There are a number of reasons why Season Three of Smallville should clearly stand above the previous two:
-A great turn from veteran actor Michael McKean as Perry White.
-The Lex (Michael Rosenbaum) and Lionel Luthor (John Glover) tension, most personified by Lex's time at Belle Reve Sanitarium mid-season.
-One episode--Relics--that is among the best of the series, and another--Memoria--that is clearly the best 42 minutes the show produced to that point.
-The return of Christopher Reeve.
In other words, Smallville hits high notes in S3 that the show never achieved previously. So, why the same 7/10 rating I gave S1 & S2? One major misstep and recurring "botched execution" theme.
The flashing red "warning" sign of S3 is the character of Lana Lang (Kristin Kreuk). I'm not criticizing the acting here--Kreuk's scenes with Rosenbaum's Lex are actually electric--but rather the constant "will they, won't they" back-and-forth between Lana and Clark (Tom Welling). I know this is a teen show that delves into the soap operatic for drama, but nearly every episode here follows the exact same pattern: Lana questions Clark's honesty, is somehow saved by him, and a reconciliation takes place. Rinse & repeat. Sad as it is to say, it truly becomes a buzzkill for the entire season and ruins any emotional stakes through sheer repetition.
I also noticed here in S3 an inability to land plot threads that began with great potential. Adam Knight (Ian Somerhalder) starts off as an intriguing figure for Lana--and ends in ridiculous sci-fi that drops with a thud. The same could be said for Alicia Baker (Sarah Carter), a wonderful foil for Clark--until she is turned into little more than a stalker. Much of the material involving Lionel's past with Morgan Edge falls into this same category--great intentions, but so rushed, muddled, or watered-down as to be irrelevant or underwhelming when the payoffs hit.
Like I said, Smallville's third season covers ground that the show hadn't touched before--I give it a lot of credit for that. But there also exists a strong sense of plot/character stalling, as well as an inability (the truly incredible Memoria excepted) to create compelling drama. In short, the teen-centric nature of the series shows through more and more as the plots push beyond high school halls. As such, I put this in line with the previous installments. A solid season with some wonderful highs--but all too often running the Clark/Lana dynamic into the ground (and then some) while struggling to create the sort of visceral emotion needed for the move to more sophisticated plot lines.
-A great turn from veteran actor Michael McKean as Perry White.
-The Lex (Michael Rosenbaum) and Lionel Luthor (John Glover) tension, most personified by Lex's time at Belle Reve Sanitarium mid-season.
-One episode--Relics--that is among the best of the series, and another--Memoria--that is clearly the best 42 minutes the show produced to that point.
-The return of Christopher Reeve.
In other words, Smallville hits high notes in S3 that the show never achieved previously. So, why the same 7/10 rating I gave S1 & S2? One major misstep and recurring "botched execution" theme.
The flashing red "warning" sign of S3 is the character of Lana Lang (Kristin Kreuk). I'm not criticizing the acting here--Kreuk's scenes with Rosenbaum's Lex are actually electric--but rather the constant "will they, won't they" back-and-forth between Lana and Clark (Tom Welling). I know this is a teen show that delves into the soap operatic for drama, but nearly every episode here follows the exact same pattern: Lana questions Clark's honesty, is somehow saved by him, and a reconciliation takes place. Rinse & repeat. Sad as it is to say, it truly becomes a buzzkill for the entire season and ruins any emotional stakes through sheer repetition.
I also noticed here in S3 an inability to land plot threads that began with great potential. Adam Knight (Ian Somerhalder) starts off as an intriguing figure for Lana--and ends in ridiculous sci-fi that drops with a thud. The same could be said for Alicia Baker (Sarah Carter), a wonderful foil for Clark--until she is turned into little more than a stalker. Much of the material involving Lionel's past with Morgan Edge falls into this same category--great intentions, but so rushed, muddled, or watered-down as to be irrelevant or underwhelming when the payoffs hit.
Like I said, Smallville's third season covers ground that the show hadn't touched before--I give it a lot of credit for that. But there also exists a strong sense of plot/character stalling, as well as an inability (the truly incredible Memoria excepted) to create compelling drama. In short, the teen-centric nature of the series shows through more and more as the plots push beyond high school halls. As such, I put this in line with the previous installments. A solid season with some wonderful highs--but all too often running the Clark/Lana dynamic into the ground (and then some) while struggling to create the sort of visceral emotion needed for the move to more sophisticated plot lines.