The moment of revelation comes nearer...

“Beacon”

What would it take to finally bring Earth’s greatest hero out of the shadows, to show him that he is an inspiration to so many, and could be to many more if he were to emerge and step forward to be a ray of hope and light? For Clark Kent, it takes inspiration.

It’s been an awesome season so far on Smallville, and it keeps getting better. He’s inching closer to being the World’s Greatest Hero, but he’s still taking things slowly, especially since the VRA are intent on taking out any and all vigilantes. Support for heroes has gotten so strong that there is a public vote coming up to say ‘yay or nay’ to the Registration Act, and Martha Kent herself is in town to speak at a pro-hero rally, much to Clark’s surprise. However, things go south when he sees his mother shot on national television. Further investigation uncovers Kryptonite bullets, which leads to NuLex being the shooter. The Daily Planet is pushing out anti-hero stories, which seems to be the doing of the new chief, Lionel Luther, finally making himself public, and taking NuLex under his wing. But Lex realizes that Lionel had his doppelganger killed in the mirror world, and he leaves him and Martha to die in a fire.

This episode touched a lot on faith, be it Clark not having faith in the American public to do the right thing, or other, ordinary people, placing their faith in The Blur. Lois and Chloe set up a website supporting vigilantes, and Clark is treated to a host of web testimonials showering their hero with praise. He seems to have finally decided that it’s time to go public, and I couldn’t be happier. We’ve waited long enough, we need our Man of Steel. In the end, the vote goes through, and Clark and the gang celebrate knowing that they can resume business as usual. And Martha tells Clark that she knows he will do alright.

And to show that they are setting up the future – even if it takes place after the show ends – we see a scene with Tess and Lex, who says he’s forgetting things (since he can’t remember Clark is Superman, obviously). As she sits comforting him, she tries to kill him with a shot of cyanide. Unfortunately, the needle bends on his skin, which he doesn’t seem to notice. Not sure what they’re setting up there, but it is interesting.

This is one of those episodes that really stands out, not because of the action, but because the story is solid and the message is one that we all need to hear now and then. We need to have those heroes in our lives that make a difference, and that we can strive to be more like. In the scene where Clark listens to the testimonials, he beams with pride as he hears people telling him to go out and keep up the good work, because he has inspired all of them to be better people, to have hope. Clark asks Martha if he should step into the light, and she replies “You are the light”. Superman has, in all of his incarnations, been that beacon for us all, the moral compass for society. Just because we can do the wrong thing doesn’t mean we should, even if it is the easier path.

Smallville is doing what many series do when the end is coming. Characters from the past come back into the fold, so everyone can get that closure that the writers feel is needed. The difference here is that it hasn’t felt forced. Lionel coming back was done in true comic book fashion, and seeing Chloe back with the gang has been nice. Tonight’s episode was well written and acted, and I thought it was a definite bright spot this season. I hope the rest of the season stays at least this good, if not better. And Welling is becoming more like the hero we need every day. Good job, Smallville!

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