[happy mom]

Kandor
November 6th, 8/7c

Jor-El (guest star Julian Sands) mysteriously arrives at the Kent farm searching for his son, Kal-El, but meets Chloe (Allison Mack) instead. Convinced the Blur is Jor-El, Zod (Callum Blue) enlists Tess' (Cassidy Freeman) help in finding him to force him to reveal the secret to his powers. Clark (Tom Welling) realizes Jor-El is alive and on Earth and races to find him before Zod does. Erica Durance and Justin Hartley also star. Jeannot Szwarc directed the episode written by Turi Meyer & Al Septien.

Shows - Smallville - Episode Guide - Kandor

Discuss!

[missingOTH]

Okay here’s my typical long ass review…read at your own risk:

Jor-El: Is it just me or does Julian Sands look like James Marsters from his days as Spike? Having said that I think he does a really great job in this episode and I definitely enjoyed him more as a guest star than the Toyman or Mia. His scenes with Callum Blue are really good and I like the parallel they draw between Zod/Jor-El and Lex/Clark…both were good friends at one point in time who turned out to be bitter enemies. I really like it that Jor-El realized that putting the Kryptonians into the orb was a bad idea and tried to stop the experiment only to be overuled by the council. Question though: how is it that the counciI goes from nearly executing him to declaring him one of Krypton’s best leaders? I mean I know that Zod just saved his ass and all, but seriously a viewer could get whiplash. Anyways, I think he also had a valid reason for refusing Zod’s request to put his son’s DNA into the orb…I imagine that getting a direct blood sample from a living person could have a very different outcome than getting DNA from a hair sample of a dead child. As it stands, the Kandorians who are currently on Earth are already shadows of their former selves…who knows what would have happened if he included DNA from the deceased as well? I do like how we see him struggle to say no to Zod and how hard it is for him to see Zod suffer like that.

While watching the episode I found myself drawn into Jor-El’s backstory and I really like Sands’ portrayal of Jor-El as a much more sympathetic character than the artificial intelligence version in Clark’s “ice crystal palace thingy”. His reaction to hearing about the destruction of Krypton and the loss of Lara, as well as his discovery that he has a son, really makes it look like Jor-El was a great husband and father when he was on Krypton who genuinely cared for and loved his family, unlike the cold AI version who constantly berates Clark and plays mind games with him (at least that’s what he was known for up until very recently). Jor-El’s decision to protect the son he has no recollection of and has never even met is an honorable one. Although I must say... “Really, Jor-El? Really?” Could he have been any more obvious that he has a son? Why not just offer Clark to him on a silver platter? The whole time he’s giving his speech about them having families and lives and yadda yadda on Krypton and then saying that he feels Zod’s pain now more than ever, I was yelling at my screen going, “STFU, Jor-El! You idiot! OMG!” Of course Zod figures it out after that…the stricken look in Jor-El’s eyes just sealed the deal. His last scene when he finally gets to meet Clark is bitter sweet, and it is a moving moment, but I just wish that he’d actually been able to spend a bit of time with Clark, so he could have seen for himself the hero that Clark is and the line “I’m so proud of you” would have been more meaningful. Overall, Julian Sands gave a really convincing performance as Jor-El, although I do have a few last questions…how in the world did Jor-El get from Turkey to Smallville? Did he hitch hike from Turkey? Sneak on board an airplane? How did he do it? Also what was he hiding at the Kent farm? And why would he have just believed everything Chloe said just like that? She’s a perfect stranger to him!

Zod: Callum Blue stole this episode for me. They’ve limited his screentime in his past 3 episodes this season, which I think was a smart move, so in this episode they gave him his chance to shine. I love how we got to see that even before he became the evil Zod we know and love there were still shades of grey with his character. His immediate support of Jor-El’s decision to stop the experiment, as well as the way he saves Jor-El later in the episode, clearly let me see and understand just why he hates Jor-El so much now. He was absolutely devastated when he lost his wife and child when Kandor was destroyed and his anguish was heart wrenching. Although, I am confused by this because I thought Faora said that they were unable to have children so they created Davis…unless Faora is Zod’s second wife? Anyways, because Zod’s blood wasn’t taken on the battlefield, he remembers every single devastating moment of that battle and seeing Kandor vanish right before his eyes.

We then see Zod stand up for Jor-El, in spite of the initial protests of the council. He demands to be heard…and what Zod wants, Zod gets (at least usually). Due to Zod’s intervention the council spares Jor-El’s life. Jor-El and Zod shake hands and Jor-El says he’s in Zod’s debt. Zod tells him to never forget that. I think this scene does a great job at showing who Zod is as a character. He commands people’s respect and attention, he doesn’t take no for an answer, and he never does anything out of the kindness of his heart. I firmly believe that Zod only convinced the council to save Jor-El with the intent that he would later hold this over Jor-El’s head so that Jor-El could give him back his son. I’m of the opinion that if you’re truly friends with someone, you don’t hold the favours you do for them over their heads and try to use it to your advantage later on, because if you ask them for something and it’s a reasonable request, they’ll do it for you without hesitation. However, Zod doesn’t have any real friends…he has minions or people who work for him. His so called “friendship” with Jor-El seemed to be based more out of a system of rank or hierarchy than anything else. They both held high positions in the food chain and because of their positions in that society and their acknowledgement of each other’s intelligence and what they could do to help each other out, they had a quasi-friendship of sorts. On a related note, I like how SV consistently uses colour cues to let the audience know on which end of the good vs. evil spectrum a character falls under, so having Jor-El in white and Zod in black in the flashbacks was a good choice.

When it’s time for Jor-El and Zod to add their blood to the orb, Zod begs Jor-El to include his son’s DNA in the orb so he can hold his little boy in his arms again. I love how Callum plays this scene with the tears in his eyes and how he shows just how difficult it is for Zod to humble himself in front of Jor-El like this. Zod is not used to asking anybody for anything…as a prolific military leader he’s used to giving orders, not making requests, so he pauses and struggles a bit before he can get the words, “I beg of you” out of his mouth. When Jor-El protests, he doesn’t give up, but continues to try and change Jor-El’s mind…even to the point where he pleads with him to save his son. When Jor-El gives his final refusal, he’s devastated and that’s the moment when he officially began to hate Jor-El. I think giving Zod a son in his backstory was a smart idea by TPTB, because it humanizes Zod a bit more. He’s never going to be an overly sympathetic character and I’ve said it before that I love how he’s bad just because he’s bad, but I like learning a bit more about this character and how he came to be the character we see before us now. Understandably, Zod is very bitter and angry about everything, and he wants the powers that he thinks Jor-El has, so he will do everything he can to get his hands on Jor-El.

This brings me to Zod’s scenes with Tess. Like I’ve said before, Callum and Cassidy have great chemistry together. I love how Zod actually plays on Tess’ vulnerabilities to try and get her to work with him. This is good continuity from Savior, when he said that he would have done that after he saw how his men nearly beat her to a pulp. Zod learned a little from his interaction with Tess last week and I think he’s developed a sort of grudging respect for her. I’m not sure how much of his seduction techniques are genuinely out of desire for Tess, since I think for the most part he’s just playing an eloborate game of cat and mouse with her to get her to spill what she knows about the Blur, but I do think there’s a part of him that is genuinely intrigued by her. I think Zod finds Tess fascinating and kind of hates that, which is why he feels the need to toy with her in the way that he does. He can be quite charming when need be and he promises her to give her what she wants and make her an equal partner with him… “intimately”. Is this Zod’s way of whispering sweet nothings in a girl’s ear? If it is I am sold!

In his second scene with Tess, we find Zod calmly staring into the fireplace at the Luthor mansion while he waits for Tess. They begin round two of their seductive back and forth game. When Zod says he came to get a progress report on their search for Jor-El, he’s testing Tess to see how honest she’ll be with him and if she’ll actually give him what he wants. I don’t think Tess is entirely convincing that she’s telling him everything she knows, due to the way she slightly stumbles over her words when she says “the noose is getting tighter”. When Tess shows him the picture, Zod says, “This calls for a celebration”, but as he’s walking away from her towards the wine glasses, his smile fades and you can see that he’s not buying what she’s selling. He knows she’s still holding out on him. When Tess says it looks like he’s already been celebrating, I’m thinking maybe he already has. He says he knows Tess wouldn’t disappoint him and after watching this scene and knowing the outcome, I think he probably means that she wouldn’t disappoint him with her tendency towards lying and deceiving. I have no doubt that after they made their agreement in the first scene, he had some of his people tailing her every move. When he brings out the wine and starts quoting Shakespeare, I think he’s going to try to make her drunk to get the truth out of her…in vino veritas and all that jazz…but of course Tess won’t let that happen. She’s impressed that he’s been reading up on Shakespeare and the dialogue turns incredibly sexual when he starts comparing Tess to a fine wine that he’d like to consume. Is is just me or does it sound like Tess is flirting with Zod when she says she won’t be revealing any more “tonight”. It sounds to me like, she’ll reveal much more to him later though . These two are generating enough heat between them to render the fireplace in the library absolutely unecessary when Zod douses the fire between them and reveals his true motives for trying to seduce her were merely to keep her occupied while the Kandorians smuggled Jor-El out of the cellar…at least that’s what he says . Tess throws her wine glass at him and he smiles and leaves, thinking that he’s bested her.

When Zod confronts Jor-El, he takes great pleasure in beating the living daylights out of him. At first when he finds out what Jor-El knows, he’s doubtful and refuses to believe what he says…but then there’s a moment when the penny drops and he realizes that Jor-El has a son that’s he’s protecting. When Jor-El tells him, “I feel your pain now more than ever”, Zod puts the pieces together. You can see the wheels turning in his head as he says, “How could you fathom my pain if you’ve never had a child? “ Jor-El’s wide-eyed, deer-in-the-headlights look confirms Zod’s suspicions. The devious glint in Zod’s eyes when he connects the dots and the increasing speed at which he talks, reveals his excitement that he now has something to hold over Jor-El. He now knows how to get what he wants, so he slightly smiles as he walks away and orders his soldiers to release Jor-El, so that he can lead them to his son. He finally has the upper hand.

Tess: Oh Tess, of course she threatens her workers with termination (either by being fired or by having them killed) if they disappoint her. If we’re going by colour cues again, I like how they put her in black and white in the very first scene. Tess operates on shades of grey so no one ever really knows what her true motives are and whether or not she can be trusted. Like I already said, her interactions with Zod are great and I love how she has this little cheshire cat smile so often around him. She knows something that he doesn’t it gives her a thrill. While Tess may say that she’s not interested, I think there is something about Zod that continually draws her to him and she may even be slightly turned on by him. She knows she’s dealing with a very dangerous man, yet she can’t help but push his buttons and show her that she will not be pushed around. After their second scene in the episode and the bit of seducing that Zod tries to do…because make no mistake, that isn’t just flirting, he’s clearly trying to seduce her…Tess again holds her own with him. I think Zod gets in her space out of equal parts seduction and equal parts intimidation…or maybe he even thinks he can intimidate her by seducing her. When Zod tells her they got Jor-El out of the cellar and she throws her glass at him, I really thought she was upset about that, until I saw her smile after he left the room. When I saw that smile, I knew it was all part of her plan and was reminded that Tess gave Jor-El clothes with the \S/ on it to convince the Kandorians that he’s the Blur earlier in the episode.

Now back tracking to her scene with Jor-El, I think the slightly unhinged side of Tess comes out to play in this scene. I can’t for the life of me understand why Tess thinks that the Kandorians could turn out like Clark if they get their powers, after they nearly beat her to death in Savior, they released a deadly virus in Rabid, and Zod tried to have her killed in Crossfire. Exactly which of those actions screams “noble” or “We’re here to save humanity!”, Tess? In what is either a misguided attempt to save Clark or a decision born out of a purely selfish desire to track down the rest of the Kandorians, Tess gives Jor-El the clothes with the \S/ shield on it and tracking device implanted in them and tells him he has to pretend to be the Blur so that Zod doesn’t figure our that Clark is actually the Blur. Later when Clark confronts her about this, she feigns ignorance (bad timing Tess), until Clark picks her up by the neck and chokes the truth out of her. I can’t say I like this move on Clark’s part, but I’ll get into that later. She caves and tells him what he wants to know and then she gets that cheshire cat smile on her face again after Clark whooses out, because her suspicions about Clark are finally confirmed. She seems to care more about the fact that she finally knows about Clark’s secret, than the fact that she just put a man’s life in jeopardy for her own personal gain. That’s merely an observation on my part, not a critique, because I kind of like Tess’ dark side.

Chloe: The first Chloe and Clark scene is cute and I like how Chloe gives him some advice on dealing with Lois and then how she tries to play matchmaker with Clark and Ollie and get them working together again. At first I even liked her scenes with Jor-El, until I realized just how absurd it was that she never pauses to call Clark and let him know that Jor-El is at the farm, and she doesn’t stop and try to verify that Jor-El is who he says he is, before spilling everything to Jor-El. Chloe’s aware that a bunch of Kandorians are now on Earth, so how could she know for sure that Jor-El was telling her the truth? I think Chloe’s smarter than this. The Chloe I’ve seen lately, has been darker than she was in past seasons and much more cynical about trusting people than she used to, so I think it’s kind of OOC that she’d just believe Jor-El right away and that she’d tell him everything about Clark. Having said that, I love the way she praises the Kents in this episode and it’s nice to hear her sing Clark’s praises. And then just when I’m starting to like Chloe a bit, we find out that she bugged the farm! WTH?! Really Chloe? Clark was perfectly justified to be upset with Chloe about this and her apology was half-hearted at best. It seemed more like she was just trying to placate him, so that they could move on instead of being genuinely apologetic for invading his privacy like that *sighs*.

Ollie: Yay the snarky!Ollie I know and love is back! I like how Ollie is trying to make amends with Clark and is trying to get their relationship back on track. He didn’t have to take Clark to Turkey and he didn’t have to stick around when it was obvious that Clark was reluctant at best to go with him, but he made the effort anyways. Ollie provided a few lighthearted moments in an otherwise serious episode and I love him for that. When Clark and Ollie go to the desert together, I love how he jokes about Clark wanting to bury him in the desert for going on that date with Lois and how they should have gone to Nevada so they could have seen the Blueman Group and Carrot top before the main event. He then says that he’ll get Clark a sense of humour for Christmas. Hee. I really love these quips from Ollie, because they show that he’s going to be supportive of Clark’s relationship with Lois and he’s going to handle the fact that Lois chose Clark over him with dignity and maturity. He won’t try to interfere with their happiness and try to get Lois back again, instead he’ll just be a good friend to both of them. I also like this lighthearted snark because like I said in Roulette, it’s much better than most of the snarky comments he shot at Clark during S8 and all the jabs he took at him in Rabid.

Clark and Ollie’s scene on the plane together is another good one with Ollie’s comment about Clark’s “ice crystal palace thingy” and Ollie convincing Clark that he should give Jor-El a shot, except for the obvious blunder about growing up without parents. Um, hello?! What happened to the Kents?! I don’t get how in the same episode, they have Chloe praising the Kents and saying they were the best parents Jor-El could have hoped for for Clark on Earth and then they also have Ollie implying that Clark grew up without parents! Yeah Clark may not have grown up with his biological parents, but the Kents were his parents in every other sense of the word. Okay I’m done with that mini rant.

Moving on to the next Clark/Ollie scene, I love how Ollie’s like, “Don’t look at me man” when Clark turns to look at him after they find out that Chloe bugged the Kent farm and how he tries to convince Clark to let him deal with Tess. I think it was working for a second too, until Chloe started talking and Clark whooshed out of there, because he gives Chloe a slightly exasperated look like, “I was handling it!”

The last scene with Clark/Ollie is what finally gets them completely back on track, at least IMO. Clark confides in Ollie about how it felt to see Jor-El and hold him in his arms as he died and Ollie just listens. He comforts Clark and tells him that of course Jor-El would have saved him, because he’s his son. He also lets Clark know that he wears the symbol well, compare this to Rabid when he mocked the symbol as Clark’s symbol of superiority. This is a turning point for them and I think that with Ollie’s pledge to Clark that he has his back and will do whatever he can to help him, that they can finally move past the events that happened in Doomsday. I think the word choice is deliberate here, since in Doomsday, he literally betrays Clark and stabs him in the back. Now Ollie and Clark both know that they have a common enemy and this time Ollie promises to support Clark so that they don’t make the same mistakes they made the last time. I’m also inclined to think that the whole finding out who killed my dad thing is deliberate as well, since Clark withholding information from Oliver about how his parents died initiated their downward spiral last season. I’m glad that their friendship didn’t get repaired overnight, and that the writers took their time in mending this relationship.

Clark: I was really happy with Clark once again, except for two things, which I’ll get to later. I’m thrilled that the writer’s actually took the time to mention Lois and have Clark talk about the kiss, because the Lois and Clark relationship is one of the key story arcs this season, and it would have been ridiculous IMO to not at least hear about why Lois wasn’t in this episode. I like how Clark doesn’t bother to correct Chloe with her comments about the ‘I Love Lois show’ and sputter some kind of protest. He does love her now and he’s not even trying to hide it. He tells Chloe about the kiss and sounds kind of proud of himself and then looks slightly offended when Chloe tells him she’s not surprised that Lois skipped town. Chloe quickly reassures him not to take it personally and Clark tells her, “I just don’t know what happened. I went over there to talk to her and the next thing I know I couldn’t stop myself.” Heh. Get used to it, Clarkie. Chloe says she’s not surprised that Clark’s had feelings for Lois since the 1930s…which is a cute hyperbole/comics reference in this situation and suggests Clark give her some space. He doesn’t look thrilled by this advice but he takes it anyways.

I’ve already covered Clark’s scenes with Ollie for the most part, but I’ll go over them from Clark’s POV briefly now. I like Clark’s reluctance to accept Ollie’s help initially…he’s probably equal parts wary about dealing with Ollie after everything that happened with Lois and he still doesn’t completely trust him after what happened in Doomsday. In their scene in the desert, I like how Clark uses his smarts and deduces that the shield would have become glass in the desert due to the extreme heat, so he blows the sand aside so that he can see the shield. He then discovers that Jor-El is on Earth and has a few heart to hearts with Ollie about his biological father. Clark wonders if Jor-El didn’t tell him that he was on Earth because he was afraid that Clark would find out that in person he’s worse than Clark thought he was. To this I have to ask, how could Jor-El be worse than Clark thought he was? I’d assume that after all his previous dealings with Jor-El, Clark would already think the worst of him. Anyways, I’m glad that Clark has Ollie back in his life and that he has at least one male friend he can confide him. I think it meant a lot to Clark to know that Ollie has his back and that he’ll help him find out who killed Jor-El…although I think that should be kind of obvious to Clark, since he now knows that Zod is also on Earth.

Now regarding the Clark/Jor-El scene…my biggest complaint with this episode is that Clark only got one scene with Jor-El. There wasn’t any build up for their relationship, so as great as Tom’s acting is in that scene with him, I’m not completely sold on it. Jor-El never got to witness for himself that Clark is a hero, so the “I’m proud of you” line, lacks a bit of meaning for me. Also it sucks so very much, that Clark’s had two fathers and both of them have died in his arms and both of them died protecting his secret. It’s no wonder that Clark doesn’t want anyone finding out his secret, because bad things really do happen to people who know the truth about him. I’ll tack the Clark/Tess scene in here, since it ties into the Jor-El bit. I understand Clark being angry that Tess was lying to him (again), but he should never have manhandled Tess like that and held her up by the throat. Abusing someone like that is something I’d expect to see from Zod, not the future Superman. IMO he shouldn’t do that to anyone really, but it makes it worse that he’s treating a woman like that. What if he’d actually hurt her? Tess is far from innocent but she doesn’t deserve to be treated like that. There are other ways that he could have intimidated Tess and gotten the truth out of her without resorting to physical violence.

Overall, I enjoyed this episode, aside from some plot holes and certain OOC moments for certain characters. Next week: The Wonder Twins are here! Yay?

[Chase.This.Light]

Bringing my short recap/review over from the ED board:

I love that they still showed Lois in the recap and didn't treat it as out of sight, out of mind. Lois was still a part of this episode to a ddegree, with her being mentioned or refered to in a few scenes.


Despite Erica not being in the episode (in any new scenes) I actually really enjoyed it. I love Erica and Lois but I think if they had been in the episode, the Kandor story wouldn't have been front and centre and Clark would have been greatly distracted thoughout it.

Bit miffed at Chloe having camera's at The Farm but I think they explained it well...kind of I like that she was able to explain to Clark why Lois did a runner, Tom's face when she said "that would make Lois run" was priceless.

OMG to the chemistry between Cassidy and Callum - they can be in a scene and then suddenly it's very evident when they are in close proximity to one another.

I love that Ollie and Clark had a lot of time together and that Ollie has never seemed intimidated by Clark and that he's someone Clark can talk to about his family situation and he gets it. I thought there scenes were great and that Clark doesn't have any grudge against Ollie for almost taking Lois away from him and that Ollie doesn't hold a grudge about the fact Lois prefers Clark to him.

I think things were a lot clearer about the Kandorians and how they got there but Tess' plan has backfired. Zod knows that Jor-El had a son.


When Zod said his wife died in Kandor - I take it he wasn't talking about Faora, right?


I realllllllllly enjoyed the episode....despite there being no Erica and I didn't think that would happen!