Smallville (TV Series) Roulette (2009) User Reviews

Roulette

[Colcatron · 7/10 · 28 April 2011]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I'm a huge fan of what Justin Hartley brings to the show as Oliver Queen. He has a strong screen presence, and tons of natural charisma. What I'm not a fan of at all is him playing the drunken low life version of Oliver Queen. It may have worked if limited to 2 or 3 episodes, but the problem is the producers already used it in a handful of season 8 episodes, where it was poorly executed. Here in season 9 they're developing his character better, but the problem is it has already be done to death by now. The elaborate plot against Queen in this episode is a massive stretch in disbelief as well. I'm well aware this is a fantasy show, but sometimes you need to tone down the complexity in a plot to hold the audience.

This is my second time watching straight through season 9, and I'm kind of surprised how after an exciting opening to season with "Savior" and "Metallo" it so quickly lost focus in the following episodes. The excitement of season 9 for any Smallville fan is seeing Clark accepting his role as a hero, and furthering the relationship between Clark and Lois. As always the scenes between Clark and Lois in this episode are great, and even better are moments where Clark keeps excusing himself to pull Blur duty, while also cleverly hiding his actions from Lois. This is the 3rd episode in a row where that aspect of the show takes a back seat, and it's the second straight episode solely focused on Oliver.

To sum it up, there are great moments to this episode, and it is one of the better stories from the wildly unbalanced and poorly written Ollie-in-the-dumps story arc, but "Roulette" is far too complex for its own good, and pushes the better elements of the show on the back burner.

Great acting, Clois development and intriguing ending but worst writing ever and Oliver without his Queen

[igoatabase · 3/10 · 25 October 2009]

This episode was a special Oliver Queen. His story is inspiring and the episode where Green Arrow's birth was told remains one of my all time favorite. Moreover Rabid and Echo's events were sad but interesting and I'm sure many viewers care dearly about his fate. But after watching Roulette the best word to describe how I feel is deception. It was written by Genevieve Sparling who already worked on Progeny, season 6 18th episode, and Beast, last season 20th episode. I don't remember the first but the second was aired between Stiletto and Injustice. It didn't surprise me at all because I didn't even take the time to review it. I have no clue why such an important episode was confided to her because the result is very disappointing.

Its arc is a poor The Game (David Fincher) spin-off where all the events are predictable. The beginning was good because it denounced how gambling and drinking addictions are dangerous. Moreover the casino scenes reminded me of the James Bond franchise but with a drunken 007 played by Oliver instead. Even the reference to The Matrix with the red pill was nice but then it quickly reached the bottom of the barrel. The biggest mistake was to think viewers don't pay attention to details. Yes we do and some of us have quite high expectations when it comes to Smallville. It's specially true when Oliver Queen is involved because he's a central character. He's rich, hot, played by Justin Hartley who has done a great job so far, funny and very smart. That's why the story made no sense at all because Oliver would never fall for such traps, even if he hasn't been himself lately. At some point I even switched off my neural sensors and I'm glad I did because the moment The Puppet Masters behind the game was revealed will be remembered as one of the dumbest and worst idea ever imagined. Challenging Oliver looked promising but the execution was horrible.

However as usual there were still some great elements to appeal the audience. Of course Clois were back and some scenes were funny but others should redefine how you feel about them. Justin Hartley's performance was good and Erica Durance's one was just excellent. I can't wait to know what she'll do once Smallville is over because her acting palette is quite sophisticated now. Funny in one scene with Clark, the next you'll get all emotional when she talks to a dear friend with tears in her eyes. I should also mention the ending scene because for once it wasn't a Clois moment but a pleasant surprise. I can't wait to know what will happen next. It wasn't a cliffhanger but definitely a new beginning.

Last but not least even if the biggest deception was the lazy writing I would also like to point out that Tess Mercer was MIA. Yes you read it well, Tess wasn't featured in a special Oliver Queen episode. As a fan of their relationship, specially after Echo, I waited all the episode for her to appear when it never happened. Moreover considering how it ended the upcoming episodes won't be able to fix it.