Wingster

i actually did understand it after analyzing a bit further
Watchtower is better than Isis...

oh and i don't think TW directed this one

smoothaise

Word Alex I enjoyed the episode alot more than I thought I would. It did do justice to Chloe and finally gave her a more stable role.

And ITA - it's not in your best interest to just read fan reviews to develop an opinion. To contribute to a discussion on said character, or the show, you owe it to yourself to watch the episode and create your own opinion - otherwise your letting others dictate your thought process.

Kyls

I did end up watching it in the end, and I really liked it.

I think my favourite part was whammiedClark with EDChloe on the DP roof. Actually.. just whammiedClark in general. "911."

And the Chlark scene at the end. It was overdue. They talked.. and it was nice. Plus, I love that Chloe and her belief and encouragement was what helped him break through and be himself again. I also liked Clark's choice of gift.

I still feel like it's a shame that Chloe can't be a reporter. But at the same time.. being Watchtower is potentially a much sweeter career. She gets to be a part of the whole superhero thing, and it's apparent she loves this.

I had issues with the flower clips in EDChloe's hair. She may have worn those things in Season 1, but has she worn them lately? Not that I can recall. Plus - in Lois's hair they looked super kiddie, and ridiculous. I don't believe Chloe would have actually looked in the mirror and still have gone out of her apartment like that.

"There's only one Lois Lane." seemed like an audience thrown line rather than something that belonged in the conversation, so that bugged me a little too.

Chloe speaks Latin! I found that awesome.

Zatanna was great. I'd love to see her back.

Alexander

I'm glad you decided to watch the episode

That was a fun and entertaining scene, Erica and Tom did a great job with the comedic timing in it

Since Lois can't will not know Clark's true identity, it's imperative that Chloe, his best friend is there to remind him of this, and be the one to give him the encouragement talks, that he is a hero.

Well, the creative team decided when they were planning the S8 "overall story" that Chloe will be moving on.

Being WatchTower may also open the door for her to maybe finally appear as a comics character in future DC series.

Hmm, I didn't even notice that, but I guess they wanted to have a "physical" difference, however small and subtle in the way Chloe(Lois) looked at the DP in those scenes.

It's a line straight out of the comics

I think Chloe's intelligence and knowledge has never been in question. We never found out if she's still going to MetU or what, but even if she isn't "taking college classes", girl's got smarts.

Door was left wide open. I think they will definitely bring her back in S9. I just have a feeling, if the guest star actress is available, that they'll want to bring her back.

Ken...I have to say, I've been pleasantly surprised myself lately. I've been really enjoying the episodes as a fan just looking to be entertained, and I've been less critical in general. I believe Chloe's new direction will be great for her character, and I can't wait for more of that in future episodes. Can't wait for Clark's reaction to that as well

now.it.all.begins

Alex, great review of the episode! So here are my thoughts (finally )

Chloe/EDChloe - Like Cris, Chloe slightly annoyed me at the beginning but I really liked the premise of having her spend a day in Lois' shoes to see what her life is really like. I found it interesting that she talked in the beginning of the episode about Lois living her life and walking the beat, yet when she was giving the chance at living Lois' life she didn't even consider writing about it or investigating Zatanna for a story. All she wanted to do was have the spell reversed. I think that having Chloe decide to become the Watchtower at the end of the episode was a good fit for her, since Chloe really is a computer whiz and having her be the Watchtower combines her computer skills with her sidekicking savvy and actually lets her help people by doing something that she's qualified to do. Another thing I really liked was the Chloe/Clark scene at the end when Chloe was herself again. I was pleased that Clark tried to make up for not calling her on her birthday by bringing her a peace offering at the end and how they both agreed that they should move on with their lives. I thought that the toast with the coffee cups was also a nice touch. With regards to Erica’s portrayal of Chloe, I think she did a really solid job at portraying the character. Unlike her performance of Faora, Chloe is already an established character with a significant fan base, also unlike Faora, who was an evil genius, the differences between Chloe and Lois are much more subtle, so it must have been much more difficult for Erica to play Chloe than it was for her to play Faora. There were definite expressions and body language that Erica nailed, like EDChloe’s reaction upon finding out that she was Lois and the way EDChloe placed her hand on the desk and waited for Clark to try and explain himself in that scene at the Daily Planet. Another thing that was great was her delivery of the line, “Not that I’m dwelling”. I thought the way she said that was very Mack like. Oh I also loved the way her eyes kind of darted back and forth in that scene with Zatanna. Very well played, Durance.

Clark - Tom Welling did a fantastic job in this episode and you could just tell that he was having so much fun. I loved the way they set up Clark’s wish. Unlike all the times in the past, when Clark has moped and whined about having powers and how he wished he was just a normal guy, Clark made it clear that he liked what he was doing at the Planet and that there are only times when he wishes he was normal. Thank you PS3 for progress! Then the way Tom played normal!Clark was just brilliant. That phone call to 911 was hilarious and he kept bringing the funny as we found out that Clark has quite the sense of humour when he’s not burdened with the weight of his abilities. A few of my fave lines were:

“Lois is the tall one”
“It’s rule number 4!”
“Just don’t tell human resources”
“I believe…that this door needs better maintenance. Look at all the rust on this thing, no wonder it just pulled right off.”
“That’s amazing…the acoustics on this roof are incredible! It’s like there’s some perfect echo point right here!”
“Lois have you lost your mind? That could have really hurt!”

And just…the way Tom delivered these lines was pure gold. Like how he sounded so hurt that Lois didn’t remember the rules and how he was so proud to be a reporter and the way he backed up from EDChloe when she came towards him with the poll . I don’t think I’ve ever laughed more during an episode of Smallville than I did during Hex. That rooftop scene was priceless! Futhermore, I was so very proud of Clark when he talked to Zatanna and convinced her to reverse the spell. He managed to forge a connection with her that I found believe and not forced, unlike some of the strange ways they’ve made Clark connect with guest stars in the past. Clark was very Super in that scene and Jonathon would have been so proud of him. Cris, mentioned before how she loved that line about him waking up every morning with a purpose, well I loved that line too. Clark’s back on track and he’s fully embracing his role as a hero and I adore that. He’s no longer shying away from his responsibilities, instead he’s acknowledging the fact that the world does need him and he’s doing his best to be the hero that Metropolis needs. And yay for Clark deciding to move on with his life! I’ll drink to that . Finally, Tom did a great job in that last Clois scene with the cornered expression on his face when Lois brought up the framed rules and the way his hand hit the desk, then how his eyes nervously darted around to see if anyone was watching. I also loved the slight “Meh” he gave after hearing about Lois’ date and how you could tell that he regretted standing her up and how he really didn’t think that last rule was a good idea. Kudos to Tom Welling for a superb comedic performance.

Lois - I loved the brief scenes we got of ED as Lois in this episode. She looked stunning at Chloe’s birthday party and trust Lois to deliver an inappropriately funny line from the get go “One year closer to the sweet release of death” . Another thing that was great was that we actually got to see Lois on assignment this time instead of just hearing about it. Thank you BQM for writing in that scene! I love how Lois is clearly working her way up and the respect she gets from her colleagues for the work she does. Similarly, I thought that scene with the cop was a nice touch that gave some more insight into Lois’ life and it’s great that she’s making contacts who actually work well as expositional characters and are qualified to give her this type of information. And Lois playing poker with cops? Hee, hilarious. That last scene with Lois was great and I’m really happy to see that Lois isn’t just moping around about Clark. Instead, she’s trying to move on with her life and behaving like a mature adult by not completely freezing Clark out. She kept the promise she made to him in Infamous that it would be okay if he didn’t show, since he’s clearly still a very good friend of hers. However, things are still different between them and Lois’ walls have been raised.

Clois - I found it amazing that an episode that barely had any Lois has done the most to advance their relationship since Committed, at least IMO. We found out that Clark and Lois talk on the phone with each other a lot, since she called him six times and he answered every call. I love how Lois and Clark are talking about the Chimmy breakup situation and I think it makes a lot of sense that Lois would be 100% Team Chloe, while Clark chooses to be Switzerland and remain neutral, since Clark did show a lot of support for the Chimmy relationship earlier in the season and he was talking to Chloe about focusing on Jimmy in Turbulence. Another detail that’s great is that Clark knows her schedule like the back of his hand, so he picked up that something was off with her when she deviated from the norm. He knows when her breaks are, he’s gotten used to her insults, and he’s gotten very comfortable working with Lois. This is a nice contrast to Committed when Clark wanted to go off on his own so that he could use his abilities and find Chloe and Jimmy. In Hex, we got to see how far they’ve come since then and it’s clear that they work together quite often and Clark is used to the way they do things. I loved that little loving look Clark gave EDChloe when she tripped and he caught her. I thought it was a great callback to Apocalypse and the dip/catch Clark did when Alt!Lois stumbled into him, but this time Clark’s the one looking at Lois with the googly eyes instead of the other way around. Clark was even surprised that EDChloe was giving him a “WTF?” look, which makes me wonder just how often Clark looks at Lois like that. Oh I also enjoyed how Clark came up behind EDChloe when she was talking to the cop, he seemed to be a tad protective of her, unlike in Plastique, when Lois tried to charm that cop and he chuckled quietly in the background at her bungled attempts. The best part though, was when Clark quoted rule number 4 by heart and we found out that he framed her rules! He kept them and framed them! It looks like Lois’ help meant more to him than we initially thought . Also I loved how hurt Clark sounded when EDChloe was like “WTH are you talking about?” He thought that Lois would remember the rules and that they’d mean something to her like they meant something to him. Like I said before, the rooftop scene that followed this nearly had me on the floor laughing. Tom and Erica played off of each other excellently and I liked the switch in their dynamic from having Tom play the straight man to Erica’s comedian to having Erica play the straight man to Tom’s comedian. The last Clois scene was incredibly well done and furthered the development in their relationship tremendously. This scene was a direct parallel to the last scene in Odyssey. Back in Odyssey we had Clark annoying Lois in the squeaky chair, dropping a bombshell on her, then leaving with her staring after him with a tender look on her face while she held his nameplate in her hands. Now in Hex we have Lois in the squeaky chair, annoying Clark, while she revels in the knowledge that Clark does care for her more than he admits. It’s great that Chloe told Lois about the framed rules so Lois gets a better idea of Clark’s feelings for her, and it was clear that the framed rules really touched her. Another thing that was awesome was that we got to see Clark jealous of her date, with the not so subtle, “do you want me to call you if anything comes in over the wire, to see if you’re available” and his not so thrilled face at her suggestion to add the latest rule to the list, while he watches her walk away and holds the framed list in his hands. We’ve clearly seen how hard Lois has fallen for Clark, so it’s about time that we get to see more from Clark and I love the way this episode set it up for Clark to chase Lois.

Ollie - Hallelujah, Ollie’s showing remorse over killing Lex! Yes Ollie you are not supposed to be a murderer and I’m glad that you feel bad about what you did. Also, Justin Hartley and Serinda Swan had very nice chemistry and I really enjoyed their scenes together. I liked seeing the GA back in action and how he went to get the book for Zatanna. I wasn’t too thrilled about how quickly Ollie gave up his identity though. Come on man! You gotta do better than that! I liked Ollie’s reluctance at giving the book over to Zatanna and then his “Not good” reaction when she snatched the book from him just as he was about to toss it into the fire. And as a red-blooded female, I really appreciated the imagery of Ollie bound in chains to that pole . I wonder how he got down. Anyways, the last Ollie and Zatanna scene was also nicely done and I liked his bemused and bewildered expression when she gave him her phone number and then vanished.

Zatanna - Way to get the look right PS3/wardrobe dept! Unlike their design for the Black Canary, Zatanna truly looked like she stepped out of a comic book. Serinda Swan is a very gorgeous woman and she pulled off the look, complete with the top hat and the fishnets, perfectly. I think that this character managed to get a surprising amount of depth with only 10 minutes of screen time and I really sympathized with her desire to resurrect her father. I liked it that she fully understood the cost and was willing to sacrifice her own life to bring her father back, but I thought it was even better that she found the strength to reverse the spell after Chloe got trapped in the portal, because she knew that she did not want to be responsible for killing someone and that her father would not have wanted that for her. The way she fell to her knees and the expression on her face was heartbreaking. Like I said before, I really enjoyed the Ollie/Zatanna scenes and the wink she gave him when she left him her card at the end was a very nice touch. Oh and I absolutely loved the attention to detail BQM gave this episode with having Zatanna speak some of her spells backwards. I’m glad that they left the door open for her to come back and I hope to see her again next year.

Overall, Hex is definitely one of my favourite episodes of the season. IMO, BQM delivered a great comedic episode chock full of continuity and parallels to other episodes that actually furthered character and relationship development and I have to give him props for that. And with that I think I’m done with this really long review .

Wingster

yea that's definetly long
well thought out too...
respond when it's not midnight

Kyls

I don't think I was reading Smallville articles and such at the time.. what did they say exactly in regards to Chloe's S8 story?

I don't think it was just because Chloe knows his secret, but because he knows that she believes in him.

Alexander

It was said in interviews by the SV creative team when talking about S8 and during the early phase of S8, that Chloe will be moving on, definitely from journalism to a "relationship" triangle (which was manifested in Davis/Chloe/Jimmy), and then to her becoming more involved in the JL side of things, (becoming WatchTower again). The Isis Foundation deal was never meant to be her "permanent new passion in life".

I think you are missing my point. Clark needs someone (who knows his secret) to believe in him. Therefore, Chloe is option 1

Rachel...that was one kick butt review Great job. I knew you'd enjoy "Hex" overall. I'm cautiously optimistic for a commentary track on the DVD set by (Erica, Allison and or Tom - any combination of the 3).

smoothaise

Tom do an audio commentary - When was the last time he participated in DVD features? It's ironic, with him being the lead/front-man.

now.it.all.begins

^I think it's worse that TW does like zero promotion for the show. When was the last time he did an interview? Does anyone remember?

Alex, thanks! I really am hoping for at least one commentary track and I think one with Allison, Tom and Erica for Hex would be incredible. At least if they do commentary no one can ask Tom any awkward questions that he wouldn't want to answer. Another thing I'd love to see would be a blooper reel for this season. Tom and Erica must have had so much fun filming that rooftop scene and it wouldn't surprise me at all if they broke focus several times while filming it.

Alexander

OK, fine Good point Ken ! Yeah, Tom is a no show on DVD features, fan conventions to promote the show...but there's always the hope that maybe Erica and Allison will do a commentary on Hex, which would be awesome

Rachel...I'd hope they have a blooper reel. That's one of everyone's favorite DVD features to check out.

now.it.all.begins

So who do I have to sic Doomsday on to get one ?

Alexander

Well, I'd start with the WB, they are in charge of the DVD sets

now.it.all.begins

Good to know. *C'mon Doomy chop, chop, we've got some work to do*

Wingster

for DVD the lack of blooper reels were the most disappointing
you could've had a good 20 minutes on Michael Rosenbaum alone