Neo Ultra Mike
Creeping Shadow of "15000"+ Posts
"The Death Of Clark Kent" - Okay not going to lie: I still feel HOW Lois and Clark broke up in "Most Eligible Superman" could have been handled a lot better. Again how it was phrased and the build up really should have been tightened but I will give credit that it was at least part of the overall arc and pay off shown here. And though there is a twisted kind of irony how typically the Black Mercy is used in stories like "The Man Who Has Everything" even in the JLU episode, I actually really think the useage of it here makes a lot more sense. Instead of just crafting some sort of perfect harmony, Brainiac is going through these memories and rearranging them to sift through all of Clark's battles to find his weaknesses. And when getting a feel for his insecurities actually coming up with fictional scenarios to alter them for his own bidding which I really have to applaud the team for going so dark with it. Not really in terms of violence or language but just in terms of the idea of Clark thinking Lois was offing him over and over and then hitting with that real memory when Superman claimed Brainiac was just making false ones for his claims and then the whammy of Clark thinking he's home on Krypton which allows Brainiac to fully take over. Like I do appreciate they did spend a lot of time showing going through the memories and Clark actually trying to fight back but how thourough Brainiac was. And I also appreciate actually giving Brainiac some bits of seeming empathy talking about actually appreciating and caring for Kara but just feeling that bringing back the empire is a more worthwhile goal and having to purge love from his system. Like I guess the idea is Brainiac shouldn't have any sense of empathy or like organic values but I like the idea some seeped into him and him not wanting to deal with them for the sake of his mission and again in this show I do like more the idea that Kryptonians were a flawed people who did have this intense desire for conquest likely only quelled by their own destruction and Brainiac not being some just evil program collecting but rather having a goal related to that original Krytpon. It fits for this show and yeah does allow Michael Emerson to flex more really allowing to creep out the role.
And I also appreciate how serious this one was. Sans Mallah and Brain talking about upgrades or catching them at the end and Kara admitting she "admires" Jimmy and Lois finding out Kara thinks he rules the planet not really a lot of actual comedic bits but honestly I wanted this one to really focus on the drama and on the heavier tone really selling the idea of how monstorous Brainiac is. And him going into Clark's body and wailing on Kara really shows the menace he is and I even like how Jimmy bringing out hte Kryptonite Brainiac just goes "you know I can just leap into another body you'll be killing them" and then getting rid of them through a hole in the ship. Like it was a fairly well staged bluff since obviously he would need the body but I do like how the Kryptonite was staged and used as a way to allow the others to escape and now Lois has to save Clark by entering the mind scape... based on the previews her losing her memories feels pretty kind of padded like "wouldn't it be challening enough in the mind scape to find Clark does she need to forget herself for that?" But eh if my biggest complaint is wondering about the plot of next week that's a good problem for this one to have as yeah it's a very solid ep. Does make me wonder how this is going to wrap up considering there's only two episodes left and Brainiac having Kal's body mixed with Amanda and Lex going to war against Superman feels like a plot that'd be more then two episodes but eh guess we'll see.
And I also appreciate how serious this one was. Sans Mallah and Brain talking about upgrades or catching them at the end and Kara admitting she "admires" Jimmy and Lois finding out Kara thinks he rules the planet not really a lot of actual comedic bits but honestly I wanted this one to really focus on the drama and on the heavier tone really selling the idea of how monstorous Brainiac is. And him going into Clark's body and wailing on Kara really shows the menace he is and I even like how Jimmy bringing out hte Kryptonite Brainiac just goes "you know I can just leap into another body you'll be killing them" and then getting rid of them through a hole in the ship. Like it was a fairly well staged bluff since obviously he would need the body but I do like how the Kryptonite was staged and used as a way to allow the others to escape and now Lois has to save Clark by entering the mind scape... based on the previews her losing her memories feels pretty kind of padded like "wouldn't it be challening enough in the mind scape to find Clark does she need to forget herself for that?" But eh if my biggest complaint is wondering about the plot of next week that's a good problem for this one to have as yeah it's a very solid ep. Does make me wonder how this is going to wrap up considering there's only two episodes left and Brainiac having Kal's body mixed with Amanda and Lex going to war against Superman feels like a plot that'd be more then two episodes but eh guess we'll see.