Smallville (TV Series) Conspiracy (2010) User Reviews

Frackin' Sweet

[Dain120475 · 9/10 · 26 February 2010]

This is an excellent episode. Smallville has had problems in the past because they don't seem to have the budget to put in epic fight scenes for Kal-el to get into. This episode neatly avoids that problem by using a more sinister/suspenseful aspect.

A dark suspense with a few plot twists and turns to keep you on the edge, dark enough to almost touch PG-13 and wash out some of the camp of last weeks episode (which was fun, but felt like filler). Also, it really is pushing things along, driving the plot to something much more exciting then the blasé plot of last season with Doomsday, who looked far too ridiculous and was defeated without even a fight. This week Zod really starts coming into his own, we see a character who is evolving much like old Lex; a man both conflicted and seeking to do right, but constantly doing wrong. I love it, good times.

Aside from a few special effects glitches, there was nothing I had issue with. Zod is becoming the villain I want to see more of, as he becomes more conflicted and human. Sub-plots with Chloe and Oliver don't dominate the show, but make for a nice background romance, and Clark is getting into situations that are so much more interesting then fighting monsters of the week, or a supervillian that is so powerful that they don't have the budget to do it justice.

Spoilers below!

At the end, when he flew from the rooftop of the Daily Planet out over Metropolis, I was literally clapping my hands so hard they hurt. Completely frackin' awesome! The placement of the Pawn in that box for Louis and the mentioning of John Corbin was just enough to tell me things are rolling right along; good times. I loved it, totally, totally!

peace

Conspiracy

[Colcatron · 7/10 · 2 May 2011]

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.

Jaw dropping Zod driven story, top notch production, cult references, masterful writing and direction, fascinating topics and twisted character development

[igoatabase · 10/10 · 28 February 2010]

Even if Absolute Justice and Warrior were marvelous homages to comics they didn't cover the Zod arc. So beside a few random developments, specially Persuasion's ending, we didn't have much to chew since Kandor and Pandora. Although they were pivotal and received with good ratings some people complained about their lower entertainment appeal compared to the comics focused episodes. I appreciate both genres but admit that their criticism was pertinent, until Conspiracy. Al Septien and Turi Meyer from Kandor were back at their writing desks and the second even directed it. That's why it's not a surprise the story was so captivating and intriguing.

However the very first minutes worried me because they reminded me of Rabid. An other horror B movie spin-off ? Far from it ! First the production quality was excellent, from the surreal and industrial lighting to the new sets design. Second they were plenty of references to cult franchises like The X-Files and Hellraiser. The guest character itself was definitely inspired by Fox Mulder but its profile was darker and scarier. In fact the story could even be considered as a direct sequel to Metallo and John Corben was even mentioned by name. That's why I'm surprised Don Whitehead and Holly Henderson didn't write it and that Mairzee Almas wasn't its director. But it doesn't matter as the execution was masterful.

But Smallville wouldn't have reach its ninth season without its demanding followers. So we were also served with other tasteful elements. Big Sister Chloe did it again and this time there was even an explicit reference to George Orwell's 1984. Her intriguing relationship with Oliver developed further. Of course there were also some Lois & Clark moments but they were quite different from the previous ones. Mature and unpredictable could describe the character development in general. It seems some people have learned from their mistakes but others didn't. But like in Metallo things are not just red and blue. The super Warrior has to fight his inner daemons not to become a villain. It's also hard to trust anyone when you don't even believe in yourself and others only see you as an Idol. And even a Savior has to be rescued from time to time.

Would you like to know more ? Do your part, join the Conspiracy !