So, Toxic. God, I loved this episode. From a purely fannish standpoint, Toxic felt like good chocolate. From beginnin to end, as a fan, there weren't many moments I didn't squeal with glee. From the comic tie-ins to Ollie's latest shirtless moment, I was almost completely satisfied.

From a critical perspective, however, Toxic wasn't without it's bumps. We might as well get those out of the way up front. I hope it won't be too painful, but then if you're expecting zero critical response, you're reading the wrong reviewer.

Not to mention watching the wrong show.

I have to say, having Ollie spend half the episode conked out on the sofa felt like a mistake. One that essentially isolated him from the leads. Clark and Oliver on screen together are electric. Any chance the show has to play that up, it should take it. We get the first stirrings of what Superman will do to the world when Oliver pushes Clark to be better. He might be lousy at it, but his fumbling attempts at inspiration actually produce a great sense of irony. What he's struggling to do for Clark, Clark will one day unconcsiously do for the rest of the world.

Ignoring that, is a mistake. Similarly, so is the lack of Watchtower. Making Chloe a proto-Oracle was one of Smallville's moments of unconscious brilliance. At this point, they could concievably turn her into the real thing and not have it be that much of a stretch. That said, there needs to be more interaction between Chloe and Oliver. She's supposed to be working for the man. Acting as his agent in Metropolis and yet?

They've shared what? A handful of scenes in two years and most of those scenes were in Justice. It's no surprise, Allison and Justin both have great chemistry with almost every actor they work with. Smallville needs to be taking advantage of that.

And as much as I hate saying it (and believe me, I hate saying it) this is where the poisoning plot tripped them up. Watching everyone stand around and wring their hands felt like a waste of time. There was so much everyone could be doing and those flashbacks? Could've been worked in another way and should have been. Tying Tess and Oliver together the way they did was an interesting choice and not one I would have expected.

Speaking of Tess, or should I say, Mercy, thank you Smallville. I hadn't expected you'd have the guts and I was happy to be proven wrong. She might not be calling herself Mercy Graves, but Tess is certainly living up to Mercy's name.

In a season where I've been so disappointed in Smalville's letdowns (Clark, a little concern about Kara would not kill you) Ollie waking up with her name on his lips? Was a very pleasant surprise.

Of course, considering Oliver and Tess were the absolute best parts of this episode? That's no surprise.

Well, mostly.

I've been waiting for a confrontation between Clark and Oliver. I watched that scene with my heart in my throat, watching their hearts break, and the pain just explode. Watching them, I found myself wanting to defend Clark. To point out that his silence was a lot more complicated than Ollie's hate for Lex. How do you tell your friend that you're the reason his parents are dead? That theirs aren't the only bodies Lionel left behind in his quest to control your every move? Oliver seems to know some of the details of Veritas, but it seems that key factoid's been left out of it.

And that's a problem.

Smallville needs to definitively deal with Oliver's assumptions about Clark and not just to satisfy my little fannish heart. No, they've spent so much time building it up (how many Phantom Zone escapees did Clark round up without Oliver hounding him about 'doing nothing'?) that to not do it would be cheating.

And Superman doesn't cheat.

So yes, I loved Toxic, but now I just want more. C'mon, Smallville, lets have at it, shall we?