Smallville Review – “Nemesis”

Things are building toward a strong season ender.

Cast

Tom Welling as
Clark Kent

Kristen Kreuk as
Lana Lang

Michael
Rosenbaum
as Lex Luthor

John Glover
as Lionel Luthor

Annette
O’Toole
as Martha Kent
Erica Durance as
Lois Lane

Allison Mack as
Chloe Sullivan.

Written by Caroline Dries.

Directed by Mairzee Almas.

Original Airdate


Nemesis
originally aired on Thursday,

April 26, 2007.

Synopsis

Clark and Lex are forced to trust each other when trapped in subterranean tunnels. Lana reveals how much trust she still has.

High Point

“I see you have wholeheartedly embraced what it means to be a Luthor.”

Low Point

Breathing new life into a plotline that should have died long ago. I’m starting to think the low point of my reviews is the constant repetition of this same low point week after week.

The Review

Lana’s story arc hit a lot of notes that are original for the series. The whole “people who hate each other depending on each other to survive” aspect is far from original, though I do give them credit for avoiding the usual ending to that one. I give it 3 out of 6.

The effects were mostly falling debris, very little of which seemed to actually weigh what it was supposed to. In fact, this episode would be relatively cheap compared to most, so I’m half expecting a special effects bonanza to end the season off with the money they saved on this one. I give it 4 out of 6.

The story taking place above ground was far more interesting than the one below ground. The plotting was sound, and the character twists drove things along nicely. (One does wonder if that stereo ever gets used for anything but covering up gunshots, arguments, and the like.) The final lingering moment should have been much faster, though. I give it 4 out of 6.

The acting was solid. Rosenbaum and Glover have always been great at their roles, and Kreuk has grown into hers nicely. With those three at the centre of everything, the acting works very well. I give it 5 out of 6.

The emotional response was stronger than I expected from this well worn story gimmick. There were some nice moments mixed in coming from topside. (My emotional response to next week’s trailer was great, though. I’m something of a film noir nut.) I give it 4 out of 6.

The production was well done. The cross cut editing with periodic glimpses of countdown timers helped reveal the simultaneous nature of the action, and still kept everything running smoothly together. I give it 5 out of 6.

Overall, it’s a solid episode, and sets things up to carry through to an intense season finale nicely. I give it 5 out of 6.

In total,
Nemesis
receives 30

out of 42.

5 replies on “Smallville Review – “Nemesis””

  1. Lana
    Wow, talk about character development. The one thing that makes me okay with them pushing the Clark/Lana thing is that Lana is no longer the woman Clark fell for. Her involvement with the Luthors has turned her into a top-notch manipulator, and for a change, I feel like they actually executed it well. It began slowly with the clumsy attempts early in her engagement with Lex, and didn’t kick over fully until the revelation about the baby pushed her over the edge. Kristen Kreuk has helped, too; I don’t know if she’s actually improved as an actress or if she’s just better when she has a more multidimensional role to sink her teeth into. In any case, she’s certainly acquitted herself well as of late.

    I just hope they quit stalling on the "Clark becomes a superhero" bit. Fine, they promised he wouldn’t wear the cape and fly until the last episode, but they also promised they’d end it after five seasons. I’d happily accept that promise being broken if it meant finally moving that aspect of the damn story forward appreciably.

    As for my high point: "I don’t know what I did to deserve you."

  2. suspension of disbelief
    I am the only one sitting there thinking "why come der R endless abandoned kryptonite filled unmapped tunnels under smallville?"?

    ’cause that was bugging me.

    • Re: suspension of disbelief

      I am the only one sitting there thinking "why come der R endless abandoned kryptonite filled unmapped tunnels under smallville?"?

      ’cause that was bugging me.

      Me too, I am getting sick of all the kryptonite lying around. Not only that I am getting sick of everyone pulling out a chunk of kryptonite when things go awry like Chloe last week.

      • Re: suspension of disbelief

        I am the only one sitting there thinking "why come der R endless abandoned kryptonite filled unmapped tunnels under smallville?"?

        ’cause that was bugging me.

        Me too, I am getting sick of all the kryptonite lying around. Not only that I am getting sick of everyone pulling out a chunk of kryptonite when things go awry like Chloe last week.

        I got the distinct impression that Lex built the tunnels that way on purpose. I’m guessing he built that system to contain something, perhaps one of the phantom zone inhabitants? Or some of his 33.1 experiments?

        Did anyone else not hear them repeatedly talking about how Lex appeared to really be building a water system? They were looking at the layout and components, not necessarily where the dirt lining the walls came from…

  3. Timelines
    I think the most jarring thing about the story was how so many things were packed into 20 minutes (the timer on the explosives). Lana had her conversation with Lionel at the hospital, drove to the mansion, cracked the case, viewed the data, talked to Chloe, and drove to the tunnels all in 20 minutes? Other than that, a decent episode.

Comments are closed.