Smallville: 7×16 - “Descent”

What did I think of the Smallville episode. “Descent”?

Was it a move in the right direction or a downward slump for the show?

I think it is safe to say that after this episode, Smallville has returned. This episode had so much going for it, it was just fun to watch. I really enjoyed it. I was practically sitting on the edge of my seat the whole time. It started with a bang and didn’t let up at all until the end.

This episode focused heavily on the character of Lex Luthor. It showed the endgame of a character that we have been waiting to see for a long time. I think I can speak for many of the fans that this was an episode seven years in the making. It was totally awesome to see after watching this series as long as I have to finally see Lex become the Luthor we have always wanted him to become.

Since this episode focused on the pinnacle of Lex’s journey to the darkness, the episode itself was very dark. It was not only dark in tone and feel, but also dark in atmosphere. All the events of this episode take place in the course of action-packed night. That, to me, is just a brilliant stroke of writing.

Now, as some of you know, a death in Smallville has been brewing for some time ever since the show returned for its second half. Now, as for me, I kind of had senses as to who this death would be. But I’d be lying if I said that the death didn’t affect me in some way. This death being the death of Lionel Luthor.

Now, I for one, will miss the presence of Lionel Luthor on the show. I think there will be a void in the series now that he is gone. John Glover added so much to this role that was initially only written as a mere foil to Jonathan Kent. He will definitely be missed on this show.

I thought it very interesting that they began the episode with the death. The way I had foreseen this episode going down, that the death would happen maybe midway through the episode. But the writers took a gutsy move and placed it at the beginning.

Now, originally, this death was supposed to take place in the previous episode, Veritas. I thought it would’ve been very interesting had Lionel’s death taken place in this episode, Would the death have had the emotional impact that it did had the death taken place in Veritas? I don’t think it would have been felt by the characters in the same way. Obviously, there’s no way to know unless we had seen how it played out, and we probably will never know.

The two characters that were most affected by this death in the episode were the the two main characters: Clark Kent and Lex Luthor. I would like to discuss their reactions to the death for a bit.

The fact that Clark was so affected by this death actually interests me quite a bit. I mean, when Clark and Lionel had their first encounter in season 2, who would’ve thought that when Lionel died, he would be so affected by it. I think the reason why Clark was so affected by the death was because he looked to Lionel as almost a second father.

We see that closeness in Clark’s reaction to Lionel’s death the second he finds about it. When he sees the crime scene, and Lex at the crime scene, he knows instantly that Lex did it. In a visually stunning scene, Clark stares down Lex and they follow each other in footstep closely. In that scene, you can definitely tell in Clark’s eyes that he knows that Lex killed Lionel. He even says it to his face.

The other character vastly affected by this death is obviously the perpetrator himself Lex Luthor. I think he was gradually dealing with his death, and I think Michael Rosenbaum sold this beautifully as he dealt with it onscreen.

The way he dealt with it was that he was literally at a crossroads as to whether he would turn totally dark or change completely and be the “good Lex” that we saw in earlier seasons of the show. Although, given Superman lore, I think we would know which path he would choose.

As I said, Lex was at a crossroads. He was given a Scrooge-like opportunal visitor in the form of young Lex, played brilliantly by Connor Stanhope, who had portrayed young Lex in the Lex-centric episode Fracture and the last episode, Veritas. I really enjoyed seeing their scenes together. They really had great chemistry. It really seemed that Lex and his good side were really duking it out. It reminded me a lot of the dynamic between these two sides that we saw in season 4’s Onyx.

In the end, as we know, Lex does choose to embrace the dark side and even ends up killing that part of him that was good. It was kind of depressing to know that this character that we have seen evolve over the course of the series has totally turned into the villain that we know and love from the comics. It is depressing, but it is also something that longtime fans have been waiting for for a very long time. I know I have.

The pinnacle of that final choice between darkness and light is when Lex ultimately admits that he is through listening to that good part of him and basically kills off that part of him for good and that Luthor darkness that Lex has never been able to control finally takes control of Lex entirely. It was truly an awesome scene, which Rosenbaum played very well.

Another thing regarding Lex’s connection to Lionel’s death is how Lex took care of Lionel’s death, after the murder. In the episode, Lex says that he “was raised in [Lionel’s] shadow . . . [and would] die [in his, and that] no one will even remember [Lionel’s] name.” I got chills when Lex had said that. We really don’t see the implications of it until the end of the episode when we see Lex and Clark at Lionel’s funeral together. Lionel had been buried in a nameless grave in a field of nameless graves. He spared him the funeral of kings that Lex once thought he would have. That is just pure evil right there.

Like I said, I think Michael Rosenbaum really carried this episode beautifully. There were moments where Lex was desperate, hurt, denying, mad, and even pure evil. I loved seeing Rosenbaum deliver all those emotions. The writers really know how to write well for Lex and it showed in this entire episode. I, for one, cannot wait to see what the writers of Smallville have in store for Lex after this episode. I mean, how do you top with Lex after everything he had done in this episode? That is one reason I am excited for Sleeper.

I think that in the spite of the death of Lionel Luthor, what made this episode riveting was the Clark and Lex confrontation boiling throughout the episode. From the get go we saw Clark and Lex at odds after Lionel’s death.

I think the pinnacle of the Clark and Lex confrontation, though, lies in two scenes. The first being the Clark and Lex scene in the Luthor mansion. This scene is loaded with dialogue along with references to past episodes and events. It really shows how far the Clark and Lex dynamic has degraded over the past seven seasons. Up to this point, my favorite Clark and Lex scene is the one in the Kent Farm in the season 5 finale, Vessel. This one tops it, because it is 100% original, unrecycled dialogue. Both actors conveyed what their characters were feeling at the time, and what they had been feeling throughout the series.

The other scene is the scene at the end of the episode with Clark and Lex at Lionel’s funeral. This, as opposed to the aforementioned scene, has no dialogue. It is just pure facial reactions from the characters. You can tell in this scene and in the scene mentioned above that Clark and Lex have literally reached the point of no return. The Clark and Lex dynamic has reached a point: a point where both characters are pure enemies and will be forever and ever. Kudos to both Welling and Rosenbaum for pulling off these scenes flawlessly.

Not to talk too much about the death, but I thought everything concerning the death was wrapped up real nicely. Throughout the series, Lionel Luthor has been a character of constant enigma. That is due solely to John Glover’s portrayal of the character, of course. But I thought that they were able to nicely wrap up the character in a wonderful scene of dialogue with Clark’s “Octagonal Cylinder” that he found in Lionel’s office. I loved that scene as it fully explained the deal with Lionel the past 2 seasons: that he has been acting as Jor-El’s oracle and vessel, to serve and protect Clark. I, for one, thought that was wonderful writing.

Not only did this scene wrap up the Lionel character for the series, but it also presented a conflict that would set up the action for the rest of the season regarding the Veritas keys. Lionel explained in the scene that the keys unlock the secret to controlling the Traveler, who is Clark. But what could possibly be in this box that could control Clark? Before his death, Lionel did warn Lex that if he opened the box, and discovered that secret, there would be no redemption for him and it would destroy him. So what could possibly do that?

Another thing that happened in this episode that was actually quite pivotal was the termination of Chloe. Now, in a past review, I have mentioned how I thought that Chloe didn’t have much of a future at the Daily Planet and in this episode, those feelings were totally justified when Lex fired Chloe from the Daily Planet. I think this was only a matter of time, given Lex’s many confrontations with Chloe the past few seasons.

Some thought it was a rushed scene the way Chloe fired Lex over the Veritas key. I do not think that Lex fired Chloe after having the Veritas key. I believe she was fired because Lex knew how deep Chloe’s nose can be when it comes to uncovering crimes and didn’t want to risk her snooping into Lionel’s death and exposing him. This kind of precautious fear is one that Lex always has in the comics when dealing with Lois in the future.

Other highlights in the episode was the continuation of the Lois and Jimmy teamup. Like I said in my review of Veritas, I particularly enjoyed their teamup. Although we see Jimmy kind of crushing on Lois, it is still nice to see those two particular characters kind of working together on the big story. It is a teamup we see often in the comics and series that deal with the latter half of Superman’s life. I hope we get to see more of it as the series progresses, especially since its pretty much confirmed that Ashmore and Durance will return for season 8.

Another highpoint in the episode is when Clark goes to save Lois in the freezer and he uses a new variety to his heat vision by using the heat vision to keep Lois and Jimmy warm instead of burning them to a crisp. This reminded me very much of an episode of Lois and Clark when Superman has to freeze Lois, giving her the appearance of death and then had to warm her up again with his heat vision. It was nice seeing that kind of throwback to that element of his powers. Besides, it’s always cool to see another element of his powers come forth. Now, if superbreath could spawn cold breath, that’d be awesome.

The only weak point of this episode for me, and it is just a little thing was the character of Gina. We had seen her sporadically throughout the season, as Lex’s assistant. She almost seemed to me like a Mercy Graves-like character. Those unfamiliar with Superman lore know that Lex Luthor has an assistant named Mercy Graves, who is devoted to Lex. I didn’t mind her character, but I think at a first watching, she was a little hard to swallow, but after subsequent watchings, I actually enjoyed Anna Galvin’s portrayal of Gina. I would’ve preferred she was Mercy, though. Gina definitely had the nuances of that character to a tee. But it was a little thing that didn’t bother me too much.

Another character from the comics that I was surprised to see in this episode was the character of Maggie Sawyer. Now we have seen this character in other episodes such as Insurgence, Exile, and Exposed. It was actually a pleasant surprise to see her questioning Lex about the murder. I definitely was not expecting to make a return. I have always loved seeing her on the show and how she interacts with all the different characters, especially Clark. Jill teed plays the role exceedingly well. Now, I would’ve loved to see her in more of the episode, but obviously, the story of the episode, so alas not too much Detective Sawyer in the episode.

One of the more pivotal character returns was the return of Lex’s conscience/good side, Alexander, played wonderfully by Connor Stanhope. It is interesting to note that although in all 3 episodes he was in (Fracture, Veritas, and Descent), he’s played by the same actor, he brings a different aspect to that particular character. In Fracture, he played kind of a guide for Clark and represented the Lex we saw in season 1. In Veritas, he was just playing a very young and innocent Lex. In Descent, he was more like a spirit guide or a conscience, given to Lex at this time to deviate from the dark path. I would really love to see Stanhope kind of return to this part. But given this character’s fate at the end of the episode, I highly doubt it.

This episode was written beautifully by Holly Henderson and Don Whitehead. I will have to say that these two writers have really stepped up this season. These writers are new to the Smallville writing staff this season, but have turned some of the greatest episodes of Smallville that I have ever seen. I will even be as bold to say that they are my favorite writers now. I do hope that these writers will return once Smallville returns for an eighth season. I imagine they will, as they are relatively new. But I’m not counting my chickens.

This episode was directed by Ken Horton. Now, to my knowledge, I cannot recall any other Smallville episodes. Now, if anyone does recall, please leave a comment below. I know that Mr. Horton is a producer on the show, but I don’t recall if he’s directed any other episodes. That being said, I thought he did a fantastic job in all phases of directing. He made sure the special effects were top-notch and was able to lead the actors into given rock star performances.

But, all in all, a spectacular episode of Smallville. It really moved the characters forward in the direction that they need to end up in before the end of the series. It was just was a beautiful episode all around. It was probably one of the more darker episodes of the series and I, for one, cannot wait to see where the series goes from this very dark point.

RATING: 10/10

This entry was posted on 26. April 2008 at 00:15 and is filed under Smallville Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.

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