Nocturne

DVD, Smallville S2 (Nocturne)

I don't know, I used to like this one, but now it seems a little silly. There are still things to like, but similar to the theme of poetry running through it, it's a bit mushy and maybe my mush threshold has gone down over the years, not that the tolerance was ever very high in the first place! It's very much a freak-of-the-week story after more variety in the stories so far this season, and I'm sure that's one of the reasons I warmed to it originally, getting me back in that Season 1 vein, what with the 'freak,' Sheriff Ethan and a few recognisable elements like that. This time it was the Martha story I found more engaging, Lionel toying with her as he toys with everyone, but only as a result of her compassion in taking time to speak with him and show her intelligence. It's an intriguing combination, the pair of them, and after so many negatives spoken about the Luthors and seen in the way Lionel in particular conducts himself and his business, you do wonder what could have possessed Martha to want to work for him. Is it really that she believes she can work some good there as a man on the inside while at the same time supporting her family by earning? It is a pretty far-fetched idea that she would want that, or that Jonathan would allow it, even more so than a boy that turns into a vampire-like creature of immense strength and dangerousness!

Lionel is clearly smitten with her, taken by her honesty and brightness, but he may also be slightly flattered that she'd give him the time of day considering how much of an impact his closure of the plant had on the town and that he was the big bad enemy of Smallville. It is strange that he chose to come somewhere he was so vilified after his accident, but perhaps that says more about his life in Metropolis, that he'd rather come to a nest of bad feelings than show weakness to his city cronies. That's not entirely true as the first day on the job for Martha is a helicopter trip to the big city, so it's not that he's hiding out at the Luthor Mansion, but perhaps he does find some solace there compared with Metropolis? Although it seems like a victory that Martha's position has meant she can bend his ear and influence him for good by looking out for the medically blighted Byron, who's illness is a result of his own company's experiments or lack of success with same, it's also a sign of him getting his claws into her in a unique way: if she thinks she can manipulate him she's being naive, because everything comes at a cost as I believe we find out eventually. But it is fascinating to see that play out between them and a little chilling to see him give ground when you can easily suspect he has ulterior motives to draw Martha further into his world and sympathy.

Lana being romanced by some lad that lives in a basement (or a redress of the Kents' storm cellar as it looked to me!), on the other hand, just doesn't have the same intrigue. There's so much subtext about the trust between Lana and Clark that it just gets a bit much. It's nice that things get patched up between them over the course of the episode as she sees that he genuinely cares and wants to look out for her, but Lana comes across as a bit of a weirdo, still spending dark nights hanging out at her parents' graves! Okay, so she deliberately waited there hoping to meet the mysterious poet who had been leaving her finely scripted messages by night, but it's still a little strange. Pete, on the other hand, gets a taste of what it's like to ride shotgun with the Man of Steel (as Lana calls Clark this episode), ending up thrown through the broken down windscreen of an old car. As usual, the questions are how anyone could have seen the damage done, such as how Clark got into the boarded up house, or the mess made of the shed Byron chucked him into, and not wonder how it was possible. Byron's out of the equation because he doesn't remember what happened when he'd changed into beast-man with black eyes, Lana's knocked unconscious, as so often happens, and Lionel's blind. But he's not stupid and you do wonder how people don't put these simple equations together to equal Clark being some kind of meteor-infected person, as that's the general answer. Lana and he even have a direct conversation about sharing secrets at the end and whether she can accept someone who's different!

It could be as simple as there being less for me to grasp hold of and write about in a review, as I do often find that even if I love an episode, it doesn't inspire me to speculation or exploration of topics and themes and the broader place an episode has in the canvas of the series. I don't find much to write about with this one: Chloe doesn't have a great deal to do, other than look like she's enjoying herself in response to Clark and Lana's obvious discomfort with each other, Jonathan doesn't have a great deal to do otherwise (but I did like that he's sensible and gets the police involved), and Lex is mainly there to continue showing annoyance at his Father, as well as threatening him if he does anything to hurt the Kents. Still, it is one of the better episodes this season so far, so if not a good example, getting there - I still jumped when the raving dog bursts into the window frame. Even better, it whimpers and runs off when it finds Clark really is made of steel! I also liked the attention to detail of Clark having to make a show of lifting the hay bales when Lana shows up at the farm, pretending to find it hard work! Good job. And it is nice to see a familiar Trek personality in the series: Gwynyth Walsh, Byron's Mother, was best known as Klingon sister, B'Etor in several Trek productions.

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