About Christopher Valin
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Occupation: Teacher, writer, artist
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The name’s Olsen…James Olsen. Better known as Jimmy. And never, ever, has he given any indication that he has any knowledge, abilities, or skills that would make him a candidate for playing government spy.
But why should that stop the Department of Domestic Security from recruiting him? I don’t know, maybe the writers were trying to give us a mental break after the dark, twisted “Descent” last week by offering something fun and, frankly, ridiculous. But I could do with a lot more episodes like last week’s and less fluff like this week’s.
There were so many problems with this episode, I don’t know where to start. Chloe finally got busted after seven years of hacking into secure servers? What’s different now? Jimmy is an expert burglar all of a sudden? And I thought he wasn’t all that great with computers and gadgets? A couple of 22 year olds just happen to be good at the Tango? Since when? And I haven’t been to any hip night clubs lately…when did people start leaving their purses and expensive electronic gizmos just sitting around on tables while the hit the dance floor and even left the club? Oh, and three super-spy government agents are taken down by a cub reporter in a tux?
I didn’t get the Lex storyline, either. First he’s blacklisted so he can’t get out of the country, and then the next time they show him, he’s already in Zurich. Did something happen while I blinked? And not only that, but even though the government is suspicious enough to prevent him from leaving the country, he can still get the Department of Domestic Security to drop its charges against Chloe and Jimmy…riiiiiiight. I just hope the Veritas thing continues to stay interesting.
I’m definitely getting tired of Clark simply reacting to everything that goes on around him. He continues to be in a sort of limbo, where his character is on the verge of becoming Superman, but they’re suspending him there precisely because they know the series is about him becoming Superman, and if they take it the extra step, it will no longer be Smallville, but the new version of Lois and Clark.
Brief as it was, I enjoyed the subplot with the extra page showing up in Swann’s journal, and Clark discovering that Kara went back to Krypton in 1989. This could be the setup for something really cool, or it could end up being extremely lame. I’m hoping for the former, but unfortunately, with this show’s recent track record, I fear for the latter.
The other thing I liked about this episode was Chloe moving into the Isis Foundation and not only using it for trying to locate Brainiac and Kara, but also as a command center to help out Green Arrow and the rest of the Justice League. It seems like they’re taking her closer to becoming similar to Barbara Gordon’s Oracle character from the Birds of Prey comics (and defunct TV series), which is a much better fit for her now that Lois is finally becoming the investigative reporter we know she’ll turn out to be. Since Chloe was created as a sort of placeholder for Lois while Clark was in high school, it only makes sense for her to move on to this new and better role.
As for Jimmy…stick to taking photos, kid.
