"Shield" was both one of the best episodes of the season as far as character development goes, while at the same time being among the worst for overall stories. I'll explain my opinion on both.
Season 10 did what should have been done many seasons before. It was time to scale back the full time cast and spend more time focusing on fewer characters. Look back in the history of Smallville. In any given season you can find characters that were constantly being forced into the plots just for the sake of using a permanent character. There was no need for Pete during most of his run. Lana was around at least a few season longer than she had to contribute as a character. Even Lois spent at least a season or two just floating in the background with no purpose. In season 10 there are only 4 major characters from start to finish. I love that the producers allowed for more time on fewer characters. Just to fill the gaps, they brought in a handful of recurring characters that ended up being used only as needed. Cat Grant is the main one, who appears here in the same type of role as she had in the comics, but the actress portrayed her in a perkier way. The character is slightly different from the comics, but a lot of her backstory is here, and she still succeeds as a new character to interfere in the Clark/Lois relationship, without making it a love triangle. Hawkman returns here with his back story being told properly. I wasn't a fan of how he was portrayed the first time around in "Absolute Justice" but Shanks does a much better job here. I not only thought Hawkman was an improvement, but now he's become one of the best characters on the show. Finally, there are many villains introduced here. I hated how seasons 8 and 9 wasted the entire seasons on just one villain. We already know Darkseid will be the villain focused on this season, but instead of dragging him out all season, we have several minions to fill out the season.
With so many great characters introduced, and all of them introduced so well, it's disappointing that the story is so uninspired. There's just too much going on, and no real hook to keep the story interesting. There's too much of a divide between the two stories as well. It sometimes gets frustrating when you have multiple stories with no connection. When the action is light as it is here, it plays out too soap opera like.
"Shield" is forgettable in the end, but the season would continue to get better from this point on, thanks in part to the character introduced here.
Season 10 did what should have been done many seasons before. It was time to scale back the full time cast and spend more time focusing on fewer characters. Look back in the history of Smallville. In any given season you can find characters that were constantly being forced into the plots just for the sake of using a permanent character. There was no need for Pete during most of his run. Lana was around at least a few season longer than she had to contribute as a character. Even Lois spent at least a season or two just floating in the background with no purpose. In season 10 there are only 4 major characters from start to finish. I love that the producers allowed for more time on fewer characters. Just to fill the gaps, they brought in a handful of recurring characters that ended up being used only as needed. Cat Grant is the main one, who appears here in the same type of role as she had in the comics, but the actress portrayed her in a perkier way. The character is slightly different from the comics, but a lot of her backstory is here, and she still succeeds as a new character to interfere in the Clark/Lois relationship, without making it a love triangle. Hawkman returns here with his back story being told properly. I wasn't a fan of how he was portrayed the first time around in "Absolute Justice" but Shanks does a much better job here. I not only thought Hawkman was an improvement, but now he's become one of the best characters on the show. Finally, there are many villains introduced here. I hated how seasons 8 and 9 wasted the entire seasons on just one villain. We already know Darkseid will be the villain focused on this season, but instead of dragging him out all season, we have several minions to fill out the season.
With so many great characters introduced, and all of them introduced so well, it's disappointing that the story is so uninspired. There's just too much going on, and no real hook to keep the story interesting. There's too much of a divide between the two stories as well. It sometimes gets frustrating when you have multiple stories with no connection. When the action is light as it is here, it plays out too soap opera like.
"Shield" is forgettable in the end, but the season would continue to get better from this point on, thanks in part to the character introduced here.
