I thought it was a pretty good episode. The show gained about four years of Gough and Millar bullshit in one episode. That's a plus. Another point for getting rid of Lana after seven seasons (even if it took her quitting for it to happen). That shit is why I stopped watching after the fourth season. I'm even glad that Jor-El's idea of controlling Clark was to remove his powers, not an actual device that would control him. Save the Superman controlling devices for Superman III (ug, Lana).
From what I've heard, Clark will be more like Superman this season, taking on his double identity while seeking out trouble with the Justice League instead of waiting for something to come to him. Hopefully, this is true. If not, I'll probably stop watching again (though Welling and Durance do have great onscreen chemistry).
It looked like Welling was much more comfortable with his roll as Superman (or maybe the writing just made it feel more like he could be Superman). The scenes in Russia showed that it wasn't just his abilities that make him special, which I feel is a huge part of Superman. The writers showed it again when Clark went to look for the league members, alone and when he was more interested in protecting Chloe than saving himself.
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