Episode 520 - Fade Review




"Fade" 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.

Chloe lures Clark to Metropolis on the pretext of helping her with a story in an effort to get him out of the house for awhile. Clark ends up saving the life of a stranger on the streets of Metropolis, who in turn tries to kill Lex by way of repaying Clark. And Lana and Lex's relationship is revealed to Clark.

The Good:

Tom leaping into the air, sailing over a taxicab, landing in front of the potential victim and tackling him to the ground to save him was very convincing and realistic. He performed that stunt really well, and managed to look gorgeous doing it.

Upon returning to the farm and finding Lois deeply engrossed in a video game on a 50 inch plasma TV, Clark immediately assumes it's an effort on Lionel's part to ingratiate himself with the Kents. Lionel's knowledge of his secret is weighing on Clark's mind-he even says at one point it's like waiting for a bomb to go off.

This episode moved smoothly, each scene segued nicely into the next. From Clark finding the anonymous gift at the farm, we're taken to Clark and Chloe at the Planet where she investigates the item for him and suggests it could be from Lex. Quick switch to the mansion, where Clark discovers Lana and Lex's true relationship when he watches them, unseen, kissing quite passionately. You could almost hear our collective hearts breaking at the look of devastation on his face.

Tom was outrageously handsome in that suit jacket and open shirt, and at first, adorable, in his flustered reaction to Gia on the rooftop. His uncertainty quickly gave way to anger when he realized why she was there. However, Graham's apparent sympathy causes Clark to confide his feelings about Lana and Lex, and the consequences are terrible, leading to an attempt on Lex's life by Graham in a skewed desire to repay Clark for saving his life.

In yet another Smallville shower scene, Lois becomes spooked, exits the shower, and, completely bypassing the two towels hung within arms' length, grabs a large brush as a weapon. Wearing nothing but a worried look, she flings open the bathroom door with the brush raised over her head, and comes face to face with a flabbergasted Clark. Hilarious, if unlikely.

Clark and Chloe scenes never hit a sour note. Clark is questioning the wisdom of saving strangers when they could wind up being psychopaths who go on to hurt other people. Chloe's reply, "Ask anyone in the hero business (doctor, firefighter..), they save first, ask questions later", is no doubt one that Clark will live by in the future.

The scene between Martha and Lois, while not only touching, was also amusingly prophetic, with Lois' question, "Why can't I find a decent guy from a decent family?" and "What worries me is, when my 'Jonathan' comes around I'll be looking the other way".

The Bad:

Lois is still an unsympathetic character. She's just too glib, and winds up coming across as brittle and phony. She did redeem herself somewhat, however, in her scene with Martha.

In the opening scene, the policemen wearing dark jackets and caps looked like Keystone Cops-when do you ever see cops in full gear like that unless they're at a formal function?

Still another loft goodbye scene between Clark and Lana. When is enough, enough? Lana was very harsh with Clark, saying "I know you think you're some kind of hero", in a very scathing tone- can she honestly doubt that he has her best interests at heart? What is wrong with the girl?

It was an interesting episode-proving that, despite his anger with Lex for his affair with Lana, Clark was still caring enough to go the the hospital to check up on him, and to later save his life. And Lex was concerned enough to push Lana to tell Clark about them before someone else did. Which would lead us to believe that it's not Lana who ultimately causes the final rift in Clark and Lex's friendship.

My rating? I give "Fade" 4 out of 5 stars.

Please join in the discussion of "Fade" by clicking HERE