Absolute Justice - Reception

Reception

Nielsen Ratings for "Absolute Justice" came in at approximately 2.77 million viewers, which is Smallville's highest-rated episode for season nine in total viewers, adults 18–49, and men 18–49. A 7% increase from the season nine premiere, which had 2.58 million viewers.

Reviews for the episode were generally mixed. Carlos Delgado of IFMagazine gave the episode a B+, stating, "'Absolute Justice' was ambitious. A two hour defibrillation trying to restore a pulse to a show that had been relegated to the Friday night death slot. It takes guts to air something that could so easily make or break a season. Two hours of garbage, the show is done. Two hours of comic book bliss, well, let’s just say contracts might be written up that very night to secure the next phase of the Man of Steel’s odyssey. Yes, it was that big." He said that Icicle was a weak antagonist but mentioned that "Absolute Justice" was a success. Anthony Ocasio from ScreenRant went as far as deeming "Absolute Justice" one of the best episodes of Smallville in its nine years of being on the air, writing "It was wonderful to see that guest characters could be on Smallville with a backstory that’s more than the normal “guess who just happened to come to Metropolis". He voiced his opinion against the antagonist, Icicle, and called the actor who portrayed the character "poor", and stated he "got goose bumps when we saw glimpse at the fate of Clark Kent." Reviewer Graeme McMillan praised Tom Welling's directing, while calling Clark the character who was the least fun of the episode; he praised writer Geoff Johns, saying, "There was a sense of scale and history to the episode that the series doesn't usually manage." When talking about the Justice Society, he said, "They brought with them — or, more likely, Geoff Johns did — a banter and wit that the show often lacks, and also a speed and lightness that worked better than the show's usual po-faced drama.... the show just seemed better than usual." He concluded his review by saying that even though the special effects were disappointing, the episode was fun. Ken Tucker from Entertainment Weekly said the first hour of the episode contained the "stand-out visual sequence" and thought the second hour was "more lumbering", with the big fight sequence toward the end "unsatisfying". Tucker stated, "For viewers who only know the Superman/boy mythos according to Smallville, it must have seemed strange to have most of the series' ongoing subplots put in storage for this week's two-hour edition. Then again, since the villain of this piece was a faux-hawked foe called the Icicle, frozen plotlines were inevitable." Reviewer Blair Marnell said, "For longtime comic fans, catching all of the comic references was part of the fun, including Radu's Cafe from "Green Lantern," the "Trouble Alert" from the classic "Superfriends" animated series, and Pemberton's "Star-Rocket Racer", which also served as the home for the fallen hero." He said the episode approached an "epic scale not seen in the series for a long time" and criticized the "raspy voice" of "Hawkman". In concluding the review, he stated that he enjoyed slight nods to the comics and thought the episode could have been told in one hour. Reviewer Chris Carabott said, "For a show that realistically should have ended seasons ago, Smallville continues to surprise the hell out of me. "Absolute Justice" brings various members of the Justice Society of America to life on the small screen and it does it brilliantly." He applauded writer Geoff Johns, saying he "outdoes himself with a story that pays homage to the early days of some of DC's finest." While stating disapproval among the costumes, he said Doctor Fate's "gold helmet contrasted by the dark blue of the costume looked fantastic in HD." He also called the episode "a great achievement" and said it is "fun to watch for both long time DC Comics fans and Smallville fans."

Author Joe Oesterle said that it is odd how in a major city like Metropolis, main characters are the only ones out on the streets. He expressed disappointment with the Sandman's death, "I’d have liked to see some old school Sandman roughhouse, and I felt cheated when a...Golden Age legend like Sandman goes to his eternal rest without so much as a single blast from his gas gun. I suppose the argument could be made to say that’s how formidable Icicle Jr. was, or how rusty Sandman was, but I’m not buying that. Sandman deserved to go down fighting, not frozen solid while frozen in hesitation." While criticizing the episode, he compared the episode to the Watchmen film and disapproved of the "Batman" voice the Hawkman had. He also said that there should have been more John Jones and less Lois Lane. While praising the episode, he approved of Amanda Waller and said, "It’s interesting to get a whiff of how Tess Mercer became such a lethal hand-to-hand combatant." He concluded by saying that the episode did not live up to its hype and thought the episode before it, "Disciple", was "Grade A entertainment" in comparison. One reviewer praised the show by saying Smallville is "quietly having its best season in at least 5 years." He said the show currently does not resemble its former self and plays more like a graphic novel. He called Hawkman "excellent" but also disapproved of the "Christian Bale"-Batman voice; he called Doctor Fate "awesome".

Brad Trechak from TVSquad had a negative review: "Admittedly, the episode was kind of light on story and ended up having major plot-holes, the least of which being how exactly "Hawkman"'s helmet stayed on." He compared the episode to the Watchmen movie and asked why the Justice Society were scared of Icicle, saying, "It's the Icicle! He's at best second rate and shouldn't last 20 seconds with "Hawkman", much less Doctor Fate. They should have used Vandal Savage or another villain with more menace. The Icicle represents one of the...plot holes." He compared Dr. Fate's death with possible foreshadowing of the early death of Chloe. He ended by stating, "The episode didn't quite live up to the hype, but it was close enough. After all that foreshadowing, this series better end with Clark putting on the costume; otherwise, there may be nerd riots at The CW."