Smallville - "Sacrifice" and "Hostage"
Oct. 21st, 2010 03:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
daibhidcIt's been a complicated couple of weeks and I'm running really behind on my programmes. So two episodes of Smallville now, and the finale and Merlin later (or tomorrow, or maybe Saturday...) And SJA at some point as well, probably.
"Sacrifice" amps up the Kandorians/Checkmate plot with the two factions confronting each other for the first time. Clark and peaceful Kandorian leader Faora find themselves trapped in the middle. Faora nearly signs up with Waller, and gets killed by Zod, who then blows up the Castle. It's war.
Meanwhile Chloe and Tess are Locked In A Room together as Stuart Campbell, Agent of C.H.E.C.K.M.A.T.E. (sorry - it's the eyepatch...) activates the Watchtower secutiry systems. This mostly serves to have them explore their trust issues, although it doesn't really end with them trusting each other.
Minor nitpicks - the Watchtower security system traps its own designer, but won't be able to keep Checkmate out? And Campbell disappears saying he'll secure the peremiter of the hospital, so it's strange Chloe and Tess leave shortly afterwards without any apparent difficulty. And Waller seemed remarkably sanguine about Campbell disobeying a direct order.
I would be very surprised if Waller (and maybe Campbell) didn't escape before the Castle blew up.
"Hostage" starts off with the return of Ma Kent and Perry White. Together. This leads to the most awkward dinner ever, with at least five layers of non-communication, one of which we only learn about later.
Even though a moment's thought revealed Tess couldn't be the Red Queen, because her calling-card first appeared during Tess's defection, there was so much evidence supporting this that I bought it to start with. (I'd forgotten that Max was recruited by the Red Queen earlier, so even Tess breaking the hallucination just led me to conclude that whatever remained of Checkmate thought she was the Red Queen as well...) The revelation of who she actually was caught me totally by surprise.
Everyone's after the Book of Rao, a McGuffin which eventually turns out to be capable of exiling the Kandorians to another dimension ... as long as Clark goes too. I have a sinking feeling that this means the return of the "Clark is trapped in the Phantom Zone" end-of-season cliffhanger, but we'll see.
"Sacrifice" amps up the Kandorians/Checkmate plot with the two factions confronting each other for the first time. Clark and peaceful Kandorian leader Faora find themselves trapped in the middle. Faora nearly signs up with Waller, and gets killed by Zod, who then blows up the Castle. It's war.
Meanwhile Chloe and Tess are Locked In A Room together as Stuart Campbell, Agent of C.H.E.C.K.M.A.T.E. (sorry - it's the eyepatch...) activates the Watchtower secutiry systems. This mostly serves to have them explore their trust issues, although it doesn't really end with them trusting each other.
Minor nitpicks - the Watchtower security system traps its own designer, but won't be able to keep Checkmate out? And Campbell disappears saying he'll secure the peremiter of the hospital, so it's strange Chloe and Tess leave shortly afterwards without any apparent difficulty. And Waller seemed remarkably sanguine about Campbell disobeying a direct order.
I would be very surprised if Waller (and maybe Campbell) didn't escape before the Castle blew up.
"Hostage" starts off with the return of Ma Kent and Perry White. Together. This leads to the most awkward dinner ever, with at least five layers of non-communication, one of which we only learn about later.
Even though a moment's thought revealed Tess couldn't be the Red Queen, because her calling-card first appeared during Tess's defection, there was so much evidence supporting this that I bought it to start with. (I'd forgotten that Max was recruited by the Red Queen earlier, so even Tess breaking the hallucination just led me to conclude that whatever remained of Checkmate thought she was the Red Queen as well...) The revelation of who she actually was caught me totally by surprise.
Everyone's after the Book of Rao, a McGuffin which eventually turns out to be capable of exiling the Kandorians to another dimension ... as long as Clark goes too. I have a sinking feeling that this means the return of the "Clark is trapped in the Phantom Zone" end-of-season cliffhanger, but we'll see.
