SMALLVILLE Minicaps / Season 5, Eps. 21-22 and Season Five Highlights

Smallville season 5 minicaps is done with Lana Lang, and no, its not crying. Look, after this is over, can I get a hug or something?

Stewart here…

Let’s just take a minute to examine how crap this year has been for Clark: Jonathan dies, he breaks up with Lana, Lex is shacking up with Lana, Lionel knows his secret, and now there’s the threat of an invasion from Zod. Then there’s Milton Fine, who has been working with Lex on…something. Since we’re at the end of the season, let’s see how all this plays out, shall we?

“Oracle”

Clark and Martha are seeing Jonathan, who of course is quite dead, trying to get Clark to kill Lionel. Is it because Lionel is planning to sell out Clark as a weapon for the military or that Fine is impersonating Jonathan to get Clark to kill Lionel because he might be imperative in stopping Fine’s plans? Um, ok, the latter one. Also, Fine injects Lex with some “vaccine”, which can’t be good. And “Zod is coming”. Well, that last part’s pretty obvious…

Brainiac also knows how to shave people. Not well and not without fatal injury, but he’s got the gist of it.

–So, yeah, all that “vaccine” being made was really just to make one vial to put into Lex, and the rest of it was destroyed. But Lex has some super invulnerability now, so it’s not the worse trade off, is it? Is it?

–Kind of with Lana on Clark breaking into her dorm room and discovering that research in there. Sure, she’s pitching for the wrong side right now and Clark needed her to tell him where the lab was, but still, not cool, Clark.

–It’s hard to have seen that Clark and Chloe would have to have teamed up with Lionel, the kryptonian oracle of information, to fight Fine and the return of Zod, but here we are.

–Lois’ conclusion to the “piggy bank of love” analogy: “Oh, you never know, Clark. Even if you finally crack open that piggy bank, you found all this time you haven’t been saving for a bike. You’ve been really saving it for a Harley.” Was Lois just flirting with Clark there? I certainly think so.

–Lex’s response to Lionel’s knowledge of all those viruses being in lex’s possession: “Well, don’t worry, Dad. I’m not gonna put them in any Halloween candy.”

“Vessel”

Lex gets abducted by Fine, and all that kryptonian research Clark and Lionel dug up last episode points to Lex being prepared to be the vessel body for Zod. Jor-El has a solution for that, though: killing Lex before Zod can possess him. Too bad that plan goes bad for several reasons. One, Clark’s really not all for killing Lex. Two, Lana’s not all for killing Lex, let alone Clark killing Lex. Three, Clark misuses that dagger and Zod’s spirit is released into Lex anyway. And finally, Clark gets banished to the Phantom Zone by Zod/Lex as a computer virus from Fine causes havoc across the world. So with Chloe and Lionel stuck in the pandemonium of Metropolis, Lois and Martha stuck on a failing airplane, Lana not noting Lex has turned all kinds of evil looking (and not just by clothes, by the way) while Metropolis burns, and Clark trapped in another dimension, who’s going to save us now?

No, Lex seems perfectly normal surveying a burning city in Matrix-wardrobe. Perfectly normal.

–I’m not sure what Clark thought he was going to achieve with killing Fine with that dagger, outside of what it actually did, which is cripple the fortress and open the portal to Zod. Clearly letting Zod out to possess Lex wasn’t the plan.

–Speaking of plans, what was Fine’s idea with taking Martha and Lois’s plane into the mountains, before that version of him got destroyed? I just rewatched the next season opener, and that open plot point gets at least put to good use there.

–Lana, I’m all for standing by your loved ones, but when Lex is transported into a giant alien ship, seems to have superpowers later, and appears okay with Metropolis in flames, that may mean Clark’s not wrong about your new boyfriend being dangerous. You know, like those other few other times in the last five years he wasn’t wrong?

–You remember when Lionel was pure evil, right? Now, he seems to be the most rational thinking person in this episode.

–Could you blame Chloe for wanting a farewell kiss from Clark, just in case this was the end of everything?

–“You have your father’s eyes.”

So before we leave season five of the Smallville minicaps, let’s take a look at the best and worst that we’ve seen this season:

BEST EPISODES: “Arrival”, “Splinter”, “Reckoning”, “Vessel”

WORST EPISODES: “Thirst”, “Vengeance”, “Hidden”

BEST METEOR FREAK THIS SEASON: None really stick out, so let’s just go with best villain this season, which clearly goes to Milton Fine, aka Brainiac.

LESSONS CLARK LEARNS THIS SEASON: Probably should have been upfront with Lana about his secret, and really should’ve iced Lex with that kryptonian dagger when he had the shot.

WHY YOU SHOULD HATE LANA LANG: She’s helping Lex in a super-secret alien invasion prevention plan out of high school, and her way of dealing with a break-up is to kill herself over and over to see her dead parents. At this rate, I’m not sure therapy would solve her issues.

WHAT HAPPENS FREQUENTLY IN SMALLVILLE: Car crashes and explosions that Clark Kent seems to find himself around. Seriously, someone should start keeping tabs on that kid.

WHO SHOULD CLARK HOOK UP WITH: Lois. Chances with Lana are pretty much next to nil, and Chloe’s more of a buddy now, so…yeah, Lois.

HOPES FOR SEASON SIX: As long we don’t get any Lex/Lana stuff that escalates into a doomed marriage, we’ll be okay. Um, did I mention I forgot most of season six already?

SEASON FIVE ANALYSIS: Well, we finally ditch Smallville High and the Wall of Weird (well, physically, anyways) and start up a pretty strong season of the show. Outside of a few meteor freaks, the main thrust of the season has been Brainiac/Milton Fine and the planned invasion of Zod, and its been a better one than the whole stone quest of season four. With the addition of a strong foil in Fine and the corruption of Lex to the dark side (and in a nice twist, Lionel becoming a worthwhile ally for Clark), there’s been some great drama coming from the roles our main characters are finding themselves in. Its also brought along some tragedy, like Jonathan Kent’s death, which is still a pivotal moment for the show and for the evolution of Clark on his journey to manhood and herodom.

Its been a working theory that generally around season five is when a show is hitting on all cylinders and is delivering its best work. The same could be argued with Smallville here. Its finally found the right amount of soapy and angsty drama, humor, and dark turns that would serve it well for the remainder of its run. Of course, that doesn’t come without a few snags, as next season, for all the good stuff in it, will attest to…

“At least this beats being naked in that energy field at the end of season threeeeeeee…”

NEXT TIME: Season six of the Smallville minicaps begins as Clark has to get out of the Phantom Zone to stop Zod-possessed Lex in “Zod”, Clark discovers he can do super-stuff with his breath in “Sneeze”, a Phantom Zone escapee is in the mood for fatal love and plants in “Wither”, and Clark discovers the secret life of a Mr. Oliver Queen in “Arrow”.