Cast

Tom Welling as Clark Kent
Allison Mack as Chloe Sullivan
Erica Durance as Lois Lane
Aaron Ashmore as Jimmy Olson
Cassidy Freeman as Tess Mercer
Sam Witwer as Davis Bloome
Justin Hartley as Oliver Queen / Green Arrow

Written by Al Septien and Turi Meyer
Directed by James L. Conway

Original Airdate

Instinct originally aired on Thursday, October 9, 2008.

Synopsis

Tess Mercer continues to study the Kryptonian crystal found at the North Pole, and accidentally activates a beacon. This beacon summons an interplanetary queen with super seductive powers that human men just can't handle.

High Point

We've now got forward motion in the Lois and Clark relationship. I don't think they've established this much mythos in any four consecutive episodes of the series as they have this season.

Low Point

I haven't read much of the comic book version of Maxima, but I really hope the character Stern and Perez created had more depth than this interpretation did.

The Review

This is not as original as other episodes have been this season. If there's anything this show has done before, it's a love triangle. This one was based on such a weak premise that it not only failed to engage me, it actually disengaged me from the entire first half of the episode. It wasn't until it started pushing Lois and Clark together that it got me interested again. The side plot with Tess' proposition was much more interesting to me than the main plot, simply because we've seen this particular villain motivation so much on the show that it was tired before season one wrapped. I give it 3 out of 6.

The effects were well done, though almost all have been done before. I give it 5 out of 6.

The story was far too predictable. I like the ultimate end that it provided, but there had to be a better way to get there. (I'm thinking Lori Lemaris.) At least the secondary plot was a strong one. I give it 4 out of 6.

The acting from guest star Charlotte Sullivan was pretty poor, though she had very little to work with. Durance was a lot better than normal, with the awkward subconscious jealousy coming across quite nicely. I give it 4 out of 6.

The emotional response was really uneven. Some moments were great, but others were painful. I give it 4 out of 6.

The production on this show is usually excellent. This week seemed to have problems with sound mixing, though, with the most obvious example being the ABBA disks enclosed in the world's loudest jewel cases. I give it 4 out of 6.

Overall, this was a mediocre episode that laid the groundwork for some good future episodes along with some terrible future episodes. I give it 4 out of 6.

In total, Instinct receives 28 out of 42.