Quest (719)

[GateWorld]

SMALLVILLE SEASON SEVEN QUEST EPISODE NUMBER - 719 An attacker carves a Kryptonian symbol on Lex's chest, leading Clark to a church -- where the only surviving member of the Veritas group turns on him for forsaking his destiny. VISIT THE EPISODE GUIDE >

[marty2006]

Quite a good episode, nothing spectacular but a good storyline and a quality ending, especially liked how they mentioned Scotland . It seems Chloe does more saving these days than clark, was also cool to see Robert Picardo in the episode.

[Angela V]

Yeah, Robert Picardo!

The thought of Lex controlling Clark just scares me. Wish Arctic could be a 2 hour finale!

[blitzsnake]

Great episode with an awesome ending. Can't wait for season finale.

[entil2001]

The introduction of the Veritas plot element has all but saved this season of “Smallville”. This episode is the perfect example of why this is so: details from the very beginning of the series are organically given a shared context by the cohesive nature of Veritas itself. I still maintain that the idea should have always been in the background, slowly but surely revealed over time, but better late than never.

One element from the second season that I always wanted to see explored was the “Naman vs. Sageeth” myth from the Kawatche caves. It was strongly hinted at the time that it related to the future struggle between Clark and Lex, but the writers seemed to drop it completely. The emergence of Veritas has finally brought it back to the story in a logical manner. Now that Lex has embraced the darkness, his oft-overlooked genius gives him the insight and drive to become a true threat to Clark.

The two of them are on parallel paths in this episode, and the real joy is watching how they manage to circle each other without an actual confrontation. Clark understands that Lex is now evil and a threat, but his basic sense of decency prevents him from standing idly by while Lex is killed. It underscores the difference between both men, since Lex is on the quest for the sole purpose of controlling what he sees as the primary alien threat.

Lex gets the better end of the questing deal in this episode, without a doubt. The character has truly come into focus lately (odd moments of apparent compassion notwithstanding), and if this is indeed his exit from “Smallville”, then he should be getting this kind of star treatment. As the man holding the legacy of Veritas in his hands, Lex is a true threat. The only question is whether or not the writers will come up with a rational reason for Lex to forget all he’s learned.

Clark, on the other hand, gets caught in the middle of a Edward Teague’s apparent madness, which leads to a bit of a cliché. Would Jor-El have sent a device to destroy the heir of Krypton after going through so much damn trouble to send him to Earth and save his life? As always, Jor-El’s motivations are all over the map, and by the time Clark is trapped in the middle of what feels like a “Young Sherlock Holmes” scene, I was once again shaking my head in frustration.

Similarly, I’m not sure what the writers are doing with Chloe lately. It’s understandable that they would emphasize the rise of Lois and Jimmy as their respective careers at the Daily Planet approach the levels seen in the comics and films. But must Chloe’s passion for journalism disappear to make the case? Why wouldn’t she be intrigued, as we would expect after all these years, by Jimmy’s discoveries? Perhaps the writers were hedging their bets, based on the protracted contract talks with Allison Mack.

Even with the frustrations, this episode was still one of the best of the season, because the focus on Veritas and Lex kept me more than interested in this prelude to the season finale. Hopefully the writers will end the season (and Lex’s arc on the show) on a high note, so my interest in the eighth season will be renewed.

[HyperCaz]

Woolsey - Dean Winchester's REAL father! LOL

Ahem. I liked this, it was very interesting but still nothing terribly spectacular. They've definitely learnt from their season 4 mistakes, and finally made a quest believable.