The unique to Smallville recurring episode theme – The discovering a power episode. In this case, Clark is sort of pushed into discovering his super-hearing.

“Delete”

“Delete” is a great episode to the mythology of Smallville. If only it was handled better. It started out very well. Bringing back the villainous Dr. Garner from Sommerholt Institute was a good touch. It seems that even as Lionel fires Chloe from the Daily Planet column, she has the goods that she is going to publish on Garner’s less than ethical methodology.

A gripping hour of television with just enough groundwork that it doesn’t quite come out of nowhere. We open with Lex finding the still alive Morgan Edge after he had plastic surgery to hide his identity. He threatens Morgan that he has proof that Lionel and Edge were behind the deaths of Lex’s grandparents (Lionel’s parents).

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Ho hum. Magnetic is truly the archetype of Smallville freak of the weak filler. There is nothing strikingly bad about the episode, but there is nothing truly memorable either.

We get another new and creative way to infect a Smallville resident to give him powers that influence said resident to abuse his gifts and Clark has to find a way to stop him.
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I certainly have to hand it to the writers. After languishing in freak of the week mode, it looks they tried their best to come up with differing storylines and it works. I’m not certain if I’m liking the episodes even more than I would given that it’s lifted the series out of a doldrums of sorts, but I am finding that I am digging them.

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CLICK HERE for the review to Episode 3.05 – “Perry”

It’s almost as if someone else on the writing team noticed how many freak of the weak episodes there were so that when they went towards a filler episode, they chose to act out their own subconscious desires.

So instead of a freak of the weak…it’s someone who hunts down and kills the freaks of the week. Hell he even drops a calling card…a meteor rock with the word FREAK inscribed on the side.

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2.19 -Precipice

2.20 -Witness

Dragonlance: War of Souls Volume 2: Dragons of a Lost Star

by: Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

The engine still revs.  After a little clunkiness in the first volume of War of Souls, the second volume takes the groundwork it is given and runs with it a bit.  The tone of the series really seems to find it’s focus amidst the chaos and with an injection of both characters and action, Lost Star is worthy to sit side by side with the other Weis/Hickman Dragonlance novels.

One reason, is that the identity of the One God, while in some ways predictable is still dramatic and enticing to the readers.

The characters of old seem much more themselves.  Weis and Hickman really seems that they remembered Tasslehoff a bit more.  Laurana’s tone was perfect.  Meanwhile the newer characters seemed to evolve and become a strong part of the saga.

Marshall Medan is as strong as any character in the saga.  The leader of the Dark Knights in Qualinesti who has gone native is done remarkably well.  It is a character and arc that could have easily been overdone and made soap opera dramatic, but is handled with a nice dose of subtletly, letting the character become a favorite.

Mina, while still consciously underdeveloped is given enough to continue the intriuge without ruining the mystery.

Gerard is given more and his relationship with Lady Odilla is at once both humorous and touching without being sappy.

Palin and Dalamar are given much more in this novel but it still isn’t quite enough. They are relegated to being sideline characters which is a shame as Dalamar especially can drive a story.

The only real negative in the book is still that the pacing is a bit drawn out, but perhaps it is well to make readers anticipate the battle for Qualinost, as well as Tasslehoff’s battle with himself.

And the battle does not disappoint.  With as many hardcore important battles in the Dragonlance Saga, from the High Clerist Tower to the battle against Chaos, the battle for Qualinost stands up well featuring the deaths of Beryl and more importantly the death of Laurana, sacrificing herself to destroy her enemy.

And the ending where Mina reveals the One God as Takhisis to Goldmoon, who rejects the goddess, is a great show of strength in faith that the inhabitants of Krynn desperately need.

For the middle part of a trilogy, Volume 2 is a job well done, and leads directly into Volume 3 with little fumbling.

B+