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Tuesday 29 May 2012

Smallville - 10.11: "Icarus" Review


Clark finally pops the question to Lois. Oliver is attacked whilst saving a woman from a mugger and Carter Hall/ Hawkman is killed whilst saving Lois from Slade.

Clark (Tom Welling) takes another look at the engagement ring, when waiting for Lois (Erica Durance).   He's made reservations for dinner at an expensive restaurant, but she prefers to just have dessert at home.   He promises her dessert even if he he has to fly to Madrid for cherries and hot chocolate.   Lois wants to spend time with him, yet she was stopping him at every opportunity when he was coming up with all the suggestions and having booked a busy restaurant too.   She'd like to pretend for one night that the world isn't crazy.   The government has updated their status from vigilantes to terrorists.

Clark calls Lois at the phonebox and tells her to look up, he throws petals from the sky and then proposes on bended knee.  Now that's how a proposal should be, unashamedly romantic: raining petals from the night sky.   Clark tells her she's "the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with, the woman that I love."   Well she accepted his proposal without any questions or longwinded answers.   Lois speechless again aside from the word 'yes'.

Lois leaves a message for Oliver (Justin Hartley) then tries to show off her ring to everyone, which Cat Grant (Keri Lynn Pratt) notices.   At the first sign of trouble, make sure Cat's around to start it.   Lois gets a note from Chloe: "they say you never know what fate has in store for us; but I say you can see some happy endings coming from a mile away."  Well that and having actually seen the future helps.  Flashback to 10.1 Lazarus with Chloe (Alison Mack) and Lois, when she questions Chloe on how she and Clark can have a life together.   Had to bring up Lana, she's not "the one fated to be in Clark's life." Nah she was too weak and wishy-washy.   She gives Lois "something borrowed."  Cat's first question is whether Lois is expecting.   She gloats Lois doesn't have to write about the VRA anymore.

Tess, (Cassidy Freeman) Oliver and the others throw them a surprise party.  Tess must've seen the petal shower from the surveillance cameras at Watchtower.  Seems Lois has forgotten about those.   Oliver tells Clark that a lifetime with Lois deserves moral support.   He wanted that lifetime with her too last season.  Oliver is now labelled a terrorist, yes but Clark already said all of the vigilantes are known as terrorists now.  Clark asks Oliver to be his best man since he's there for the worst days, now he wants him to be there for the best ones too.   Carter (Michael Shanks) married Shayera a hundred times, so he'd know all about weddings.  He also had to lose her that many times too.   He tells Oliver he's sorry about Chloe.   He doesn't get warm and fuzzy too often.   They miss their loved ones most at a time like this.   Oliver wants reassurance they won't hug each other now.  Carter: "Fear should never decide love."  That's twice Chloe's been mentioned now, in readiness for the next episode.

Oliver saves a woman from a mugger and is himself attacked by the crowd, when one man recognizes him as the Green Arrow.   That's funny, he wasn't recognized as Oliver Queen, but as his alter ego.   A few episodes ago he told Lois he has to travel incognito and hide to avoid being recognized and has a body double.  Stargirl/Courtney (Britt Irvin) and Carter have to rescue him.  Oh funnily enough, Clark couldn't hear all that commotion now!  At the farm, Lois tells Clark this is the first party where she doesn't have to hide anything from anyone and she's happy to take a backseat to all his responsibilities.   Clark can handle both if they're together.   Maybe he can't cos it takes Lois to turn on the TV and see the news report on Oliver for Clark to be aware of the situation.   How come Clark didn't hear that on the TV either, he has to watch it when Lois tells him.

"Queen without a country" is the headline Cat was vying for for the Daily Planet and she berates Tess for not letting them run with the story and the photo, cos Cat wanted the glory for the vigilantes being arrested.   The farm is searched for Clark and Tess and Dr Emil (Alessandro Juliani) are arrested.   Clark asks why Oliver didn't call him.   Carter told Oliver the "human speedbag" would want to know.   Oliver wanted him to spend time with Lois, as if he would when that was happening, cos it concerns all of them.  Slade (Michael Hogan) is seen to be alive on the TV and blames Oliver for the explosion.   Black Canary (Alaina Huffman) is weary that Slade knows too much about them.  Clark tells them Slade needs to pay for his crime.   Then decides it's time they all went underground.  Oliver comments they're "all card-carrying members of the fugitives club." Clark shuts down Watchtower.

Lois looks at the paper with photos of: the Blur, who has a question mark for his photo.  Green Arrow, Impulse, Supergirl, Stargirl, Black Canary, Aquaman, Hawkman, Zatanna.   Who are all on the 'most wanted list'.  Trotter (Lori Ann Triolo) talks about Clark.  Lois finds Tess, Dr Emil and Cat all awaiting questioning.   Lois trying to text Clark, didn't she realize the phones would be bugged.   Dr Emil works for the poor of the city who can't afford medical help and Trotter points out he's on Oliver's payroll.   She doesn't want Oliver, only his friends.   She wants their real names.   A bit of a strange plotline here, since if they have their photos, surely the military can find out their real names.   Look how easy it was for Chloe (okay she's Chloe) and Clark to find out about Carter and the Justice League last season (episode Absolute Justice Part 1.)  Someone like Zatanna should also be easily identifiable.

Lois tells her that her relationship with the Blur is non-existant.   Trotter refers to all those quotes she has from him for her articles.   Er there's more than one way of getting quotes and they don't necessarily have to be obtained in person.   Then Trotter goes on to say she wants the Blur, Clark Kent in person, so she already knows about him so how come there was no photo for him on the poster.   Carter finds Clark at Slade's office, he's there for answers too; saying, "you don't go underground until you're dead." An obvious line for what's in store for him.   Clark is more worried that Lois' relationship is more with the Blur and not with Clark, instead of focusing on the matter at hand.   Oliver arrives too and comments that they can't follow orders even if they gave them themselves.   He talks about Slade's 'mega-marker darkness thing'  which Carter tells him is called "Omega." The Darkness is behind everything.   Carter recalls humanities darkest hours and having seen them all, including the Spanish Inquisition, the Third Reich and a "brighter force rose to send the darkness back."

Clark says Carter helped then, now it's their time.  Carter: "justice isn't only blind, it's broken." They must stop Slade.   Clark has a plan to put Slade where he can't hurt anyone.   Lois tells Trotter they won't be seen as good if they target civillians without proof.  Tess has news for Trotter, she works and Oliver plays, but Oliver once played with Tess.   Did Trotter think she'd get anywhere with this 'questioning.'  Lois finds Tess's secret passage and runs into none other than Cat.   Lois knows Cat ratted them out and now she can do something good for the heroes who are risking their lives to protect them and tells her Cat's a good reporter.   Cos if all else falls, there's always Cat's ego to appeal to.   That the Blur saved Cat twice without her knowing it.   Cat tells her Slade has a new way to take care of the "heroes."  He's using Oliver to find the others.

Slade calls his hunt for the vigilantes Operation Icarus, which Oliver says applies to fallen heroes who reached too far.   Clark has to wait to be asked to look at the computer footage again.   Slade is using their own security systems against them.   Carter attempts to type on the computer, he misses his typewriter.   Olives jokes "you miss your telegraph." Why send Clark to the Planet, when Carter has to go to Oliver's office.   Clark misses Lois there and so much for his hearing, he doesn't hear anything happening at Oliver's office or Lois falling.  Slade waits for Lois and Carter and he battle it out, finally Slade stabs him.  Carter sets fire to the gas which explodes and Lois is thrown out of the window.   Oh Lois you always get in the way.   So Carter has to save her for Clarkie.   Yeah all those centuries, Hawkman saves humanity and now Clark's on the scene, he suddenly becomes so useless and has to die.   Carter flies after Lois akin to Icarus with burning wings when he flew too close to the sun.   Prophetic or ironic.   Clark heard the explosion but nothing else.

Slade: "...see a man with burning wings plummet from the sky..." Clark sends Slade elsewhere using his Kryptonian gadget, probably the Phantom Zone.   Carter has something for Clark, Lois in his wings.   It's too late for help.   Carter: "I'm a pro at dying."  It's all their fight and not just Clark's.   He'll be with Shayera now.  Carter: "We can't do what we have to do if there's an emptiness in our hearts."  They accompany him all the way to Egypt to bury him next to Shayera.   Lois sees a pyramid-shaped object appear which zaps them all with a blinding light.

So much for it being said not much happened this episode.  Hey not much: Clark and Lois finally got engaged; and Hawkman died a miraculous one hundred and one times.   He did say in 10.2 Shield that he's awaiting his death to be with Shayera again.   But it was sad to see him go.   Slade may be gone for now, but Trotter still knows who Clark is and she's still around.   As is the VRA and they're all still fugitives for now.   Slade comments he escaped the "Grim Reaper's death stroke." Deathstroke is Slade's alter ego in the comics.   Luckily we only had a week to wait for the next episode.

Lois tells Trotter the VRA shouldn't put the Vigilante's faces on air, but she was looking at the 'Most Wanted' poster with their photos on it, aside from the Blur.   When did Zatanna become a Vigilante.   When Oliver looks at the Daily Planet's security feed, Tess and Lois have photos on their files but Dr Emil doesn't, when Trotter knows his identity and has him in custody too.   The song used at Hawkman's funeral was City Lights by Paul Taneja, which was a fitting song under the circumstances, neither sad nor happy.

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