Smallville – Ambush review

After being sidetracked with two filler episodes and yes they were filler, the show is back on track with a vengeance with an episode that brings us the Suicide Squad and the Vigilante Registration Act as well as the returns of General Sam and Lucy Lane, Lois’ father and sister. This marks the Lane family reunion, the first time Clark wore his new prototype suit in action, and the final appearance of the Talon. Ambush is written by Henderson and Whitehead, who wrote the season premiere Lazarus. Ambush was filled with character relationships, action, plot, and suspense.

Clark’s leadership continues to shine through as he stood up to General Lane like no one else can and he has earned the General’s respect in the end. He also stood up to Oliver about Tess and her place in the team as well as trusting her. It was awesome to see him in action wearing the new prototype suit and teaming up with Oliver to deal with the Suicide Squad. We also see the first friction between Clark and Lois after revealing everything to each other and being in a relationship. It was Clark who told Lois to stand up for what she believes in against anyone, including her father. Clark was the one who made the Thanksgiving dinner possible with the Lane family, but I wished they provide a reason Martha can’t be there.

Clark’s rocky start with General Lane has caused Lois to be conflicted between her love for Clark and her father. Lois had to stand up to her father about Clark and had to bond with her sister, Lucy. However, I disagree with Lois about dealing with her family because she hasn’t seen her father and sister for several years, but if she’s talking about Chloe that I can understand. However, Clark has been dealing with his family a lot more than Lois dealing with hers. It was a good thing she wasn’t angry at Clark for kissing Lucy.

We see Tess’ first outing as the new Watchtower. While Clark trusts her, Oliver still doesn’t and is trying to adjust to the idea of having Tess in the group after being so used to Chloe. It took Clark to get through to him about Tess as he begins to trust her in the end. Also, Oliver will have to leave Metropolis to return to Star City as he tells Tess about the negatives of coming out in public, but I wished they’d show it instead of merely telling it. It was great to see how Clark, Oliver, and Tess working together as Tess is a lot more forthcoming than Chloe ever was last season.

The way General Sam Lane was written in this episode is the way he should be written in the comics. The writers of Smallville are about to get into the heads of the characters that the comics writers couldn’t and that is sad. General Lane’s position about the Vigilante Registration Act makes him the target of the Suicide Squad. Lucy is somewhat the same as she was the last time we saw her back in the 4th season. She was used as a plot device to move the story along.

The Suicide Squad are used pretty well and have the potential to succeed in this season that Checkmate couldn’t last season. It was awesome to see Clark, Oliver, and Tess discovering that they’re tracked by the Suicide Squad as Tess’ background with Checkmate was put into use. They brought up Shield in terms of Oliver, but they should have referenced Clark saving Cat. I was right that the Vigilante Registration Act was going to pass by the end of the episode and we see the Suicide Squad’s reaction to it as war is declared.

Much, much better episode than the last two and deserves to be up there with Lazarus, Shield, and Homecoming. Henderson and Whitehead continue to shine as writers for this season.