Season 5, Episode 17: Void

"Void"

Episode 17

Air Date: April 6th, 2006

Ehhhhh!!! I'm so over this season! The show has never felt so gritty, grim and hopeless! Both Clark and Lana.....I just don't know what to say about these two anymore as these two seem like they can never be allow to just live happily.  Even after the most painful break-up at the end of last episode, the fallout of it doesn't exactly bring peace the both of them; if anything it turns Clark into a cold unfeeling ex-boyfriend and in the case of Lana this episode, the junkie ex-girlfriend looking for sublime catharsis by killing herself long enough to see her dead parents.  Yeah, Lana gets close to two Met U. students who use once again a kryptonite based serum to temporarily kill people so they can go to the other side long enough to see their loved ones.....  Yup, if this sounds all too familiar as usual and ripped straight from a well known film aka 1990's Flatliners then you would be correct.  Seems the show has fully embraced their need to steal plots from movies that people know all too well instead of genuinely creating some originality with how our beloved characters cope with their pain and turmoil on this show at this point.  I mean my goodness, Lana at one point tries to steal things directly from Lex's mansion just to have enough money so that Lance and Allie can "put her under" more and more. Honestly, this is the lowest we've seen Lana NOT under any influence of some meteor freak's power, campy vacuous witches or some kryptonite based exposure.....

Seems the girl has felt alone for so long, even when with Clark as that last scene between them is incredibly telling of her character.  I mean it's a rather mature and refreshing sight, not to mention hear a conversation between Clark and Lana that's open and honest (GROAN! -_-) with Clark looking for understanding and being supportive while Lana tries to make peace with how she's felt for most of her life outside of their relationship.  It actually makes me miss the two as friends back in Season 1 and 2 when they both danced around their feelings and were more interested in said friendship.  The fire between these two has been gone for a while and both of them seem like better characters when being in love isn't a factor in their relationship.  Maybe that's the point since Clark is at his best when he's in a relationship with a not so silent future reporter! ;) But even so, the low jacking of  otherworldly sci-thriller feels so cold and empty; with writer Holly Harold absolutely making the script devoid (Ha! :P) of anything new or compelling from the storyline.  That's the thing, I wouldn't have any problem with these movie rip-offs episodes if the writers did something new with it but it's almost a copy and paste all the time with just the Smallville cast.  It's plain insulting and laughable; feeling like the writers are complete uninspired and kind of hacks sometimes.  Sorry! O_O

Mind you, Clark is absent from most of the episode; superspeeding to Honduras during an exceptionally timeless VFX effects sequence that has aged remarkably well.  Yeah, Chloe manages to get a tip on fine all of sudden and Clark decides to check it out....leading to extremely boring scenes of him showing Fine's pictures to the residents of city but ending up finding nothing but where the black spaceship was!  Ehhhhh!!! I don't get this story arc with Fine, it's not only feeling like light switch type of plot but padding out of a story that should have been given more time and depth during earlier in the season, NOT the last couple when the season finale is only 5 episodes away! Are you kidding me?!! This type of writing wouldn't hold up now a days! People love binge watching series, especially for serialized storytelling.  All this filler in between a major story arc would just kill interest in the show immediately. O_O  But the episode has merit with two scenes, one is when Lex is forced to die and go to the other side for a surreal, nightmarish reunion with his mother after he neglected her vision of his potential happily ever after by wanting power and political influence.  Alisen Down is seriously one hell of a commanding actress and the way to draws you in as she delivers her disappointing conviction at Lex choosing his dark path; not to mention revealing his violent future is beyond chilling. I love how he lies to Lana about it when she asks him what he saw when he died. Oh how he has fallin'! :-(  Not to be outdone is when Clark is stabbed by Lance as well with the serum and dies to find himself confronted by his dad.  It's a beautiful, even sensational moment between the two with Clark revealing the dread in his life since his father's passing but Jonathan reminding him of the greatness that lies in his future as the world's symbol of peace and justice.  WOW! :)  But before Clark can even tell his father goodbye, Jonathan also reveals something we've known a bit as he tells Clark that Lionel knows his secret. 

Seriously, the way Clark looked at Lionel when he takes his mom to the governor's ball could cut through a knife.  It's good to know that Clark finally knows and it seems he might be playing everyone, even Chloe by giving her that anonymous tip about Fine in Honduras.  We still don't know why Lionel is being so mysteriously favorable of helping Clark without his knowledge but we'll soon find out the truth of his true intentions.  Other than that, Void continues the show overall atmosphere of directionless misery for other lead characters while trying to make the best of a poorly conceived retelling of an old classic. We get some depth tho but the rest of the episode is as filler as filler can get, especially Clark playing detective in Central America for a handful of extremely short scenes. Not good at all overall. :(

Final Kryptonite: D-