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9.16 - Checkmate
Well, this episode was disappointing. Absolutely no Lois, Oliver hates Tess, Oliver and Chloe seem to be getting closer, Clark is realizing how stupid he's been to Chloe, and Checkmate makes even less sense to me. Smallville, I'm not sure what's going on, but I hope things start getting better.
I don't think we even heard Lois' name this episode! Absolutely nothing! ARG. I guess we've been a bit spoiled with the Loisness in the past many episodes, but I still have the right to complain. Not even her name mentioned? Goodness! Her and Clark are hiding secrets from each other and Lois is working with Zod! They better follow up on that next episode or else... I'll write more angry words in the next rambling! I know that my words here will affect that already aired and released next episode.
So, let me get this straight. Checkmate is a government agency that is supposed to be working to prepare to battle the aliens that are "invading" Earth. That almost makes sense, except that Agent Waller is evil and kills people that don't do what she wants. It doesn't seem like government agencies would kill people that decide to leave the agency. Perhaps it really is a government agency and Waller has just gone rogue without the government knowing it yet. Or something. It kind of makes sense that they'd want the Justice League's help in stopping the "invasion" except why would they want to kill people from the Justice Society or kill Watchtower if they wanted their help? And they thought that the best way to get Oliver's help was to kidnap him? It seems like they could contact them in a more civilized manner to work these things out. Kidnapping him isn't the best way to send the message that you're the "good guys." And what's up with all the cryptic chess pieces? How official is that? So many questions. I don't really like this Checkmate storyline. I hope it dies quickly.
A couple episodes ago I was wondering if Tess knew Oliver's identity. I didn't think she did, but I couldn't remember and I didn't have the time to go back and read my ramblings or re-watch episodes to figure it out. I guess she didn't. One of my favorite parts of the episode was when both Oliver and Tess suddenly realized who the other was. "You're Green Arrow!" "You kidnapped me!" I thought that was a very clever way for them to discover each other. Though, Oliver was really mad at Tess at the end for betraying him, but goodness! Oliver! She didn't know that it was you! Is that all that he was talking about? Her kidnapping him? She obviously didn't know that it was him, and wouldn't have if she knew. She's proven that by choosing not to do it again and going in hiding. She obviously still cares about Oliver a lot--enough to risk her life for him. "Oliver, if I had known..." "Oh, now you're turning this around on me." Oliver! You're being such a jerk! How is that turning it around on him? It's his fault for not telling you? I really don't think that's what she was getting at. Perhaps it's just the fact that she was even willing to kidnap these people for Checkmate? I suppose that makes a little more sense. I just felt so bad for Tess at the end. She was working so hard to apologize and get back into his good graces, while risking her life, and he was completely shutting her down. Poor Tess. :(
It was weird to see people wanting Chloe using her codename "Watchtower." It's like she's a superhero! Which, I suppose she is. She's completely part of the Justice League, and Clark was right--he completely underestimated her value in the group. She's what's keeping them all together. She's the tie between Clark and the rest of the crew. Now, is Chloe saying that everyone else in the League actually checks in with her? That makes sense for Oliver, Cyborg, and Aquaman, I think. Though, for Bart and Clark when they can move so fast, it seems like it would really slow them down to check in every time they do something. Though, I guess they could still follow some sort of modified protocol or at least check in whenever they are "on duty," so to speak. Maybe that's all she was talking about for protocol, anyway. That seems reasonable enough. Though, it certainly makes sense for Clark to want to push Chloe away since she became "Big Brother." It's creepy! Both of them were being stubborn about it, and so Chloe kept doing it and Clark pushed himself away since he disagreed. At least they have confronted each other about it, sort of. I really hope they don't lose their friendship like they did in the future. It was so sad to see Chloe mad at Clark! They've been such good friends for so long!
I don't understand why there was all this slow 3D-esque action throughout the episode. I mean, it certainly looked cool and everything, but it felt a little weird in Smallville world. It would make sense for an episode like Justice that is epic in nature, but this episode felt far from epic. It just had some action, like normal, but it was in slow motion and cool looking, not like normal. The strobe effect when Clark was saving Chloe did look pretty cool, but it was a little weird that between strobes Clark was basically still and we saw what was about to happen in that still frame. I suppose it maybe was supposed to be more like a comic book? You see what happens in each frame? A clever idea, it just has never been done before on Smallville and felt like a weird episode to suddenly do it on. I don't know. I probably shouldn't complain about cool looking action scenes.
Clark got pretty evil when he was trying to get information from Tess. It reminded me of the Dark Knight when Batman was dangling that guy over the edge and then broke his legs from the fall. That was a clever scene. Though, Clark wouldn't actually drop Tess. Tess would've known that. Clark would never kill someone. I mean, it certainly would be terrifying to be that high with the only thing holding you back from falling is Clark. If I were an evil villain that knew Clark's moral code, I don't think that would've convinced me to tell Clark anything. What would he have done if Tess hadn't told him? Thrown her against a wall? Beat her up without killing her? That also doesn't seem very Clark-esque. He'd probably do it if he were really angry and definitely if he was on Red Kryptonite. I guess Tess couldn't be sure that he wasn't under any sort of influence that would've removed that inhibition. Hm. That almost makes sense. Well, after Clark found out where Chloe was, he thought the best idea would be to go straight to the head honcho at the castle. Then what, Clark? What were you going to do? "Let her go or else I'll... hurt you!" Good one, Clark. You almost got Chloe killed and/or all of your identities revealed. Now she knows what Clark and Chloe look like, too. Hm. Not good. This stupid storyline is messing up my season 9. Silly Smallville.
No Kandorians whatsoever this episode. What the heck? How could they just not do anything for an episode? Maybe we'll see next episode what they were doing during this one? So many things build up, and then we just hear nothing about it. I guess Smallville just starts so many story lines that they have to leave some out when they're continuing others. I'm sure some people were curious as to what Checkmate was exactly and why Tess was part of it, but I didn't care enough for an entire episode to be devoted to it. Oh well. I'm just bitter because there was no Lois.
I didn't know that one of Martian Oreo Man's powers is shape shifting. Have we seen that before? I don't think we have. He was rather devious this episode. He was sneaking all around without telling anyone in the Justice League what he's up to. I can see him wanting to protect everyone, but it still seems silly to me. He could get in danger (like he did) and then nobody would know where he was or know how to save him, etc. At least he destroyed that blood sample. That redeems Lois to an extent. He did destroy it, didn't he? He beamed it with his eyes and then it seemed to disappear. I would assume that means it's gone. Good.
As disappointing as this episode was, it can only mean that Lois will have to be in the next episode and that good things will happen. They must. They must!
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ARCHIVE
6.01 - Zod
6.02 - Sneeze
6.03 - Wither
6.04 - Arrow
6.05 - Reunion
6.06 - Fallout
6.07 - Rage
6.08 - Static
6.09 - Subterranean
6.10 - Hydro
6.11 - Justice
6.12 - Labyrinth
6.13 - Crimson
6.14 - Trespass
6.15 - Freak
6.16 - Promise
6.17 - Combat
6.18 - Progeny
6.19 - Nemesis
6.20 - Noir
6.21 - Prototype
6.22 - Phantom
7.01 - Bizarro
7.02 - Kara
7.03 - Fierce
7.04 - Cure
7.05 - Action
7.06 - Lara
7.07 - Wrath
7.08 - Blue
7.09 - Gemini
7.10 - Persona
7.11 - Siren
7.12 - Fracture
7.13 - Hero
7.14 - Traveler
7.15 - Veritas
7.16 - Descent
7.17 - Sleeper
7.18 - Apocalypse
7.19 - Quest
7.20 - Arctic
8.01 - Odyssey
8.02 - Plastique
8.03 - Toxic
8.04 - Instinct
8.05 - Committed
8.06 - Prey
8.07 - Identity
8.08 - Bloodline
8.09 - Abyss
8.10 - Bride
8.11 - Legion
8.12 - Bulletproof
8.13 - Power
8.14 - Requiem
8.15 - Infamous
8.16 - Turbulence
8.17 - Hex
8.18 - Eternal
8.19 - Stiletto
8.20 - Beast
8.21 - Injustice
8.22 - Doomsday
9.01 - Savior
9.02 - Metallo
9.03 - Rabid
9.04 - Echo
9.05 - Roulette
9.06 - Crossfire
9.07 - Kandor
9.08 - Idol
9.09 - Pandora
9.10 - Disciple
9.11 - Absolute Justice
9.12 - Warrior
9.13 - Persuasion
9.14 - Conspiracy
9.15 - Escape
9.16 - Checkmate
9.17 - Upgrade
9.18 - Charade
9.19 - Sacrifice
9.20 - Hostage
9.21 - Salvation
10.1 - Lazarus
10.2 - Shield
10.3 - Supergirl
10.4 - Homecoming
10.5 - Isis
10.6 - Harvest
10.7 - Ambush
10.8 - Abandonded
10.9 - Patriot
10.10 - Luthor
10.11 - Icarus
10.12 - Collateral
10.13 - Beacon
10.14 - Masquerade
10.15 - Fortune
10.16 - Scion
10.17 - Kent
10.18 - Booster
10.19 - Dominion
10.20 - Prophecy
10.21 - Finale
11.01 - Guardian (Issue #1)
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