Like you, I expected to be feel very 'meh' about Abyss, but I did not at all. I'm not sure that I enjoyed the episode overall but so many different bits of it provoked reactions (both positive and negative) in me that it made my expectations for SV and Clois fly out the window. I'm profoundly curious as to how they are going to unfold the story from here.
The most distracting aspect of the episode for me was how similar Chloe's memory deletions were to the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. And I have to agree that the strongest aspects of Abyss were the Fortress scenes. When Jor-El said he was there for Clark, I teared up.
As for the decision to remove the knowledge of his powers from Chloe's memory (logistically mind boggling but... handwave), it seems Clark is on the cusp of letting go of the paralysing human guilt instilled in him so profoundly by the Kents; he is trading it in for a more solitary but still engaged compassion (akin to Lois' curiously). Now, it remains to be seen whether Chloe manages to figure out Clark's secret a second time and how Clark will approach the issue of revealing the truth to Lois.
In the end, after Abyss, I feel very encouraged about the second half of the season (despite the brouhaha in fandom and my own concerns about how many episodes actors will be appearing in and so on and so forth). In the end, what matters is what Clark does. Episodes like Abyss help me focus back on what's important.
no subject
The most distracting aspect of the episode for me was how similar Chloe's memory deletions were to the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. And I have to agree that the strongest aspects of Abyss were the Fortress scenes. When Jor-El said he was there for Clark, I teared up.
As for the decision to remove the knowledge of his powers from Chloe's memory (logistically mind boggling but... handwave), it seems Clark is on the cusp of letting go of the paralysing human guilt instilled in him so profoundly by the Kents; he is trading it in for a more solitary but still engaged compassion (akin to Lois' curiously). Now, it remains to be seen whether Chloe manages to figure out Clark's secret a second time and how Clark will approach the issue of revealing the truth to Lois.
In the end, after Abyss, I feel very encouraged about the second half of the season (despite the brouhaha in fandom and my own concerns about how many episodes actors will be appearing in and so on and so forth). In the end, what matters is what Clark does. Episodes like Abyss help me focus back on what's important.