Episode 516 - Hypnotic Review




"Hypnotic" Review

Written by Coleen

DISCLAIMER - Please remember that this review does not represent the opinions/viewpoints of everyone; it is the personal opinions of the reviewer only. Thank you.

Smallville returned this week after another hiatus…six long weeks of waiting that finally culminated in a very good episode. James Marsters (a.k.a. Professor Fine/Brainiac) returns and attempts to enlist Lex's aid this time. And the Clark and Lana relationship bottoms out, with some outside help.

The Good:

First and foremost, we can finally feast our eyes on Tom after a month and a half of no new episodes. And what an eyeful! Shirtless Tom is always a welcome sight, and tonight was no exception. And Tom in his boxers was reward for our stoic patience of the last six weeks.

As before, James Marsters is excellent in his role as the non-human villain. He manages to portray evil while still appearing very normal-it's clear how Clark and possibly even Lex could be taken in by him.

Simone (Nichole Hiltz) and Clark's 'interaction' was much anticipated, and deservedly so. The scene behind the Talon, and up in the loft, were indescribably hot. Tom carried that scene with his virility and inescapable sex appeal. It also doesn't hurt that he's drop dead gorgeous.

Chloe was her usual staunch, loyal self, and the best friend Clark could ever have. She defends Clark, when Lois is describing the scene that met her eyes behind the Talon. Chloe realizes immediately the he's behaving irrationally, and sets out to find out why. Not for the first time, Clark will owe her a debt of gratitude.

Lex, as usual, was up to no good, blackmail being the least of his crimes of late. The gloves are definitely off regarding his attempts to learn the truth about Clark. And he has sunk to a new low with this latest scheme to break up Clark and Lana, particularly as this time it worked.

The scene at The Planet between Clark and Chloe, played out very well. Tom plays 'discomfort' so well, when he's confessing to Chloe that he hasn't talked to Lana since she witnessed him making out with Simone in the loft. This is a very convincing scene; Chloe assuming he's anxious to set things right with Lana; her surprise when he admits he's thinking of leaving things as they are; her insistence that it wasn't his fault, he was hypnotized.

Again, we see Clark's inner strength coming to the fore; he's willing to let Lana hate him so that she can move on. His question to Chloe, "How many times can you break someone's heart before it crumbles to pieces?", shows his ability to see her side and read her pain, even through his own.

When Clark spins his tale to Lana that his feelings have changed towards her, it's the final nail in the coffin for their relationship. Lana ends it there and then. Our hearts break for both of them, but mostly for Clark as we see him hunched there, shattered by his own actions.

We can always count on a few good moments when Clark and Martha share a scene together, and we weren't disappointed in this episode. Clark opened up to his mother about his pain over letting go of Lana; and Martha, wise soul that she is, planted the seed that maybe Lana wasn't 'the one'. She also made the suggestion that Lana might do something vengeful because of the hurt she was feeling. That statement didn't ring true…why would Martha think that of Lana? It's totally out of the blue based on events so far. Granted, we next see Lana going straight to Lex to tell him about the breakup, but Martha's fears are unfounded at this point in time.

The Bad:

Clark and Lana having coffee in The Talon, talking and laughing about dancing lessons like everything's back to normal between them... did we miss something here?

The scene in the Kent kitchen with Lois, Martha and Chloe, obviously meant to inject a little humour into the show, bordered on ridiculous. Chloe clocking an unsuspecting Martha over the head with a rolling pin was absurd-almost slapstick.

I rate this episode a 4 out of 5 stars.

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