Icarus (10 Dec. 2010)

As the VRA threat intensifies, Clark takes initiative by closing down watchtower and declaring the League go officially underground, but will this be enough to stop trotter and Slade Wilson... See full summary »

Director:

Mairzee Almas

Writers:

Jerry Siegel (character created by: Superman), Joe Shuster (character created by: Superman),

Stars:

Tom Welling, Erica Durance, Cassidy Freeman

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Tom Welling	...	Clark Kent
Erica Durance	...	Lois Lane
Cassidy Freeman	...	Tess Mercer
Justin Hartley	...	Oliver Queen / Green Arrow
Keri Lynn Pratt	...	Cat Grant
Alaina Huffman	...	Dinah Lance / Black Canary
Britt Irvin	...	Courtney Whitmore / Stargirl
Michael Shanks	...	Carter Hall / Hawkman
Michael Hogan	...	Gen. Slade Wilson
Alessandro Juliani	...	Dr. Emil Hamilton
Lori Ann Triolo	...	Lt. Trotter (as Lori Triolo)
Anne Marie DeLuise	...	TV Reporter (as Anne Marie Deluise)
Lane Edwards	...	Agent James Shepard
Ivan Wanis-Ruiz	...	Sergeant Garcia
John Callander	...	Attacking Citizen #1

Storyline

As the VRA threat intensifies, Clark takes initiative by closing down watchtower and declaring the League go officially underground, but will this be enough to stop trotter and Slade Wilson aka Deathstroke from exposing them? Tensions rise in this mid-season finale.

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Plot Keywords:

fight | fire | disguise | fall | diving

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Romance | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 December 2010 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Tollin/Robbins Productions, Warner Bros. Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

42 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The VRA's 'Most Wanted' list comprises: The Blur (represented only by his symbol), Green Arrow, Impulse, Supergirl, Stargirl, Black Canary (represented by an artist's impression, and the only one other than Zatanna shown in costume), Aquaman, Hawkman and Zatanna.

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Quotes

Lois Lane: I'll get you help. Okay?
Carter Hall: No. It's too late. Hey. I'm a pro at dying, remember?
Clark Kent: I should have been there, Carter. I'm sorry.
Carter Hall: Can't always be you, Clark. This is all our fight. Listen. Listen! This is what we do. And my passing means I'll be with Shayera again.
Clark Kent: I owe you so much, I don't even know how to begin to thank you.
Carter Hall: You just did. You hold on to her. Because there has to be a balance, Clark. We can't do what we have to do if there's an emptiness in our hearts. Remember that.
Clark Kent: I will. I ...
[...]

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Soundtracks

"City Lights"
(uncredited)
Written and performed by Paul Taneja

User Reviews

Icarus

I'm not a huge fan of the Vigilante Registration Act story, but the writers have managed to keep it interesting, even if it's not original. While the VRA would play a role in some later episodes of the season, this is the episode where it really hits its climax.

"Icarus" is what you might call the mid season finale of Smallville season 10. The final episode before mid season hiatus has always been one where Smallville would go a little bit bigger, but it was with "Bride" in season 8 that the producers started treating this pre-hiatus episode as a real finale sized epic. "Bride" went big and left with a huge cliffhanger, then in season 9 "Pandora" took it to the next level. While I don't necessarily think that this episode tells a better story than "Pandora", it is much larger in scale, thanks to the inclusion of a half dozen major guest stars, and a shocking cliffhanger. In all honesty, it's hard for a show like Smallville to really have a truly shocking twist, but I was completely surprised by the final 15 minutes of this episode.

General Slade is alive and well, and going all out in his mission to stop the Justice League characters. Most of "Icarus" unfortunately is spent following his underling, Lt. Trotter. Considering how strong Slade's past appearance was, I was looking forward to seeing more of him. In the end the stakes remain high even with him taking a backseat. The League disbands, leaving Clark, Green Arrow, Hawkman, Stargirl and Black Canary all on the run from the government. I liked the fugitive aspect to the story, even if it has been done dozens of times before in superhero stories.

**SPOILER**

The shocking twist comes courtesy of Hawkman, who sacrifices his own life during the climax. This was one of the most dramatic moments I've seen on Smallville since Jonathan Kent's death 5 years earlier. I didn't care for Michael Shanks in the role of Hawkman originally, but since he got over his bad Rorschach impression and built a great character, I've become a huge fan of Hawkman in this show. I wouldn't have thought that they could have pulled off such a dramatic death from a character that had only appeared in two episodes prior to this, but they did. Credit has to be given to the director Mairzee Almas, who brought the same level of drama and emotion to the episodes "Metallo" and "Supergirl". Shanks also deserves a lot of credit. I have a feeling if the episode had been filmed the same way, but featured Styargirl's death, nobody would be praising the drama.

The final cliffhanger at Hawkman's funeral left me in suspense, but not necessarily in a good way. It was far too vague and unusual to make sense. Too bad the next episode "Collateral" couldn't successfully conclude this cliffhanger, or continue the solid drama of this episode. "Icarus" ranks as one of the best episodes of the season.