SMALLVILLE Recap: ‘Masquerade’

“Masquerade,” SMALLVILLE’s latest episode, was just that: one big bad ball where just about everybody, excluding Lois, has been hiding their own identities for so long they are not sure who they are anymore, until an encounter with Desaad.

Desaad, a servant of Darkseid, is back and playing on all those emotions that most would never admit. After trapping several FBI agents and infecting them with the darkness, Chloe and Oliver find themselves in the middle of it all after innocently pretending to be the Jones’ in order to get a table. Without Oliver’s playboy identity opening doors and Chloe’s non-existent…well, existence, a night out in public is now a luxury and apparently dangerous, after they end up in the back of a trunk.

In some of the funniest scenes of the night, Chloe and Oliver may have both been facing some serious internal struggles over who they are and what they mean to each other, but they still managed to create some laughs. After wiping the floor with the FBI they shared a kiss like Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Their fighting in the back of the car was also hilarious, as the duo reversed the stereotypical gender roles when Chloe forgets their anniversary, leaving Oliver in a huff.

And while all of this is going down, Lois and Clark are working out their own issues. Clark needs to find a disguise after Lois spots him out and about while he is on a supposed “milk run.” Too close to the headlines, Lois wants Clark to make a change fast before he ends up like Oliver. In what I thought would be a funny situation, things were actually too serious — with the exception of Lois first attempts at making Clark a costume with a leather jacket, a bobby pin and a hoodie. Not too talented with a sewing needle, none of these little experiments change Clark’s mind. He’s come this far without having to hide his face, so why should he bother now?

After making a save while working his day job at the Daily Planet, Clark decides that Lois is right. I really thought there was chance that Clark would be donning the official Superman costume, cape and all, but not yet. Instead he busts out those thick black Clark Kent glasses, deciding to disguise the farm boy instead of his superhero alter ego. And with a few quick pushes of the finger to adjust his glasses, Clark just brings you back to the days of Christopher Reeve!

A few other highlights of the episode came when we saw Chloe and Clark almost kiss while she was under the manipulation of Desaad. For a split second she almost fell right into Clark’s arms, but Chloe refused to give into to something she knew was a trick and not reality. She also refused to go with Oliver, too, or fall for Lois’ taunting speech. It’s good to have Chloe back!

Unfortunately with all of this going down we didn’t get a story on anything Luthor-related this time around, which meant Tess and Alexander were missing, While we know that Lionel is somewhere out there after Clark saved him from the burning Luthor mansion, whatever became of Tess and her promise to make things right for the character some are saying is Connor Kent? Is he really the next superhero who could find himself the lead star of a SMALLVILLE spin off?

Until next week SMALLVILLE fans! Don’t forget, the next episode has the show’s little tribute to THE HANGOVER!