
Halloween episodes can go one of two ways…they can either be kitschy and thus be relegated to only being watched during Halloween time or they can be genuinely spooky and demand multiple watches year round. Thankfully, Smallville decided to go the route of the latter this year with the episode “Harvestâ€, a thought-provoking thriller that surprised me in a good way.Wanting to keep Lois safe from an anti-vigilante rally, Clark whisks Lois away out of town for the weekend. However, those plans are thrown by the wayside when a flat tire leads them to an Amish like community that believes that a human sacrifice must be made in order to sustain the bountiful harvest (and now the title makes sense) they have been experiencing. Clark, much to his dismay, soon learns that the outrageously good water supply is due to it being saturated with blue kryptonite, which renders his powers useless. When Lois is chosen to be the sacrifice they have to work together to escape the village of the damned.
I’m glad that the problem of this episode wasn’t some stupid spirit or Halloween-inspired ghost. It was a group of very real, very dangerous people in a cult whose strong beliefs almost cost our heroes their lives. This fact, along with stripping Clark of his powers, allowed us to really be invested and feel the gravity of the situation. Watching Clark get sliced and burned and not be able to immediately bounce back gave us a few moments of “Oh man…maybe they won’t get out of thisâ€. It’s tough to build suspense in a show when your protagonist is invincible, and this episode pulled it off swimmingly. I also liked the fact that the cult wasn’t destroyed or the police weren’t called…Clark and Lois just got the hell out of dodge and didn’t look back. It gives you that unsettling feeling that those crazies are still out there and are just a flat tire in the middle of nowhere away…
One other aspect that I enjoyed about this story was that Lois refused to be the damsel in distress. I enjoyed that not only did Lois refuse to be the helpless woman who couldn’t do anything on her own and submit to Clark wanting her to stay out of trouble, but she worked WITH Clark to get them out of there. The teamwork aspect was so refreshing and nice to see since we’re all so used to Clark handling all the heavy lifting. It seems that almost every woman in Smallville has to be knocked on the head and rendered unconscious before Clark can come in and clean house, so it was nice for once to see Lois be a badass and do her part. Very classy and very welcomed.
The other story going on was between Tess and little boy Alexander, the Lex Luthor clone she saved in the pilot. He’s already aged to the point of being a 12 year old and it appears he seems to share the same memories as Lex. Personally, I love the Mommy Mercer storyline and for once it’s made Tess not only likable and relatable, but also relevant to the show. Cassidy Freeman is really impressing me with her acting this season. I don’t know if it’s because she’s just kicked it up a notch or she has better material to work with, but whatever the case may be, the storyline between and her Alexander has been a highlight of the season so far. At the end of the episode we got a chilling visual of Alexander claiming that he was Alexander no more as he shaved his head bald and christened himself “Lexâ€. If he keeps growing at this rate, could we be seeing a return from a certain Michael Rosenbaum? Time will tell…
My only criticism? No Oliver this week! I need my weekly dose of Green Arrow and I didn’t get it this week. I’m telling you, there NEEDS to be a Green Arrow spin-off show. I don’t know one Smallville fan that doesn’t want that.
But you want to know the best part of this whole episode? NO CAT GRANT THIS WEEK! THERE IS A GOD!
Related posts
Classics
Dennis Heaton Talks The Imperfects
Longtime readers at TV Goodness will know that Motive is one of my ride-or-die series, and as such, I am fiercely loyal to its creator, Dennis Heaton. He followed up that fantastic reverse procedural with Netflix’s The Order and is back on our streaming screens with The Imperfects, which dropped…
Kelly McCormack Talks Favorite Moments in A League of Their Own
[Warning: Mild spoilers for season 1.] Now that you’ve had a chance to watch A League of Their Own, here’s the rest of my chat with Kelly McCormack about her favorite moments of the season. Seeing the iconic Peaches uniforms for the first time wasn’t just a goosebump moment for…
John Griffin and Harold Perrineau Talk From on EPIX Season 1 Finale
[Warning: General spoilers ahead.] How are we doing, #FROMily? In case you missed it this morning, the very good news is that that cliffhanger will be followed by a second season, which was gifted this morning ahead of the linear broadcast of the finale. I always legitimately appreciate when we…
Elizabeth Saunders Talks EPIX’s From
[Warning: General spoilers ahead.] One of the things that makes EPIX’s From such a fun ride is the abundance of Canadian cast members. Elizabeth Saunders, who plays Donna, is a favorite from her turn on the third season of Mary Kills People [streaming on Global TV in Canada and Roku…
Corteon Moore Talks From “Broken Windows, Open Doors”
[Warning: Spoilers for tonight’s episode.] Tonight’s episode of From had us all in our feels as we learned through flashbacks about the Sophie’s Choice Boyd had to make to save his son, and back in the present as Boyd said his piece with Ellis before heading into the woods with…
Pegah Ghafoori Talks From “All Good Things…”
[Warning: Spoilers for tonight’s episode] Tonight on From, Fatima’s anniversary celebration turned into a Colony House of horrors when a misguided Kevin let his monster bae in and she promptly killed him and left the window open for her crew. While the party devolved into terror and sent everyone running,…
Shaun Majumder Talks From “Book 74”
[Warning: Spoilers for tonight’s episode.] Tonight on EPIX’s From, Father Khatri made a bold move, kidnapping Sara instead of turning her in, and then recognizing her as a vessel for some big messages. That startling realization speaks to him on multiple levels–as a man of faith, a man trapped in…
Avery Konrad Talks About Sara’s Struggle in From “Silhouettes”
[Warning: Spoilers for tonight’s episode.] Over the course of the season so far on From, we’ve witnessed Sara’s battle against the voices telling her to to do terrible things, and tonight we saw her unravel further, threatening the Matthews and lashing out in a moment of terror with horrifying results….
Hannah Cheramy Talks From “Choosing Day”
[Warning: Spoilers for tonight’s episode.] Tonight, on EPIX’s From, the Matthews participate in the show’s version of the sorting hat, choosing where to call home–the town or Colony House. At the end of the episode, Julie makes the decision to split from her family and instead settle in with Fatima…
Ricky He Talks From “The Way Things Are Now”
[Warning: Spoilers for episode 102 of EPIX’s From.] Epix’s new series From is two episodes in and it’s already laying the groundwork for a seriously spooky season. Tonight’s episode demonstrated the careful balance of relief and horror that the show hits, with our characters’ worst fears realized, just not when…
What They Said: Three Revealing Conversations from Survivor’s Remorse “Closure”
WARNING: Spoilers for Survivor’s Remorse “Closure” The latest episode of Starz’s Survivor’s Remorse featured conversations that showed characters really digging deep into their thoughts, emotions and motivations.
Two Takes: The Catch “The Knock-Off”
Who can you trust? If this episode of The Catch was any indication, the answer is just about nobody. Betrayal was running rampant as Felicity (Shivani Ghai) arose from the dead to seduce-con Margot, Gretchen (Maria Thayer, Gotham, The Mindy Project) played gold-hearted Alice 2.0 before swindling Ethan, Tessa jumped…
What They Said: Top 3 Quotable Moments from Preacher “El Valero”
Both Quincannon and Jesse refuse to give up on what they each think is rightfully theirs. While Jesse is struggling to face the consequences of his actions, Quincannon has laid his past demons to rest and is hellbent on moving forward and putting Annville on the map again. Despite a…
What They Said: Favorite Quotes from Supergirl “Worlds Finest”
Oh, Supergirl. That ending was cold. But I can’t hate on you because the latest episode has quickly become one of my favorites.
What They Said: Top 4 Quotable Moments from Black Sails “XXIII”
The dialogue in “XXIII” is phenomenal. It’s always a fun ride when Black Sails carries its viewers along without giving them the chance to catch their breath. When an episode moves at this unforgiving pace, there is no chance for a breather nor is there a respite from the information…
What Lucifer Said: Favorite quotes from Supernatural “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”
Supernatural episodes are almost always funny but thanks to the dialogue and a certain man speaking said dialogue, I laughed a lot during “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” You know, when I wasn’t busy fearing for Sam’s life or wondering what in the world was going on with Dean and…
What They Said: The Flash, “Legends Of Today” and Arrow, “Legends Of Yesterday”
Two nights of Arrow + The Flash = what more could we ask for?! I don’t know what it is about blending these shows, but I can’t help but feel that every time they come together, they somehow become greater than the sum of their parts. And that’s saying a lot…
What they Said: Top 4 Quotable Moments from Graceland “Little Bo Bleep”
Shoot outs. Fake outs. And long-awaited revelations. “Little Bo Bleep” was a jam-packed episode that wrapped up some loose ends and totally frayed others. Â It finally gave us one Sarkissian in jail and pulled back the curtain on Briggs’ master plan, but it also set up Jakes for a world…
What They Said: Favorite Quotes from Poldark “Part 4”
“What have I told you, I don’t require my wife to crochet and sip tea, but I do require her to remember she’s not a beast of burden.†No, I’m not talking about The Rolling Stones! I have to admit though, just for a second, the lyrics popped into my…
3 Moments of Goodness from Brooklyn Nine-Nine “Johnny and Dora”
The most satisfying part of this season’s finale has to the Jake and Amy kiss. Well, they kiss three times but the last one is the best one — and it means something. The Charles and Rosa dynamic was also great. I love how she’s convinced he doesn’t know anything…