Smallville: Sleeper Review
Olsen, Jimmy Olsen, 007
Photo courtesy of The CW/Michael Courtney
April 25th, 2008 - Remember that awful episode “Noir” last season, that interrupted all of the cool stuff that was happening as the season was nearing its big finale? Remember how annoying it was that it kind of carried on a few threads from the season, but mainly it was just Jimmy Olsen daydreaming about what life would be like in the 1940’s? It was pretty awful, and so was this season’s version, “Sleeper.” This time the episode isn’t a dream, but it plays out as one, with Jimmy Olsen going from somewhat geeky photographer to a James Bond wannabe in virtually no time.
Admittedly, this episode had big shows to fill, following one of the greatest episodes in recent memory last week. But the large ongoing stories: the aftermath of Lex killing Lionel, his closing in on the Veritas secret, Lana’s catatonic state, and the disappearance of Brainiac and Kara, are all given the backseat in lieu of an episode largely about the federal government tracking down Chloe.
I like the idea that the feds have been watching Chloe; after all, she is constantly hacking her way into every known mainframe in the world to dig up stuff for Clark, so it is plausible that she could be on some watch list. What isn’t plausible, however, is that the government agent responsible for tracking her down would send in her boyfriend to go undercover and monitor her activities, equipping him with a suitcase full of 007-esque gadgets. Or that Jimmy would suddenly know how to use all of these gizmos and function as a spy. Or that Jimmy would then turn to Lex to get the feds off Chloe’s back. Or that Lex, after being red-flagged by the government, would be able to pull off such a maneuver. This story was not helped by the atrociously bad music that played under these scenes, and the incredibly long dance with Chloe and Jimmy felt terribly out of place. Jimmy’s upset because he and Chloe never see each other, so when did they have time to choreograph that whole number?
Speaking of Lex being red-flagged - what happened to him being unable to travel? In one scene, his man-servant tells him that he can’t go to Zürich because the FAA has grounded him, and the next time we see Lex, he’s in the bank in Zürich, without the slightest explanation as to how he was able to fly there. Did I miss something here? If I did, it’s my bad, but if I didn’t, that’s a pretty big oversight on the part of the show-runners. Why introduce that little nugget if it doesn’t pay off? They could mention it in another episode, but it would seem out of place. I’m assuming that there is more to the story about the man who tried to kill Lex for opening up the safety deposit box, and that he is tied into the man who killed Gina last week. I truly hope that this story is more fleshed out in the remaining episodes of the season, and that Lex is given considerably more screen time.
Also being left out of the action this week was Clark. All he did this episode was mope about how Chloe couldn’t find Brainiac and Kara. I don’t mind a little Clark brooding, but for a future Superman, he seemed awfully powerless in this situation. The reveal that Kara is trapped on Krypton is a great twist, but the premise that Brainiac went back in time to kill the infant Kal-El earned an instant eye-roll. Um, Terminator rip-off, anyone? Not only is the concept completely unoriginal, but why did Brainiac need Kara to travel to Krypton’s past? And if his mission was to kill a baby, why didn’t he do it already? He’s a pretty lethal man/machine; surely infanticide can’t be too much of a challenge for him.
Overall, this episode was a disappointing follow-up to last week’s juggernaut. The pacing was incredibly slow, and as the show ramps up for (hopefully) a big season finale, a Chloe and Jimmy-centric episode felt extremely out of place. Judging from the promos, the next episode appears to be another one-off, but my fingers are crossed it delivers more to the overall arc more than Sleeper did.
Alan’s Score: 4.3 out of 10
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