Zap2it:

For an episode of filler and Clark-lite, it was entertaining. And that's really all I can ask.

Clois banter was fun and Ollie was great with all the ladies tonight, even if Tess was nowhere to be seen. Very, very interesting anvil for Chloe as a White Queen. I actually liked her in this.

On the disappointing scale, Alia is just an OC named Alia. Oh well. I can't win them all.

Man, I thought that this was insanely awesome! I didn't know a whole lot about the character of Roulette but I really enjoyed her. One of the better guest stars for this show. Let's face it, some of the guest stars are not the greatest on this show.

Are we getting hints of a Chloe/Ollie relationship? I think that could be really interesting.

I love the direction they are taking Chloe this season.

So it was all a trick to get Oliver to become Green Arrow again, [Cartman voice]lame[/Cartman voice]. We also got mentions of Bart, Victor, and Dinah but never saw them [Cartman voice]really lame[/Cartman voice]. They made it all a test, and only had mentions of the other members of the Justice League, come on Smallville.

Oliver is kind of an idiot. By all means take a pill that some random girl gave you. Also put your bank information into a computer after going through the game. Here's hoping going back to Green Arrow gets some common sense knocked into him.

I admit I loved the ending. Clark and Green Arrow looking down on Metropolis and saying "The world's going to need all the help it can get." was awesome. Of course it won't lead to Clark and the Justice League vs Zod and his army.

Lois and Oliver. Oliver and Chloe. Chloe and Clark. Clark and Oliver. Chemistry, whether platonic or romantic, every pair.

Clark and Lois? Nothing. And Clark still acts like he can't stand her. Not even a jealous vibe re: Lois worried about Ollie, which is always a staple of ICONIC love. They just don't have chemistry. I know it's subjective, and I really do try to see it, but it's not there for me at all. I *hated* Clana and still do, but even they had some spark.

The episode was a dumb rip-off of about 10 movies and the plotholes are too many to detail. But there were some hilarious moments, like Ollie in his dirty Don Johnson suit running barefoot at midday in the city. Ollie not being immediately suspicious that the "cops" didn't recognize him and his sudden inability to take a clear shot at Roulette despite being an expert marksman was stupid. Stupider still, Chloe being behind it all. And why is Clark still wearing that stupid Sunday Best coat? It's not like it provides him with any sort of disguise. It's not particularly attractive, as Ollie astutely pointed out. It's just dumb.

Why is it that Lois and Oliver are allowed to nurture their relationship but Clark and Chloe are not? More bullshit.

Lois is just such a bitch. She outright smacked Clark's arm, hard (and she should've had a broken hand for it), she was shrill, obnoxious...she was right, though, Ollie should've come to her when he was feeling suicidal. Hanging around Lois for five minutes would surely give you all the reason you'd need to end it.

At least they got use of the Talon set.

Loved Ollie snarking on the Pseudo Superman Suit.

This screamed filler,but I'm glad Ollie's angst fest is over.

Was Clark on tonight's ep?? He got the Chloe treatment of about 2 scenes and I think even Chloe had more lines than him..... what is happening to this show??? Its still supposed to be about him yes?

I myself had a vision of what a season 10 would be like, Clark sitting on a couch and randomly saving people.

Couldn't they at least have shown the Clark/Jor-El scene?? How did Jor-El recognize Alia did Clark show him a pic?

I don't like Oliver so I didn't care for this ep. And I don't get why other characters (Chloe, Oliver) keep saying that Clark won't cross that line like its a bad thing. Like Clark is a pussy because he won't murder someone. I hate that.

One more thing Clark seemed a bit overly violent in tonight's ep when he saved the girl, perhaps its just me but he kinda tore her back window apart and then just dropped the bad guy on top of her car, maybe there was a better way eh Clark?

Well, I watched this one and it wasn't exactly the worst thing I've ever seen come out with the Smallville name. I feel this script would be a better read though than this finished product. Justin did great. I've seen everyone else give better performances. Allison Mack didn't impress me as she usually does. I think Durance was capable of a better performance tonight. She certainly had the best lines but she didn't nail the emotional impact as well as she could have. I'm thinking of her performances in Justice when she breaks up with Ollie.

The ease between Oliver and Lois is a sharp contrast between Clark and Lois. I got the feeling Clark had to remind himself, "Oh yeah, I'm dating her now. This is awkward." I did see attraction but I saw attraction between Clark and Lana too and I think Clana at this point has a better shot of working itself out then these two. Next week's teaser proved me wrong though.

Chlark was there, but BARELY.

And I'm sort of annoyed that Chloe got credit for rescuing Oliver. People have to choose to be saved, to forgive, to be forgiven. No one can bring Oliver back but Oliver himself. It's the same rationale I use in relationships. They just can't happen because fate or destiny sayso, they should happen as matter of active choice and feedback. Oliver deserves more credit for wanting to come back.

Tom's looking very good though and gave an even performance through out. I would have enjoyed more with him and less cheap tricks with bras and beer.

Saw this because some crappy reality show was on instead of what I usually watch now, and because I apparently hate myself.

Things I learned tonight:

• I still don''t care about Ollie's manpain.
• But at least he mocked Clark's outfit, so I guess he's not completely useless.
• Every time Lois was onscreen, I was distracted by her nose. I don't know why.
• Chloe is going evil this season. I'm guessing she'll heroically redeem herself by dying tragically, and the JL's new digs will be named Watchtower in her honor.
• I don't care about any of these people anymore. The new SPN spoilers are making me hyperventilate weeks before the eps even air, but everyone on this show could die and I'd probably just pop some popcorn and laugh. That's kind of sad.

Meh. Standard lame SV plot that doesn't make sense. Oliver? Don Johnson wants his suit back.

My favorite part had to be Lois gagged. That should be standard for SV; my ears would be so happy.

Why the hell didn't this show end at the season 5 finale? And why the hell do I continue to watch?

I really enjoyed this episode. I thought it would be a dull, filler type of episode by the plot description.

Based on my own batting average for spec-ing this season to this point, I would spec that Chloe will try in Crossfire.

Do the ends justify the means for Chloe & Oliver? I would spec, no. This episode will probably be a wedge issue for Chlark in the very near future. Everyone has secrets this season that they want kept, and everybody's going to get outted. Clark wanted Lois to keep a secret in Savior, but Lois inadvertently outted him to Chloe...that resulted in anger and jealousy on Chloe's part. Chloe swears Emil to secrecy in Rabid,...that will probably get outted before it's over. Clark lied straight to Lois' face and kept Oliver's suicide attempt a secret from Lois, and that didn't go well in this episode. And, Chloe is lying straight to Clark's face in this episode, and THAT will probably get found out really soon, which will probably undercut whatever efforts Chloe tries to make in approaching Clark in Crossfire. It will be a wedge issue, imo.

According to Oliver's tagline in this episode, "A true gamesman?... they don't cheat by stacking the deck." That's where the problem lies, imo. Toyman wanted to stack the deck to control the outcome, because he didn't want to allow for human error. IMO, a corrupt AI is stacking the deck with Clark to achieve what he is after, because he doesn't want Clark involving himself with human error--that AI is corrupt, imo, and that will be a big gotcha', imo. And, Chloe tried stacking the deck in this episode to get what she wanted, and her objective was admirable, but it was also WRONG, imo. Chloe's flawed plan didn't account for the possibility of something going wrong, and it resulted in Victoria having to go "off script", and Chloe was the "human error" in this little scheme. Clark is going to find out about that, imo. Lois didn't get hurt this time, but she could've. The fact that Lois didn't get hurt doesn't make what Chloe did ok, imo. Clark will probably see it the same way. Chloe lied straight to Clark's face and concealed what she was doing from him, and her scheme could've gotten Lois seriously hurt.

Chloe is doing what she wanted Clark to do in Savior with Jimmy,...she's playing God in the lives of other people. She's stacking the deck, and trying to avoid the perceived "human errors" of others, except that she herself made a HUGE error, and Lois could've been hurt in a different circumstance.

I don't see Chloe as going evil at all, but she's in some deep water right now, imo. Clark won't like what she's doing once he finds out what she's been up to. What Chloe did worked, but was there another way to accomplish that without someone being put at risk? I think so.

Good stuff tonight, especially on the Ollie front. Nice to continue the Kandor storyline and the last shot of Clark and Ollie was pretty good. That is indeed the closest we'll get to seeing Superman and Batman together in live action.

A few notes...

-Lois was annoying and sanctimonious tonight. So Clark lied to you...I'm sorry if that doesn't have all the intergrity of, say, creating your own superhero and trying to pass it off like it was a real story like you did in Stiletto.

-Lois vs Roulette...yet another Smallville fight that was better than Clark vs Doomsday.

-Nice throwback to last week with Oliver assuming it was Toyman who kidnapped him.

-As for Clark not being happy if he finds out what Chloe did...well, that's just too damn bad. Did he ever tell Chloe about mind-wiping her last season? The answer to that would be no.

-Yes, Clark, Green Arrow, who has no powers whatsoever, is really going to be a help when fighting all those superpowered Kryptonians.

-Anyone else think that after Clark shook Oliver hand, it would have been funny if he pushed him off the building? ;)

If Clark gets angry then he's a two-faced idiot. In "Stiletto" Nois' plot to get the Blur to talk to her resulted in getting Chloe, Clark and Jimmy almost killed. And succeeded in getting AJ killed. And Nois wasn't deceiving everyone for a noble cause, either. She was doing it for a self-serving cause. I know Nois pulled a Batman (why does everyone on SV want to be Batman?! Oliver, Nois, Clark) and saved Clark/Jimmy but it doesn't take away that AJ died and everyone was in danger because of her wacky-hijinks. JMHO.

Well, he got over Lois putting people at risk for Stiletto pretty fast, so possibly there won't be any repercussions for Roulette for Chloe. Especially considering that, at least Chloe was working toward a beneficial end.

Roulette very well just might be the straw that broke the camel's back in my watching Smallville.

Contrived, forced ICONIC bullshit at the expense of the show's own canon. There is no emotional depth or substance.

Peterson & Souders should be ashamed of what they are doing to one of the show's most popular characters. 8 years of history, characterization establishing Chloe Sullivan a Heroine & they are trying to fucking villanize her now?



Exactly. You had Nois doing basically the same last season, only with selfish motives. Of course, Nois is never held accountable.

Nobody is rootworthy, IMO. Especially Clark Kent - who turned his back on the one person who believed in him when she needed him most.

But Chloe is not Iconic! thus everything she does has to face consequences and paint her as the villain morally grey. Iconic! is like diplomatic immunity on this piece of sh...ow. Me? bitter? No way. YMMV.

S9E5: Roulette 10-23-09 Writer: Genevieve Sparling, Director: Kevin Fair. wow, Wow, WOW! This episode was AWESOME on all kinds of levels! I think it has become my favorite epi so far and it's because of all of the brain teasers put into place. Ok who brought the Magic Brownies and the Jefferson Airplane album to the workroom? Was there incense and a Lava Lamp burning? Whatever it was that inspired everyone, please keep it up!

I loved the opening bit. I couldn't believe that I was watching SMALLVILLE as it seemed more like a James Bond movie. The wealthy, supercilious, bored playboy, and the beautiful, exotic, mysterious woman. I actually checked up on Roulette's character after the show and I was impressed at how hairstyle, make-up, and wardrobe brought her off of the comic book pages onto the screen. You all even gave her the signature red slit dress and tattoos. Was that a Brainiac reference with the three metal-looking cups? Chloe was Brainiac infected at one time so was that a hint that she was behind the game? Glory be, I do believe that pill came from Jonathan Kent's old heart medication (just kidding).

That was so great with the shrinking iris; and I thought that Oliver was falling down the gutter, but better yet he fell down a rabbit's hole, just like Alice in Wonderland. Then at the end of the game Oliver went through the Looking Glass and he figured out that Chloe was the White Queen. AWESOME!!! Chloe did it ALL! Well, with a little help from her friends. Thank you for mentioning Dinah, Bart, and especially Victor (I have missed him). I'm glad that Oliver saw his bank account being robbed, so maybe now he'll appreciate his wealth, and the power it gives him to benefit others.

Thank you for mentioning Lex, and thank you for showing us that if Oliver had been given a second chance, he would have repented and spared Lex's life. I too feel that Oliver is worthy of wearing his Green Arrow gear again. I am however getting the vibe that Oliver would slip in under the sheets if Lois lifted them for him.

Lois! Bwahahahahaha! I LOVED how she was a pain in the ass to Clark tonight! Clark may be coming around to liking Lois, and maybe even be actually caring for her, but in this epi he just wanted her somewhere else, and that was SO funny. However I bet he secretly read the tag for her size on that bright red bra of hers! How many times did Clark run to the kitchen for a snack? Ha! Nice wink at JAWS. Jaws is still one of the most suspenseful movies ever made.

That was a very good scene when Lois was alarmed about Ollie's willing to step off of the Toyman's bomb. Erica made Lois look as though she was really upset at what Oliver had done, but she was even more hurt that Clark had not confided it to her. NICE car! Even nicer catfight between Lois and Roulette. Shouldn't a crowd have gathered? Lois ended up in a costume but it wasn't her idea that time. Nice twist. Oh yeah and in the comics Roulette owns an underground fight club. Wouldn't it be neat if Roulette were the one behind the fight club we've already seen on SMALLVILLE?

I also like that the thing Chloe had warned Clark about happened, when he came home in his Blurrr gear and Lois was in the room waiting to spot him any second. I liked how quickly he cleaned himself up and changed clothes. I had a laugh when Lois busted through Ollie's French office doors, just like Clark used to do to Lex, and Clark told her maybe she should knock first! Oh and was that Gargoyle Oliver and Clark stood above a wink at Batman? That was a great-looking shot! I really appreciate those little things that you all do for the show. Another great scene was when Clark reached in from the back windshield of the car and yanked the assailant out. Clark thumping him up onto the roof of the car was good too. Also thanks for showing us in an earlier epi the textbook Superman move of Clark binding the crooks up in a metal cage.

Chloe, Chloe, Chloe! She has got such a great Poker Face, and we all knew she had brains waaay more worthy than mere newspaper reporting. I like her new hangout and the joke she made about the extra doorkeys. Oh boy so she's tracking Kandorians now, and she probably has already put the time-travel troubles onto her and Emil's radar. I like all of Chloe's new techno toys too.

Now here's my little tribute to all the SMALLVILLE FOLKS: One pill makes you larger, And one pill makes you Smallville...When men on the chessboard Get up and tell you where to go...Go Ask Chloe.

Didn't mind this ep so much but it lacked Clark and Chloe screen time.

At first I groaned when I realized that Chloe was behind the game, thinking that they were making her a huge villain. But I thought AM and JH played it really well and Chloe came off likeable. Somebody could have been hurt but she took every precaution that that wouldn't happen. And Oliver really did seem grateful so I guess it was an acceptable case of the ends justifying the means.

By the way, is it just me or did it seem like Oliver stared into that mirrored wall forever?

Am I high? I thought this was terrible. Almost the worst episode of Smallville ever.

The only part I found interesting was the brief part about Alia and the Chloe stuff was horrendous.

When spoilers started coming out about Chloe for these episodes, I feared that the writers were slowly going to Lex-ify her. It seems that this is coming to pass, with Chloe starting to display questionable, "means to an end" behavior and keeping things from Clark--which, look, fuck Clark and his insistence on full disclosure from all, despite lying his ass off whenever the wind blows east, but the show has clearly stated that to lie to Clark is to be evol. Similarly, Lois is getting the Lana treatment, as she's forgiven all of her shitty behavior simply because of her name.

Oliver had better start doing some straight up Mother Teresa shit if we're supposed to buy that's he's some sort of hero and Chloe's gone dark. I mean, fine, he threw off the funk tonight and reclaimed the GA moniker, but did his decision not to let Roulette burn to death really redeem him? Isn't this the kind of action most people should take in such a situation? He's still a murderer, and he doesn't have a problem with Chloe's underhanded (and way OOC) behavior and he's really not being honest with Clark. Yet, we're supposed to look at these two fools overlooking the city and feel some sort of hope about the future of Metropolis?

Remember when Chlark used to have movie night? Yeah, me too. Remember when Jimmy died, and all of his widow's family and friends gathered around Chloe in a show of love and support? Yeah, me neither.

I know! He like totally destroyed her perfectly good car! WTF?

I've been thinking there is a lot about this Clark that just seems "off", in addition to being oblivious to the consequences of outright destruction of property. A couple other examples:His blatant lack of concern for a suicidal Oliver on his birthday.... Last week's Clark stealing a donut out of that guys hand with a bite out of it to give to Lois. Was that supposed to be humorous? Do the writer's seriously think this is good writing? Or is there something else going on? Is this Bizarro?



I hear you! I'm just not feeling it either. They must think they can put any kind of garbage up on the screen and it won't make any difference. And they're probably right. It's a real shame, such lost potential.

I agree.

I must admit though, I really liked seeing Oliver in the green leather again with his arrows standing proud and tall. :p

I caught the Chloe scenes on YouTube. I regretted it. Next week I probably won't bother with that.

"It's Oliver's birthday today and we always go out for beer pong on our birthdays." What is up with her an alcohol?

Did anyone else notice the guy who kind of looked like Vincent D'Onofrio?

Oh my God! Nois realized Oliver was going to kill himself when she saw the video. Was that a flicker of intelligence and understanding! She must be ILL! No, I kid.

Nois. In over her head like always. Just fuckin' kill her off.

Nois is trying get with the Blur, get with Clark and get with Oliver.


jediknight:



The basic plot was ripped off of the basic plot Michael Douglas movie, The Game. Right down the fake theft of funds, the blanks in the gun and being made to deal with the past. But at least this made a tad more sense with the application of superpowers. Even though we didn't see the people who used those powers. *grumble* But hopefully this is a hint that they will appear later in the season.

The scene with the red pill reminded me of a flash animation someone did for Newgrounds that parodied the red pill/blue pill scene from The Matrix. It doesn't end well for Neo. And the remake is even...more. It's fucking funny.


SaveLevi:



Heh. And it seems like he doesn't enjoy movie night with her. He looks so uncomfortable. He looks like he'd rather be anywhere else but there. And he doesn't look pleased when she invites herself to come with him when he leaves to check on Oliver.


Last Time Lord:



I loved that. I thought, "Finally! Someone called him on it."


Nostariel:



I was distracted by the amount of suck that she brought to the episode while the rest of the episode rocked.



I don't think so. But I'll explain my reason why in the Chlois thread. Unless someone beat me to it.




benteen:



And it wasn't really his secret to tell. It was Oliver's. If Oliver wanted to tell you, bitch, he would have told you. Suck on it. She's Lana 2.0 complaining about "secreth and lieth", but doing it in a far shittier fashion.


Kayla2:



No. A Brainiac reference would be three metal spheres.


SaveLevi:



Yes, but there are people who wouldn't. And that's the point.

Chlarkolate
Lois was hurt.

And yet it still did.

I disagree. Grateful!Ollie is the same dumbass who likes to blackmail and murder people, so his opinion on whether or not the ends justify the means is worth exactly jack shit. There were other ways to stage an intervention, if one wanted to be presumptuous enough to do so. The way Chloe chose was stupid and dangerous and wrong.

Teen Titan
You're not alone. I wouldn't say it was the worst, but it's definitely in my Top 15 Bad Episodes of SV. Towards the bottom, but still there.

SaveLevi
Seriously, when he comes clean about the mindrape, then he might someday have the right to be a sanctimonious ass again. Until that day, he can STFU and STFD, IMNSHO. Unfortunately, Clark is the show's Alien Jesus and I think we're going to get a scene where he reels in horror at what Chloe has become, trys to "save her from herself" for about 2 seconds, then gives up on her like he did with Lex.

Yeah, I'm not even surprised by the this stuff anymore. Did Clana have movie night, too? I wouldn't be surprised.

Khyla
Yes and yes.

Word.

Chlarkolate

Of course, it's Ollie looking at himself. Just like when he stared at himself in the mirror in the lift in Rabid. Possibly the GAYLE again?

Khyla

Remember when the first hint of Bizarro was Clark wearing reversed red and blue for the entire episode? Well, now we have his "traditional" outfit in black and grey when he quick-changes for "movie night": a hint that this isn't quite Clark, or just a disregarding of eight seasons of the shows mythos? In fact, as the racaps covered for last weeks episode: there are still some black pillars in the FoS.

Of course, I may be giving the writers too much credit for these points...

You know what freaking sucks about Clois?

They mocked all the Chlark moments and are stealing what Chlark used to do, but for Chlark it's only Platonic/Friendship those who thought more were Delusional but when they have Clois do the same thing, it's Romance!

I thought it was an ok episode. Nothing too special. If the episode's mission was to absolve Ollie of what he did in Requiem, i am sorry but it didn't work for me. If it was an attempt for him to feel better about himself, then mission accomplished. But there is still a dead Lex out there and Toyman is in jail for a murder he didn't do. That's a personal complaint I have with this arc. It's a mess that Peterson and Souders have gotten themselves into.

Kind of like the mess i saw with Clois this week. Someone mentioned above that this week they saw chemistry in every relationship but Clois and i have to agree. I thought Clois(as rushed as it felt) was ok until Rabid. But in the last 2 episodes, their scenes are way off. Clark was too uptight during movie night and I wasn't sold on how upset Lois was with him later on. Knowing some Clois spoilers about upcoming episodes, they feel OOC on the evidence we got tonight.

I don't know what to make of Chloe's part in Roulette. Morally, I am perfectly fine with it because she took every precaution to make sure that no one got hurt. But I still wonder where they are taking her arc. One thing is for sure. It will take a miracle for her to appear in more than 10 minutes in an episode this season. To be honest, i liked her vibe with Oliver. More than her vibe with Clark this season.

Not for me, if the "point" is to convince us that Ollie is back to his heroic nature. IMO, doing what should be done doesn't make one a superhero, it makes him a decent person.

Lois looked fine to me when she went to see Oliver.

Plus Lois puts her self in stupid situations where she gets hurt all the time so I'm sure there will be a million more times before the season ends. And even this time she put her self in danger by attacking an unknown woman on the street. So really Chloe can't be blamed for cousin's stupidity.

No one else was doing anything to help Oliver they let him continue on his path of self destruction. Lois idea of help is talking about great she is that would've made me want to shoot myself right there. So at least Chloe did something about it. Sometimes waiting for them to figure it out on their own doesn't work and could end up with them dead. By putting him through that test she showed him that he wanted to live and he wanted to fight.

I liked the Chloe/Oliver scene. If this is Chloe's new job I really want to see Watchtower interact with the other heroes more.

This is what annoyed me, Lois was in a fight with someone who we saw landed a few hits. IMO during the fight scene there was no hint that Lois felt pain. She is a physially normal human, she was punched in the face at least twice and didn't show any kind of reaction to it. Not even bruising later in the ep. This annoyed me because I like fights between the not super powered people, they get hit, show pain then the mark of a strong person is they keep going. Someone needs to show ED that when a person gets hit. It hurts.

Other than that this was suprisingly entertaining. Almost felt like Smallville again.

Mmm I agree that Chloe was playing a dangerous game to get what she wanted but since that is the standard rule for every character here (Clark, Lana, Lex and certainly Nois) I'm tempted to do what the show does for the other characters and consider it heroic, necessary, cool and funny, on that same order...Maybe I should use a new term for Chloe: Watchtowery?

I was pleasantly surprised. I didn't think I was going to like this but I really did. The one thing that felt off to me was Lois and Clark's relationship. It felt like it had stepped backwards about 3 weeks. Weird I thought. I'm glad that drunken/brooding Oliver is over. Loved that Ollie called Clark on his crime fighting get-up. That was funny. Loving this show more and more now that it's getting back to what I was hoping for.

Chloe and Oliver last scene saved the episode to me..."you saved my life, the myth and the man"....I love that part...Chloe and Oliver are alike in many ways...that is why he said "I don't expect him to know me like you do" ...she knew what to do to get him back on track....last scene with Clark and Oliver...I enjoyed that scene too...they should explore Chloe and Oliver...I would love to see that....;)

Since Oliver and Chloe have both killed people they would share a certain bond.

Oliver has (although it doesn't matter because he's ICONIC!). Chloe was under Brainiac's influence.



I agree!

Furthermore, AM's given the show 9 years. And the last 4-5 she was getting almost as much screentime as TW. She contributed as much as TW for success of this show and is a fan favorite. This is how PSW treat her after 9 years?! All because they're hoping for s10 and can't/won't get AM onboard?

I am disgusted by Souders, Peterson, and Welling. No wonder they think it's okay Clark and Nois are treating Chloe like dirt, they've done it in RL to AM.

I do like that Chloe seems to know what makes the heroes tick (I'd wager that she knows Clark better than anyone) but I would have liked to know HOW she knows what makes the heroes tick since we've only been shown that Chloe knows Clark so well because they were (and how I weep over that were) best friends. Why would she know Oliver so well? Lois? Actually, her cousins blather might have added insight. It's not like we've seen Chloe and Oliver as good friends or that Oliver knows Chloe in return.

Anyway Ollie was talking about what depths she went to to pull off the events that happened in Roulette.

Sadly, I don't think it's possible to plan for Nois's stupidity.

It didn't take me long to realize they were alluding to (ripping off) the Michael Douglas movie The Game. Hence the Fatal Attraction reference in the end.

The writers clearly have no idea how to properly carry out a character arc. Last week Clark stands up Lois, she gets mad and decided not to get too close. This week they've got movie night- so much for not getting close. She realizes he lied to her and gets mad and once again decides not to get close. What do you think will happen next week? Same back and forth. They reach a crisis in the relatiionship and then next week back to normal. This is the Star Trek Voyager philosophy of relationships. (Blow up the ship, next week the ship's fine.)

Of course, I watch this show for the same reason I watched Voyager. I need one show that disappoints me because of it's squandered potential. It could be so much better but it isn't. Plus, I apparently live on outrage. This show gets 9+ seasons and Firefly and Pushing Daisies get cancelled? Nerd Outrage is good source of fiber.

And for some reason, they chose to remind us in the previouslies that Lois just can't be with a superhero because she doesn't want to share him with the world. Why would you want that in our minds, writers? Why is it OK when it's Clark, but not OK when it was Ollie? Has something about Lois changed? Maybe while she was doing all that writing in Offscreenville, she learned a valuable lesson? Wouldn't that be something to put on screen, instead of...say, crazy jewelers with lie detectors?

It felt like this episode was just outside of the continuity. Last week, Clark was reading minds to get a date with Lois. This week, he flinches from sitting next to her on the sofa? Really? I mean, I was as shy as the next shy guy when I was twenty-or-so. But, if the hot girl with whom I was currently smitten had shown up and wanted to spend the evening snuggling on my sofa, a week after I had read her mind and knew that she liked me That Way, I'm pretty sure I could get over being shy. Clark! She's a sure thing! Just FYI!

But it's not just that. Chloe set up the game to get Oliver out of his death spiral. Whatever. But she had Bart, Dinah and Cyborg (whose name I'm sure will come to me moments after I press send) to help her? Even though, last we heard, the Justice League had disbanded, they had all gone their separate ways, and Chloe was having to track them electronically, she is now able to give them orders to participate in an underhanded ruse to trick Oliver? And then, what, they disappear again?

I must be high too. That's the only explanation.

ETA: And for the record, I agree with those who think it's none of Lois' damn business if Oliver tried to kill himself. That's Oliver's secret, not Clark's, you nosy shrew.

Lousy beginning, nice ending. The rooftop scene, Clark and Oliver, gargoyle and Metropolis, was awesome!

Got off to a very slow start. Ripoff of the Sean Penn/Michael Douglas movie The Game and several bad James Bond movies; they've even done this before on Smallville, with Lionel having to run the gauntlet for some sadistic bastard. Kind of an interesting twist at the end, that the "sadistic bastard" was Chloe and it was done for Ollie's benefit. Awfully contrived, though. In the end, what this episode reminded me of most was that old TV show Mission Impossible.

There were so many things that could've gone wrong, and yet didn't, that the whole thing smelled of contrivance. What if that savage attack dog had bitten Ollie's ass? Game over. What if he had pulled the trigger on Roulette/Lois... pistol loaded with blanks? Game over. What if Ollie had checked the clip first, and reloaded with live ammo? Game really over. What if he hadn't trusted that (obviously bogus) FBI agent, what if he hadn't believed Roulette in that last scene?

When everything falls neatly into place in a risky, reckless scheme, I call bogus. When Ollie is grateful to Chloe for tricking him, making him run barefoot (!) all night through junkyards and over city pavement, I call bogus. When Ollie, who didn't hesitate once before to fire an arrow through Lex's (he thought) head, somehow can't bring himself to shoot (he thinks) Roulette, I call bogus.

On the plus side, everyone gave it their best effort. JH is a really good actor, and he outdid himself in this episode. Great range of believable emotion. TW and ED were great together, date night at the Kent Farm was excellent. Laundry and shark movies! Lois and Ollie, it turns out, have a great friendship tradition... that was Lois at her best. I thought it was very poignant too, her disappointment with Clark, that he had withheld from her all that was going on with Ollie. And of course Clark can't explain. That was real, that was developed naturally!

And Allison Mack did something incredible. In her first scene, the one at Watchtower, as she's "explaining" things, I noticed... wow... Allison's acting is off tonight. Like she's just phoning it in. Like her heart is not in it. And then, at the end of the episode, I realized... she was playing Chloe acting a part. And since Chloe isn't a professional actor, her acting was "off"! What a great way to play it! Bravo, AM!!

It strikes me that this entitled attitude is actually pretty similar to Clark's. He has always pissed and moaned when not granted full disclosure from Lex, Chloe, etc. about things that were none of his damned business. Maybe these two sanctimonious assholes really do deserve one another.

As a Chloe fan, I like where she is going. I would love to see her going dark team and up with Zod, that would be an awesome FU to Clark and give the fans who want to kick TPTB a metophorical kick via Clark.

IMHO, I think they are setting up a Green Arrow spin off, between last week and this weeks Ollie centric episodes I just get that feeling. Tom can be EP and Director, with the sweeps guest star for ratings bumps.

All in all this show still has some nice moments

Well, nice visual effect for sure...but how is Green Arrow going to help save anybody from the top of a friggin' building? With no super powers he couldn't even be aware of crimes and victims that need saving--and if he did see some criminal doing his evil thing...what does he do--take the express elevator to save the day?

Eh, I don't know that Ollie can really critique Clark there.


Hmm, I'll have to check that out, I was a bit distracted during that scene.

Granted Green Arrow is not expected to swoop down like a falcon from the building top, but I am more than happy to allow a superhero a moment of majesty surveying his domain. Batman does it. Anyway, it was a nice vignette.

I liked the scene with Oliver and Chloe. I wonder if this is a one-off for Chloe as a combination of manipulator and yoda-like guru? That aside Oliver setting the white queen on the table was memorable. And their conversation was mature and interesting.

Chloe teaming with Zod, becoming his queen, enslaving Clark , Nois and the league would be the best series finale ever. Trumping Angel "I want to slay the dragon" one.

True that. This is the same Oliver that decided to kill Lex because Lionel had killed his parents. Think about this...he wanted to kill Lex for something he had absolutely nothing to do with. I was all for taking out Lex but you couldn't possibly make a more morally wrong decision that that.

We know that Jor-El can "see" so I guess Clark showed him Alia's picture.

I think it was actually Alia's brand on her shoulder that Jor-El recognized. Each Kandorian has a family crest with which they identify themselves. The House of El has the Superman "S" that we all know, and Zod's (what's his first name by the way?) is that "Z" ish looking symbol that we have been shown. I think that was one of the things Clark was supposed to be studying up at the Fortress; all of the different families of Kandor and their crests. Plus each one of them had a family Fortress call as well. It would seem to me that as soon as Zod regains his powers he'll be able to hear the El call and he'll be able to find Clark's fortress.

I hope that the Writers don't forget what a big deal family bracelets were among the women of Kandor. It would be nice to hear a mention of the bracelets when we see the Kandorians again. I guess since Zod's army were actually going into battle as their last memory, the women would have left their bracelets behind.



My fanwank is that Chloe began to really get to know Oliver back in Freak S6E15, when Lana had Oliver pick Tobias up after Dr. Bethany tried to kill him. Chloe discovered that she like Tobias was meteor-infected, and I think it would have been natural for her to turn to Oliver for help (in Offscreensville).

Plus as you've suggested Lois probably shared some girltalk with Chloe about Oliver when they were dating. Plus Chloe had a spying device planted in Oliver's belt buckle. Now HOW Chloe got Oliver's belt would have been something I would have liked to have seen!

I've been wondering about Oliver being left barefoot in Roulette. I'm probably reading way too much symbolism into that, but since Ollie was the barefooted "dead man" was that a wink to the cover of the Beatles album Abbey Road, when the barefooted Paul McCartney was rumored to have died?

They were working together on their own as far back as Siren, so I think it's safe to say they keep in touch with each other in Offscreenville.