Smallville 8.03 Toxic

[bop_radar]

The version of this I watched was very glitchy and missing a chunk out of the middle so it made even less sense than it might otherwise. A full write-up will have to wait until I've obtained a more reliable version. I loved it again! I found my zen with it. Also: TORSO-RAMA! Wow, they really pimped Justin's physical assets in this didn't they. *blinks* It was old-school Smallville objectification in the best of ways.

And Tess is Mercy! And COOL! Or at least somewhat cooler than she has been. I saw a flicker of chemistry between her and Oliver which was good, because while I heart the sizzling slashy vibes with Lois, the plot seems to demand that she be able to carry some sexual tension with boys as well. I loooove that she gave Oliver the info about his parents. And wow, I'm impressed the show went there and didn't just whitewash over the issue. Much angst between the BFFs!

Oliver's childhood trauma is... mosquitoes?! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I was in stitches over that. Oh, Ollie, I do love you and it is absolutely APPALLING that Clark did not tell you about your parents, and I really do sympathise with your angst overall, you bore up terribly well on an island for two years, but ... mosquitoes? Dude. Could the writers not think of anything more dreadful? Er, what about the lack of food and shelter, the loneliness or the fact that someone stole his clothes at some point? Or did the mosquitoes eat them? :) Ah, Smallville.

Lois stole Clark's coffee even though he had written his name on it! HEEEEE. I love it! And why oh why do we not get to see Clark report on kittens? That is a crime! Tom + cute kitties? Surely the most adorable concept ever invented, yes? *sulks at not seeing it on screen* They're just teasing us, I tell you!

Overall, this ep (what bits I glimpsed of it) seemed very Season 4 level of crazy--the combination of male nudity, implausible plotlines of craziness yet moments of sheer brilliance... And I liked Season 4. So: *happy*.

Comments

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

Oliver's childhood trauma is... mosquitoes?! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I was in stitches over that. Oh, Ollie, I do love you and it is absolutely APPALLING that Clark did not tell you about your parents, and I really do sympathise with your angst overall, you bore up terribly well on an island for two years, but ... mosquitoes?

Thank you so much for mentioning that, because I laughed like an insane thing after he said that line, but I forgot it completely when I was writing up my response to the episode.

I agree with you on the wonderful shirtlessness--it was something I commented on in my review, too--though honestly, as much as I love Ollie (and I LOVE OLLIE, unlike many many other reviewers of this episode) I thought the first 2/3 of that whole island adventure was dopey in the extreme. Crawling around on all fours? RLY? Not to mention to dopey arrow montage. Only when Tess arrived did it get watchable.

I'm afraid I've had a virulent recurrence of Lois/Ollie love as a result of this episode, though, which may hinder my Clois tendencies for the near future. (Maybe I just have a thing for doomed love? The fact that Lois and Clark actually get a happy-ever-after is just so--unSmallvillian.)

And I love that Tess=Mercy. That redeems so much of her plotline so far!

[roxymissrose.livejournal.com]

Do you think it's possible Oliver meant "mansquitos"? Because then I could understand the awful trauma....

[miss-tress.livejournal.com]

*starts petition to see Tom and kittens onscreen together*

[huzzlewhat.livejournal.com]

And why oh why do we not get to see Clark report on kittens? That is a crime! Tom + cute kitties? Surely the most adorable concept ever invented, yes? *sulks at not seeing it on screen* They're just teasing us, I tell you!

Can I tell you how much joy the "rescued kittens" story gave me? Because kitten-rescue is such a running joke in pretty much all incarnations of the Superman story — the fact that they gave Clark a story about RESCUING KITTENS as his first onscreen-assigned story for the DP (as opposed to the obituaries), and that he was so pleased with it ... just JOY. OODLES of JOY.

[bananainpyjamas.livejournal.com]

Clark wrote his name on the coffee? LOL, I missed that. How adorably dorky. And of course, futile.

The whole Tess=Mercy thing is confusing. TPTB claim she's a mix of Mercy and Ms. Tessmaucher. But the portrayal is quite similar to DCAU Mercy. And beyond the name, I don't see many similarities to Tessmacher.

[mahaliem.livejournal.com]

Wow, they really pimped Justin's physical assets in this didn't they.

I know. That's why I love Smallville. :) And I laughed and laughed about the mosquitos.

As for Tom * kittens - I would happily watch an entire episode of Clark (and Lois, too) doing their regular job of reporting, getting coffee, arguing about Lois' corrections, etc.

[tigergal05.livejournal.com]

And Tess is Mercy! And COOL! Or at least somewhat cooler than she has been. I saw a flicker of chemistry between her and Oliver which was good, because while I heart the sizzling slashy vibes with Lois, the plot seems to demand that she be able to carry some sexual tension with boys as well. I loooove that she gave Oliver the info about his parents. And wow, I'm impressed the show went there and didn't just whitewash over the issue. Much angst between the BFFs!
I thought Cassidy and Justin has great chemistry together, considering they haven't worked with eachother at all this season until now..a big WOOT for the 'Lionel killing Oliver's parents' continuity! And the scene with Clarkie and Ollie!! I must say, I was especially impressed that they even brought up Lionel at all! Normally when a character dies, they seem to vanish into thin air, so KUDOS Smallville!

Oliver's childhood trauma is... mosquitoes?! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I was in stitches over that.
So I wasn't the only one that snickered? Really, writers..really?

Lois stole Clark's coffee even though he had written his name on it! HEEEEE. I love it! And why oh why do we not get to see Clark report on kittens? That is a crime! Tom + cute kitties? Surely the most adorable concept ever invented, yes? *sulks at not seeing it on screen* They're just teasing us, I tell you!
Heee! I was grinning through this whole scene..I would love to see a fanfic with Clark writing a story on kittens..
*imagines Tom rolling in a box full of kitties*

[daybreak777.livejournal.com]

Yay, you liked it! I was so happy with it myself and I didn't know why. I hate to say it but it was TORSO-O-RAMA! Yay! It doesn't take much to make me happy. :-)

Could the writers not think of anything more dreadful? Er, what about the lack of food and shelter, the loneliness or the fact that someone stole his clothes at some point? Or did the mosquitoes eat them?
Shhhhh! If it results in bare chests it's ALL GOOD. :-)

this ep (what bits I glimpsed of it) seemed very Season 4 level of crazy--the combination of male nudity, implausible plotlines of craziness yet moments of sheer brilliance... And I liked Season 4. So: *happy*.
I'm glad you're happy. Maybe I need to actually watch season 4. Nah. I'll just hope season 8 is as good. I finally figured out how to watch this show. Not think too much, and be distracted by the pretty.

[madame-meretrix.livejournal.com]

It was old-school Smallville objectification in the best of ways. haha! ITA, & it's good to have it back. Hartley is more than capable of pulling it off.

the mosquitoes! yes, that was hilarious. i think he might have sold the line too well, in addition to it being a really crappy line.

but Tess is Mercy! yay! and this episode kind of made her more sympathetic, which is a nice callback to old-school SV as well. Because before this, i was already not liking her and her villainous ways. so i'm glad they've humanized her. i only wish she could have been on with lex--it would have made her inheritance more valid, and it would have been awesome to see her kicking ass for lex, while lex was in the background, all "mm."

[svgurl.livejournal.com]

I very much appreciated Ollie and his shirtless ways. I think jeannev already calculated the numbers. Ollie was on screen for 24 minutes and 14 of those he was either partially shirtless or shirtless. :D

I've decided that his secret power is to stay gorgeous no matter what the circumstance. Really, it's the only explanation to how he barely grew a beard on the island and his hair was short. ;)

Oliver's childhood trauma is... mosquitoes?! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I was in stitches over that.

It was ridiculously funny! I saw that clip when watching one of Justin's interviews and even he made fun of it. He was all "Mosquitoes? REALLY?"

Lois and Clark were adorable. And Lois was just win in this episode, period.

Tom should so be on screen with cute kittens! Even though we all may die at the adorable!

I liked s4 too and I enjoyed this episode. :)

[serenography.livejournal.com]

"TORSO-RAMA" - Hee!


Oliver's childhood trauma is... mosquitoes?! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Poor Justin. I can't believe the actors didn't question the total goofiness of that line when they filmed it. I can just imagine Tom making scary buzzing noises at Justin. LOL!


Lois stole Clark's coffee even though he had written his name on it!

Was his name on it? I didn't notice that. LOLOL! That's perfect.

Tom + cute kitties?

I've been lacking for artistic inspiration lately.. Hmmmm...

[latxcvi.livejournal.com]

And Tess is Mercy! And COOL! Or at least somewhat cooler than she has been.

The revelation that Tess is Mercy makes me forgive a lot because it actually does suddenly render her plausible in a way she wasn't until this episode. As Nora noted in her review, if anyone could plausibly swoop in and literally take over for Lex -- including iterating his ideologies -- it would be Mercy Graves, who's the closest thing canon!Lex has to a best friend, confidante and lieutenant. As a character, Tess just makes more sense now that I know she's really (supposed to be) Mercy.

Lois stole Clark's coffee even though he had written his name on it! HEEEEE. I love it!

*nodnodnod* I love how he starts to protest and then just realizes how futile it would be to do so and starts talking about more important things. I really enjoyed that whole scene, actually, Clark and Lois bonding over their broken love lives, once again saying things to each other I can't imagine either of them being comfortable saying to anyone else.