Season 10, Episode 12: Collateral

"Collateral"

Episode 12

Air Date: February 4th, 2011

.........SMDH.....let's just get this all out the way shall we.  After such a strong mid-season finale with an unforeseen twist at the end that made for one puzzling cliffhanger, the second half of the season starts with possibly the series' most uninspired and embarrassing episode yet! And that's saying A LOT re-watching this show and witnessing the likes of Ageless and Subterranean all over again! YIKES!!! I will NEVER understand what was up with the writers of this show shamelessly turning certain episodes into direct rip-offs of big budget films that we all know and love.  Fast and Furious, the Flatliners, Saw, and now....The Matrix!!! -_- I am not kidding! Everything, even the transparent dialogue seems ripped from the original script of the first film and just given to Chloe, who returns to save our heroes who have been captured by the VRA and trapped in a virtual world that they can only escape if they trust her and believe it's not real. And look at Chloe, dressed in all white, wielding dual pistols, defying gravity and executing martial arts with one hand while taking on Black Canary in a world that her avatar can break all the rules of said reality because she knows it isn't real.  Of course, she tells Clark, Oliver, etc. that it maybe all in you're mind but you still can die.  There are even "men in black" who are meant to secure and keep the minds of the heroes in line as apart of the cyber system that's connecting all of them to it. *Groan*

I'll be perfectly honest, I haven't missed Chloe at all since she left during the premiere! As amazing as Allison Mack is as an actress, Chloe had overstayed her welcome since last season.  After her betrayal with Doomsday then all last season being this control freak who thinks only her breaking the rules and going behind people's back is a means to an ends, I haven't really noticed her gone at all.  Tess has taken over her role quickly and nicely; rendering her importance completely vacant in the grand scheme of things and the only thing holding her on the show now is her relationship with Oliver.  Of course, Oliver trusts her and would risk his life to escape the virtual world.  Awwwww she's sticking around.....great! -_-  i actually don't blame Clark for being so hesitant in trusting Chloe, tho seeing Chloe and Oliver seemingly disappear after jumping dozens of stories to their death without a trace should have been a common sense heads up that something's up and she might be right! Chloe of all people has lost Clark's trust for a reason since constantly going behind his back for her own agenda and actually dismissive of his decision either openly to his face or behind his back. -_-  Sure, Lois needs to be the anchor that makes Clark believe in his long time best friend as well as himself but.....this wasn't a way to try to resolve their issues.  Even in the real world, Chloe continues to justify her actions and while she does manage to save everyone, her actions are still questionable and don't make her excusable because she saved said team. Oh well.....

What's most upsetting tho about this episode is how awful it is in following up with last episode's cliffhanger as well as progression with the VRA showing once again how lackluster it is.  I really enjoyed seeing the Suicide Squad again and their mini team up with young Justice League made for an awesome action sequence but it's only a small portion of an episode that complete waste s what could have been an amazing return for Chloe and mid-season opener for the final episodes of the show.  Why not have Chloe lead the Suicide Squad on a mission to save the superheroes, by them being captured in some other way and having a much bigger fight sequence where Clark, Oliver, Dinah etc join the Rick Flagg and Deadshot to stop the VRA once and for all as a temporary alliance.  Hell, they could have had one of Darkseid' minions like Godfrey or Desaad manipulating everyone through his powers but the Suicide Squad showing up to stop him to free the heroes!! *Head desk* Definitely would have saved a lot of money spent on that horrifying CGI of Chloe phasing through walls or multiple avatars of her surrounding Clark and Lois like they Mr. Smith! -_-  Oh and Clark flies with Lois around the Daily Planet....in the virtual world.....because!!! No words need to be spoken on how idiotic and laughable that sequence was.  Why bother??? Why not save that for when Clark is actually flying in the real world.  Enough teasing! It's the last season! At this point, he flies or not.  No loophole garbage like this. -_-

Collateral is just so unfortunately bad yet surprising when it seems like the writers knew exactly what they were doing with this season's overarching story but here?!?  It's like they lost all originality again and just made a Matrix copy/paste job with this episode cause they had no idea how to follow through with the VRA arc as well as the cliffhanger from last episode. It's the last season and every episode should have been used as an opportunity for greatness of some kind, but this just reminds you Smallville may have been in dire need of ending with horrendous material such as this. O_O

Final Kryptonite: F