Friday, May 15, 2009

Smallville: Doomsday (season finale)


Let me start with the obvious question: why is the middle name of the eldest Olsen boy the same as the first name of the youngest?


Obviously, the creators of Smallvillewanted to create an unseen twist to the myth while at the same time giving a giant middle finger to the comic book geeks who are concerned that the show isn't following established continuity.

I'll give them points on the twist of having the elder Henry James Olsen not be the same James Bartholomew Olsen that later joins the Daily Planet (was the bowtie on the younger enough of a hint?). As much as I hate to admit this, it makes more sense for that because in the comics it is pretty well established that Clark and Jimmy have a far greater age difference than Clark and Henry James.

Actually, they got me twice: first, by revealing Clark's secret to Jimmy (I dug when Jimmy used the phrase "Super ... guy") and then by having Jimmy killed. Either situation would have rocked the Superman myth to its core had they not wussed out with the "older brother" ending.

I don't recall Edge City in the Superman or even DC Comics mythos. Has it been used in the comics?

Obviously, Cosmic Boy and the Legion of Super History Professors have no idea what they're talking about when it comes to Clark's death. Maybe Lois can teach them a thing or two now that she's stuck there.

I liked the callback to the previous episode when Tess mentioned Lois in a maid outfit. The all-too-brief girlfight was kind of disappointing in the age of Buffy. Still, that's probably what a girlfight would be more like in real life.

How the hell could Jimmy afford a Metropolis apartment that overlooks the city on a photographer (and then junkie's) salary? Wouldn't he have sold it to get some cash to buy drugs? I'm just saying.

I was kind of hoping for the fight between Clark and Doomsday to last longer since they've been building to it for the whole season. I guess they didn't have the CGI budget. At first I thought they were breaking the "no flights" rule at the end, then I realized it was just a super-leap. It's kind of ironic that ultimate psycho boyfriend Davis ended up being as much a monster as Doomsday.

By the way, Doomsday does still exist, albeit buried in concrete. I can see them hauling him out in the future and just saying the Legion got the date wrong.

Poor Chloe is a widow without ever being married. How can actresses cry on demand like that?

It was nice to see the Justice League together again, echoing the season premiere. Not much else to say about that.

Did I mention that I actually enjoyed tonight's finale? Sure, it still had the usual stomach-turning melodrama, but it had more action and some good twists, as well as a lot of slow-motion walking (new drinking game: whenever someone in Smallville walks away from someone else in slow motion, take a drink). I guess we know that Zor-El is the Big Bad for next season. See you then.