Plotz

So, can anyone watch the season finale of Smallville explain to me exactly what the hell was the resolution of the Jane Seymour/reincarnated French witch subplot that's been rendering the whole show even more incoherent than usual all season long? I mean, seriously, what the hell was that thing? It's the kind of subplot that makes you wonder what the creators of the show were smoking, and why that substance isn't more heavily regulated by the DEA and FDA and Gruff the Crime Dog and those sorts of folks.

Contrast it to the Chi McBride evil hospital administrator subplot on House. I didn't much like it, and I didn't think it was executed especially well, but the idea was a perfectly sound one: Create a cantankerous, stubborn foil for our show's stubborn, cantankerous protagonist. It flowed completely logically from the show's premise and characters. If it didn't have the best execution in the world, well, these things happen and let's move on.

Whereas Smallville's Jane Seymour plot appeared to be about reincarnated French witches fighting over some mystical Kryptonian artifacts. Put aside the sheer cruelty on the part of the show's creators in coming up with a subplot that required Kristen Kreuk to attempt to act on a regular basis (I'm not sure if that was more cruel toward her or to us. No, wait, I am sure. It was much, much more cruel to us). Did someone in the conference room say, "Hey! You know what the young people are into today? Reincarnated French witches! There's a kiosk at at the mall about 'em, even!" Was this some stealth diplomacy initiative to repair relations with the French? I dunno, the show's produced in Canada, maybe a writer was trying to score points with a Quebecoix intern or something...