‘Smallville’ Preview: Pledged Allegiances Threaten Clark’s Life and Love
by Matt Webb Mitovich
Apr 16th, 2010 | 11:18 AM | Comments 0
A buff ‘borg, zealot Zod, a King and two Queens will vex Clark Kent’s superheroic alter ego as The CW’s ‘Smallville‘ unspools the last five episodes of Season 9 (Fridays at 8/7c). Executive producer Brian Peterson gave Fancast an in-depth look at the road to the finale.
This week’s “Upgrade” features the return of Metallo (played by Brian Austin Green), which with all that’s been going on as of late could be considered too much of a good thing. What role does he play in Clark’s current journey?
He is back in a very different capacity. In fact, we may find ourselves actually rooting for him at the end of the episode. When Clark is affected by red kryptonite and makes some unfortunate allies, there is only one person who has the capability to really rein him in – Metallo.
It’s kind of a precarious time to be playing with Clark and red K.
It sure is. Especially when Clark’s friends have not been exactly honest with him.
This is one of the more complicated canvases the show has ever had going. Was it always your plan to weave Checkmate into the Clark/Kandorians story?
It was once we decided to bring them in for “Absolute Justice.” Amanda Waller and Checkmate have a very clear goal, and they’re the one entity that unfortunately pushes some of Clark’s allegiances into the camp of the Kandorians, because he wants to protect his own people from the government agency trying to hunt them. For me, it worked out seamlessly to have them come into the show at this time.
I am left to wonder if Clark will ally with Zod against Checkmate, or help Checkmate with the Kandorians.
That’s the question we wanted to put out there. The two episodes where that really comes to a head are ‘Upgrade’ and ‘Sacrifice’ (airing April 30).
A small moment that stood out for me from last week’s “Checkmate” was Waller asking her goon to check on Tess’ latest medical records. Is that something we should be wondering about?
A-ha! It’s amazing that you caught that. That plays out in ‘Sacrifice.’
What, is there, like, a little “Zess” baby on the way?
[Laughs] I’m not going to answer that, but there is something – a minor thing – that comes out of that [Waller scene].
Other than the obvious, what’s the significance of Chloe learning Zod has powers in next week’s episode? Is it that Clark didn’t tell her?
Chloe’s trust of Clark and Clark’s trust of Chloe has been one of the pivotal issues of this season, and that also culminates in this last run, going into the finale.
The last time we spoke, you teased “surprises” ahead for Clark and Lois. These days, the fans are fretting that a break-up will be one surprise.
Well, after what happened at the end of “Escape,” when Lois pledged her allegiance to The Blur, who she’s been so reverent toward…. Keeping her work with The Blur a secret from Clark unfortunately impacts that relationship.
On the subject of romance, when considering the Chloe/Oliver pairing, did you weigh both pros and cons?
We didn’t really weigh any cons, because for us Chloe has been through so much emotionally with the people that she has loved, and it really felt like somebody in that position would want a “no strings attached,” enjoyable companion, without all the Sturm und Drang of love and romance. However, “no strings attached” always gets complicated, so there will be some interesting revelations about that relationship….
Will we be meeting anyone for the first time over this run of episodes?
We meet Maxwell Lord (’Ally McBeal’s Gil Bellows), who is playing Checkmate’s Black King as a counterbalance to Amanda’s White Queen and the enigmatic Red Queen, who was very lightly touched on at the end of “Checkmate.”
One of the promos shows Chloe chloroforming Lois. I can’t imagine how she bounces back from that. Will we believe her to be justified?
What I love about our show is that every character is justified if you look at it through their perspective. In my mind, Chloe is very justified in her actions – but they’ll still come with consequences. Our characters, as well-intentioned as they are, will reap the consequences of their actions at the end of the season.
Clark now knows Checkmate’s agenda, and this week he becomes wise to Zod’s powers. Are we marching toward some multi-pronged season finale showdown?
We’re actually wrapping some of that up in Episode 21. In every episode of this whole [upcoming] run, we tried to resolve different pieces of the dilemmas that have come up in Clark’s life, so that the season finale isn’t one hour of “culmination.” Instead, that episode will have room to breathe.
There’s a rumor that Clark is the recipient of a mysterious package in the finale. Can you say anything about that?
I can only confirm that.
If Season 10 is in fact ‘Smallville’s last, is that something The CW will announce going into it? So they can promote it as such?
We always work very closely with The CW and Warner Bros. [Television], so that would be a decision we’d all make together. If that is the case, I think I would definitely be a proponent of it. [Laughs] But we could have made that call ages ago, and look at where we are, at Season 10.
Want even more scoop on ‘Smallville’? Email
MattMtvguy@gmail.com and read The Big Tease every Tuesday at Fancast!
). Menos mal que almenos en eso Clark fue fuerte y no se dejó manipular por el chantaje emocional al que le estaba sometiendo. La tía se lo soltó y se quedó tan ancha, y en los siguientes capítulos ya parece que se olvidó de su querido Jimmy.
Desde luego mira que a veces nos tienen días a dos velas, pero cuando les da por sacar información, no paran! 
).
La única conclusión que puedes sacar es: Chloe-Oliver pareja feliz, mucha química, etc and Lois-Clark pareja que al final rompen con la escusa de "te quiero pero para protegerte y que estes a salvo, rompo contigo". 