Season 9, Episode 14: Persuasion

"Persuasion"

Episode 14

Air Date: February 15th, 2010

Ummmmmmmm....ok!??? O_o  Persuasion is without a doubt one of Smallville's most bizarre episodes because it feels like two separate episodes sharing the same space within the 40 minute time frame.  We have this rather over the top, wacky romantic comedy story with Lois turning into a traditional housewife and then you very awesome, exciting progression story with Clark and Zod as the Kandorians are split between who to follow.  Both would have been far stronger episodes if they were both individual episodes with one being clearly a fun filler and the other a superb arc episode but nope! I guess the writers decided those two ideas for this episode were too good to be their own episodes and made one big ole episode that feels jarring; barely feeling like the same episode transitioning between straight up slapstick like Lois' montage of her dancing Ma Kent's wedding dress like its romcom sequence and Clark wrestling with finally tracking down his father's murderer to justice by his code of ethics or killing them.  Yeah.....O_O  So how does all of this make sense??? Well it's Valentine's day and Clark gets sprayed with some gemstone kryptonite (Yeah....just go with it! O_O) which gives him the ability to make anyone do what he tells them. So he wants a traditional relationship??? Lois becomes a 50s housewife! Clark wants Chloe to back off and watch his back! Chloe becomes an overprotective psycho on a mission to do whatever it takes to back Clark up in her own way! ......Was that really the gemstone tho??? Nothing seem different about her at all! :P 

Honestly it feels like the writers of Smallville took a script from the set of Charmed and combined it with this episode. The whole wacky spell hijinks that everyone succumbs to feels a bit too much like an episode from that show and NOT in a good way, especially most of the Lois bits.  I mean Erica Durance gives it her all but it all feels too much and not just for Clark. O_O  Tho I must admit, the moment Clark tells Emil to chill at Watchtower and begins acting like a complete stoner is one of the most underrated brilliant moments from this series.  But the episode becomes so much stronger when the story focuses solely on the Zod story, especially when the solar tower is about to be up and running with Clark trying desperately acclimate the Kandorians to Earth. Not only was Zod's seduction confrontation scene with Tess more entertaining but I absolutely loved how Clark so smart in using his new found ability to make Zod confess if he killed his father.  He wastes no time but the fact Zod caught on so quickly and turned the tables on Clark so the ability would work on him so he'd go after Tess was really marvelous and unexpected.  After an intense fight where Tess kicks Chloe's ass for trying stop her continuation of hacking into Watchtower's surveillance, Clark takes Tess creates a ring of fire around them with his heat vision to get to the truth.  It's really an amazing sequence of effects, both practical and SFX. The fact Clark was about to kill Tess if not for Chloe coming out of nowhere with green kryptonite, Clark would have definitely succeeded in what Zod sent him to do.

I find it sad tho that the case of Zod's killer is wrapped up so casually with Alia being the killer all along and just demanding Zod to kill her for justice for their people.  It just feels like a last minute decision instead of an actual twist...tho I must say, the Kryptonian eulogy sequence as well as Clark confronting Zod for killing her and making him almost kill Tess were phenomenal.  And just when you think the episode can't get anymore improved than it has, the episode ends with one of, if not the show's most shockingly badass sequence with Clark taking matters into his own hands in changing the future indefinitely by destroying Zod's tower with his heat vision.  The music choice, the direction, the moment Zod sees his tower destroyed and Callum's brilliant facial expression of such defeat is.....WOW!!! Just so powerful and haunting!  I am left speechless everytime! So out there yet rewarding toward the end of the episode, Persuasion starts off as some gimmicky comedy romp that feels so out of place at this point in the season before delving deeper into the main arc of the storyline with a dark series of plot twists you never see coming.  Highly enjoyable if you can make it through sight of Lois wallowing in her sadness on the floor of the Kent barn while looking like Mrs. Cleaver! lol *Shrug*

Final Kryptonite: C+