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I bet you can guess the top of my dislike list.

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Do you mean your least fave scene from this ep?

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My least fave aspect more than scene.

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Um I'm not sure but I can probably take a guess.

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So, because I want to get something written for this before season 10 begins on Friday I'm doing a very different review. I don't even know if this is gonna be of any significant length. I'm pretty much going to say the what I didn't like, what I did like and well, that's kinda it. Although I think I have a kinda Lois section.

So Checkmate used Icicle to being the JSA and JLA together? So the people who died were just like collateral damage? Not a fan of that.

And it confuses me when Martian Manhunter says that Clark, Ollie and Chloe are his family. Clark I get, but the other two? The only time I know of Ollie and MM being in the same orbit was in Odyssey.

The Tess reveal was kinda cool and totally unsuspected but I think more than anything it just confuses me about her history and where she fits in really. I mean is she CEO first and foremost and then a Checkmate agent (I mean was she approached after she was CEO) or was she a Checkmate agent and ended up CEO as part of her cover. And where does all of that tie into what she was in the Toxic flashbacks.

What I didn't like:

The first thing I really didn't like it is seeming again as though Chloe is pretty much Clark's brain/the brain behind the JLA. I do understand she has a function in being Watchtower but IMO that doesn't mean she's in charge and I think sometimes she just comes across as being mother hen. This show is about Clark's journey and Clark should be the leader first and foremost and yet I counted at least twice in the first half of this where Chloe is telling Clark what to do/what he has to do.

There were a couple of times when they it appeared that scenes ran too long IMO, like the stuff at the museum at the end of part one and beginning of part two. I know there were adverts in between some of it, but it just seemed to take too long and I recall on watching the episode the first time hoping that I expected us to see Lois in the very first scene of the second half of the episode.

When Clark touched Dr Fate and we saw the thing with the \S/ cape. I was disappointed that it was something we'd already seen before. I know time and money blah blah but still! I love how Clark reacted to Dr. Fate reading him in that scene And hated how here I think they start to allude to Chloe potentially becoming Dr. Fate and I was sort of expecting her to become Dr Fate by the end of this episode once he died.

Not too fond of the way Carter talks to Clark and how he says "you haven't started" when Clark mentions making mistakes. I also hate that I think this is meant to refer to the Failsday debacle.


What I liked/loved.

The score music is made of awesome.

There were some pretty cool effects. Like when Stargirl was about to be hit by the ice bullets and GA shot the arrow to stop them.

I like the introduction of Hawkman and the Hawkman/Green Arrow banter. They just crack me up whenever we see them together, like we did in Salvation. But there are moments when Hawkman annoys me, his voice starts to grate on my nerves.

Loved how they alluded to Green Arrow and Black Canary having some sort of e-mail tryst or something. Talk about that being an anvil. I do really want to see these two together just because I think they'll look so awesome together. While I like that they acknowledge that there's something between GA and BC it bugs me that the next episode saw the Chlollie hook up.

Like that we get some more background on Martian Manhunter.

They show/tell us of a clear distinction between Clark and Hawkman. Startgirl said that he crossed the line so much or something, while we've seen time and again and discussed time and again that Clark has never and will never cross that line. Once he does that once, it's easy to do it again and again. And I like that Carter learned something from Clark too (to keep trying). I don't know if it's just me but the moment between Clark and Carter when Carter brings up Clark flying, I totally got the impression they wrote it in such a way that you could make the leap that Lois was related to Clark not being able to fly. Just the way Carter was looking at the mask of his wife as he talked about the flying.

the smile on Clark's face as he says his team are called "a work in progress".

Checkmate - how it was introduced and became a recurring theme for the season. How Lois was picked specifically as someone to investigate into the JSA. I love that she is so highly thought of by so many people that they want her to tell the story or investigate stuff for them. And I think it's made all the more awesomer (don't care if it's not a word ) by the fact that Waller tells Lois why she was picked.

This wasn't a Lois-less week! Not at all. She did get adequate enough screentime IMO (considering the guest star number and the fact Cassidy and Justin were in this too) and she was handpicked by Checkmate! I was a little disappointed that we think we're getting a Clois scene and it turns out Lois is talking to someone else, who IMO looks nothing like the rear-end of Clark but Lois was barely in the bullpen when she was talking to him so I let that one slide. Would Clark usually be as quiet as that through a Lois tirade? And again, she still has the funniest lines "Not that I don't like a good mud bath but I prefer mine without clothes"! First of all and second of all, that's such a tease. I want my Clois without clothes!! I need it! And TPTB just had to get it in there that the guy she thought was Clark was wearing glasses which is funny. BTW, I'm sure that fake Clark dude had on the same tie Clark did. When Lois mentions what could be better than a breakfast date with Lois Lane, does she mean Clark or the other guy since he just walked away? Also, love that she made Clark coffee too!

I love that when the subtle parcel is delivered Lois makes a beeline for it right away. And as usual when Lois and Tess are in the same room there's the usual snark What does Tess mean when she replies "Not Yet" to Lois saying she's not having problems?

And I know this isn't strictly Lois but it leads on to an indirect Clois scene. I really love the Clark/Dr. Fate scene and how Clark actually wants to know what his fate is. Long gone is the boy who wanted to escape his destiny, he's now embracing it. I love how they used this to bring up Lex and still reaffirmed that he will be Clark's greatest enemy and that he will defeat him. I sure hope that Welling is wooing MR b/c I really wanna see Lex know about Superman...but then, since he could expose Clark as Superman I'd imagine they would need to mind wipe Lex. This is a mindwipe I can get behind! I love that when Clark mentions that Lex is dead, Dr.Fate just changes the subject.

Clark hears Lois call out and wonders why she is there, I like that he asks what she's doing there and how Dr. Fate goes on to say that she's the key and then well, he opens the door. I love Lois' reference to horror movies and the irony in that there is a guy with a mask behind her She gets a fright (I would too) but she doesn't run away or hide (typical Lois Lane) and she compliments Dr. Fate on his helmet. I'm not sure if that was meant to be sincere but I love how he says Thank you. And I love how as she talks to Dr Fate she's backing up to the door. Then Dr Fate says those wonderful words about how Lois is the one Clark will need and Clark is the one she will need, but she has no clue he's talking about Clark.

Tess called Lois Clark's girlfriend!! And stirs up some **** as well.

I wondered what the wooshing sound was when Lois came back to the bullpen but I guess Clark's putting away the file in her desk and getting to his seat so she doens't think he was rifling through her desk. I looooove that Clark wants to work with her, but I'm a little sad it's only b/c she's getting too close to what he's looking into but I guess it's meant to be for her safety because of Iceman or whatever. Clark says "Clark and Lois" and I chuckle when Lois corrects him, "Lois and Clark". I think it's pretty amazing that even though Lois doesn't want to share the story with Clark she still opens up to him about it. Telling him about how she was handpicked and meeting Dr. Fate and then there's the anvil about how his cape looked pretty good. And they talk some more about what Lois knows, so here we have Lois sharing information with Clark that will help him. She is awesome!

I love this last Clois scene with Clark seeing Lois' story, but i have to ask, has Clark ever had a big story? He alludes to having had at least one in Charade but I don't recall and Lois has had loads. I like that Lois is open about what Dr Fate said to her and the way Clark gets up out of his chair and walks to Lois desk as he asks about her being told her fate. So I take it then that after Clark sped away from Dr. Fate he didn't listen in? How much do you adore that Clark's hones in on the "him" part and I love how Lois says it's ridiculous but still tells Clark honestly b/c she could have made something up to make Clark think it was him. But Clark's knows it is he that Dr. Fate was talking about Love how Clark asks her if she beleives in fate and her answer, which I think is partly to make Clark feel better. And she stands and end end shot...this is how they should have ended the episode IMO.

Yeah, so it's a good episode and everything but I hate how Johns got two episodes.

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*Makes a note to self to comment on this later*

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It's not very long but I wanted to get somethig out last night.

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That's cool. Now you can comment on my review of this too.

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I know! Is it long?

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You do remember who you're talking to right?

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Frankly it's abnormal for me to not write long reviews now.

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I don't know what I was thinking really.

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I'll let it slide

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Originally Posted by now.it.all.begins (View Post) Absolute Justice was absolutely awesome! IMO, Geoff Johns did a much better job with this two hour movie event than he did with last year’s Legion.

ITA with that, might be because this episode had Lois.

Before I get into the characters and the plot though, I just want to say that everything about this episode was extremely well done. All the effects, from the fight scenes to the video, were very well done. They did a great job at making the video look really old and giving us a quick glimpse into who all the members of the JSA were and what happened to them.

I couldn't agree more. I love that they went all out on the effects and everything. I imagine this movie took up a lot of the budget though given the number of special guests and effects etc.

Also Glen Winters and Tom Welling did a great job at directing the first and second part of the episode.

ITA on that. Although to be honest I haven't actually scrutinised how scenes were shot as much on this episode as I have on others.

Stargirl/Courtney Whitmore: Her character could have easily come across as being a bratty teenage girl, but I think they did a great job at showing what her motivations are and why she’s so wary of the press initially.

I agree with that and actually I think after the first couple of scenes she comes across like that but once you get more of her back story you understand.

I enjoy her scene with Chloe, starting with the scene when they reveal the old computer and both girls give each other looks like, “Seriously?”.

I loved that and how she kinda patted the computer, it was so funny.

Also it’s good that she comments on the fact that watching other people’s lives doesn’t make you part of theirs.

I know that led to Chloe going out at the end of this episode and of course she and Ollie did...whatever. But we still see as of Hostage she's still in that cocoon of Watchtower.

One question though, does anyone else think she looks a lot like Alex Johnz (sp?), the girl who played Saturn Girl in Legion last year?

Hmm, I don't think they are too alike.

Okay I loved Dr. Fate. Brent Strait did such a great job at making him a sympathetic character and it was so sad to see him lose his mind and be separated from his wife in the film strip and to see him muttering to himself and the helmet in the present timeline.

I really liked him too and you are right it was so sad to see.

Also I love how they show the ankh when he changes and also when he takes Clark away with him, and later when he opens and closes the door for Lois, and when he saves Martian Manhunter’s life.

Is there some significance of that?

Also his scene with Lois is awesome and I love what he has to say about Lois and her relationship with Clark. The way he says “Thank you” to Lois’ comment about his helmet makes me laugh. Clearly sarcasm is lost on him. In his last scene, I love how he chooses to save MM’s life and restore his powers to him at the expense of his own life. Yes, he did know that MM was not supposed to die that day, but that doesn’t mean that he had to sacrifice his life for MM’s. He’s truly an awesome character and I’m so glad we had the chance to see him on SV.

Agreed and I love all of that too. I was sad that he died, I think it's rare that someone can have you care and root for them after such a short period of time.

Hawkman/Carter Hall: After reading all of Michael Shanks interviews and seeing the respect he has for the character, I was really excited to see his portrayal of Hawkman. He didn’t disappoint.

I don't think I read them.

Also props to him for wearing that outfit. I remember reading in his interviews that those wings were really heavy and hard to move around in.

Oh yeah, you have to give props for that. It didn't look comfortable at all.

However, when he does decide to start working with the JLA, I love his snappy banter with GA. He had some really great lines in there, like when he taunts GA for crying and when he tells him to shut up and calls him a “green punching bag” .

IMO their banter has been one of the non-Clois highlights of the season!

I like the scene when they talk about Shayera, and how Ollie comes to realize just how hard things have been for him. The guy’s been cursed with falling in love with and losing Shayera time and time again. There are no words to express just how much that sucks.

And it gave us a lot of insight into why he may take the attitude that he would be okay to die so he can see her again. Like in Salvation when he said they should fight and take some Kandorians with them.

In spite of their initial feelings of animosity towards each other they come to an understanding and I like their banter again when Hawkman flies GA into Watchtower...something to do with Ollie throwing up on the flight over.

Those lines were too funny, send me your dry cleaning bill, send me your food bill!

Icicle: His powers were cool (no pun intended), but he himself kind of bugged. So you have daddy issues and the JSA turned your dad into a vegetable...why should I care again? You did kill your own mother...unintentionally of course but still. And he killed Dr. Fate!!!! Nooooo! I’m so glad that he got what was coming to him in the end. He should have questioned why Waller got him out when she did and I’m glad she stopped him and his whining in the end.

All I can say is ITA with you.

She’s morally murky, she does what she thinks needs to be done, and she’s pretty bad ass. I love it when Icicle threatens her, she doesn’t let it get to her and is like, “Please. I’m from Chicago. I can handle the cold.”

That moment was fantastic. She didn't flinch or anything. I guess it just shows she's as tough as old boots.

Also her scene with Lois is great and I love how she explains why she chose Lois to break the story,

I said that too.

Then Tess shows up and they go off to get Tess up to speed, because in a nice twist we find out that Tess is actually Agent Mercer and she works for Checkmate!

Wasn't that one of the most shocking moments of the season. I eman shocking as in surprising.

Martian Manhunter/John Jones: Oh how I’ve missed you! Hee, love how he shows up and is all, “Is it too late to say we come in peace?” Nice move having a Martian say that.

That was funny too.

Oh and in the last battle, he’s wicked awesome when he shows up with his powers restored and lets those icicles phase right through him.

I totally loved that b/c it's like the JLA were possibly going to be defeated until he got there, right?

Chloe: AM has a lot of screentime in this ep and a lot of great material to work with.

She does have a lot of great material and I think AM is a really good actress, but I don't know, I think this show has really turned me off Chloe so much that I find it really hard to say nice things about her. I seem to see the negative aspects of Chloe more than the positive...if there are any.

When she comes across Dr. Fate with Clark, and he mentions that they have similar paths, I wonder if he’s referring to the way they both amassed massive amounts of information and knowledge. We all know what that did to him. Maybe he’s warning her that the same thing could happen to her...Chloe does have a history of mental illness in her family (I think she still does, unless they completely changed her mom’s back story when we found out that her mother is a meteor freak.)

I think they did change her story. Didn't they make it seem like she checked herself into the funny farm b/c she was scared of what she could do? I'm pretty sure she discovered her meteor power when she one day told Chloe to do something (I think out of the ordinary) and Chloe did it.

Tess: She sees the package Lois got from Checkmate and is intrigued. She thinks it might be her package, but Lois immediately assures her that it’s not. She mutters an ominous warning under her breath when Lois says she hasn’t been having any problems, then snoops through her desk later on after seeing a chess piece (a queen) on her desk.

I thought Tess was checking (in their first scene) to see Lois got the parcel, is that what you thought she was doing? Or do you think she didn't want Lois to be involved?

In her last scene, we find out that Tess is actually Agent Mercer and that she’s working for Checkmate! This is really good twist and now Tess’ previous actions make a lot more sense. She wasn’t just checking up on Lois or bugging her computer (in Metallo) to get her own kicks out of it, she was doing it all for Checkmate. Tess probably let them know about the threat Zod poses and this is why they’re trying to get the superheroes out of hiding and back on the streets. I like it. I like it a lot.

I haven't really taken the time yet to think back on tess' past actions this season.

Ollie: So he’s been keeping in touch with Dinah, eh? Nice reference there, Johns. It’s good to know that they haven’t completely abandoned that relationship on the show.

I'm just sad it was a one time casual reference.

I like how you can see Ollie’s yearning to have a deep connection to someone like Hawkman has with Shayera, and Hawkman doesn’t sugarcoat anything and calls things like he sees them. I also like how Ollie’s able to get through to him and convince him to not go after Icicle alone. Ollie’s learned from the mistakes he’s made this past season and he knows that going after someone out of vengeance is not the way to do things.

I realllllllly want Ollie to have that connection with someone too and that he's learned from his mistakes...I just hate that after us seeing this side of Ollie he wasn't open enough with Clark about the weapons.

Clark: I need to take a moment to say the obligatory, “Oh Tom Welling you are so pretty!” .

I think I may have missed doing that in my "review". I loved the moment he got into the car with Chloe and it'd been raining and he ran his hand through his wet hair

I like how earlier in the episode, Clark goes to investigate these murders and picks up on the clue JSA, left there for him by Sandman. I love how Clark immediately realizes that the arrests don’t fit who the JSA members were and that something isn’t right about that, and how he admires their loyalty and the way they stood by each other. Poor Clark, probably had flashes back to Failsday when his own team literally stabbed him in the back.

Clark. Do you know who has never ever stabbed you in the back? Me! And Lois too.

After the big fight scene, Clark tells Hawkman that he’s sorry for his loss and they have a nice little heart to heart. I like how some of Clark’s concerns are addressed in this scene and I think Clark still has problems trusting the JLA after what happened in Doomsday, since he doesn’t think they can ever be as good a team as the JSA were and Hawkman reminds him that they’re only human and they make mistakes.

And I also love how come the end of the season we see that they are more of a team. But I sort of wonder if maybe Hawkman should have talked to Chloe too and said something about how she keeps secrets...like the green K weapons. IMO it's a wonder Calrk was ever able to trust her again.

This was another great episode for Clark and Tom Welling’s direction was excellent, as per usual.

Very much agreed.

Lois: Not going to lie, I went through the entire first hour of the ep, going, “Okay when’s Lois going to get here? Is it hour two yet?”

On the first viewing I thought it went smoothly enough and it was good enough for me to not wonder when she was going to appear, but as I said in my review, as soon as hour 2 started, they should have had the Lois scene. The JSA bit was too long in that section.

She’s so caught up in her story that she doesn’t realize that Clark’s not there until the guy turns around. Nice touch with the glasses btw. Oh I also love how Johns ties her into the main storyline in this ep right away when she mentions that she was supposed to interview Michael Holt, a.k.a Mr. Terrific.

Who? Don't think I knew who she was interviewing.

In her second scene, Lois’ investigation leads her to the brownstone. Dr. Fate says, “She is the key”, and opens the door for her. That line makes a lot of sense to me, since Lois will be the key to good relations between superheroes and regular people. Depending on the way Lois depicts these superheroes in her articles, she could either make the public trust and adore them, or fear and loathe them.

Oh, great insight. I never thought of it in that way. I thought of it more in a Clois context. Like she is the key to Clark's happiness and if my flying theory is right, the key to his flying. And she is the key/link to Clark's humanity.

He then talks to her about her fate while she slowly keeps backing away until she’s out the door and he closes the door on her. That was a nice directing choice by TW, since it meant we never had to see Lois’ back as she was leaving the house.

Wasn't it just a great touch? Do you think it was intentional by Welling so we wouldn't be deprived of seeing Lois since she'd missed half the movie?

She shares her info with Clark, which is a pretty big deal for her to do, and even fills him in on info he didn’t know before about criminals being released from prison. Btw, I love how this ep shows Lois being given some info to start her off, then running with it and doing her own investigating to get to the bottom of the story.

I kinda mentioned the bit about her telling Clark about her story too and I agree it says a lot she's opening up about it.

Clois: I like how they have Chloe mention Lois and how Clark’s been chasing her from the start. Hearing their friends and other people on the show talk about them in the context of being a couple, makes them being a couple all the more real...if that makes any sense.

It makes total sense and unlike in other seasons they have gone out of their way this season to make sure that Lois has been mentioned in every episode she wasn't in, right? In Kandor, there was the kiss reference, and the scene when Clark told Ollie about Zod I can't recall if that was Checkmate or Sacrifice. Was she mentioned in the other one? And also like you say how others refer to them in a coupley way. It makes them mroe real becuse everyone knows they are dating.

Oh, I adored what Dr. Fate had to say about Lois and Clark’s relationship and how nicely it ties back to Bride, when talked to Ollie about someone needing her. Dr. Fate tells her, “You are the one he will need. He is the one you will need.” Damn straight.

Oh excellent callback! I love Ollie in that scene.

When Clark goes back to the DP, Tess is the first one to refer to Lois and Clark as being boyfriend and girlfriend and that made me squee.

Still makes me squee.

I also enjoyed her saying that maybe they are meant for each other after all and how she said, “Your girlfriend’s in way over her head.”

Tess is secretly a Cloiser! She is!

She also mentions meeting Dr. Fate and says that his cape looks pretty good. Apparently Ollie couldn’t convince him that the cape was a good idea in Identity, but hearing Lois compliment the cape is making him reconsider.

I didn't think of that. As soon as Clark heard that I wonder if he told Martha and that's what made her think of the cape.

Lois says he could have shared the byline with her, which is a pretty big change from Plastique when she scoffed at the thought of sharing a byline with him.

Another great callback. I didn't really take the time to think of this episode and how it tied in with other episodes b/c this was only my 2nd viewing.

The exact wording that Dr. Fate used is pretty intense...saying that “you are the one he will need” is a lot different than telling a friend, “I’m always going to be there for you”. Clark gets an intense look on his face and asks her, “Who’s him?” He looks like he’ll beat up whoever this mystery man is. Lois tells him that Dr. Fate said it was the savior/sentient power and Clark smiles at this, because he now knows that Dr. Fate was referring to him.

I love how you can tell as a viewer he's happy and he gets it, but it's not too obvious to lois.

However, he can’t look too excited about this in front of Lois, since she still isn’t in on the secret (WHY?),

I believe you know the answer and now she KNOWSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.

Lois responds with the perfect answer and tells him, “Only the kind you make happen.” Her answer makes Clark very happy. If she’d responded with a definite yes, she would have been saying that she didn’t really want to be with him as Clark, but if she’d said “no” she would have been rejecting him as the Blur, so her answer was the perfect way to show that she does want to be with him as Clark and that she will accept him as the Blur when he lets her in on the secret. I love how this also affirms that Lois and Clark may be destined to end up together, but they also actively choose to be together.

I like how you put that last part I also loved that Lois picked her words carefully and by saying it's what you make happen (fate) she's telling Clark I want you, I pick you and no one else.

Next week: Zatanna’s back!

Wow, so much enthusiasm wasted.