Episode 803 - Toxic Review




"Toxic" Review

Written by Babaluwee

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.

"Toxic" was arguably a "filler episode" which focused not on the main character, but on Oliver's past experience of being marooned on a deserted island, his initial meeting of Tess Mercer, and his present predicament of being poisoned nearly to death. Quite a few things are revealed about Tess along the way as well. Clark was relegated to the supporting role, along with Chloe, of tracking down the poison and its antidote.

The Good

Tom/Clark: Tom's performance was superb; it was a smooth and flawless portrayal of a true friend. I don't know whether it's because he has played Clark Kent for over seven years, but Tom seems to convey innate goodness, kindness, and heroic virtue effortlessly.

When Oliver arrived at his Rainforest Preservation fundraiser looking as if he were intoxicated, Clark knew his friend "would never show up drunk." He ran to his side and took control of the situation. Chloe convinced him not to take Oliver to the hospital, and together the sleuths raced against time to discover what poisoned Oliver and how to save him. This episode's rescue provided Clark with the opportunity to hone his investigative skills.

Chloe: Allison gave us her usual great performance as Chloe. The Clark/Chloe friendship is always a redeeming feature in any less-than-perfect episode. Their scenes together are thoroughly engrossing and enjoyable. Clark was evidently worried about Chloe's new Brainiac-induced power of being a human super-computer. I hope Clark took to it heart when she told him, "I know that right now you are making a list in your head of all the possible ways this could be your fault, but, please, don't." Chloe made the admirable choice of "looking at her new power as a gift," because for once something good and lifesaving came from something horrible. In my Review of "Progeny" in the sixth season, I predicted that if Chloe developed a power, her special relationship with Clark, and all they've been through together, would prepare her to remain a very well adjusted person. Chloe never disappoints.

Lois: Lois was "getting with the program" of the Superman mythos by starting to exhibit the best journalistic instincts for truth and justice with her report about a murderous crime spree. When Tess impugned Oliver's character, Lois defended him as "a good person who stands up against corruption and social injustice." She can see the nobility and heroism in him (and also, potentially, in herself as a journalist). She's a very strong person, and yet, while tending to Oliver, we saw just how vulnerable and how afraid she is of getting hurt in a relationship.

The Bad

Oliver: It was utterly insufferable to have Oliver chastise Clark in one of the closing scenes. How arrogant and completely wrong he was to say that Clark is afraid of everything! What does Oliver know of Clark's life this late in the game? What does he know of the countless times Clark fearlessly sacrificed himself in the last seven seasons? How dare he say that Clark is afraid to face who he "really is"! Who does Oliver think he is?

Clark's clairvoyant mentor? The original Jor-el of the mythos? It is really inane to have this usurper of character march into the later seasons of the series and repeatedly berate Clark for failing to be whatever he thinks Clark should be. This is in stark contrast to the respectful approach Jonathan and Martha always took with Clark: They gave him the upbringing and the values for him to choose his own destiny. Unlike Oliver, as his parents they had the right and duty to concern themselves with Clark's future. Oliver is ignorant of the fact that Clark has always faced "who he really is" on his journey to the future.

This wasn't the time for Clark to argue with Oliver while he was clearly grieving anew over the loss of his parents, but at some point Clark ought put Oliver in his place.

A Harbinger? The two years Oliver spent stranded on a desolate island, and all that happened there with the arrival of the criminals, Tess, and her friend served to reform his previously indulgent life. It was made clear that Oliver needed a life-altering experience for him to stop wasting his life (his words) and become a professional hero. That does not mean that Clark needs a painful, life-altering experience too; he has always been heroic. Are Oliver's words that Clark hasn't been "put to the test yet" (NOT TRUE!) and that "his island is still out there" meant to be a harbinger of bad things to come? Is the plot foreshadowing some life-altering event to explain why Clark follows his friends' lead in donnning a hero's costume? I hope not with all my heart: Clark has been "put to the test" nearly every day of his life—and won. His life doesn't need reforming; he's on the right road on his journey. Besides, hasn't he experienced enough suffering, torture, death, and personal loss? Can't he be allowed to experience some true happiness, and to don the hero's costume out of plenty rather than loss? Can't Clark's assuming a dual identity be the result of genuine joy rather than staggering sorrow? Shouldn't Clark's free decision to become Superman be the natural culmination of a life already lived—however imperfectly—in goodness and compassion?

The Green Arrow Story: Did we really need a filler episode depicting Oliver's life-altering ordeal? Couldn't an episode be better spent on properly developing the storylines that felt crammed and rushed in "Odyssey"?

If Oliver was able to communicate that he absolutely did not want to be taken to the hospital, couldn't he also mention the very critical fact that the hospital would misdiagnose his poisoning and kill him with the wrong antidote?

Tess: What was the point of Tess summoning Oliver to give him evidence that Lionel had his parents murdered? When Clark asked for her help to save Oliver, she certainly wasn't forthright about the island and the poisonous flower, nor did Dr. Mercer offer her expertise as a marine biologist. She didn't seem like she cared to help him. Now that Oliver survived the poisoning, she wanted to do him a good turn and give him this information?

Rating: I give "Toxic" 3 out of 5 stars.

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