MYTHICITY: *good*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *adventure*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTION: *psychological, sociological*
SMALLVILLE's Season 2 ended on a big cliffhanger, with Lex about to die in a crashing plane after being deserted by his new bride Helen Bryce. The resolution of Clark's identity-arc is not quite so showy. Clark learns that the survival-ship AI, supposedly channeling the persona of Clark's late Kryptonian father Jor-El, expects Kal-El to become the conqueror of humankind. This freaks him out so much that he tries to break his ties to all denizens of Smallville lest he bring catastrophe on them through the evil nature he thinks he's inherited. (His conversation with the ship does result in the partial destruction of the Kent home, so he's not without justification there.) To quell the influence of his goody-goody personality, Clark dons the red kryptonite ring of past episodes and begins his "exodus." This seems a little counter-intuitive, though I suppose one could argue that the red ring normally makes Clark into a libido-controlled lone wolf, and that he's hoping that will keep him free of the AI's influence. The AI will later tell Jonathan that Clark's leavetaking suited the AI's plans just fine, though this is probably just authorial mopping-up.
Three months pass, during which it seems that the Kent farmhouse is totally reconstructed. (That's some great insurance policy!) Lana, Jonathan and Martha have been in perpetual worry-mode, having had nearly no contact with Clark. By dumb luck, though, Chloe finds out that the country mouse is hanging out in the big city of Metropolis, but she keeps the info to herself for fear of causing Clark to run again. She approaches Clark once, trying to persuade him to return home, but after he rebuffs her, she ends up revealing his location to Lana and the Kents. Additionally, in Metropolis Clark has a brush with police lieutenant Maggie Sawyer, seen previously in one Season Two episode, and then gets a more substantial contact with the series' version of Morgan Edge. This version of the comics-character is an unregenerate crime-boss with ties to Lionel Luthor, and just as Lionel is a devlish tempter to Lex, Edge tempts Clark into the crime-- though the intention is to rob Lionel of the blood-sample Bryce took from Clark, now theoretically in Lionel's hands.
Lana seeks out Clark in Metropolis but fails to overcome his self-indulgent persona. Jonathan makes plans to force Clark to return, and Martha points out that it's not possible. However, Jonathan has access to the octagonal Kryptonian ship-key, or maybe a duplicate thereof, and somehow manages to communicate with the AI. For unclear reasons, the AI charges up the humble Kansas farmer with Kryptonian mojo, and Jonathan charges all the way to Metropolis to lay down the fatherly law. The two clash and Clark is tempted to kill his adoptive dad, but at the last minute he destroys his red ring and returns to normal, and to Smallville.
Meanwhile, Lex didn't die in a plane crash but got stranded on an uncharted desert isle. There he undergoes a malarial dream, imagining that he shares the island with a quirky castaway who has already committed patricide-- something Lex has clearly fantasized about since guessing that Lionel sabotaged Lex's flight. Lex escapes the island, partly thanks to a birthday gift-- a compass-- from the Kents.
Clark thus ends his exile, though there's no discussion of the AI's revelation here or in "Phoenix." The metaphor of the phoenix is one that Lex applies to himself as he greets the father he thinks tried to kill him, though one could apply the metaphor to the return of Good Clark as well. However, Edge and his goons follow Clark to the farm to get the package Bad Clark stole for them, and Ege holds the Kents prisoner to ensure Clark's cooperation. Edge also threatens to reveal what he knows of Clark to Lionel, but Clark manages to maneuver things so that Lionel learns nothing and Edge appears to get killed. Meanwhile again, Lana finally gets a second chance to let her martial skills shine since "Precipice," as she surprises Edge's goons and takes them out.
Though Lex doesn't entirely let Lionel off the hook, he comes to the conclusion that Helen is the real culprit in his near-murder. He confronts her during a supposed "second honeymoon," but she escapes the plane via parachute and never again appeared in the series. Despite the disposition of the faithless wife and Martha's loss of a natural child, this two-parter is almost entirely about the paternal figures of SMALLVILLE-- which is funny because a Phoenix is a being that has no true parents of either sex.
No comments:
Post a Comment