Smallville (Season 1, Ep 8): Jitters

Welcome to Smallville. I am doing an episode-by-episode watch, recap, and reaction and blogging about it here. There will be no spoilers for the series beyond the current episode. You can find my prior recaps HERE.

For those of you that don’t want to read the long plot recap, I provide a quick episode summary here at the top. You can read that and just scroll down to the “REACTION” heading below.

THE QUICK AND CLEAN SUMMARY:

Earl Jenkins is a family friend of the Kents who went to work for the LuthorCorp plant for better money. He now suffers from violent seizures which he claims were caused by exposure to an unknown mineral while he worked at the plant. Rather than assist him in helping to diagnose his ailment, Lionel Luthor has pretended that the Level 3 facility which Earl claims he was exposed at does not exist at all nor did it ever exist.

In order to get someone to listen, Earl takes a Smallville High School tour of the plant hostage. During this crisis, Lex trades himself for the student hostages. Rather than evacuate with the other students, Clark stays inside the plant. He goes off by himself to where Earl said an elevator previously existed. Clark uses X-Ray vision and sees that the plant has merely built a wall in front of the elevator. Clark then contacts Earl and Lex wit this information via the plant’s intercom. Lex learns to his surprise that Level 3 is real and that his father kept it from him even during this crisis. He and Clark go with Earl to Level 3 but find that the facility that was once there is now entirely gone. Just an empty warehouse remains. Earl is subsequently apprehended. Lionel and Lex make a public vow to the press to help him get the best treatment available.

THE EXTRA DUSTY RECAP:

Jonathan and Martha Kent are on their way to Metropolis for their anniversary leaving Clark home alone for the weekend. Jonathan has to change a tire on the truck before leaving and has Clark lift the truck for him while he does it. Clark manages to lift the truck with one hand while eating a slice of toast with the other. As his parents are leaving, Clark gives them a card congratulating them on their anniversary. He smiles and waves as they leave.

Elsewhere, a woman we have not met puts an infant into a crib. As the baby stares up at the animals spinning around on his mobile, a man enters the room. He seems unwell. He kisses the baby on the head and tells him not to worry because “daddy” is going to get better. After setting the baby down, the man begins shaking uncontrollably and so violently that the woman we met earlier returns to the room. She sees the windows open and asks if someone is there before attempting to sooth the baby.

Outside, in a dark and rainy Metropolis, we see the Kents’ truck drive past as the man tries to regain control over his body. He is still shaking as he pulls a bottle of pills from his coat pocket. He spills the pills onto the puddled ground as he attempts to open the bottle. After putting a pill in his mouth, pulled off of the wet ground, he runs off and yells. The man runs over to a nearby building and bands on a glass door. He alerts the janitor inside to his presence. They know each other and the man inside is named Will. The man outside, Earl, tells Will that he needs to see Lionel Luthor and that he knows the elder Luthor is here. Will tells him that he cannot let him inside.

Earl: They did something to me at his plant in Smallville.
Will: Earl, see, that’s the talk that got you canned.

Will suggests that if Earl has a problem he should go get help. Earl says that he has tried and nobody can help him. He begs for Will to let him inside. Will asks Earl not not to force him to call security. He tells his friend to go home and dry off. Will walks away and Earl starts to shake violently – at a seemingly impossible speed. Will looks over his shoulder, stunned, and walks back toward Earl. Earl shakes so violently that he breaks the glass and falls inside of the building. Will tells him that they need to get him to a doctor. Earl replies that doctors cannot help him. He begins shaking again, this time while touching Will. When the incident ends, the force of the shaking seems to either have killed or incapacitated Will. Earl checks his friend’s pulse and then flees the scene.

♫Somebody saaaaaaavvee meeeee♫

Pete, Chloe, and Clark get off of the school bus and discuss the fact that Clark will be home alone for the weekend. Pete asks Clark what his plans are and Clark suggests that he is thinking of having a few people over. Chloe asks if he is insinuating that he will throw a party but Clark says he is thinking of the two of them, a couple other people, and perhaps also Lana.

Chloe: With or without her action figure boyfriend?
Clark: 8 o’clock. And remember the key word is small.

Later, at the party, the Kent home is packed completely full of people. Clark asks Chloe if she even recognizes half of them. Overwhelmed, Clark sits on his couch. Another party-goer sits by Clark and says that he thinks he is going to hurl. Clark jumps up at super-speed in search of a trash can. He succeeds in finding a large bowl and has it in the boy’s hands before he vomits.

Clark wanders around trying to protect his house from his party and runs into Lana. She tells him that it is a pretty cool party. It is not clear if she actually means it. He thanks her.

Clark: It was kind of impromptu. I figured sometimes you just have to kick back and blow off some steam.
Lana: If I had a hundred people trashing my house I’d be a little freaked out.

We hear something break. Clark tells her that after the first few dishes you kind of get used to it. She says she does not think she would be brave enough to risk it but Clark retorts that he bets she is braver than she thinks. Clark asks if she is flying solo tonight. She replies that she is capable of enjoying herself, by herself. Outside, someone draws everyone’s attention by shooting off fireworks. Clark goes outside and finds Pete. Clark asks him why he did not just call the cops as it would have been easier. Pete says the fireworks were not his idea.

Lex: It was mine! It’s called a party gift. I hope you like it.

Clark tells him, “it’s great, but…” when Lex cuts him off to tell him not to worry about the police as that issue is covered. Lex tells Clark that this type of party can make or break a reputation so he wants to make certain that Clark’s party is a hit. Chloe walks up as they are talking while Lana enjoys the fireworks from Clark’s porch.

Lex: I hear you’re taking a tour of my plant tomorrow.
Chloe: It’s a class fieldtrip.
Lex: What’d you do wrong?
Clark: It’s that bad, huh?

A woman walks up to greet Lex, apparently a girlfriend, and she apologizes for taking too long. She adds that someone overflowed the bathroom inside. Clark pronounces himself as officially dead. Inside the house, we see the Kents’ landline phone ringing and not being answered.

Martha and Jonathan are at a restaurant in Metropolis. She reports back to Jonathan that there was no answer. Jonathan tells her that Clark is fine. He tells her that they have to trust him. She says that she does but she still worries. He changes the subject and asks if she misses Metropolis. She admits that she sometimes does before saying that she did not move to Smallville for action or glamour.

Martha: I moved because a certain man told me that we’d never be rich or travel the world but that he’d always love me. How could I pass up an offer like that?

Back at teh party, Clark watches from a distance as Whitney arrives and finds Lana talking to friends on Clark’s couch. She asks him what he is doing there. He tells her that he was lookin for her and asks why she did not tell him that she was coming here. Lana tells him that it was last minute and she adds that she did not realize that she needed his permission. He asks if they can talk outside. He gets up to go and she follows.

Outside, in the barn, Whitney asks her what is going on and she replies that she told him, when they got back together, that she needed some breathing room. He asks if this is why she sneaked off to a party without him.

Lana: I didn’t sneak. I walked. And why are you mad at me?

She asks if it’s because it’s Clark’s party and says that she is starting to get the feeling that he does not trust her. Just then the barn starts shaking violently. Lana runs inside to get Clark. Clark and Whitney climb up to Clark’s loft lookout and find Earl there sleeping. Clark tells Whitney to back away – as he is holding a pitchfork – because he says he knows Earl. Clark asks why he is here and Earl replies that he came to see Jonathan. Clark extends a hand toward him and asks what is wrong with him. Just then Earl begins to shake again. Clark’s hand reacts to Earl as if he is a meteor rock. He pulls his hand back, pained. Clark say aloud to call an ambulance.

We see Earl on a gurney being wheeled into a Smallville Hospital. Chloe tells Clark that Earl should be in a detox center. Clark replies that Earl is not a junkie but Chloe then asks why he is shaking like one. Clark explains that he worked on the farm for six years with Earl and that the older man even tried to teach him to play the guitar at one point.

Chloe: You know, just because you spend a lot of time with someone doesn’t mean you know thei rdarkest secrets.

Clark has no answer for that but tells her that Earl was like family. She asks why he left and Clark explains that he took a job in the Luthor Corp. plant. The other job as full time and the pay was better. Just then the police enter and asks where they can find Earl Jenkins. Clark asks the police officers if Earl is in some kind of trouble and the officer says that he is.

Just then hospital staff begins shouting that they need help. Everyone runs to the room and finds Earl convulsing uncontrollably. He involuntarily throws anyone who tries to come near him, including Clark through a window. Finally the incident stops and Earl collapses to the floor.

The next morning, Clark returns to his house and finds it covered in trash, food, and broken things. He gets to work cleaning at super speed. In short order, Clark sits down at the kitchen table. From behind him he hears a slow clap. Jonathan and Martha are at home.

Clark: Hi. You’re home early.
Martha: We called six times last night and spoke with six different people, none of whom knew who you were.

They ask Clark where he has been and Clark replies that he has been at the hospital. When asked who got hurt, Clark replies nobody, but adds that he found Earl Jenkins in the loft, looking for Jonathan. Clark tells his concerned dad that their friend was all messed up. Jonathan asks what is the matter with him. Clark replies that he does not know but shares that Earl is wanted for murder. Jonathan asks what Earl had to say for himself. Clark confides that he could not get close because when he got near to Earl, he became sick.

Clark: It was weird. I mean, every time I stood next to him, it, it got worse. It’s kind of like…
Martha: Like what?
Clark: It’s kind of like the way I feel around meteor fragments.

At the hospital, Jonathan and Clark visit Earl. Jonathan asks a doctor what is wrong with him and she replies that she has not the faintest idea. She says that it is amazing that his body has survived the seizures for this long. She turns on the X-Rays to show the two Kent men. She suggests that it appears as though Earl has a type of mineral poisoning but says that it is not any time of mineral that she has seen before. Clark asks if that is why he is shaking so hard. She replies that tiny fragments of the minerals are imbedded beneath Earl’s skin and that his body is slowly trying to push them out. Jonathan asks how they got in there and she replies that Earl claims there was an explosion at the Luthor Corp. plant six months ago.

Jonathan asks why he never herad about it and the doctor replies that the reason is because the explosion never happened. She says that she pulled the plant’s safety records as well as checking with OSHA and the EPA. Jonathan asks if he can talk to Earl by himself. She tells him that he better hurry because Metropolis PD will arrive any minute to transfer him to the city. Clark tells his dad that he wants to go into the room with him. Jonathan tells him no and explains that if Clark passes out inside a hospital, because Earl was exposed to meteor rocks, that it would bring them a new set of problems.

Inside the room, Jonathan asks Earl what is going on. Earl explains that he accidentally killed Will while he was having a seizure. He tells Jonathan that he was in Metropolis trying to see Lionel Luthor because he wanted the elder Luthor to tell him what they were using on Level 3 of the Smallville Plant. Earl’s job had been to clean Level 3 and all his knows is that they were conducting hush hush crop experiments – a new kind of fertilizer that is supposed to make corn grow twice as fast. Earl tells Jonathan that something in the fertilizer was unstable. He says that there was a huge explosion while he was cleaning and that something got under his skin. He adds that Level 3 was abruptly shut down and he was transferred to Metropolis. He adds that the seizures started two months ago.

Jonathan asks Earl if he has seen a doctor and the other man replies that he must have seen fifty doctors but nobody can tell him what is wrong because nobody knows what he was exposed to.

Earl: When I went back to the plant, they told me that Level 3 didn’t exist. That it never had.

Earl asks Jonathan for help but the elder Kent reminds him that he is wanted for murder. Earl tells him that he needs to get into the plant or he will die. He says the jitters have already cost him his job, his marriage, and his baby. Jonathan advises him to get some rest.

Outside of the room, Clark suggests to his dad that maybe he can look around during a class fieldtrip to the plant this afternoon. Earl hears them talking through the window.

As Earl is being transferred from the hospital, he has a seizure while handcuffed in the elevator. When the elevator doors open, his police escort is lying motionless on the elevator floor and Earl is gone.

We see the Smallville school bus arrive at the LuthorCorp plant. Inside the class is guided by the plant manager, Gabe Sullivan, Chloe’s father. He waves hello to Chloe.

Gabe: Welcome to LuthorCorp, where we give a c***.
Chloe: [whispering to Clark] Somebody kill me now.
Gabe: A little fertilizer humor there.

Gabe instructs everyone to remove jewelry, cell phones, and keys, and place them into a plastic tray, before going inside. Gabe asks the class for questions and Clark asks him if there i sa third level to the plant. He tells Clark that there is and that this is where they do the alien autopsies.

Elsewhere, we see Earl walking through an otherwise empty Level 2. He goes through a door and is surprised to find it is a closet. He bangs on the bricked over wall as though the wall is new and starts shouting that this cannot be happening. He begins pleading aloud, asking where the elevator is.

Clark’s class is all on Level 1. When Gabe looks the other wise, Clark ditches the class and sneaks through an open door that says “authorized personnel only.” Meanwhile, the Class remains on Level 1. Pete notices that Clark is gone and asks Chloe where he is. Just then, a metal door to the room where they are gathered begins to shake. When Gabe checks on it, Earl enters holding a gun. He points it at Gabe’s head and orders him to take him to Level 3.

Outside of LuthorCorp, a crowd of concerned parents – including the Kents – have gathered. Lex also arrives and enters through the security gate. He sees Jonathan and Martha and tells security to let them through, too, so that he can talk to them. Jonathan asks Lex what is going on. LEx replies that a lunatic inside is demanding to be taken to some place called Level 3. Lex shares that they have managed to evacuate the plant but says the man has taken the students hostage. Jonathan asks the name of the hostage taker and Lex tells him it is Earl Jenkins. Jonathan shares that he knows Earl and adds that he used to work for them. Lex asks why Earl is in his plant. Jonathan explains Earl’s story.

Lex: Then we have a serious problem because there is no Level 3.

Jonathan, Lex, and Martha stare at a security feed of the room where the students are beng held hostage. Martha asks where Clark is.

Inside the plant, Clark is running through the plant at super speed. He finds a security room which shows him a feed of the room where the students are being held as well as the scene outside. He even sees his parents talking to Lex. Clark sees a room on the feed with a lot of filing cabinets and zooms to it.

Earl is asking Gabe about Level 3 and Gabe is insisting that it does not exist. Earl calls him a liar. Clark comes through the door and tells him that Gabe is not lying. He is holding blueprints for the building. Clark tells him that he looked at the blue prints and it does not indicate that a Level 3 exists. Earl roughly takes the blueprints from Clark. He looks at them but they do not change his mind. He orders Clark to join his classmates and to sit down.

Outside, Lionel Luthor arrives via helicopter. As soon as he gets out of the helicopter, he asks Lex how he allowed this to happen. As Lex defends himself, Jonathan interrupts and asks both of them to focus on what is important. Lex tells Lionel that the Kents know Earl personally. Lex moves to introduces them but it becomes clear that they met before, a long time ago, and that Lionel remembers them. Lionel comments that this is “level 3 nonsense” when Lex adds that he has assure everyone that there is no Level 3. He then asks his father if that is true. Lionel tells him that of course it is. Lex seems suddenly to realize that Level 3 must be real though he says nothing.

Martha suggests to Lionel that he needs to get on a phone and talk with Earl. Lionel replies that he is going to let SWAT do their job and he adds that he does not negotiate with terrorists. Martha repies that if he will not talk to Earl then Jonathan will.

Sometime later, Gabe gets a phone call from Lionel Luthor. Earl tells him to put the call on Speaker. Lionel tells Earl that he is sick and promises to help him if he comes outside. Earl asks him what they were using in Level 3. Just then Earl has a seizure while holding a methane pipe valve running against the wall. He breaks the pipe causing a gas leak into the room with the students. Earl walks over to the security camera to face it.

Earl: Oh no. See what you made me do.
Lex: [outside] Way to go, Dad. I see that you haven’t lost your touch.

Among the gathered students, Whitney tells the others that they need to do something. Clark says that he does not think that’s a good idea, reminding Whitney that Earl is sick but still ery strong. Whitney says that the gas leak means that the plant is going to blow up. Lana tells Whitney that she does not want him to get hurt. Whitney replies that he is not putting his life in Earl’s hands. Whitney tells Clark that the two of them can take him. Clark tells Whitney that he can’t. Whitney gets up by himself.

Lex and Lionel watch on the security feed as Whitney approaches Earl, as his back is turned. Before he gets to Earl, the aggrieved janitor notices him. Whitney attacks him and knocks the gun from Earl but Earl knocks him down ferociously and picks his gun back up. Earl returns to the camera and tells Luthor (Lionel) that this is all his fault. He then shoots the security camera, destroying it.

Outside, the SWAT team reports that shots are fired with one hostage down. Lionel asks what the teenager as thinkin gand Jonathan answers angrily tht he was not thinking. He says Whitney was waiting for someone outside to do something and when it became apparent that nobody was, he tried to take matters into his own hands. Jonathan says somebody needs to do something. Lex agrees and tells him that he is going inside personally. Lionel tries to stop him but Lex replies that this is his plant so it is his call. Lionel then grabs his arm. Lex looks down at his father’s hand on his arm and tells him never to do that again. Lex then orders the police to tell Earl that Lex Luthor is coming to see him. He takes a vest from a SWAT member and then leaves to go inside.

Inside, the methane levels are high and approaching critically high. Lex walks in. He asks how Whitney is doing and Lana replies that he needs a doctor. Earl says he never meant to hurt anyone. He also asks Lex if his father sent him to do his own dirty work. Lex replies that this is his plant, not his father’s plant. Earl says that he just wanted Lionel to listen to him and Lex replies that he knows the feeling.

Lex: I’m gonna tell you the truth. My father doesn’t care about you. He doesn’t care about anybody in this room because if we all die his PR firm will spin it. His insurance company will pay out. And you, Earl, will go down as the bad guy.
Earl: I’m not the bad guy. I’m just trying to get better.
Lex: How are you gonna get better by killing a bunch of kids?

Lex tells him that if he lets everybody go that he will take him to Level 3. Earl cocks the gun and points it at Lex. He tells him to stop lying. Lex does not flinch. He tells earl to let them go and he says he will then show him where it is. Lex tells Earl to trust him. Earl thinks hard and then finally tells the students to get out. On the way out, Clark asks Lex if he really knows where it is.

Lex: Yeah. It’s in his imagination. There is no Level 3 Clark now get out of here.

Earl tells Clark to go as well. We then see the students all running to evacuate. Outside, a security official tells Lionel that they need to bring down the fire doors because the gas levels are now too high. He tells Lionel that Lex will be sealed inside. He apologizes to Lionel but the older Luthor tells him to do it.

As the doors are closing, Clark breaks away from Pete and goes back inside. PEte tries to stop him but Clark speeds away once the door comes all the way down. Pete tells Martha and Jonathan that Clark is still inside. Martha approaches Lionel and tells him that he has to open the doors. Lionel replies that they are safety locked and cannot be opened until the gas levels have gone down. She tells him that her son is still inside. He replies that his is also. Clark goes to the place on the blueprint where Earl claimed an elevator should be. He sees the same closed and bricked wall. Clark uses his X-Ray vision to see through the wall and he notices an elevator a few feet beyond the wall on the other side.

Elsewhere, Earl tells Lex that it is time for him to do his part. Lex tells him that there is no Level 3. Earl strikes him and then tells Lex that he never trusted him. Clark calls to Earl through a building intercom that he found Level 3. He says that they built a wall in front of the elevator. Earl tells Clark not to lie to him. Clark tells him that he found it just as Lex yells for Clark to get out of th the building. Earl goes to find Clark. He brings Lex with him so that he can see the truth.

As they go to where Clark says he is, Clark goes to the methane valve and repairs it, using his super strength, causing the gas pressure to drop. The drop in pressure is reported to Lionel immediately.

At the closet, we see that Clark has knocked a hole in the wall putting the elevator in view. Earl asks Lex how he can explain that and Lex says that he cannot. He drags Lex into the elevator. There are only buttons for Levels 1 and 2. When Lex tells him that he is sorry, Earl pushes a non-visible button on the panel, causing it to light up. Lex is astonished. They walk out of the elevator and into a large open warehouse area. Earl describes the rows of corn and the green mist they used to spray on them and asks where tit all is. Lex says that he has no idea and tells him that they lied to him, too.

Clark arrives and tells Earl that they should go back upstairs to talk. Earl and Lex are standing on a suspension bridge with a long drop to the floor below them. Just then, Earl starts shaking. The shaking causes the bridge to come loose. Earl hangs to a rail by his hands, and Lex is grabbing onto Earl’s legs below him. Clark runs to them. The drop below them is probably too far to survive.

Clark grabs onto Earl’s wrist. Clark begins to become sick. His hand’s veins turn green. He manages to pull Earl up to the landing anyway. As Earl is pulled to safety, Lex grabs the flooring of the bridge with his hands but is still hanging with feet dangling. Clark next pulls Lex up. As they scramble up the damaged bridge to solid flooring, Earl is standing at the spot where the flooring and bridge meet. He starts to shake again. Lex and Clark run together, diving into Earl, just as the entire bridge structure collapses to the floor far below them.

Once they are safe, Lex asks Clark how he pulled them up. Clark says he does not know and guesses it was adrenaline.

Sometime soon after, Earl is wheeled out in custody as Clark is reunited with his parents. Martha is overjoyed. Meanwhile Lex is reunited with his own father. He tells Lionel tht he led to him. Lionel says he did not. He says that he only said Level 3 is not on any plans. Lex asks him what they were ding on that level and Lionel replies that it does not matter and that the project was a failure. Lex tells Lionel that he almost got him killed. Lionel corrects im to say that he almost got himself killed.

Lionel: It was your call, remember?

Lionel breaks away from Lex to address the gathered press. When asked what Level 3 is, Lionel replies that he believes they are referring to a redundant storage area at the base of the plant. He then adds that Mr. Jenkins is a very sick man who needs medical attention. Lex jumps in and adds that he and his father have pledged to find Mr. Jenkins the best medical care possible.

Lex: He was a LuthorCorp employee. Here at LuthorCorp we always put family first. Isnt’ that right, dad?

Lionel then asks that there be no more questions citing that Lex has been through quite an ordeal. As Lex is given a hug by his father, for the hpress, he watches the genuine hug occurring between the Kents.

REACTION:

Let’s get the early aughts playlist out of the way, first.

Smashmouth – Pacific Coast Party
Bush – The People That We Love
The Cult – My Bridges Burn
Handsome Devil – Tie Me Up
Bad Ronald – Bad Idea

I forgot how much Smallville leans into “evil agribusiness” to make sense of the Luthor presence in Smallville. They actually do a pretty solid job if you ignore the weird non-science of meteor rocks.

The meteor freak of the week, Earl, was played by Tony Todd. Some of you might remember him as The Candyman from the “Candyman” horror franchise. He’s actually been in a lot of stuff but that’s what he is most well known for. He is a tragic bad guy in this episode. Almost all of his bad deeds are from desperation or by accident. Most meteor freak villains eventually become fully psychotic. Amy Adams pretty much tried to eat a classmate, remember? Bug boy did buy boy things. Earl remains a good guy… just a profoundly desperate one.

This is kind of a “move the big plot arc forward” episode. The shady LuthorCorp plant has been lurking behind a lot of the plot since the pilot. Here we learn more about that. We also get to see in a direct way how ruthless Lionel really is. He is “the big bad.” I think he fully expected Lex to walk out of the plant alive but made peace with the possibility that Lex might fail extremely quickly, too. It was just a vicious test.

This was a realization episode for Lex, too, as he moves down the path toward villainy. He realized that his father was willing to let him die to keep corporate secrets. He’s in a kind of “non-existent love” / “ruthless world conquest training” relationship with his father. Lex understands now a lot better what he faces from his dad. He also knows his Dad has corporate secrets and you can see the need to unearth those secrets being born in Lex, in this episode.

Lex also realizes – with more evidence – that something is abnormal about Clark. Normal teenagers do not play the hero game like Clark does. Stumble across a car wreck and help out? Okay. Run into a locked down warehouse? Uh, no. Normal teenagers cannot pull two grown men, large men, up onto a bridge simultaneously, with just a wrist grip. So the fascination with Clark will only increase on Lex’s end.

The seeds of jealousy are planted there, too. Lex wants to be loved. He is not. Clark has ideal parents.

I’m actually most fascinated by Chloe’s family in this episode. There is zero chance that Gabe Sullivan did not know about Level 3. He predates Lex at the plant. He was almost certainly hired by Lionel. Lionel Luthor does not seem like the kind of guy who does not have *his* people running his plants. Chloe presents as almost hostile to the Luthor presence in the town but she is a LuthorCorp insider of the highest order. HER DAD RUNS THE PLANT! What exactly is the rest of the story there? Is there more than meets the eye with Chloe? How exactly does a HS freshmen run her own school newspaper (with her own office and everything)? How is it so well funded? Who pushed Chloe in the “Wall of Weird” direction? Is it purely a coincidence that the Wall of Weird is good for LuthorCorp from a perception standpoint? (i.e. If people blame the meteor rocks for everything in the town, they are not blaming the plant.) Something here is fishy.

Anyway, this is a good episode. I’m a fan of Lionel being on screen. He’s a truly great bad guy and a lot of fun to watch.

4 thoughts on “Smallville (Season 1, Ep 8): Jitters

  1. I have t admit, I don’t remember this episode at all.
    Sadly, I found the dynamics between Lionel and Luthor to get repetitive over the years. It was great here, as you mention just how much of a real bad guy Lionel is and Lex is still near the beginning of the path.

    The parent envy was huge, that’s for sure.

      1. Yeah. I’m interesting to look at it with fresh eyes. Some of the things that bothered me 20 years ago bother me less now. Some other things probably bother me more.

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