I finally got to see the whole episode and it was pretty great! Jeeze, this one was just chocked full of guest stars, comic mythology and plots! While there was some pacing issues, it came together in the end over all.
The Good:
Teri Hatcher's cameo as Ella Lane- It lived up to it's hype! It was an incredibly overwhelming moment seeing two of these Lois Lanes on the screen. While Erica and Teri weren't in the same room, they certainly gave performances that connected them both women. Such a great nod to the past and I was especially touched considering I loved "Lois and Clark" growing up and Teri was my fave Lois Lane before Erica came along!
Granny Goodess-I loved this incarnation
much more than I thought I would! The perfect balance of grandmotherly sweetness and frightening menance. Not to mention, her powers are awesome! Her chase scene with Tess was intense and I love how she chased Tess back to her room. Definately a formiable adversary, considering she got the upperhand on Tess and Clark in the end.
Darkseid's Elite-This Darkseid plot comes around and it just took one brief yet excellent scene of Granny, Desaad and Godfrey meeting to forming an evil Trinity to bring forth Darkseid! Not to mention, they call him Lord Darkseid!! FINALLY!! Shows that the writers are going for an ambitious plot and that Darkseid might not be as lame of a threat as he was in "Supergirl".
Lois-I loved Lois throughout this hour. She is really proving herself as Superman's leading lady and Erica is really doing a great job of showing a softer, more emotional side of Lois this year. I loved her speech to Jor-El in the Fortress and her determination to mend Clark's rift with Jor-El.
The vast display of Clark's powers-We got superspeed, superhearing, freeze breath and heat vision all in one episode. Clark was very resourceful this episode, managing to escape and taking out a Female Fury in less than a second.
Jor-El and Lara's last message-It was great to see Julian Sands and Helen Slater return, especially considering they looked great together as Lara and Jor-El. That last message to Clark was heartfelt and iconic. I loved the Superman score in the background as it played. The direction, lighting and special effects were also just stunning, in fact the Fortress hasn't looked that epic since "Reckoning" when Clark proposed to....yeah anyway!
Tess-Cassidy always kick a$$! I loved her here and exploring Tess' past at the orphanage.
The engagement ring-Yeah, I know some think this is very pre-mature since he's not even Superman yet or at least officially, the season is closing all running arcs of the season and Clark finding that right person for the rest of his life (no secrets, no real obstacles in relationship, etc) was always a major plot point. So Clark making it official with Lois is just as essential to his journey as it is becoming Superman. I mean they'd had feelings for each other for years, dated for a year, etc. Some people get married
faster you know.
The...WTF?
Tess is a Luthor?-I'm glad the writers are looking to the comics for this twist, but really? I guess it depends where they go with this, but it just feels like a retcon. Lex and Tess have had a hinted romantic relationship and Tess has been trying to break away from her Luthor associations only to find out they're her blood family? Tess in just two seasons and a half has been the CEO of Luthorcorp, a religious zealot for Clark and Davis' rivalry, a Checkmate agent, Zod's frienemy, a biologist, Editor and Chief of the Daily Planet, Watchtower 2.0 and now in this episode, a Female Fury
and a Luthor!
It's a good thing Cassidy rocks the role because if it wasn't for her, Tess would fail on so many characters, considering the writers through more plots at her than they did Lana!
Clark can use his powers near kryptonite?-It was cool seeing Clark can escape on his own, but that was pretty inconsistent...although, the way kryptonite cripples Clark has always been all over the place on this show.
The pacing was a bit off-Transistions like with Clark and Tess at the orphanage to Clark on the farm seemed jarring. Also, some plot developments seemed random. Did Jor-El hold Lois hostage temporialy just to lure Clark to the Fortress to deliever that lost message and what were Jor-El's reasons for doing it?
Clark's memory-Did Granny wipe out Clark's memory of the orphanage? It doesn't make sense why he and Tess wouldn't close down the orphanage knowing Granny was turning young girls into lethal warriors. Not to mention, I'm sure Tess would fill in the blanks if Clark's memory was wiped! I was confused about that.
The Female Furies-Although we got some references to other Furies like Lashina and Gloitha, they were underused and underpowered! They're just a bunch of crazy chicks with krytonite powered weapons unlike the otherlywordly nightmairsh female warriors. But this is an appropriate verison for Smallville I guess, but even Lindsey Hartley as Mad Harriet was severly underused, considering her appearence got her some press. Though her little speech about the coming wrath of Darkseid was promising.
Overall, it was still a solid episode for what it was and there are too many emtional and epic scenes to let the minor plotholes and lackluster developments to get in the way.
