Pandora

The Zod/ Kandorians on Earth story arc, Tess' solar tower, and Lois' trip to and dreams of the future all come together in "Pandora". All of these story arcs were too scattered and under developed in the first half of the season, yet the show recovers from these mis steps with an epic episode.

This is post apocalyptic Smallville. Partly because of the poor build up, I had low expectations for where they were taking these stories, but this episode had a huge pay off that I wasn't expecting. This is Zod's chance to shine. As frustrating as it was to watch at times, in theory it was necessary to have Zod on the back burner for the first 8 episodes. Limiting his interactions with all characters except for Tess made for a more dramatic episode here. I'm still shocked that some people weren't wowed by Callum Blue as Zod. This guy gives a mesmerizing performance.

"Pandora" steps away from typical Smallville formula, even more so than similar episodes like "Lexmas", "Labyrinth", or "Apocalypse". This is about as dark as Smallville has ever gone, and I loved it. The plot and writing is excellent. It's not easy to hold the attention of an audience with such long dialogue scenes. But it's the performances, particularly from Callum Blue, that really sets this episode apart.

Savior was dark and puzzling. Pandora is darker and even more twisted.

Metallo's guest star, Brian Austin Green, impressed you with his astonishing performance and his story broke your heart. All characters are involved in Pandora and most of the performers do an amazing job. Moreover its events are so numerous and complex that you should get emotional like never before.

Rabid disappointed you despite its rainy ending because it looked like a cheap filler B episode with bad green lighting ? Open your eyes before the reddish visuals of this episode. Remember Total Recall's scenes on Mars ? Some minor chroma key issues but your apocalyptic immersion should be total !

Echo inspired and surprised you but you found its Toï Story disappointing. Pandora's one is well written and very exciting.

Roulette's ending intrigued you but you missed Tess & Oliver. Guess what ?

Crossfire's writing, direction, production, editing and character development made you kneel before your TV ? Open The Box now or Die Hard !

Kandor made you a Major Zod arc fan and you found Cassidy Freeman "sexually overwhelming (and) beautiful" (Wikipedia). Callum Blue's performance should make you addicted to his character. Moreover his soldiers managed to bring an other layer to the existing mythology. Freeman as Tess Mercer was just fatale.

Idol was intense. Pandora = Idol² ! Chloe's fate intrigued you ? You get some answers but new questions arise ! Couldn't resist Erica Durance's performance ? In Pandora she's "Harder, Better, Faster (and) Stronger" (Daft Punk) ! Tom Welling ? His acting was thought out of the box and he even managed to make his characters grow on me even more. Clois ? It's old news ! A modern and smart vision of what Lois & Clark should have always been.