SMALLVILLE Episode #9-21: "Hostage" *Spoilers*

Well was I right about Ma Kent being the Red Queen I told you so?

I'm stoked about the finale, and can't wait Season 10 the year of the Superman Yay.

Oops showing one's imaturity there sorry I guess I'm a young fifty year old with childish tendences, but one with alott of responsiblities thrust upon him since its been six weeks ago mom passed away had a full blown crying jag last night realising that she's not coming back in the flesh but is still with me in spirit as well my father.

When I watched tonight's episode I was moved to tears when Martha ran away from Perry wearing Jonathan's jacket as he was bringing in the firewood. it shows that some of us who put up a brave front the memories of ones loss break's through like a quick flood then it disappears until next time a memory is triggered again so the flood begins anew.

Good night all see you next week.

Signed

Buck Rogers

 

Jeez, if Michael McKean could become a regular next season, it would be the best season by far and Smallville would go out with a bang, not a whimper.

McKean nailed it, and even pulled off a "Great Cesear's Ghost" without making it sound cheezy. But more important, he gave the episode life and energy. The worst thing about him was that Durance kept coming across as wooden and awkward next to him, he really works every scene.

Seeing Martha again was great, and it was a pretty big step for Clark to not say "But you'll be in danger". He's letting her do the job, not talking her out of it, not standing in the way, not demanding she stay back and be safe. I liked her being the Red Queen, I just wish there had been a bit more build up to it thoughout the season.

Clark finally saying "I need you" to Chloe, instead of "You need to stay out of danger I was trying to keep you safe blah blah blah". This is the big sign that Clark is coming out of his dark phase. He's accepting that he needs people, needs them active in his life, not up on a shelf being safe.

One problem I had was in the last scene, how did Martha know what the Book of Rao said about Kryptonians? In the couple of hours she had it in her purse, did she figure out some method of reading it? Figure out how to understand Kryptonian? Yes, she's been around Clark all those seasons, the seasons when Ma and Pa Kent were against Jor El and wanted nothing to do with the Kryptonian tech... So was there an index in the Book of Rao and all she had to do was look up "Earth/Kryptonians/Banish" or did she have to read the entire book and figure it out for herself?

 

^
I am guessing Martian Manhunter filled her in on the details...He is working with her after all don't forget that.

 

Clark: "You killed my sister!"

Kandor Cutie: "No I didn't."

Clark: "Oh, really. I'm so gullible I'll believe anything, so if you said you didn't I trust you."

Later or before, doesn't matter...

Chloe: "WHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine."

Clark: "Chole, you am important."

Chloe: "Okay.

END REVEAL:

Mommy Kent: "Clark this Book of Robau will get rid of all Kryptonians, including you."

Clark: "The Kandorians, Kara and myself banished from Earth forever."

Mommy Kent: "Who the fuck is Kara?"

[Everyone stumbles to season finale at half-assed speed]

 

Out on the west coast. Just finished watching the episode.

I told you guys those were her legs. I had you all beat on that prediction.

Do not forget that Martha had some contact with Dr. Swann's foundation, and in season 4 got the black kryptonite from Swann's right hand assistant in the foundation, Bridgett Crosby (Margot Kidder). It is quite possible that Martha used this foundation to manufacture the Red Queen persona. Given the death of Swann (Christopher Reeve) and later Crosby as well, it is possible that the foundation was in need of a new director and given Martha's history raising Clark and her current status as a Senator, they asked her to fill the job.

The Swann Foundation had intercepted transmissions from Krypton and had been working on deciphering Kryptonese for many years. Chloe's Watchtower database, including her language database presumedly, was also recently compromised. So it is possible the foundation has been compiling a lexicon for the language of their own. Something that their Red Queen would have direct access to.

As you can maybe tell, I enjoyed the episode. When I am left with my brain putting pieces together like this after watching, I am a happy camper. Michael McKean was great, and Annette O'Toole has been sorely missed by this show. With the way the show is evolving, I'd really like to see McKean as a series regular next season with O'Toole in a recurring appearance role, given the amount of time Martha spends in Washington. This show needs them.

Above average.

 

I very much enjoyed this episode. Loved Annette O'Toole's return and although I knew she was the Red Queen, I still thought that was a great storyline for her. Michael McKean's also made a welcome return and I wish he would join the cast as a recurring character. He's a great Perry White. Nice seeing Maxwell Lord pop up again.

Retcon, all of a sudden Lois Lane, who had no interest in being a writer before she came to Smallville took journalism in high school.

Next week is the season finale, which I'm expecting will once again be a massive disappointment.

 

This is my favorite episode of the season...I loved it even more than "Absolute Justice" which is my second favorite and one of the very few highlights of this season. I loved Perry and Lois working together. Seeing Martha back and her reasons and actions as the Red Queen is stellar. Chloe wanting to come back to the real world and shut down Watchtower was great as well as the implied reference to "Oracle" (i.e. someone to take up the task or future generations as Clark put it).

Yeah I notice the retcon for Lois as well...which sucks because she was inspired by Chloe to be a writer early on. We were all right....Perry gave Lois and Clark their jobs back but not in the way we all wanted him to lol. It was nice hearing Martha talk about Jonathon again. Loved the mention of Apokolips and I must clarify again it IS Apokolips that both Waller and now Martha are saying according to Geoff Johns. Very interesting reveal about what the Book of Rao can do.

@Darth Pipes...have you not seen the promo for the finale? It looks great. I think they are going to make up for last year's dud. I can't wait for next weekend.

 

^
I thought Lois actually delivered a cute line...retcon or not..."Who's sorry now, biatch?!" I think this was the best set up for a finale to date...I think the finale will be one of the best, if not the best...just have that feeling.

 

I imagine a lot of things because they seem too obvious, but did the writers beforehand not ask Annette what colour her hair has become since she left the show?

Not the red Queen my friend, the Brown Queen.

Great shades of Hackman's pornstache!

This is all happening too quick.

All this bridging should have been happening side by side with the Zod bollocks.

 

Annette's hair was bugging me ever since I saw the first pic of them sitting in the dining room...was that streak of grey for the show? She reminded me of a cross between Rouge of X-Men and Little Red Riding Hood.

Also something has been nagging me for a long while that I'm going to take the moment to address and I forgot who first brought up a couple weeks ago but the language and dialogue that Smallville uses...sometimes it just gets to be too much with the witty rapid fire banter of Gilmore Girls...ie to the writers, this is not Gilmore Girls, yes we realize that was once really popular quirky show on the CW network but Lois Lane and Chloe Sullivan (the two characters who use this the most aside from Ollie who seems to be the only male character who delivers dialogue like this) are not Lauralai and Rory Gilmore!!!! People do NOT talk like this every day...at least no one in my circle of friends do, I have a healthy dose of wittisms and what not but don't use them every second word. Okay END OF NEWEST ADMIRAL YOUNG RANT. Continue with regular comments.

 

Doesn't that mean Pam Greer should have been the Black Queen?

Sorry I just gotta: It's ROGUE!

I blame Joss Whedon. I've never met a group of teens that could come up with endlessly witty banter like the Scoobies did.

 

White or Black, Amanda was a King not a Queen.

Lord was the Black King no, and he served two Queens?

In the comics, she has been both the White Queen (try not to picture her in Emma Frosts getup.) and the Black King, and in the recent Checkmate series race and gender was no barrier to anyone being a king or queen. Each "chess piece has a radically different job in the hierarchy which is not some adversarial bitch contest like the Hellfire Club in X-Men comics which also uses a chess motif to denote gang rivalry between a few collections of toffee fetish mutants.

Girls well out of her 40s and if she wants to stop dying her hair for a might, more power to her, but I'm a bloke and I had no idea she wasn't a natural redhead because it seems unlikely that her current mop is a stylistic choice more so than an attempt at dignity and grace?

 

I've seen the promo and it looks good. I hope it makes up for next year but I have no hope that these producers will come through. It sounds like there's too much going on in the finale for them to cover it and I'm expecting another "epic" thirty second battle between Clark and Zod.

 

Every finale promo for Smallville has looked great. Doesn't mean the finale itself will follow suit.

 

^ I don't remember the promo for "Doomsday" being great but that might be just due to memory.

 

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6fD3kWePV0[/yt]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6fD3kWePV0

It sucked.

 

That's right did suck just like the episode. I remember being excited about Cosmic Boy (that turned out to be a pointless cameo didn't it?) and Lois vanishing with the Legion ring everything else was horse shit

 

Above Average. Better than usual fare from Smallville. Reminds me of the good old days when this show had actual functioning adults in it - you know, before Dawn Ostroff had them all killed off or turned in to Senators.

Though it has an annoying continuity error - this show's Lois wasn't interested in journalism at all until Chloe turned her on to it.

 

I was hoping Lois had gone to the 31st century and seen all the Superman stuff and came back and her visions were about that...paving the way to The Blur being called Superman...too much to had wish for.

CB cameo was pointless...another missed opportunity.

I think "Salvation" is going to be the best finale to date...just have that feeling.

 

That has been a pet peeve of mine for some time. I mentioned it recently, but no one reacted. Seriously though, it just accentuates the many other problems this show has, like zero chemistry between Clark & Lois, seasonal arcs that go nowhere, pedestrian acting (which I guess didn't bother me when it was a show about teenagers for teenagers, but I've grown since, unlike the show). I'm getting a bit sick of it all. But of course, I'll keep sticking with it.