now.it.all.begins

Yay we’re finally back with new eps! It feels like it’s been forever since Pandora aired. On a whole this ep was a bit boring for me, but it got a bit better the second time around. On to the review!

Dark Archer: Can someone please tell me what this guy’s actual name is? Was it Bored Again? Vordagain? Gormagain? I couldn’t make it out b/c neither Ollie nor the guy who played him enunciated and it’s kind of driving me crazy! That said, this guy is okay as far as guest stars go, but he’s no Metallo or Zatanna. I could care less about him getting old and cranky and yadda yadda yadda. So you’re getting old...well guess what?! It’s a part of life! Deal with it and move on. Crazy suicidal maniac.

Mia: She’s beginning to grow on me. I like her better in this ep than I did in Crossfire. I like her snarky comment about Ollie needing to reassure that he hates the taste of human flesh and also her line in her last scene about it’s not the teacher that defines you, it’s what you do with the lessons they taught you or something to that effect. I’m impressed that she managed to sneak up on DA in this ep and also her fighting skills in the last scene are really good. She’s definitely worthy of her nickname. One question though, why did she refer to Lois as “the lady who got shot in the alley” or something like that? She met Lois under very memorable circumstances so I’d think she would know who Lois is...unless Ollie didn’t specify that it was Lois who got shot?

Ollie: JH did a good job once again in this ep. His self-defence moves in his first scene with Mia are really cool and his ability to disarm Mia and have her flat on her back within seconds is pretty impressive. He’s great at showing how freaked out Ollie was that he nearly killed her and that something’s clearly set him on the edge. He acts slightly crazy in his scene with Mia when he has all those pictures of himself on the wall and he’s pretty harsh with her in that scene, but it’s good that they showed that Ollie really was only doing that to try and protect her. I’m so happy that Ollie disarms DA by shooting him in the shoulder, instead of killing him like DA wanted. This shows that Ollie is learning from his mistakes and he’s doing his best to keep his dark side at bay. I like their last scene together when he asks Mia if she still wants to train with him and how excited she is when he asks her. I think he’s realizing that she has stuff she can teach him as well, with her line that I previously mentioned in my bit about Mia.

I also like his concern about Lois and how he shows up at the hospital to see her, then his scene with Chloe when he realizes that someone who looked like him attacked Lois. In a way, I like it that Lois is still the only person he dated that was really special to him and that he tells Lois that, but I also think that Ollie needs to move on. He’s known about Lois and Clark for awhile, but I guess knowing/hearing about them and seeing them together for himself is a completely different thing. I hope that he doesn’t let his personal feelings for Lois spoil his friendship with Lois and Clark, because they really have a good thing going there.

Chloe: I’m glad that she called Ollie and Clark as soon as she could to let them know about Lois and that she was at the hospital too. I also like how she informed Ollie about how Lois was attacked and that she does this in person instead of over the phone. Another good thing, is that when Clark refuses to believe that Ollie is responsible for hurting Lois and Chloe, Chloe decides to look further into it. One thing I can’t stand though, is how Chloe always seems to think that she knows best and she has this way of talking down to Clark and telling him he doesn’t do what’s necessary. She also only tells him important things when she gets in over her head, or seems to have no other choice.

Zod: I love how he keeps just popping up randomly. Clark really needs to get some kind of security system in the farm, since anyone can just go there. I love how he’s just chilling at the farm, observing an apple, until Clark shows up and then he starts waxing philosophical about it. It seems like he’s continuing his studies on humans so that he can understand his enemy better. Clark and Zod clearly don’t trust each other and I like the emotional manipulation Zod tries to play with Clark, by telling him that the Kandorians are his people too and by telling him about his son. Question though: Why does Zod keep staring at Clark’s lips while he’s talking to him? I mean I know why I do, but I don’t think Zod grooves that way. In his last scene with Clark, he once again tries to go for the sympathy/innocent angle, but he only hits a brick wall with Clark, since he crosses a line when he visits Lois in the hospital.

Speaking of his hospital scene with Lois, I really like this scene. I’m so happy that he’s now in contact with Clark, because this means he can expand his circle and we can see him interact with other characters on the show, besides Tess. He’s very suave and charming with giving her flowers and throwing compliments her way, but she’s not really buying it. The way Zod circles Lois, like a vulture circling his prey, provides an interesting visual and it keeps the scene mobile even though Lois is bedridden and only has one good arm. Again, Zod has a habit of getting into people’s space and trying to intimidate them, but I love how Tess, Clark, and Lois all refuse to be intimated by him.
In his last scene with Faora, we find out what his real motives for visiting Lois were, along with sending a message to Clark, he was trying to find out if Clark knew about the book of Rao. So that’s what Jor-El hid at the farm in Kandor! Then he’s being all evil and telling Faora his diabolical plan while she listens in rapt attention. He looks to the towers and is anyone else as stunned by how fast they’re going up as I am? Anyways, he’s great in all of his scenes and I’m glad that we’re slowly getting to see more of him.

Clark: Oh Clark, oh TW....you are the embodiment of hotness and all that is good in the world. Okay, I’m back . TW continues to impress me this season with the way he portrays Clark’s feelings for Lois, how he’s so insistent on doing what is right and how he acts like a role model for everyone to follow. It’s lovely to see Clark be so happy and smile so often in his scenes with Lois (which I’ll get to more later) and it’s so damn sexy when he’s telling Zod to leave Lois alone or there’ll be hell to pay.

In his scenes with Zod, I like how you can clearly see that Clark walked into this situation with both eyes wide open and a healthy dose of suspicion about him. He’s keeping his guard up and he’s only hanging out with Zod to learn more about the Kandorians and the tower. TW and CB play off each other very well and I think the super speed and other powers also play to his advantage here at impressing Zod and keeping him on his toes.

Another thing that’s great is Clark’s refusal to believe the worst of Ollie. He knows that things aren’t looking great for Ollie right know and that Ollie’s been down a dark path lately, but he doesn’t just accept what Chloe tells him at face value. He looks for evidence that Ollie could be responsible for himself. I also like how he held his ground with Chloe and told her that he does what’s right. Yes you do Clark and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Clark’s concern about Chloe’s actions of late and about the way she’s isolating herself and watching everyone else’s lives instead of living one herself, show what a great friend Clark is and how he really does want the best for those he cares about.

The save scene is pretty cool and I like how both Ollie and Clark come out of it looking like heroes, with the way Clark steps in to take the arrows that would have killed Ollie and the way Ollie pushes Mia out of the way, then shoots DA in the shoulder. It’s good that Clark gets the chance to see that Ollie is doing his best to fight his way out of the dark place he was in and that he’s learned from his past mistakes.

Lois: Durance looked absolutely fabulous in this ep. That last outfit with the way her hair was styled and her makeup? Wow. Now that is how you dress up for a date, Lois! None of this cut up plaid shirt and cut up jeans nonsense. So yeah moving on, I love how Lois is still unabashedly herself and hasn’t changed who she is to be with Clark. She grabs the umbrella from Clark and holds it over them, she fixes her own car, and she still obsessed with monster trucks. Lois is still taking things slow with Clark and being very cautious about their relationship as evidenced by the distinct lack of PDA on her part. I love how she tells him she held his hand, very proudly and then the way she says “relationship” as if she’s still trying to wrap her head around the fact that she’s now dating Clark. She’s so cute when she’s staring into Clark’s eyes and trying her best to resist his charms so that she doesn’t go back to the farm with him. I like the smile on her face after Clark goes and she feels the wind on her face from him speeding away. The way she says that line about the galaxy waiting and her smile suggests to me that she still has her suspicions about Clark being the Blur. Then she gets in her car and the car won’t start, and of course since she’s all independent and self-sufficient, she knows what’s wrong with her car and how to fix it. She probably would have too if DA hadn’t shot an arrow at her car. She suspects it’s Ollie at first and yells out, “Jealous much?” until he takes aim at her and she realizes that it’s not Ollie. Poor girl then gets shot through the shoulder after she tries to run away. In Idol she gets thrown off a building, in Pandora she gets kidnapped and in this ep she gets shot. Girl can’t catch a break.

In her next scene, she’s sitting in a hospital bed, shifting around uncomfortably until Clark shows up and she reassures him right away that it wasn’t his fault and tells him that the guy was dressed like GA. I’m very glad that she made the distinction in saying that he was dressed like GA and not that the archer was actually GA. This shows that Lois still believes in Ollie and knows that he’d never deliberately hurt her. Speaking of Ollie and Lois, I love her line in their scene together about the Danish underwear model. She wonders why out of all the women he’s been with DA would go after her and Ollie lets her know it’s because she’s the only woman he’s ever really cared about. Lois is uncomfortable with this and she kind of tries to back away a bit when he checks out her wound. Later at the AoC, Lois sees Ollie there and they kind of smile at each other, but Lois realizes that even though she’s concerned for Ollie, as evidenced by her earlier spiel, she can’t keep going to him and comforting him like she did in Roulette or Crossfire, because that will only encourage Ollie and make it that much harder for him to get over her. She silently lets Ollie know that she’s clearly with Clark, when she caresses his shoulder and then walks off with him arm in arm.

Backtracking to her earlier scene in the hospital with Zod, it’s so great that even though Lois is held up in a hospital bed, we still get to see her reporter side and her inquisitive nature when we see her looking up ancient arrows on her laptop. Nothing stops Lois Lane . I love how Lois refuses to be swept away with Zod’s charm and is very wary around him and curious about who he is and what his motives are. She’s not at all impressed by the compliments he keeps throwing her way and how he keeps going on and on that she’s all Clark talks about and that Clark is a very lucky guy to have her. The way she says, “I will” after Zod says that is perfect. You can tell that she’s just humouring and doesn’t believe him at all.

In her last scene with Clark at the AoC, I love how she’s late b/c she was watching monster trucks. Only Lois would be late for a date because of that reason. I love how she’s not afraid to show Clark who she really is and also how she teases him a bit for not picking her up from the hospital and laughs about it and assures him that it’s okay. It’s also excellent that Lois tells Clark about Zod right away and doesn’t hide anything from him. Overall, Lois didn’t get nearly as much screentime in this ep as she’s had in the past few eps, but I enjoyed all her scenes and thought she looked great in all of them.

Clois: Oh how I’ve missed them! And we open with seeing them on a date! What a great way to come back from the hiatus. Like I said before, I love how Lois just grabs the umbrella from Clark and holds it over both of them. She’s not going to change who she is to be with him and she can still take care of herself. She’s also very uncomfortable about showing PDA and Clark lets her know that he’s kind of bothered by that when he comments on the fact that she wouldn’t even let him help her with her coat. She tries to placate him by telling him she held his hand, but he’s not letting it slide since he retorts that she only did that when she was getting hor douvres (sp?) from him. I’m happy that they’re addressing their issues right away and Clark’s letting her know when he’s not exactly happy about something, instead of letting it simmer and making things worse later on. Lois is still concerned about how Ollie’s taking things, but Clark seems to have gotten over his concern about Ollie that he had in Crossfire when he was thinking about offer Lois to Ollie on a silver platter. Now that he has Lois, he’s not going to give her up. Lois says that the thought of them as a couple is hard to take in and wonders who knew, but Clark reassures her that he did. He then invites her back to the farm with him so that he can give her Clark Kent’s tour of the galaxy, in a nervous but absolutely adorable way with him kind of boucing on his heels. I think this is really a euphemism for sex, or at the very least he is aware that it could turn into that and he has absolutely no objections to Lois spending the night. Lois realizes what Clark’s really saying and kind of chuckles as she hands him back his umbrella and opens her car door. She lets him know that she’s on to him when she turns around and he steals a kiss from her, which she happily reciprocates. After they pull apart, Lois still has her eyes closed for a second like she’s savouring the moment and Clark looks kind of nervous, like he’s not sure if he’s allowed to do that but he just couldn’t stop himself. This is the second time this season that Clark’s planted one on Lois in the present timeline and I love how he can’t keep his hands off her. Lois has apparently been counting PDAs, this is PDA #4 on date #5 (I’d really like to find out what PDAs #1-3 were) and she reminds him that they need to take things slow. Clark says there’s nothing they can do in five weeks that they can’t do tonight, which I think is his way of saying that he’s not going anywhere. Lois tells him, “This is one. You’re the one I want to get it right with” and decides it’s best if she goes home. Awwww, I love that line. Clark is pleased with her comment and they both gaze into each other’s eyes for awhile after they say their goodnights. Neither one wants to be the first to leave and they’re basking in each other’s company and smiling at each other until Clark hears a call for help and darts off. Unfortunately, shortly after this Lois gets shot with an arrow. Ouch.

Clark finds out about Lois the next morning and speeds to the hospital as soon as he hears the news. He bursts into her hospital room and apologizes for leaving her, saying that this wouldn’t have happened if he’d stayed with her. Lois reassures him that it’s not his fault and that he couldn’t possibly have known that she’d have car troubles. Clark kind of gives her a look like, “Yeah right. You don’t have to protect my feelings Lois.” He asks her if she saw who shot her and she tells him that the guy looked like GA. I love how she doesn’t hide this info from Clark, knowing Clark’s protective tendencies and his hero complex. Clark is concerned about this, since he knows GA is really Ollie, but Lois doesn’t know that he knows that she knows so he can’t really say anything about it. He sits on the bed with her and brushes her hair back from her face and cups her face, while she leans into his touch and they hold hands . This scene is really short, but I absolutely love it, because it shows just how much Clark cares for Lois and how far they’ve come. This scene reminds me of Zod, Rage, and Bride. In Zod, Clark held Lois’ hand and tried to comfort her, only to have her give him a “WTF?” look so he pulls his hand away. Now that they’re dating Lois has no problems showing Clark her vulnerable side a bit more and letting him comfort her so she’s not only fine with his touch, she actually embraces it when she keeps her hand in his and leans into his hand when he brushes her hair back. In Rage, Lois got hurt by GA when Ollie was doped up on drugs and Clark was not pleased with the situation at all. Clark offered Lois his help, but Lois brushed him aside in favour of calling Chloe for help. Now the situation is similar, since it looks like GA hurt Lois, and Clark again offers Lois his help and says that things would have been different if he’d been there, but instead of brushing aside his comment and saying that he couldn’t have done anything to help her anyways, she just says that it’s not his fault. She knows that Clark would have protected her if he could have and she knows that Clark has a tendency to beat himself up and blame himself for everything, so as he tries to comfort her, she also tries to comfort him by easing his guilt and letting him know that she doesn’t blame him. I love how they look after each other even in small ways like that. Now on to Bride. The visual parallel here was pretty obvious with Ollie being on the outside looking in on Lois and Clark, in the same way Lois was on the outside looking in on Clark and Lana in Bride. The way this scene is framed and the way Clark’s sitting on the bed and had his hand on Lois’ shoulder is the exact same way the scene in Bride was set up. I love how Lois is no longer on the outside looking in and how both Lois and Clark are now where they’re supposed to be.

Lois shows up late for their date at the AoC in their last scene together, and says she got caught up watching monster trucks. I love that! Lois isn’t embarrassed to be herself around Clark and let him know the real reason she’s late and he understands her well enough to know how important monster trucks are to her and not give her a hard time about it. He just grins at her and tells her that it’s okay while she’s just like, “How can you say that?!”. Lois wonders why Clark didn’t pick her up from the hospital, but then she laughs and lets him know that she’s okay with it and she understands while he apologizes. This part reminds me of Infamous when Lois was so hurt and angry with Clark for forgetting to pick her up from the airport, however now that Lois knows how much she means to Clark and that they’re in a good place with their relationship, she knows not to take it personally. She tells Clark about Zod right away, and Clark is freaked out but does a pretty good job hiding it. When Lois sees Ollie, she smiles but then she turns from him and puts her hand on Clark’s shoulder. Lois consciously chose Clark over Ollie in that moment and I think that after she’d tried to comfort him in Roulette and Crossfire, she realized that there’s only so much she can do for him and that if she keeps comforting him, he’ll never get over her. Clark kind of glances from his shoulder to her like he’s asking her if she’s fully aware of what she’s doing, but she smiles at him and reassures him that it’s okay. When she does this, Clark smiles back at her, because he knows that she’s making an effort to show some PDA now. Clark let her know that he lack of PDA bothered him earlier in the ep, so she tries to fix it right away and he’s thrilled by the effort on her part and gently teases her that this counts as PDA #5 to show her that he knows what she’s doing and he appreciates it. Lois just grins at his comment and puts her arm through his and they walk off with huge smiles on their faces.

Lastly, like I already said, Clark is so freaking hot when he’s telling Zod off and says, “Lois Lane is off limits,” followed by “If you go near Lois again, I will destroy you all” . I adore Clark’s protective streak and the way he’s showing Lois and everyone around him just how much he loves her through his words and his actions. We only got three Clois scenes in this ep, but they were all great, so I’m a very pleased Cloiser right now.

Overall the ep was just okay, but I loved the Clois and the Zod stuff so that kind of made up for the rest of it for me. Next week: The Justice Society comes to SV!