Season 10, Episode 11: Icarus

"Icarus"

Episode 11

Air Date: December 10th, 2010

WOW! At the end of the day, Icarus accomplishes A LOT in retrospect and makes for yet another stunning mid-season finale where the ongoing storylines of the season collide for one big old shocking event as well as beginning with one of the series' most memorable.  We've have some classic, unforgettable Clark and Lois moments these past 2 and half seasons at this point, but their truly adorable and touching proposal scene is definitely one of the 10 moments of them all for sure. :)  I loved how Clark set it up from payphone call as a callback to him calling her as the Blur to the white roses falling over the streets of Metropolis, it really shows you just how long we've been following these two; waiting anxiously for their relationship to reach this moment and it was damn near perfect. :)  In fact, Icarus begins very joyous and celebratory with Clark's superfriends, Emil and Tess following that moment with an engagement party where everyone is just so happy and full of smiles.  Glad to see Hawkman and Stargirl return, especially Carter and Oliver bonding as awkwardly as they do. lol But I'm glad he gives Oliver some advice about his situation with Chloe (Ahhhh thou shall not Carter! O_O) since they both are longing to be with the women they love, watching Clark and Lois take that next big step into spending their lives together.  Then from there, the episode quickly turns for the darker as we see not only has the VRA caused society to be a lot more restricted but Darkseid's sinister influence in turning the world against heroes is effecting the people more than ever.

The moment Oliver has to fight off a group of Metropolis' citizens as their fear and hatred for heroes turns them into violent, antagonizing corrupted people, Courtney and Carter luckily help Oliver by making for a speedy getaway with Stargirl's staff.  Bringing back Slade was inevitable and using the Alaska facility explosion to push the anti-hero agenda was actually a brilliant move that seems to pay off with now not only Oliver on the run, but his fellow heroes and allies being target to find out the identity of the Blur and the rest.  I like the bleakness of this story and the fact the heroes must shut down Watchtower and go underground until this relentless hostility against superheroes' ends. Clark, of course, leads the charge but ends up running into Oliver and Carter hilariously as they try to figure out what the next phase of Slade's plan is.  Meanwhile, Lois, Emil and Tess are all taken for questioning by the military to get them to expose the identities of their friends, but all remain calm and resolute.  Honestly, as much as I hate Cat (Ewwww!), the writers use her very well here, especially her naive behavior toward this whole thing and filling in the military on Tess, Emil and Lois; leading to their capture.  I'm glad Lois managed to have a moment to momentarily get through to her about her views and while she doesn't have to sacrifice them, she can't keep interfering with the superheroes' mission of protecting the world when the Blur has saved her even.  Really well done and acted scene from both actresses. :)

We also get more backstory on "the darkness" (They really need to find out his real name! :P) from Carter surprisingly since he's been around for thousands of years.  Apparently, the darkness comes to cause complete and utter chaos in the world until the point of apocalyptic destruction but some overwhelming force from good rising to always stop it from happening.  Hmmmmm, I wonder what that overwhelming force of light and good will be this time.....??? ;) Anyway, as much as this version of Slade is an odd choice, he definitely is proving to be a very formidable villain, especially during that amazing fight sequence of him and Hawkman at Luthorcorp when Lois is in danger.  Sure the CGI is shaky, yet the moment Carter is killed by Slade is shocking.  Even tho the writers set this up to happen in Shield, seeing Carter die is still beyond heartbreaking,  But that stunning visual of him falling to save Lois with his burnt wings was certainly a brilliant last moment for the character.  No wonder Clark decides to temporarily send Slade to the Phantom Zone (What? No Chloe to stop you this time!?? -_- :P), causing so much damage in a short amount of time.  The goodbye between Carter and Clark is really touching but even more so the wonderfully directed memorial sequence the heroes and Lois have for Carter in his tomb.  Too bad the moment was cut short by something rising from the ashes and knocking everyone out as a bold cliffhanger! O_O

Icarus is a superbly executed episode that manages to propel not only the main storylines with Darkseid's master plan turning the world against heroes not only working well, but forcing them into higher stakes than ever before with the government out for blood and taking one of their own.  Top that off with Clark and Lois' romantically set-up proposal and you got yourself another winner for a very solid season so far! :)

Final Kryptonite: A