[NAS] Lucky Leon

TV Programme: The New Adventures Of Superman
Season: 2
Episode: 16
Date I watched this episode: 16/08/2009
Time since I last watched this programme: 7 days.

This episode actually ended on quite a serious note, which is a rarity for this show, which is usually very light, often too light. The final scene was both tragic and absolutely awesome in terms of the angles, the ambience, the general drama. Admittedly it felt like this was the first half of a two-part episode, as Mayson's last word is "Resurrection" which is also the title of the next episode, but that's not really important.

Anyway having started at the end let's go back to the beginning of the episode and "Lucky Leon" himself. Leon was actually quite a good villain again. Not perfect, but he was an interesting character, certainly not pulled out of a mould. He's not the typical criminal, perhaps not a very believable criminal, but I can overlook that in that he was compelling to watch, and we see Intergang appearing once more (though somehow I think it'll be the last we'll see of that Intergang boss, who also appeared in "Top Copy").

The misdirection in the episode was also pretty clever for the bar set by this show. Even though we actually knew what was going to happen - Leon was going to trick Superman into stealing the nuclear weapon - the two groups in the two vans looked similar enough that it was easy to get confused as to which one was which - and that was the intention, I think. However, the wrap up of this storyline seemed a bit odd. I'm not sure whether Superman made a "mistake"? Did he really mean to set off the nuclear bomb? Either way it all turned out alright in the end.

Apart from nuclear bombs and terrorists, the main story of this episode was Lois and Clark's relationship and finally their first date (for which Lois seemingly missed a martial arts exam). After 37 episodes, those two are finally just about getting their act together, and do end up together, which is a huge relief. As usual, Clark kept it light, teasing Lois with her well-known nervousness around such things. And this showed through in the way Lois prepared for her date - but Clark's charm just managed to stop this from ruining the date. On the other hand it was really cool to see how Clark Kent gets ready for a date. I love those little moments about how he deals with everyday things. You don't get to see that as much on this show as you do on Smallville, but when it does come it's done in a quite different way.

With Jimmy away for much of the episode, Lois and Clark had to carry the episode with their own humour. And it actually worked quite well, a lot better than the spin which Jimmy usually puts on it. The main story of course was to do with the sports metaphors and the difference in the ways that men and women express their emotions. Once again Clark managed to do this brilliantly without sounding like a chauvinist.

On the actual date, we got a rare glimpse into Lois's past. This is not hugely important in terms of where she is now in her life - an independent, together woman - but it was good of the writers to throw that in there and give some backstory to a show which lacks quite a lot of backstory. I think most of all it showed Lois and Clark opening up to each other and moving towards a place where maybe one day Clark can reveal his secret.

It was surprising that Mayson eventually found out Clark's secret at the end, although in hindsight the episode had been building up to that. It all started with Lois using Mayson as usual to mess with Clark's head - not very fair but I don't think Mayson was complaining. In fact Mayson just refuses to give up in this area - causing me to feel a bit sorry for her. But she realised Clark was hiding something big from her, and finally in her last few moments of life she realised that Clark was Superman, which just made the scene all the more amazing.

Like I said, Lois and Clark ended up together but it wasn't without the usual big drama in the middle. To be honest this felt a bit forced. Lois's reaction at the end of the date was not very believable and really only served the purpose of making the reunion at the end seem heartwarming.

Altogether this episode was unique in a number of ways. It's unlikely the following episode will be able to "top it" but this episode was worth watching if only for the beautiful final scene.