The storyline for Zod and the Kandorians in season 9 was far too scattered from the beginning. By the end of "Pandora" it hit a major height, and I had high expectations of where they could take it. The concept of the solar tower changing earth's atmosphere to allow for the Kandorians to receive powers was such a cool concept, and a perfect setup for what could have been an exciting second half of the season. Since "Pandora" there were very few scenes that dealt with this plot, and at the end of the previous episode "Persuasion" the entire story was dispensed with from out of nowhere. To me it almost seemed like the producers changed their mind by this point in the season and just decided to write it out as quickly as possible. Now in "Conspiracy" they briefly deal with the consequences of the tower destruction, and dive into a generic psycho/ kidnapper story instead.
I guess my biggest problem with "Conspiracy" is that it's nothing more than ordinary Smallville. Random psycho with justifiable frustration takes unjustifiable actions. Another real problem is that Zod and the Kandorians were boring. I'm shocked that writers Turi Meyer and Al Septien, who had scripted some of the biggest episodes since season 5 could write a character as powerful as Zod so poorly. Even in some of the weakest episodes of this season, the writing for Zod has been top notch. Here Zod's dialogue is just as plain as any random villain. I also felt the writing for Faora was weak. When her character was established as such a hardcore villain in the previous season, you'd think they'd at least plant a couple of seeds. Even in "Kandor" when Zod was shown in flashbacks as a hero, there's still that feeling that there was something evil developing. Faora is written more generically than Zod here.
Still, there are a few redeeming scenes between Clark and Zod near the end. The first where Clark is forced with the decision to save Zod's life was unexpected. The second, the final moment of the show where you see the consequences and Zod's powers are revealed was shot well, and finally made me excited that they were doing something with Zod, but anyone who'd watched even a single episode of this season saw it coming a mile away.
I guess my biggest problem with "Conspiracy" is that it's nothing more than ordinary Smallville. Random psycho with justifiable frustration takes unjustifiable actions. Another real problem is that Zod and the Kandorians were boring. I'm shocked that writers Turi Meyer and Al Septien, who had scripted some of the biggest episodes since season 5 could write a character as powerful as Zod so poorly. Even in some of the weakest episodes of this season, the writing for Zod has been top notch. Here Zod's dialogue is just as plain as any random villain. I also felt the writing for Faora was weak. When her character was established as such a hardcore villain in the previous season, you'd think they'd at least plant a couple of seeds. Even in "Kandor" when Zod was shown in flashbacks as a hero, there's still that feeling that there was something evil developing. Faora is written more generically than Zod here.
Still, there are a few redeeming scenes between Clark and Zod near the end. The first where Clark is forced with the decision to save Zod's life was unexpected. The second, the final moment of the show where you see the consequences and Zod's powers are revealed was shot well, and finally made me excited that they were doing something with Zod, but anyone who'd watched even a single episode of this season saw it coming a mile away.