so much good in this episode it's difficult to keep it all in mind, a joy to watch, and at heart, a genuine old-fashioned episode of the series like we hardly ever see. It has the draw of the best episodes of Season 9, namely that whenever it's about Lois and Clark it tends towards what the series should be, but it also sets things up along a path you think it's going to go and confounds expectations, but making it better than you think it's going to be: it seemed they were preparing to do the typical Smallville High meteor-infected redo, with added Brainiac to make it even tougher on a more experienced Clark, who's dealt with far bigger problems than the freak-of-the-week, as he used to do in his student days. Greg Arkin (played by the same actor, Chad Donella!), the very first meteor-infected enemy Clark had to sort out, who changed into a spidery nightmare, shows up looking sinister, there's the school counsellor bent on revenge for all the messed up students whose lives have been ruined by their meteor issues she associates with Clark (including a bio of Alicia Baker of Seasons 3 and 4), and then, when James Marsters does show his face you assume it's going to be full of the technobabble waffling that he begins with.

But not so, the early delights of unashamedly sentimental nostalgia, with little encounters jogging Clark's memories of meeting Lana in the pilot episode where he dropped his books, or meeting Chloe as she explains the Wall of Weird to him, give way to apparent present danger when Arkin is about to make his move on Lois at the reunion, leading Clark to overreact and grab the Legion ring, throwing himself into his own future (October 2017, and it's almost here - not sure how Jimmy Olsen is still taking photos for the planet, though, as he died!). It's explained to him by his future self, the attentions of Lois, who's successfully keeping his secret, and Brainiac, when he eventually catches up, that the 'darkness' that's been talked about within him is his own past. Like Captain Sisko of 'DS9,' the past is holding him back, his fear of the future stunting his existence, and the message of the episode is that things will work out in time. It's wonderful to finally meet Superman, even if he is dressed in his official 'Clark Kent Disguise' of raincoat, suit and black specs (weirdly, I thought the clip of Welling from the pilot made him look much more like Christopher Reeve than his ultimate appearance in the role he was destined for!), but it's all about reassurance. Clark sees himself rush off and save Metropolis, and even does a little saving himself, in a partial recreation of the helicopter scene from the first film, where Lois goes over the edge as her chopper is about to fall. It's not quite the same (did she need to elbow the pilot in the face?), but it must have been a tribute.

If the trip to the future evokes good feeling all round, it's nothing to what happens as the present progresses, where Arkin, against expectations, asks Lois to thank Clark for what he did for him, rather than turning out to be harbouring evil plans for vengeance. Brainiac took care of the counsellor, who gave Clark a hug instead of something sinister, and even the minor B-plot concerning reaction to Oliver's unmasking as Green Arrow turns out for the best when the experience helps Clark to realise that he needs to support his friend, showing up at his TV interview where his presence spurs Queen into speaking up for himself. I could have done without so much mush in the final scene of Clark and Lois dancing in his barn, but even I must admit that it's very much in the tradition of the early episodes this speaks to and is a genuine joy to see a story that has no villain, no violent confrontation, no need for sacrifice and destruction, no secret plans and conspiracies, just a peek into how Clark's life will eventually pan out for him, the right way, his place assured, an encouragement as much to the audience as to the character. And we even get a reference to the BBC, which I never expected on an American TV series!

There are ways the episode could have been better, truly a great one, such as having a host of familiar faces at the reunion (either ex-students or teachers), which seemed tailor-made for this season's apparent mandate of bringing past cast back. I was half expecting Pete, maybe even Lana, and it was all a big surprise with their name in the closing credits, but it was asking too much. As it is we got two returnees (Brainiac and Arkin), saw past clips of Lana, Chloe, Jonathan Kent's fight with Lionel that provoked his heart attack, and close to an appearance of Martha Kent, whom we see the back of at Jonathan's graveside (though it must have been a stand-in as they never show her face), so it was a beautiful tribute to the series' past, while also reminding us not to hold on to that past, but move forward. An inspiring message, and I only hope that the finale of the season and series has as much weight to it, because this has set the bar for the season now, and if they fail to live up to this standard of storytelling and integration of the past, present, and coming future, it will be a letdown. It is full of irony that this episode, with such a clear message about letting go of what's passed, should be in a season that, while preparing for destiny, is also very much about looking back, and unless they're saying there's not going to be any more references and returning characters from this point on, might be undermined quite significantly. But perhaps it was a message for the audience, too, that the series is ending, but we can keep going forward and living, not dismayed at the end of the past?

At the same time, you can't beat the past for good times, when nothing can change the experiences or joys of something frozen in amber. If that's true in general, it's particularly true of 'Smallville,' because it rarely got to this level of goodness after the first two seasons, so for that reason it's so much fun returning to a place that, frankly, became a bit of a bore before they were done with it around Season 4 or 5, visiting that hallway, and especially the Torch (even though no mention is made of the Torch being torched, so it's not actually the exact same room with exact same Wall of Weird since all that went up in flames), but there's no talk of the fact it's not that strange for Clark because he still resides in Smallville, unlike many, I'm sure. The mini Chloes that appear to claim the mantle of oddness could have been called The Irritation Twins, but even there we had a nice moment with them at the end when we see a message from 'CS' congratulating them on carrying on her work. It's the old saying, 'if you're going to steal, steal from the best,' in action, with 'It's A Wonderful Life' played loud. If it's true that Clark is finally moving on from the guilt of his Father's death, it will be sad, because that probably means no more guest appearances for Mr. Kent, but at the same time it was a moving moment in an episode of such scenes and it seems as if the series is stepping up to the podium ready to accept what it has to do. I'm sure there'll be plenty of mindless stupidity still to come, idiotic plotting and false character moments, but if they throw in one of this quality every few, it will be a season well worth watching!

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