Ambush

DVD, Smallville S10 (Ambush)

General Lane (much like Perry White), is one of those characters I'd have expected to be somewhat recurring, but I don't think he was in more than a couple of episodes when Lois was first introduced in Season 4, and it's a minor delight to see him, and his other daughter, troublemaker Lucy, returning to Smallville for what I assume was an episode shown at Thanksgiving since they talk of the holiday and it ends with the traditional turkey dinner. I'm not sure if they'd used that setting for an episode before, but they'd certainly done Christmas, Halloween and others, so it's part of the series' tradition and fitted in neatly with the theme of family. Not that it's happy families, as General Lane has come with a mission of war on Clark. I don't know if that was his initial intention since he just shows up, and it's really not clear if they were coming by invitation and were just early, which causes the embarrassment from Lois' frisky encouragement for Clark to join her on the front porch without full clothing, just as Lane and Lucy arrive, but he certainly makes it an issue: Clark gets interrogated under a lamp, issued with his orders to clean house, and is the subject of constant disapproval, but what we learn is that all this is not, contrary to appearances, a test for him, but for Lois, whose devotion to her old Dad has always been strong enough not to question his methods in examining her boyfriends. But on this occasion she speaks up for Clark and that's how he knows she really cares deeply for the guy.

The War on Clark is only a frivolous story, you might say, but within it are links to a much more serious one: that of the new Vigilante Registration Act the General is successfully pushing through (despite opposition from Clark's own Mother - nice to hear her referred to again, even if half the time it's in a sort of derogatory rating of Clark's prospects, still living in a house under his Mum's name, working in a 'basement' at the Daily Planet…). Also tying into this threat to the privacy and rights of the individual is Queen's realisation, thanks to Tess, of a tattoo embedded beneath his skin that's tracking his movements. Yes, it's the Suicide Squad and its skull-and-crossbones symbol causing the trouble, only now Watchtower and its denizens are aware of Rick Flag's monitoring, and Clark is similarly warned of the tracking capabilities. I'm not sure how Lane was tracked to the Kent farm at the start, because Lucy is given a special pen with which the 'US military' can keep tabs on and protect the General, so what was Flag using before then, a more general bug on his car?

Lucy was a little extraneous, but it's heartwarming to see the whole family together and she has her own mini-arc where she tries to cause a little trouble between Clark and Lois, then thinks she's doing her Father right by passing on the compromising photos of Clark with Kara in her hero costume to show the links between him and the 'vigilantes' Lane has set himself against, but she and Lois make up before the end, since it was actually the pen that gave Flag a target to blast, hopefully with the General on the receiving end, but in fact it's the Talon, Lois' place in town, that gets blown apart in the most spectacular (if CG), fashion. There's a fantastic visual of Lois being blown across the room by the orange bloom of explosion, while Clark exceeds Flag's expectations by being faster than a speeding missile (surely a smaller bullet would be faster anyway - less air resistance?), rushes in and pulls her out right in the middle of the blast, then leaves The Blur's 'S' sign to show the General he's there to help! There are a couple of really good stunts, the other one being when Clark and Arrow bring Flag's truck to a rollover halt, so the episode has a bit of everything: action, spectacle, emotion, family ties, and happy endings all round!

Oliver deciding not to visit Watchtower again because it could draw attention since so many superheroes depend on it who haven't gone public with their true identities, isn't exactly upbeat, but he shares a friendly moment with Tess in her new position running the place. Then there's Lois and Lucy making up, and of course the lovely scenes of them sitting round for Thanksgiving dinner, not to mention the General coming clean on his tactic and being at least positive towards The Blur, calling him Lois' guardian angel, as well as respecting Clark standing up to him, a man that's accustomed to cowing those around him and getting what he wants when he wants it, so they share a pleasant exchange. I wouldn't say he'd be forgiving if he ever found out Clark was The Blur, but it was a great way to end a feel-good episode, the kind of story that has its dark moments, but is largely a glowing smile - it has its humour, too, such as Oliver having to leap out the window of the barn to avoid being seen by Lane or his daughter, and the quick whisk off to 'get cranberries' when Clark went to put out a refinery fire. It ends with Flag calling the passing of the act a declaration of war, and we know he's continued to recruit the super-powered to his cause - his lieutenant in the episode has the ability to vanish, maybe even teleport, and that's how he was able to evade Queen and Kent. So there's a lot of balls in the air regarding villainy this season with the weird dark cloud, child clone Lex, and both members of the American establishment, and the Suicide Squad gearing towards war. I'm glad we had a mostly positive episode at this juncture, it wouldn't do for things to get pulled down into doom and gloom so soon.

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