Smallville Checkmate Review

EPISODE SUMMARY

The Checkmate Organization makes it's second move against the Justice League:
The episode "Checkmate" begins with Amanda Waller, the head of the secret organization, contacting Tess Mercer to get back to her duties as "The White Knight" in order to bring down Green Arrow and take him in. She uses a secret passageway in the Daily Planet office to slip down into the streets wearing a disguise. Yes, I am aware this is a reference to the Adam West Batman TV Series. At least in this incarnation, the fact that she had a dufflebag with her explains her ability to appear in a costume next scene. A very complicated and perhaps painful method of changing her attire, but more believable than simply sliding down a pole and leaving the audience to assume a thousand pairs of robotic hands are responsible for your choice of wardrobe.


After staging a brawl with other Checkmate agents, Arrow is captured with Tess ending the intro with the official Mercer's So Awesome It Kills You Liner: "Checkmate."


Of course Ollie's disappearance has startled Chloe and Clark (particularly the latter as anyone to know the meaning of "Chlollie" can guess) who decide to investigate. The only thing is, one of the League's members is actually at the crime scene without contacting Watchtower. Phil Morris returns as John Johnes/Martian Manhunter to pick up evidence about Checkmate, while warning Clark not to interfere. Of course he's as vague as possible to his hidden agenda but like everybody else the dry "I'm protecting you all speech" is his natural defense before zipping off.


Meanwhile in a prison truck, Green Arrow is contacted by Amanda Waller who tells him she wants him and the other heroes to work with Checkmate to combat an approaching alien invasion. Oliver manages to escape the situation with...a lockpick. Wow, it's great to know that this super-secret organization is at its fullest capability. They know the abilities and secret code names of the Justice League, can slip evidence out of a room directly under the nose of Lois Lane but checking an unconscious prisoner for anything that could lead them to freedom? That's not their department.


After Tess gets berated by Waller for letting Arrow escape (lady, if you can't teach her Government Abduction 101, I'd say your textbooks are to blame), Oliver returns to the Watchtower to assure Chloe and Clark that he's alright, while making it an uncomfortable romantic moment that Clark is in the middle of. Clark jets off when he thinks John might have gone rogue and killed a Checkmate agent. That's what you gotta love when Clark and plot convenience horribly collide. He didn't seem to have a problem back in Season 6 after John burned his frickin' hand through the flesh of an alien wrestler back in "Static" but when a man that so much as talked to John turns up dead and has no concrete evidence, he goes into judge and jury mode.


While Clark has blurred away, Ollie and Chloe are busy with the argument over his choice of costume material, which apparently resemble tights. Wow, it's been like four years and now you're drawing that card? Anyway, Ollie decides to go to the bizillionth LuthorCorp fundraiser where he and Tess battle sarcasm and innuendo, before letting a line slip out that he heard during his abduction at the beginning of the episode.


This is what I believed to be a clear reference to the film Batman Returns where Selina Kyle and Bruce Wayne were able to deduce each other's alter egos through banter they'd heard each other say in costume. The difference is, it's implied that Ollie saw Tess' face before he was knocked unconscious and knew directly after repeating the line that he had spilled the beans. Which means he was either being pretty sloppy or his words jumped ahead of his instincts. Tess realizes that Arrow and Ollie are one in the same and begins to throw priceless items at his head like an ex-wife realizing her husband is guilty of infidelity. Clark comes in short of the line "Cool it you two!" and takes Tess to the edge of a building to interrogate her.


Yes, Superman is pulling a Batman; using the intimidating suggestion that he's about to drop her like an egg. Now I'll go with the idea that maybe Clark gets to be a bit stronger and less darker as the times roll on and that he was very well only lying to get her to talk. But nonetheless, this still makes him look like a THUG! Well the tactic appears to work when Tess tells Clark that Checkmate wasn't after Ollie at all, but rather someone called "Watchtower". After a brief cut of Chloe kidnapped by a group of Checkmate agents, Tess tells Oliver that Clark and "Watchtower" are in trouble, which sends him into action.


On the subject of kidnappees too uptight with their morals to tell their teams valuable information, John Jones has broken into the Checkmate headquarters to find the alien blood sample Lois had sent to Waller in an earlier episode. Waller tells him that she needs it to prepare for the alien war, while Jones says it doesn't belong to her. Of course, Waller has a trick up her sleeve and surrounds John with fire, knowing it to be his alien weakness.


Wow, you mean just by watching him and using your keen detective work, you were able to realize his phobia against flames? That's pretty impressive Checkmate. Or so it would be, if you hadn't already demonstrated you can't figure out a superhero has a LOCKPICK up their sleeve!


Not to worry though, because Jones doesn't stay behind the pillars of fire very long, using his shapeshifting to transform into Waller, steal some of her memories and/or thoughts and bolt out with the blood sample.


Clark meanwhile has also broken into Checkmate to find Chloe, where he is told by Waller that if he gives his loyalty to the organization and gives her the location of all the League members, she won't paint the black and white room with Chloe's brain matter. Luckily the headquarters lose power and Clark is able to find Chloe in a very creative and interesting use of still motions for the action sequence that closely resemble comic book panels. Clark and Chloe escape.

Tess confronts Oliver and tells her that for betraying Checkmate by giving Watchtower the code to their power grid, she's likely on their hit list. She decides to head underground and asks Ollie for help, which he denies because he can't trust her anymore. He also adds that if she comes near any of his friends again, he will expose everything about her.

Yeah, because it's not like she has anything she can expose about YOU, right?

Clark and John are then seen at the Kent Farm where he wants to know who Jones is working for, which he of course doesn't reveal. All he alludes to is, "there are some people who don't see the world as black and white." As much as I wish he was referring to one Gotham billionaire, I know it's only wishful thinking as DC Comics still denies the rights of Batman for Smallville's creative use.

The episode finishes with Waller finding Checkmate has been broken into...AGAIN! How easy is it to break into this so-called top secret organization?! When she enters her office, her chess board has been cleared with only a single piece in its place. Waller angrily realizes that a new game has started.

CRITICAL COMMENTS

Phil Morris and Pam Grier as their respective characters of Martian Manhunter and Amanda Waller demonstrate strong presences in this episode. The main cast is also able to show their characters in new light, showing a recurring sense of mistrust among even their own team members.

The direction is awesome, with creative methods to the action. Writing was almost to the same level, but had it's moments where it could have used a little more drive.

RATING: 7/10