Smallville“Abyss”
Air Date: Nov 13, 2008
Charles - TwoCents Reviewer
charles@thetwocentscorp.com
This week’s episode is fairly momentous in regard to one particular relationship that has lasted throughout the series so far. Smallville is clearly paving the way for Superman’s arrival, tidying up some continuity issues that have puzzled longtime fans of the superhero. And it pretty much comes in one fell swoop. Let’s take a look!
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[photo: The CW]
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Smallville
ReplyDelete“Abyss”
Air Date: Nov 13, 2008
Charles - TwoCents Reviewer
charles@thetwocentscorp.com
This week’s episode is fairly momentous in regard to one particular relationship that has lasted throughout the series so far. Smallville is clearly paving the way for Superman’s arrival, tidying up some continuity issues that have puzzled longtime fans of the superhero. And it pretty much comes in one fell swoop. Let’s take a look!
The episode opens on a lovely domestic scene: Jimmy is bringing Chloe breakfast in bed, and mentions that Lana is the only one of Chloe’s friends who has (so far) failed to RSVP to their wedding invitation. Chloe seems puzzled by hearing Lana’s name (maybe because she’s been MIA since last season?), but passes off her temporary amnesia as “pre-wedding jitters.” Suddenly, Chloe is flashing back to her and Jimmy’s engagement party, a party in which the guests are slowly zapped out of existence, Matrix-style, and Jimmy suddenly has no face! Chloe wakes up back in their apartment and backs away from a confused Jimmy, claiming she has never seen him before!
Jimmy naturally runs to the Kent farm for help, exacerbating the homoerotic tension between him and Clark. Jimmy speculates that Chloe’s memory loss might be a sign of brain damage she received from the use of her healing power. Chloe, meanwhile, is at Metropolis Hospital researching memory loss when she runs into Davis, who asks if she has found out any information on his early childhood. Chloe has “forgotten” about her promise and tries to blow Davis off. He reminds Chloe that he’ll always be there for her. Stalker alert! Later, Clark visits Chloe for a memory quiz and discovers that she’s made a special room full of pictures of departed cast members and notes about the current season. Chloe tells Clark that she’s been faking her feelings for people she’s supposed to know. Chloe and Clark realize that Brainiac is taking over her mind!
Davis, who apparently never sleeps, pays a visit to Chloe’s apartment, and tells Jimmy that he’s just checking in to see if things are OK, before he gets all personal by asking Jimmy if he really loves Chloe. Jimmy replies by quoting Frank Sinatra. Seemingly convinced, Davis tells Jimmy he won’t be coming to the wedding and to “take care” of Chloe. Good advice, it seems, for Chloe’s head is swarming with Kryptonian symbols. She shows Clark one symbol that has been particularly prominent, which Clark recognizes as the symbol of doom! Clark reasons that it must be time to use the crystal to rebuild the Fortress, and pauses for a moment of self-pity, reflecting that everyone who has known his secret has either gone away or died. He vows that won’t happen with Chloe. Chloe flashes back to the time when she learned of Clark’s powers, and her memories begin to disappear. When she comes out of it, she only remembers Brainiac as a nickname she had in school. Clark tells Chloe to stay put, and rushes to the Arctic to rebuild the Fortress and consult Jor-El.
Jimmy finds Chloe at the Kent farm and wonders why Clark has left her alone. Chloe pretends she recognizes Jimmy, but still doesn’t really remember him. Jimmy asks Chloe to trust him and persuades her to leave the farm to see a neurologist. Back at the Fortress, Jor-El welcomes Clark home, and tells Clark that the reason he stripped Clark of his powers and destroyed Fortress 1.0 was because Clark was becoming a danger to Earth. Since then, Jor-El confesses, Clark has made “great progress,” but Clark senses that his trials are not yet over. He asks Jor-El to help Chloe, but Jor-El warns that the outcome might be unpredictable, asking Clark if he’s willing to take the risk. Meanwhile, Chloe is getting an MRI and flashes back yet again to an early meeting between her and Clark, affording Smallville viewers to see Chloe with bad 80’s hair at last. The young Clark shows off by procuring library books for Chloe at super-speed. These memories begin to disappear, causing Memory Chloe to pull Clark into another memory in order to preserve him in her mind. But Clark eventually vanishes, leaving Memory Chloe alone with—gasp—Davis, who offers her his hand. Real World Chloe is pulled out of the MRI with only one thought (left) on her mind: she has to find Davis.
She finds him at work and embraces him, noting that he has become her entire world. She trusts only him! Davis reassures her, yet again proclaiming that he will always be there for here. Clark and Jimmy are fretting over where Chloe might be, when she and Davis walk into the Talon. Chloe is still scared by Jimmy (go with that feeling, Chloe, go with it!), to the point of panic, before Davis injects her with a sedative and leaves her with Clark and Jimmy. While Jimmy is looking the other way, Clark dashes Chloe off to the Fortress, so Jor-El can begin the healing process. Clark asks if Chloe’s memory can be restored without her knowledge of Clark’s abilities. He kisses Chloe as if to say goodbye and apologizes for hiding the truth from her again, and comic-book continuity is restored! Clark fails to notice, however, that Chloe is leaking Brainiac from her ears.
Now back home safe and sound, Chloe admires Jimmy’s organizational skills. Jimmy is amazed by Chloe’s speedy recovery and everything is back to the way it used to be, a fact underscored by Chloe’s comment that Clark can’t carry a lot of folding tables on his own. Chloe steps out and runs into Davis again, who again questions her love for Jimmy. He tries to persuade her that he is really the one for her, especially since he was the only person she remembered and the one she came to for help. He puts the moves on Chloe and tells her that he’s not ready to let her go.
Back at the Fortress, Jor-El warns Clark that the symbol Chloe was seeing represents the “ultimate destroyer,” one who can adapt and evolve to any attack. Clark vows to take on the threat, calling Jor-El “father.” Just as Clark leaves, the Brainiac goo from Chloe’s ear begins seeping into the crystals of the Fortress, causing Jor-El to choke a bit. Doomsday is coming!
So what do you think? Did you shed a tear when Chloe’s memories of Clark were erased? Will Chloe’s role in the series be reduced? Where did Jimmy learn all those Sinatra songs? How far will Davis go in his stalky pursuit of Chloe? Gaze into the abyss and leave a comment!