Smallville: Apocalypse Review
What Would the World be Like Without Clark Kent? Prepare to Find Out.
Photo courtesy of The CW/Michael Courtney
May 5th, 2008 - Last week, it was revealed that Brainiac had taken Kara back in time to Krypton to kill a baby Kal-El. At the time, I posited two questions: Why did he need Kara to travel back in time, and why did he take his sweet time in killing the baby while Kara was busy sending out messages to Clark? We got no answer to these questions this week, but we did find out what the world would have been like if Clark Kent had never come to earth.
For starters, if the Kents would have never discovered a spaceship with a baby in it, they still would have adopted a son, and named him Clark. Unfortunately, Martha and Jonathan were off on a cruise, so Clark was robbed of a reunion with his father, who would have no idea of who he was. Instead, Clark decided to check up on all of his friends, hoping that they are alive and well. Chloe’s engaged, Lana is married with kids in Paris, and Jimmy and Lois are still at the Daily Planet. Lois, who is now editor of the paper, is attracted to Clark, and they flirt. Their romantic tension serves the same purpose as her putting glasses on Clark when he goes incognito – it is a not at all subtle nod to the future of these characters that in no way advances the plot.
The only interesting aspect of this alternate reality is that Lex is President, Kara is his head of the Department of Domestic Security, and Milton Fine, a.k.a. Brainiac, is pulling all of the strings in the administration, leading the world to a nuclear Armageddon. Lex has been convinced that it’s all right for him to mastermind hitting a “reset” button for Earth, allowing the best and brightest to begin again, but he doesn’t know that Fine will just use Lex to be the vessel for Zod, when he and Kara will repopulate Earth as a second Krypton. This is a fascinating take on what would have happened had Clark not come to Earth, referencing old plot points and showing just how evil Brainiac is. But this story is not given a lot of time to flesh itself out, as right after it is all explained, Clark is sent back to his “real” reality, and he decides he must stop Brainiac on Krypton.
Then, for the second time this episode, we are robbed of an exciting climax. Clark, Kara, and Brainiac fight for a few seconds, and he is seemingly killed before he has a chance to kill baby Kal-El. This scene is rife with potential: there could have been a great fight sequence. Clark could have met his birth parents. We could have witnessed how Clark was able to travel back (or how he and Kara went forward) through time and space. But no. We got none of those things, and their absence was extremely obvious.
“What-if” stories have long been a part of comic books, and so as a concept for a Smallville episode, it makes sense. But, as with last week’s episode, the timing is off. We only have two episodes left of the season, and the recurring story-lines are given very little screen time in lieu of an alternate reality tale. Brainiac was seemingly disposed of fairly easily. There was absolutely no mention of Lex’s quest to discover the secrets of the Traveler. The situation with Lana was left open, which I think was a wise move. The way that Lex confronted Clark about her condition was a great moment, but the ending with Kara fainting and spilling her milk felt forced.
With the recent news of Michael Rosenbaum’s official departure from the show next season, the remaining episodes of this season have a lot to live up to. The show next year looks to be a shadow of it’s former self, without Lex, Lana (probably), Gough and Millar, and the addition of Doomsday and a new female villain that seems destined to be hokey. (I’ll still be watching and reviewing next season with as little bias as possible, but honestly, the odds are certainly stacked against the eighth season.) Here’s hoping this season, and Lex’s character arc, goes out on a strong note.
Alan’s Score: 4.8 out of 10
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