Remember in last season's finale when Clark told Zod and the Kandorians that he was sending them to "a better place" and made it sound like a pretty good option? Well, it looks like he actually sent them to the Phantom Zone, just like he sent Slade Wilson earlier this season. Speaking of Slade, he suddenly turns up comatose on terra firma, so Clark and the gang know that someone or something has activated the Zone's portal. Which is weird, because only members of Clark's family are supposed to be able to do that and he doesn't have any family left. So he gets Tess to activate the Phantom Zone crystal so he can go check things out, but then Oliver sort of invites himself along because Clark will be powerless up there and doesn't have a lot of experience fighting like that.
Once up there, they discover the place festively decorated with a bunch of Omega skulls. Finally the show remembered the Darkseid plot! Oliver and Clark are whisked by phantoms to the Zone's new ruler. It's Zod, who's wearing the Zone crystal around his neck and reminds us that Clark once saved him with his own blood. So somehow that made them familial enough for Zod to open the portal. Turns out it was all Darkseid's idea, who came to Zod and promised him rule over the Zone in exchange for getting Clark up there and out of his way back on Earth. Zod immediately pits Clark against some beefy hunk of Zoner in a fight to the death while all his rowdy subjects cheer on. When Clark refuses to kill, Zod kills his opponent for him. With a finite supply of people in the Zone, it seems like a dumb thing to do, but whatever. Zod sweet-talks Oliver into joining him, revealing that Oliver has been marked by Darkseid. Oliver and Clark are then forced to fight each other through a series of slow-motion beauty shots. Oliver skewers Clark, but when Zod comes to make the killing blow, they grab the crystal from around his neck and zap themselves out of there, destroying the Phantom Zone in the process. It was all part of the plan, see?
Meanwhile, back on Earth, Lois and Tess have been waiting for the boys to return. Things got a bit tense once Lois realized that Tess planned to destroy the crystal—and thus Clark's way home—if he didn't make it back. It was actually Clark's plan, but all is forgiven once he returns. At the end, Oliver almost confesses his Omega status to Clark, but then Clark is all "we gotta lock those people up!" and he clams up about it.
Discuss this episode in our forums, then see what we will and won't miss about the show. And see what our vlogger thinks about the show, below!
What are people saying about your favorite shows and stars right now? Find out with Join the conversation now!
Previously on Smallville: Jor-El created the Phantom Zone, which was an intergalactic prison for a bunch of baddies; Darkseid went around marking people's skulls with an Omega symbol; Oliver got marked after he beat DeSaad to a pulp; Mama Lane bequeathed Lois "Old Blue," a small glass bird that symbolized hope; Lois and Clark decided to sell the farm and get an apartment in Metropolis.
Currently on Smallville: One of Lois's first tasks in getting their new apartment ready is to find just the right place for Old Blue, which she does on a precarious-looking window shelf overlooking the fire escape. On first watching, I spent half the episode worried someone would knock that bird right over the edge. Clark comes in with a box that Lois has labeled for the living room, but he thinks this must surely be a mistake because inside is a pillow made out of her old Whitesnake concert shirt. He's mildly aghast that Lois wants to display this thing on their nice sofa. He's lucky that it's just a picture of a guy playing guitar and not, like, humping his mic stand. Lois says Oliver and Chloe have managed to blend their styles together with no problems. [Luckily, they both like green. - Zach] Clark sighs and tells her not to worry. "My 'for better or for worse' will include your love of hair metal." He looks like he'd rather eat kryptonite Cheerios, but at least he's trying. That thing would be first on my "to accidentally burn" list. Clark offers to unpack the rest of their stuff at super-speed, but Lois is against the idea. "Part of us merging our lives together is taking the time to find just the right spot for everything." That's sweet, but if anyone with super powers wants to help me move year, please drop me a line. Screw finding the perfect spot for stuff! Clark says something equally sweet about his spot being right there with Lois. "We'll take as much time as you need," he says.
Their laptop trills at them. It's Tess, video-calling them with important news. "I just heard from one of my military contacts," she says. "Slade Wilson's back." She says he was found unconscious in the street, in a coma and completely unresponsive. Good. That way we don't have to waste a scene visiting him in the hospital. Clark and Lois exchange worried looks. "There's only one way out of the Phantom Zone," Clark says. "It has to be activated by a member of my family -- the House of El." Yeah, I'm pretty sure the people you're talking to remember your family name, Clark. Lois thinks someone has stolen the family's key.
Factory? Oliver's pacing in a dark room with all sorts of equipment and machines and pipe valves and... I don't know what the hell. It's just a random place to have a sneaky rendezvous. Tess appears silently behind him, but he knows her well enough to know she's there without looking. "Your hunch was right," she tells him. She babbles about all the research she's done and how it's led her to "the bow of Orion." She gives him a tablet PC with coordinates to a destination somewhere on the "Celtic coast." Tess wants to know what's going on. She did all that research blind? Dang. "It's Hawkman's quest," Oliver says. "He saw this guy Orion use it the last time he kicked Darkseid's ass halfway across the universe." His family's Veritas journals gave him the last bit of info he needed to find it. He feels like it's his own personal responsibility to find it, but Tess reminds him they're a team. He asks her to trust him. She grants him that, but still looks worried as he walks away.
Church. Oliver kneels before a stand of memorial votives. As he makes the Sign of the Cross, he flashes back to moments of his Orion research, interspersed with quick cuts of his fight with DeSaad and the Omega symbol burning into his skull. He gets up, walks slowly down the aisle and pauses to look up at an angel statue. After a few moments, he leaves. The angel weeps black fluid that drops onto the camera and blanks out the screen, providing a backdrop for the end credits. What the...? Is that going to turn out to mean something, or was it the director's (Justin Hartley himself in this case) desire to seem meaningful? Guess we'll find out one way or the other. It's almost the end, kiddies. Rest up, drink up, see you week.
Discuss this episode in our forums, then see what we will and won't miss about the show. And see what our vlogger thinks about the show, below!
What are people saying about your favorite shows and stars right now? Find out with Join the conversation now!
Watchtower. Tess fires up the same doohickey that Emil used a while back to fix the broken mirror box. This time, she's using it to activate the Phantom Zone key. It's sort of an all-purpose doohickey. Clark's plan is to go into the Zone to figure out who released Slade, but Tess isn't keen on the idea. Oliver walks through the doors, ready for the road trip Clark didn't realizing they were teaming up for. Clark turns to Tess, looking genuinely hurt. "You told him I was going in?" he asks. Tess doesn't have time to answer. Miffed, Oliver says, "I come back here, willing to risk life and limb with you in the Phantom Zone, and I get not so much as a welcome back?" They could at least compliment him on his hair, which did a lot of growing in the last few weeks. Clark turns his accusatory gaze back to Tess, who explains that Clark will be powerless up there. "Oliver has a lot more experience with that." "Thanks," Oliver says dryly. I hope Justin Hartley gets to do something comedic after this. Clark is totally against Oliver coming along. Oliver doesn't put up a fight. Tess gives Clark a device that looks like a watch, saying, "Thanks to Booster's upgrade, Watchtower should be able to maintain two-way communication using the frequency vibrations in the crystal." So... magic? Also, it seems sort of like cheating to use tech from the future. They're going to end up with a whole bunch of Terminators down the road. Tess does some fiddling at the computer and gets the crystal up and running. Sparkly blue light swells out from it. As Clark walks toward it, Oliver suddenly jumps him from behind and they both fall into the light. Tess looks scared. Somebody save them!
They land with a thud in the desolate waste of the Phantom Zone. It looks like the Fortress, but with black crystals instead of white and sand instead of snow. Oliver groans, "If I'd known about the long drop in, I would have brought some rappelling equipment." That Oliver, always ready with the jokes. You know what he should have been ready with? Weapons. Clark is pissed. He grabs Oliver by the lapels of his jacket and gives him a little shake, angry that Oliver didn't trust him. Oliver pushes his hands away, equally pissed at Clark for not having faith in his friends. "I came here to help you," he says. "Wherever the hell this is." He gets a look around for the first time. Everything looks simultaneously dark and overexposed under harsh, gritty light. There are so many lens flares throughout the episode that you might think for a moment you're watching J.J. Abrams's Star Trek. Or that maybe the Phantom Zone is inside some sort of giant, intergalactic disco ball.
As they wander through the Fortress's opposite, they see that the place has been festively decorated with hundreds of human skulls. Some sit atop pikes, others dangle from garlands. All are marked with Omegas. "It's a warning from the Zoners," Clark explains. "Consider it a not-so-friendly 'keep out' sign." Is there such a thing as a friendly "keep out" sign? It's all relative, I guess. Also, the trip has done absolutely fantastic things for Clark's hair. It's all curly and tousled and... not dorky. He looks years younger. They realize Darkseid has been there and may have been responsible for sending Slade back to Earth. Oliver's a bit unimpressed. "When you said Jor-El built a prison, I pictured something a little more confined than a national park." What kind of national parks are you going to? Clark explains that "Krypton's worst criminals could have some kind of life" there. "Seems like a real sweetheart," Oliver says under his breath. They make their way to the gateway, which is also bedecked with an assortment of skulls. Clark buzzes his little watch thing to let Watchtower know what's going on. Before they can get to the portal, they hear an eerie shriek in the distance. "Phantoms," Clark says. "They're the most dangerous prisoners here; we need to hurry." They reach the console, which is made of the same black crystal as the rest of the place and stamped with a big S-shield. The middle of the shield has a conspicuous empty spot. "Someone took the crystal," Clark says. Oliver's not quite grasping the urgency of the situation, so Clark explains that the crystal itself is the gate. "Whoever sent Slade back must have taken it with them." Maybe before they came all this way, they should have checked Slade to see if he had it. He doesn't, of course, but they didn't know that. Clark and Oliver ready themselves for battle. A phantom swoops in, black and ragged like a Hefty bag full of leaves that's been left outside too long, and devours the screen whole.
Watchtower. Tess listens to the staticky, garbled sounds of the fight. Lois walks in through the doors and Tess mutes the sound. "They aren't back yet?" Lois asks, incredulous. It's not like they went to the corner store for gum, you know. Tess is strangely jittery as she tries to convince Lois she has the situation under control. That must be her way of telling Lois to skedaddle, because Lois argues back that she's not leaving until she knows Clark is safe. The computer pipes up with an announcement: "Crystal transmission interrupted." Tess is wearing thick-framed glasses; how did Lois even recognize her? Tess glances at her watch, fiddles with the computer. She can't get a signal. "Maybe the problem's on our end," Lois suggests. "No, either the signal's been blocked or the communicator's been destroyed," Tess says, not realizing how bad that sounds until the words are already out of her mouth. Lois tries to keep calm and optimistic, but Tess is less so. "Clark and Oliver are on their own now," she says.
Zone. A man and woman in black robes march a shackled Clark and Oliver into something that looks like a big, airy tent made of gauze and burlap and dirt floors. It's actually not bad. It's got sort of a post-apocalyptic chic to it, like if Mad Max had been set in a Pottery Barn photo shoot. Clark and Oliver are brought before a man sitting in a throne that seems to have been lashed together out of driftwood and sun-bleached bones. A hood obscures his face. Some really long albino snakes slither around this guy's arms. What did the poor snakes do to deserve being sent to the Phantom Zone? The mystery man stands up, pulls back his hood and smiles, because he's Zod and he's just a little bit creepy like that. "Kneel," he commands. ["Before Zod!" mouth thousands of geeks silently! - Z] Clark and Oliver gape for a bit and then their captors shove them to their knees. Commercials!
After the commercials, Oliver is taken away so Zod and Clark can have a private confab. "Where are you taking Oliver?" Clark asks. "You're worried for him; you should be," Zod says, then punches him in the gut. Clark falls to the ground. Zod has a new beard that's quite fetching. He's also dialed the ham back from a full Easter dinner to a rasher of bacon. He both empathizes with and mocks Clark's powerless concern for Oliver. Clark vows to defeat him, with or without the yellow sun. Zod isn't the least bit afraid. He saunters back to his bone throne and tells Clark what happened to him when he arrived. "I made a very special acquaintance -- someone you know -- and someone I'm very, very fond of," he says. "Who?" Clark asks. "Me," Zod answers. Clark thinks for a moment, then remembers the original Zod's phantom. Zod has both his original memories and the memories of clone Zod who spent last season chewing up the scenery. Zod unsheathes a big, rusty-looking sword and saunters back over to Clark. (He does a lot of sauntering; it's his default mode of transportation.) He gives Clark a little jab in the chest with the tip of his blade. He looks forward to making Clark kneel and serve. "You sent me to my death sentence," he says quietly. "You left me at the mercy of those Kandorians. This was my punishment." A glint of light catches Clark's eye and he sees the gate crystal hanging from a cord around Zod's neck. "Jor-El built this place for your kind," Clark says. Zod punches him right in his smart mouth. Clark crumples to the floor, bleeding. Zod turns the discussion to Slade and Clark using Jor-El's prison for his own purposes. "There's no trial, no jury... Just the rule of Kal-El." Word. Of course, Clark will never give a thought to what Zod's saying, but it's nice to hear someone calling him out on his judgmental self. Zod smiles, though, pointing out that Clark was his own undoing. Clark realizes Zod trapped him by sending Slade back. "You knew I'd come looking for answers," he says. He read ahead in the script. Otherwise, it would have been sort of a crap shoot.
Zod starts to walk away, but Clark calls him back with a question. He wants to know how Zod got the console crystal. Zod explains they're blood brothers because Clark healed him with his blood. Clark casts his gaze heavenward for a moment: Man, that's bitten me in the ass twice now! He struggles to his feet, denying that they're brothers. He says he only saved Zod's life because it was the right thing to do. "We have nothing in common," he says. Zod begs to differ, saying that it's not just Clark's powers that make him Kryptonian, but their shared instincts and decisiveness. They're single-minded and headstrong, he says. And y'all both have a penchant for long, black coats and pouting. "We were meant to be leaders," Zod says. Clark calls him a tyrant who only believes in himself, but Zod is unfazed. Who else is a megalomaniac going to believe in? Zod talks about not being able to depend on others, then brings up the story of Cain and Abel. "Which brother are you, Kal-El?" Clark thinks for a while, then answers, "Well, I'd never murder you." Yeah, I can never remember which brother is which, either. "I saved you," Clark reminds him. Zod punches him again, then gets all up in his face. "You exiled me," he says. "I'm in charge here, and you're about to find out what that means, brother."
Zod's minions bring Clark to a sort of arena that looks like the place he and Oliver first materialized, but now the black crystals have been festooned with frayed ropes and bits of gauze. That's not a dig; kudos for reusing sets in a fairly creative way. A large, rowdy crowd has gathered. This may well be the most extras the show's used in a while. In the center of the arena, two men in leather underpants are whacking at each other with swords and axes. In a cage off to the side, Oliver shouts to Clark that they want him to fight to the death. Zod watches the battle from his perch in another, even grander bone throne. If he has spares, I'd totally like one for my balcony. The fight pleases him so much that he actually wriggles in his seat. One of the fighters slashes the other across the throat with his axe, sending a spray of blood arcing through the air. Clark watches, horrified. The wounded fighter falls and is dragged out of the arena. The victor takes a moment to posture in front of Zod before going after Clark. Clark's just kind of standing there, so Oliver shouts, "Look out!" Clark ducks and jumps, avoiding his attacker's blows. He grabs the fallen fighter's shield at Oliver's urging. It breaks in half after a few whacks, so Clark uses it as a weapon, backhanding his opponent with it. He knocks the axe out of the other guy's hand. Oliver hands him a metal mask from the ground. Clark's like, "I'm not covering my pretty face with this!" so he uses it to bludgeon the other fighter. He knocks the guy back against the cage. Zod is literally on the edge of his seat, eyes glazed, a slack smile upon his lips. I think all this violence is giving him a bone throne in his pants. The crowd chants for the death of Clark's opponent, but Clark looks into the man's frightened eyes and tosses the helmet aside. Zod slumps back in his seat, unsatisfied. After a few moments, he gets up and gestures to the crowd for silence. "In the arena, we answer failure with the only thing suitable: death." Zod's minions approach Clark with spears, but when Zod draws his sword, it's the other man who dies. Clark is disgusted. Zod schools him on the whole "kill or be killed" thing. "Consider this your one free pass," he adds. "If you fail to finish the job again, it'll be you to drag along by your heels." What? Oliver looks confused, too. Zod returns to his throne, flanked by hot chicks in leather bikinis. Sometimes it's good to be king.
Watchtower. Tess is still trying to restore communication with Clark while Lois paces around behind her. Lois notices that Tess keeps checking her watch. Tess explains she's just checking to see how long Clark and Oliver have been gone, but she's so nervous that it comes off sounding pretty weak. Tess says something about how "cool heads will prevail" but she seems anything but cool at the moment. Lois grows increasingly antsy. Having been to the Phantom Zone herself, she knows what Clark and Oliver are facing. "We have to get them out," she says. "I'm trying," Tess says, turning back to her computer. Lois grabs her arm and says she's not trying hard enough. She tells Tess to check the "crystal laser thingy." As soon as Tess steps away from the computer, Lois takes over. A timer pops up on the monitor along with some text that includes the words "incinerate crystal." Lois realizes with dawning horror that Tess means to destroy the gate.
Phantom Zone. Two more fighters take to the arena as Clark is shoved into the cage to Oliver's. Just a note to any aspiring supervillains out there: If you have two or more enemies in your custody and they happen to be friends with each other, don't stick them to each other in prison so they can plot your demise. Oliver tells Clark he'd rather take his chances out in the desert with the Phantoms than in Zod's arena. Clark says Zod has the key they need to get home. Also, he and Tess set the crystal to self-destruct if he didn't make it back. "How does Lois feel about that?" Oliver asks. "Lois doesn't know," Clark says. "I'd hoped to get us out of here before we had to worry about that." Jerk. I hope Lois gives you a kryptonite knee to the crotch when you get home. Oliver panics just a wee bit, because it's not like Clark has any powers in here. What's he supposed to do to get them out? I bet he could flirt his way to freedom; he's looking really pretty. Clark says he knows everything Jor-El wrote about the Phantom Zone. Also, he knows how Zod thinks. As they watch through the bars of their cages, a beefy, shirtless gladiator triumphs over his opponent with an axe to the head. "I hope all your studying paid off," Oliver says. "Because it's test time."
Watchtower. Tess realizes that Lois has figured out the plan. "Destroying the crystal was a last resort," she explains. "I didn't want to worry you." That just pisses her off even more. Tess tries to explain that Clark knew the risks but Lois accuses her of betraying the team. Tess tells her she's acting on Clark's orders. Lois looks stunned for a few moments, then gathers herself up and announces she thinks it's a terrible plan. As far as Smallville plans go, it's actually not bad. "There's no way he'd be OK with it," Lois says, although she clearly realizes that's not true. Tess reminds Lois of the last time the Phantoms got out. Clark doesn't want them to hurt anyone else. Lois turns away, takes some deep breaths. Her eyes fill with tears. Tess tries to sympathize with her, but Lois grabs a gun from Tess's desk and aims it at her. Dramatic! Tess looks more resigned than afraid. She says she doesn't want to give up on them, but: "We have a responsibility to not put the world at risk for selfish reasons, which is what you're doing by wanting to see him again." Tess says being with a hero means accepting that hero's sacrifices. Lois disagrees. "Being a hero's wife means never accepting defeat." Tess makes a mental note to find a better hiding place for her gun.
Phantom Zone. Zod's minions bring Oliver into the auxiliary throne room for a little tête-à-tête with Zod. Zod skips right over the small talk and says, "At least here you're on equal footing with Kal-El. Having to work alongside someone with the powers of a god must be so demoralizing." Zod wriggles in his chair again. He should consider getting a cushion for that thing. Oliver's pretty sure of himself and offers to fight Zod to prove it. A delighted Zod dismisses his minions. It's Oliver's anger that has Zod so tickled. He gets up and wanders over to a table. "I've seen what Darkseid is capable of," he says, looking a bit frightened at the memory. He says that after the Kandorians sent him to the Zone, Darkseid found him. (On first watching I missed Zod saying the Kandorians had sent him there. All I remembered was Clark making kind of a big deal about how only an El could open the Zone, which is why I thought he sent them there. Silly me, substituting logic for what actually happened!) Darkseid struck a deal with Zod: get Clark up here and out of his way and Zod could rule over the Phantom Zone. Oliver's thinking that they took care of that whole Darkseid problem. That makes Zod laugh a little. "There are millions -- millions -- on Earth just waiting to surrender to the will of Darkseid, and you, friend, are one of them." He brings Oliver a cup of water. He's a polite host, if nothing else. Oliver looks momentarily doubtful, then accuses Zod of trying to trick him. Zod speaks very qently and sympathetically of Oliver's history of anger, starting with the death of his parents. He should have used more of this quietly insidious charisma on Earth instead of blustering about like a baby throwing a tantrum. Oliver tries to deny that he's been infected, but Zod calls him an agent of Darkseid. "What would Clark think, knowing you were a marked man?" Oliver turns away. He plays out a confession in his thoughts then answers, "He would stand by me." He doesn't sound so sure. Zod works a chisel into that crack, tries to make him turn on Clark. "Inevitably, you'll be cast out of his good graces like I was." He says Oliver could rule the Phantom Zone with him, as his brother. Oliver turns to look at him again. He looks hopeful. Zod says he'd hoped Kal-El would be his brother, but, in stark contrast to what he told Clark earlier, says they had nothing in common. He frees Oliver from his shackles, squeezes his shoulder and advises him to draw power from his dark side. Otherwise, he'll die. Oliver looks very serious.
thing you know, he's striding back into the arena, kitted out like a gladiator. He's given up his shirt in favor of a leather breastplate. He wears two swords across his back. Clark is already in the arena. Even though he's Zod's enemy, he's been given a rather nifty new outfit that consists of leather gauntlets, metal shield and a tunic with a faded red cape (get it?) fixed to the shoulders. He wields a smallish sword with all the deadly intent one might use to grip an ice cream cone. Having super powers hasn't given him much chance to practice with weapons. He turns as Oliver approaches, drawing the swords from behind his back. [And looking infinitely more bad-ass. - Z] Oliver locks gazes with Zod, who's seated once more on his bone throne. Clark sees the shared look and frowns.
After a nod from Zod, Oliver takes the offensive, charging at Clark. Clark gets his shield up just in time to ward off three strikes of Oliver's sword. Clark blocks the blow with his own sword. Oliver slices him across the upper arm. Everything goes into super duper slow motion so we can fully appreciate these fine, muscular combatants. Oliver attacks again, his sword slashing across Clark's shield. Sparks fly. Clark darts away just as Oliver lunges. The slowed-down grunting sounds like giant tortoises having sex. There's more thrusting and parrying and clanging of metal. At one point, Clark turns to avoid Oliver's strike and his cape flutters across the screen. He kicks Oliver in the abdomen and sends sends him flying. More tortoises doing it. Oliver lands hard on his shoulder. Zod, who looks like he's been holding his breath for a while, gasps. Oliver gets up and keeps fighting. His swords having been knocked from his hands at some point, he grapples with Clark and throws him to the ground. Zod looks pleased. Clark gets back up just in time to get a shield across his face. Blood flies from his mouth. Oliver grabs a sword from the ground and goes for Clark. Clark punches him and Oliver lands on a random mace, its spikes goring him in the side. Clark takes a flying leap, fist upheld. Oliver rights himself just in time to skewer Clark with his sword. The blade slices all the way through his ribs. There's a sound like an overripe tomato being squeezed. Clark gasps and drops to his knees. The crowd chants for his death. Oliver pulls the sword out and prepares to make the killing blow. "Stop," Zod says. He unsheathes his own sword and makes his way down to the arena floor. Clark gasps and sputters. Zod congratulates Oliver. "At last I've found a brother-in-arms worthy of joining me," he says. "But this kill is mine." Oliver acquiesces. Zod drops his voice to a whisper. "At last, Kal-El, you will know my vengeance." He pulls back his sword, as if to lop off Clark's pretty head, but Oliver grabs his wrist. Clark snatches the crystal from Zod's neck, and Oliver shoves Zod back. As Clark clutches the crystal, the portal opens behind him. For some reason, all the prisoners just stay put instead of jumping through. Some sunlight seeps in, healing Clark's wound. Zod swears revenge, but Clark crushes the crystal in his hand. Light envelops both him and Oliver, whisking them out of the Phantom Zone. Zod seethes, trapped in that glass square that goes flipping through space. The glass explodes in a fireball. Some in the forum have said it's just the gate that exploded and not the whole Zone, but either way it sucks to be a Zoner right about now.
Watchtower. Outside, the sun is shining. Inside, Tess tends Oliver's wounds. Obviously the reason his wife Chloe isn't there is because Allison Mack wasn't contracted for this episode, but it seems odd. Even odder, Clark is there, wearing fresh clothes instead of having long ago zipped home to Lois. Also, sadly, his hair is back to its usual, stuffier style. Oliver congratulates Clark on his plan. Getting Zod to pit them against each other not only allowed them to get the crystal but also gave them a reason to have a kick-ass fight scene! Clark chalks up the success to how much he and Oliver trust each other. He knew Oliver wouldn't be tempted by Zod. When Tess goes off to call Emil about Oliver's injuries, Oliver takes the opportunity to talk with Clark. He brings up the marked skulls they saw. He's worried about the darkness coming back, but Clark says they'll fight it together. "What if one of us were to get infected with the darkness, what would we do then?" Oliver asks, trying his best to sound hypothetical. "We'd have to lock them up," Clark says without much hesitation. "The darkness is a powerful thing; it almost got me once. Once it gets in, I don't think there's a way out." This hits a false note. It's a way to set up a conflict between two friends but it doesn't follow from anything we've seen. Oliver shrugs off the conversation, concentrating instead on their victory over Zod. He finally tells Clark to go see Lois. After Clark zips away, Oliver stands there looking looking scared and alone. Go see your wife, dummy!
Apartment. It's pitch dark now. Did Clark go all the way around the planet a few times? He arrives to find the place completely unpacked and stylishly decorated. Lois walks into the living room and sees him there. She stares for a while, tears in her eyes, before she runs into his arms. "I knew you'd make it," she says. Clark lightly teases her for decorating the apartment without him. That's when he finds out he's actually been gone for three weeks instead of the few hours that it seemed like. He figures destroying the crystal altered time. Whatever, dude. Lois says she and Tess took turns waiting at Watchtower. And yet no one called her when Clark and Oliver came back? Dumb. Clark thinks a bit. "After three hours, Tess was supposed to--" "Blow up the gate," Lois finishes for him. She says she talked Tess out of that, although she leaves out the part with the gun. Lois is hurt that Clark didn't have faith in her, and Clark's all "I was trying to protect you," but even he seems to realize how wrong that is as soon as he says it. Lois makes him to promise to bring him with her time. "I'd rather be in some sand-blown purgatory than in the hell of not knowing I'll ever see you again." He apologizes for being a big Kryptonian ass, although he says it in a nice enough way that Lois tells him he should add that to his wedding vows. Clark realizes the wedding is now just two days away. Lois offers to postpone it if Clark needs more time. "Lois," he says, "there's nothing in this world that could prevent me from walking down that aisle." And thus he's just guaranteed there will be mayhem on their wedding day. They hug as Old Blue watches from the window sill.
Factory? Oliver's pacing in a dark room with all sorts of equipment and machines and pipe valves and... I don't know what the hell. It's just a random place to have a sneaky rendezvous. Tess appears silently behind him, but he knows her well enough to know she's there without looking. "Your hunch was right," she tells him. She babbles about all the research she's done and how it's led her to "the bow of Orion." She gives him a tablet PC with coordinates to a destination somewhere on the "Celtic coast." Tess wants to know what's going on. She did all that research blind? Dang. "It's Hawkman's quest," Oliver says. "He saw this guy Orion use it the last time he kicked Darkseid's ass halfway across the universe." His family's Veritas journals gave him the last bit of info he needed to find it. He feels like it's his own personal responsibility to find it, but Tess reminds him they're a team. He asks her to trust him. She grants him that, but still looks worried as he walks away.
Church. Oliver kneels before a stand of memorial votives. As he makes the Sign of the Cross, he flashes back to moments of his Orion research, interspersed with quick cuts of his fight with DeSaad and the Omega symbol burning into his skull. He gets up, walks slowly down the aisle and pauses to look up at an angel statue. After a few moments, he leaves. The angel weeps black fluid that drops onto the camera and blanks out the screen, providing a backdrop for the end credits. What the...? Is that going to turn out to mean something, or was it the director's (Justin Hartley himself in this case) desire to seem meaningful? Guess we'll find out one way or the other. It's almost the end, kiddies. Rest up, drink up, see you week.
Discuss this episode in our forums, then see what we will and won't miss about the show. And see what our vlogger thinks about the show, below!
What are people saying about your favorite shows and stars right now? Find out with Join the conversation now!