SMALLVILLE: Shield

This week’s SMALLVILLE has me on a love/hate rollercoaster! While I wasn’t so thrilled with a few turn of events in “Shield”, there was no way I would ever turn it off because I was afraid I could miss something! It felt like the first day of school, exciting yet uncomfortably new. Now that the season premiere is over and we’re settling into the storyline for the season I couldn’t help but notice the changes among the cast, and how a few of the character’s roles that have changed…just a bit.

My issue, or should I say issues, with the second episode of the season? Chloe, Tess, Dead Shot, and tonight’s guest star Keri Lynn Pratt, who you may remember from the former WB show Jack and Bobby. Don’t get me wrong – it’s the final season and with Clark set to become Superman, change is inevitable, but with Chloe missing the show feels off. Instead of mulling over the web with Chloe, Clark is relying on the help of Tess, with hesitation I admit.

It was strange and eerie when Clark set up Cat Grant in the apartment above the Talon. But the show must go on and I’m sure with all the action about to hit Smallville, this episode just had to be one that spent time building the story up for the final season.

Luckily we did get to see Lois, who has ventured out to Egypt to let Clark be the hero he needs to be. It was some good time spent for the Daily Planet reporter who needed to come to terms with Clark, his powers, and all the things in life she didn’t know existed., even though they were right in font of her face. Carter Hall (aka Hawkman) also showed up to spend time with Lois and watch over her. The superheroes wisdom really seemed to help out too. And what about that kiss?

Meanwhile Clark is stuck trying to help Hello Kitty’s biggest fan, Cat Grant, his new partner, now that Lois is gone, from being gunned down by Dead Shot. Who I thought was an enemy of Batman? The whole time Clark thinks Dead shot is after Cat, he is really after him, which is usually the case. Honestly, you can’t love every guest star, and lets just say I wasn’t loving this week’s villain. It was easy to overlook though, with more news on the absent Chloe surfacing here and there throughout the episode, and because Dead Shot is part of a bigger story when it comes to the suicide squad, who is also after Clark and all of Smallville’s resident heroes. How Darkseid and his cronies play into this as well, I don’t know? But it sure makes things harder for Superman this season with this collection of evil villains strewn about, which brings me back to Chloe.

In a case like this Chloe would be Clark’s go to girl. With hell breaking loose all over Metropolis and Clark’s lack of computer skills, compared to Chloe, I think he’s going to have a hard time keeping order. Maybe we’ll find out she’s MIA, but still keeping track of Clark and Oliver? Will she come back as her own superhero? Is she in training like Lana? That would make for a killer story! With Clark and Oliver fighting over the fact that they didn’t trust Chloe enough that could be a possible upcoming storyline.

And when it comes to Tess, I still can’t tell where her loyalties lie. Is she telling Oliver the whole truth about resetting the system with Chloe? And where is Alexander? She’s up to something evil! Maybe we’ll find out next week! Until then, it’s time to talk about “Shield”. Where are my fellow Smallville addicts?