“Smallville,” which had a powerful run from 2001-2011, was the retelling of Clark Kent’s (Tom Welling) rural upbringing in Kansas earlier than he turns into the Man of Metal. The present was an unbelievable success on all fronts and continues to be fondly remembered to at the present time (simply try all of the teary-eyed YouTube reactions of when Welling returned for The CW’s “Disaster on Infinite Earths,” should you want some heartfelt proof). Nevertheless, as beloved because the collection stays, that does not imply each one among its 217 episodes was a house run. There have been various stinkers, with season 6, episode 20, “Noir” being probably the most infamous and divisive.
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The episode is a largely black-and-white function that acts as an homage to the noir movies from the Nineteen Forties, with Aaron Ashmore’s Jimmy Olsen dreaming up a noir escapade and serving because the investigative reporter two steps behind a bewildering homicide case. Whereas Ashmore remembers the episode fondly, Welling himself appears to recall issues with a unique lens, particularly relating to the early plans for “Noir.”
Whereas chatting with Ashmore and co-star Michael Rosenbaum throughout an episode on the “Speak Ville” podcast, the Clark Kent actor admitted that he nearly refused to movie the episode due to its preliminary musical nature. Welling stated:
“That episode was speculated to be a musical … a musical noir and once they introduced introduced it as much as me I actually was … ‘I cannot present as much as work and do (that). You’ll be able to movie it. I am not singing.'”
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“Noir” already stays an oddball filler entry by itself. Had the episode gone into full-blown “Chicago” territory, effectively, it appears Welling would have somewhat chewed on some shards of inexperienced kryptonite.
The Smallville fandom appears to be cut up on Noir
Over a decade for the reason that present’s conclusion, “Noir” nonetheless seems to divide the “Smallville” fandom. On Reddit, for years, followers repeatedly deliver up the one-off episode. Many cite it as their least favourite and most skippable, with others defending the classic aesthetic and total hokeyness. “Actually loved it. I like when Smallville did not take itself too significantly, with out actively being unhealthy. There are severe storylines manner worse than this nice episode,” wrote one fan in a 2024 thread. “I appreciated it. Whole filler. However nonetheless enjoyable to look at,” one other commented in a 2019 publish.
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Nevertheless, for each optimistic recollection, there appears to be one Redditor who nonetheless cringes at “Noir.” “Boring. If you are going to pay tribute to the classics do it proper and this was not it,” person Simba122504 wrote. Whereas most viewers agree that the solid seemed unbelievable and the manufacturing really captured that ’40s noir really feel, many nonetheless could not get previous the filler-y randomness of the episode as a complete. “I could not get into it in any respect,” person SillyAdditional bluntly admitted.
“Noir” appears endlessly destined to be one of many present’s most divisive episodes. Nevertheless, even in any case these years, it nonetheless manages to search out love. In reality, there are some right here at /Movie who suppose “Noir” is likely one of the most underrated “Smallville” episodes and deserves extra appreciation!
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