Season 5, Episode 14: Tomb

"Tomb"

Episode 14

Air Date: February 9th, 2006

Ummmmmm....ok?!? O_O.....Smallville goes all Gothika on us! And I mean right down to Chloe getting possessed by a spirit that wants revenge on the man who killed her...before being mistaken as having a mental breakdown and suffering from mental illness! O_O This is honestly one of the most bizarre, disturbing episodes of Smallville you'll probably ever see.  It's such a thematic and completely tonal departure from this show which has always been more a sci-fi superhero series than this supernatural scare-fest we get here.  Clearly, like I said, the writers are making their own version of Gothika and using Chloe's backstory with her mom to make sense of it...as well as moving that story along.  Honestly, while I absolutely love the idea of Chloe being developed and facing her immense issues with the mother who abandoned her and is now batsh!t out of her mind in an asylum, Tomb isn't really her story! It's all about this girl Gretchen who was brutal sealed away in the Talon apartment about 10 years ago and left for dead by a psycho who gets off on making women vulnerable enough to take their own lives. Yikes! Have we stumbled on to an episode of the X Files???! O_O While I'm all for this type of dark storytelling, even psychological exploration of a mysteriously, shocking murder....everyone kind of plays secondary to Gretchen's pursuit of justice.

Even Clark at the end of day....doesn't save the day but it's Gretchen who is able to trick demented murderer into getting himself close enough to her so she can possess him and get him to kill himself like he had done to soooo many other girls.  Very poetic and justifying yes! But it all feels so disjointed and detached! Making the episode feel more like an ambitious meteor freak story spun into a ghost thriller with psychologically thrown in than a story that thoroughly explores Chloe's character as she continues to mentally take charge of her life but still fearing ending like the mother who has lost complete grip on reality.  Nevertheless, Allison Mack lives up to the occasion and gives possibly the best  performance I have ever seen from her! Lots of depth and raw emotion....unfortunately, it's for an episode that is really filler than a script that really gives the character she's playing any more depth. Meanwhile, Lois continues to be underutilized and forced into the damsel role.....seriously, do something with her with the whole journalism thing already! -_- Then there's Lana and Lex trying to get Chloe to Belle Reeve while being at odds with Clark wanting to believe in his best friend and get her real help.  It's all just an excuse to show how much closer Lana is getting to Lex and farther from Clark; the episode even ending with the two agreeing that they don't even trust each other or feel comfortable coming to each other anymore! WOW! It's almost like you two aren't meant to be and do more harm to each other than good so why the hell are you even still together!??!?!? -_-

Also, we get a sub-plot that continues to show Martha dealing with life without Jonathan, especially when the importance of his State Senate seat lingering around her.  Of course, Lionel is there to continue to get close to her and clearly isn't making Martha have more doubts, even confusion without her husband there.  Tho I really enjoyed Clark convincing her to take the seat.....although it's at the cost of him going back to school and staying on the farm to take care of it....because that's what we want to see!!! Clark remaining on the farm while the people around him move forward to leave their mark on the world instead of.....SMDH!!!  Anyway, the episode at least ends with a another strong scene of Clark inspiring one of his loved ones to move forward aka Chloe finally coming to terms with her mom's illness and visiting her for the first time.  It's definitely a powerful moment...even if Allison is acting against a stand in and we never truly get to meet her mother.  Next season tho....;)  But a couple of great scenes and random remarkable performances doesn't take away that Tomb is still a bit ill conceived it what it was trying to do.  Sure, the direction by Whitney Ransick is appropriately haunting as well as the masterful score and editing that makes this episode seem so bleak and ominous.  But I was just so bored by the story and how it mishandles the cast around it in favor of the ghost girl coming back to get equal with her killer. Technically brilliant stuff but the writing seriously suffers in places that keep you barely interested enough to stay for the really solid bits. :(

Final Kryptonite: D+