Smallville“Instinct”
Air Date: October 9, 2008
Charles - TwoCents Reviewer
Charles@thetwocentscorp.com
Smallville lately seems to have recaptured the spirit of the Superman comics of the late 1950s and early 1960s, in which stories about the Man of Steel were, first and foremost, fun to read. The plots were often ridiculous, but came with little baggage; it was easy to hop into an adventure and enjoy the ride. This week’s episode of Smallville easily falls into the same category, and offers nothing more or less than pure escapism.
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[photo: David Gray/The CW]
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Smallville
ReplyDelete“Instinct”
Air Date: October 9, 2008
Charles - TwoCents Reviewer
Charles@thetwocentscorp.com
Smallville lately seems to have recaptured the spirit of the Superman comics of the late 1950s and early 1960s, in which stories about the Man of Steel were, first and foremost, fun to read. The plots were often ridiculous, but came with little baggage; it was easy to hop into an adventure and enjoy the ride. This week’s episode of Smallville easily falls into the same category, and offers nothing more or less than pure escapism.
The story opens at Luthor Manor, where Tess Mercer’s scientist flunky has identified the origin of the mysterious Arctic crystal: it’s some kind of alien hard drive! Tess doesn’t buy it, until the crystal starts to spin like a leftover prop from 1978 and shoots a beam into space, or at least outside the Manor. Meanwhile, in downtown Metropolis, a strutting businessman runs into Maxima, Queen of Almerac, who has responded to the crystal’s beacon and is on the hunt for its owner. Assuming the businessman is said owner, Maxima, in her space suit of silvery straps, starts macking with the guy, who quickly ends up with a nosebleed and some heart trouble. Oops! Guess he’s not Kryptonian after all!
Clark is lonely, and has resorted to conversing with Krypto and rushing into the Daily Planet whenever Lois gives him a call. Lois tells him to stop moping about Lana and consider trying some “wild cherry” in place of “plain vanilla.” Play that funky music, Lois! She also brings Clark up to speed on the case of the 25-year-old heart attack victim, found with an abnormally high hormonal count and traces of Maxima’s lipstick. Jimmy Olsen, who apparently loves ABBA and videotaping bass fishing shows, finds a love letter Chloe once wrote to Clark. Though Chloe tells him that she and Clark are ancient history, Jimmy wants to know why he never received a note like that from her. D’oh!
Maxima shows up at Luthor Manor, just in time to snatch the hot green dress Oliver has sent to Tess along with an invitation to a make-out party at the Ace of Clubs. Thinking fast, Tess offers to work together with Maxima to find her “perfect mate,” who Maxima now assumes must be Oliver. Lois and Clark are investigating the mysterious scorch marks left at the scene of heart attack and vine, where Clark notices a symbol imprinted among the ashes. Meanwhile, Jimmy is falling in man-love with the bartender at the Ace of Clubs when Maxima shows up to help him forget about Chloe for a while. Chloe has somehow figured out that the mysterious symbol Clark noticed is the royal crest from Almerac, so Clark speeds off to find Maxima, who has picked up some hot dance moves somewhere in her journeys, which she is now using to seduce Jimmy. Jimmy loves the attention, but starts getting a nosebleed anyway and collapses just as Clark arrives at the club to catch him, attracting the attentive eye of Maxima.
Tess introduces herself to Chloe by breaking into her office and asking for Chloe’s help in hacking into the alien hard drive, but Chloe isn’t intimidated. Jimmy wakes up in the hospital and has a heart-to-heart with Clark about the letter of Chloe’s he found, though he doesn’t tell Clark the letter was written for him. When Chloe shows up, Clark does his best to assure her that she and Jimmy were meant for each other. Aww! Clark then goes back to the Planet to scan the club’s security cameras, when Maxima shows up to tell Clark what a strong name he has. Super sex ahoy! Clark and Maxima reenact their favorite Aerosmith song by tearing off Clark’s shirt in the elevator. But Lois happens to be waiting for a ride herself and catches them in the act. Deciding to take the stairs after all, Lois tells herself that she doesn’t care who Clark might be making out with. Maxima isn’t convinced, however, and tosses Lois’ car across the street. Rawr!
When Lois manages to bust out of her car, Maxima tells her that she has felt a deep connection between Lois and Clark, and that means Lois has to go. Clark finds Tess in Chloe’s office, and the two of them engage in a little cat-and-mouse as they try to determine which of them actually knows anything about Maxima. Tess gets a phone call from her security team that clues Clark into Maxima’s location, and he dashes off to protect Lois. Maxima tells him that she and Clark could be soulmates and he need never be lonely again, but Clark decides he belongs on Earth and zaps Maxima away. So much for loving the alien.
Chloe shows Clark the letter she wrote for him back in high school, and says she’s over him and ready for Jimmy. But they can still be friends! Chloe asks Clark to give her away at the wedding. Aww! In return, Clark speculates that Jor-El can “cure” Chloe of her powers, assuming the crystal can be retrieved. Chloe returns to the Manor to offer her hacking skills to Tess, but Tess reveals that the crystal has been stolen. Meanwhile, Lois and Clark realize that they each managed to save the other’s life, and that someday they might recognize their respective soulmates. Foreshadowing much? Clark offers Lois a room at the empty Kent farm, but Lois says she doesn’t want to tempt fate. At which point millions of Smallville viewers hope this relationship doesn’t take another eight seasons to develop. Finally, we see Tess in her office receiving a mysterious message: “You are not ready yet.”
What isn’t Tess ready for? Does it have anything to do with wearing green dresses? Is Maxima gone for good or just out learning some new dance moves? Can Jimmy overlook Chloe’s teenage obsession with Clark or will he go back to seek more advice from his bartender? Will this whole Lois and Clark relationship ever get off the ground? Follow your instincts in the comments!