Precipice (2)

DVD, Smallville S2 (Precipice) (2)

I didn't remember much about this one other than the axe in the train carriage, but I did remember I liked it. A lot. And I still do, it's one of the highlights of the season, a chance to see a different side to several of the characters, the introduction of the prickly Sheriff Adams who sets the cat amongst the pigeons with her topsy-turvy view of the town, and some resolution on the ongoing storyline of Lex and Dr. Bryce. One thing that wasn't a factor when I last watched it, but has now become a big point of interest was the guest star: Anson Mount, who'd go on to become TV's Captain Pike in 'Star Trek: Discovery' (and soon to get his own spinoff), about fifteen years later. I knew there was a reason I never fully warmed to his version of the classic character - all these years I'd seen him in the role of Helen Bryce's ex-med school colleague with creepily amorous intent! It wasn't completely out of the blue, I'd heard in a podcast Mount was in a Season 2 episode, but it was still entertaining to see him. What I really loved about the episode, however, was the issue of injustice versus the law, and if I was going to call this episode anything else, it would have been dubbed 'Injustice.' 'Precipice' works well, as that's Lex' position at the end of the episode where he almost gives in to his feelings of vengeance, but it doesn't apply quite as much to anyone else, though I suppose it could be argued that the other two plots were on a cliff edge to some degree as well.

Lana's close call with the odious Andy who causes so much stress for her and Clark, and the Kent family who could be sued for what he did to beat up the guy and his friends. No, I take it back, 'Precipice' is a good all-round title, as Clark was just as much on the edge as Lex was, giving in to his ability to teach these punks a lesson they deserved to learn. But the episode comes down heavily against vigilantism and makes you think about all the times Clark's been in that position (a hero complex, says the Sheriff), and has generally managed to hold back and do no more than was necessary to save or protect victims. This time it was Lana at stake and he felt especially protective, but you can see the gleam in his eye when he confronts the thugs in the back alley, that he feels he has right on his side and so he should do what he feels he can get away with. But life isn't as simple as that, and if nothing else it highlights the litigious society we've allowed to strangle the modern world, where perhaps in the past a hard lesson for offenders would have been accepted. But it's a murky issue and not easily unravelled. We love to see the superheroes like Batman dealing out justice, especially when it's for helpless victims, but at the same time the rights and wrongs aren't always as clear cut.

In a way it was a case of unjust law enforcement, but then Adams is coming to a tight community as an outsider who doesn't know the people and so could be impartial when Sheriff Ethan was a bit more liable to leniency, but even he, hat in hand and in an embarrassed way, would hold up his badge of office and not play favourites, it's just that Adams is so cantankerous and caustic in comparison, a sharp, hard older woman who's probably seen it all. Clark gets on the wrong side of her, but it's difficult to see a good side to get on! I couldn't help thinking that Lana would be able to bring charges against Andy, especially with Clark as a witness. Sure, he had the backups to swear against it, but the evidence was there: the smashed shelving and Lana's bruises, as well as her and Clark's good name in the community, whereas you feel pretty sure Andy and his mates would have been in trouble with the law at some point, probably many times. I suppose they didn't have as much CCTV in those days, either. And as for suing the Kents, surely some kind of official medical diagnosis would have been essential before such a suit could be brought to court, and Andy's story would have fallen through as soon as he was checked independently, wouldn't it? I felt the same thing about mad Paul - they could have just checked his motel room, found the broken mirror with his blood on it and understood he'd caused his own injury, but the progress of law can be slow, too slow to keep up with unlawfulness, another lesson perhaps that shifts the balance in favour of taking it into your own hands. In fact there are points on both sides so it's not a simple case.

I really liked seeing Lana take back some of the control she has over herself and her surroundings by learning some karate. I don't remember it being a continuing story, but it makes sense after all the times she's been in danger from various troublemakers, and it was important to stress that it's not about becoming a crime-buster or seeking out trouble, merely a form of defence when there was no other way out, and she performed admirably - it was fun that in her own way she saves Clark for once. Perhaps it was going too far to outright say that in dialogue, but it was still a pleasant turnaround. Clark is punished for his rashness in dealing with the bullies and it's a reminder that you need to be as wise as a serpent when dealing with evil people because they'll always find a way to hurt you, malevolent as they are and comfortable to lie and cheat to get their way. It was tough for Clark because the litter-picking was one chore he couldn't use his abilities to speed up as it was in front of the whole town. On the other hand, if he'd thought it through maybe he should have gone out after dark, whipped round the town picking up all the litter, then when he actually came to do it officially in the daytime there'd be little or nothing left… Too devious for him? There was a slight sign of the traces of Evil Clark of the Red Kryptonite in the threatening behaviour he pulled on the bullies - it's always been a question of what he can get away with and how close he is to doing someone serious damage, which is why he can't do sports, and this was like the next level up from that.

As he grows and becomes a man it's the kind of issue he needed to be clear on, not to give in to even just feelings that would endanger those who deserve it, but to keep a level head at all times. At the same time, like the Dark Side of the Force, it's beguiling and seductive to give in to such impulses even if at first they're for the sake of good, and that's the same position Lex is put into. Now that I think about it, and Lionel is pointedly absent again, could Paul's arrival on the scene have been a deliberate ploy by his Father to bring Lex closer to Helen and make him realise how much he cares for her? I'd never considered that before, but it's plausible for Lionel to use an uncontrolled unfortunate to carry his plans forward. It's gratifying to see Lex continue to choose right - sure, I could imagine him instructing his man to beat up Paul, and that would likely have been the plan eventually, but even while this man takes every opportunity to kill him, he just can't pull the trigger, and it was all for the affections of Helen, whom he knew couldn't accept him if he'd killed her ex-friend, no matter how insane he was, which would only make him fall harder when the truth came out in Season 3, a cruel and disturbing turn of events that helped to stop Lex being that fascinating character walking the tightrope between his dual natures which made him so compelling in the first two seasons.

And he really is fascinating, pleasing the way he threatens Paul (that's not a threat, this is a threat!), and thrills the way he looks like he'll do anything and stands up to the Sheriff when all she seems to be doing is preserving the rights of the wrongdoers in the town, stalking away from her, coat tails flapping. And it was a well directed episode, about the only negative I could say about it is the continued lack of Pete especially, and Chloe, who barely register. I feel in the past they'd have found ways to involve them, perhaps Chloe would've been the one to find out Andy was faking his injury, and Pete would have accompanied Clark on his community service (okay, maybe just for a short while, he probably wouldn't want some girl thinking he was doing time!), but the point is they'd have been included. Even the parents could have done with more, but Jonathan gets to show a different side, the same as Clark, Lana and Lex, when he orders Clark to sit down, clearly master in his own house when the Sheriff comes a-calling. Nice callback to the 'destiny' of Clark to rule these flawed humans, the attitude he immediately sinks to in his disgust at the injustice that's been dealt him. It's good to see people put through an ordeal if they have a chance to learn from it, and I felt all three of the main characters did that, it was a valuable set of life lessons, something that comes more easily in episodic structure - even though there are serial stories travelling along through the season, most episodes are largely self-contained and have the chance to do something, instead of merely moving a plot along.

****