Smallville (Season 1, Ep 20): Obscura

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:

After surviving a gas pipeline explosion where meteor rocks were present, Lana develops the ability to see through the eyes of someone else – though she does not know who it is. With this power she sees this stranger kidnap Chloe Sullivan and then bury her alive. She is able to tell Clark what she sees and Clark is thus able to save Chloe. The kidnapper however remains at large and subsequently targets Lana herself. Clark figures out, via an internet search, that Lana’s ability is related to a phenomenon wherein people who experience a bombing together sometimes develop psychic links with one another. From that he deduces that Lana’s kidnapper is one of the police officers present at the gas pipeline explosion. Clark and Chloe then figure out where where the office took Lana just in time for Clark to save her. The officer who kidnapped Lana dies in a firefight with police when they attempt to arrest him.

Meanwhile, Lex’s source at The Inquisitor tips him off about a Smallville resident who claims to have seen a spaceship crash during the Smallville meteor shower 12 years earlier. Lex has the field where the crash is said to have happened examined and finds an octagonal disk made of an alloy not present anywhere else on earth. The disk is a missing piece of the ship Clark arrived on.

THE EXTRA DUSTY RECAP:

Accompanied by a sweeping score, the show opens with an aerial view of Lana and Whitney galloping a pair of horses across wide open pasture land. Lana comments when they slow that they have not done this in a long time and that she thinks it is a nice way to keep Whitney’s mind off of what happened with his father. He apologizes for being kind of out of it lately before abruptly chanting the subject to ask Lana if she will be his date to the spring formal.

Lana: Of course! You didn’t have to ask.
Whitney: I guess I’m just not taking anything for granted anymore.

Suddenly not far away, they hear an explosion. They tie their horses to a fence post and travel on foot to see what is happening . As they arrive, emergency response vehicles are also arriving. A police officer reports to the station that they are responding to a gas main fire just as Whitney and Lana run up to the scene. Lana points out to Whitney that the gas meter is shaking violently. The emergency responders do not appear to be taking notice so Whitney urges Lana to run away as he runs toward them to get their attention.

Lana, who has not moved yet, finally starts to run just as the pipe by where she is standing explodes. She is tossed several feet to the ground as dirt – some of it tinged with green – sprinkles over her. We see that she is alive when she rolls over and opens her eyes, with a meteor rock clearly visible beside her.

Clark arrives at the hospital and finds Whitney at Lana’s bedside. He asks if she is alright and Whitney tells him that she is and that the hospital staff gave her something to help her rest. Clark then asks Whitney how he is holding up and the other boy replies that he had hoped to have seen his last hospital wing for a while. Chloe arrives just then also and pulls Clark out into the hall. Clark is surprised to see her thinking she would be halfway to Metropolis by now. When Clark reminds her that she has been waiting for an interview at the “Planet” for weeks, she answers that she feels weird taking off right now. Clark reports that Lana will be okay and that she has only suffered a mild concussion so Chloe leaves, saying that she will be crashing at her cousin’s dorm, and she requests to be kept informed. Clark tells Chloe that they can all survive one day without her and when she asks if he is going to wish her luck, he tells her that she does not need it.

After she goes, Clark re-enters the room and asks Whitney if he can buy him a cup of coffee and Whitney says yes.

Alone in her hospital bed, Lana appears to be dreaming. The camera focus gets foggier and we see Chloe approaching her cars through what appears to be someone’s spying eyes. As Lana opens her eyes, we see in her vision that the person spying on Chloe runs up to her and covers her face with a rag inside his or her gloved hand. Panicked, Lana sits up in her bed and says Chloe’s name.

♫Somebody saaaaaaavvee meeeee♫

Later on the Kent farm, Martha gets a phone call from the school because they are looking for chaperones for the Spring Formal. Clark asks her what she said about chaperoning and she recounts that she told them Clark had not even mentioned it. He then tells her that he does not think the tux and limo thing is for him.

Clark: Besides, it’s customary to have a date to a dance.
Martha: Which is why it’s customary to ask someone.

Jonathan tells Martha to stay out of it and then asks Clark to help him remove a trap. Clark pulls a piece of pipe from beneath the sink and Martha asks Clark if he is going to ask Chloe to the Spring Formal or not. Jonathan laughs and says she cannot help herself, before leaving the room and warning them not to use the sink until he returns. Martha then reminds Clark that he told her that he has feelings for Chloe. Clark tells her that not asking is not about Chloe. Martha tells him that he cannot keep putting his life on hold because of Lana, and Clark points out that if Lana sees him with someone else it is like he is telling Lana that the door is closed.

Martha: The door is closed, Clark. You need to admit that to yourself.

Just then Lex knocks on the kitchen door and Martha invites him inside. Lex says he was hoping to speak with her and Mr. Kent. He also notices Clark moving quickly to leave and asks if he is in a hurry. Clark tells him that he is taking over at The Torch while Chloe is out of town and that he needs to get going.

Jonathan and Martha speak to Lex who tells them that the money for the chemical spill on their property finally came through. Jonathan jokes that he thought they’d never live to see the day and Lex explains that since the accident was not technically committed by a LuthorCorp employee that it required jumping through some corporate hoops to get the settlement money. He then hands them a check and says that he hopes that it helps. Jonathan looks at the check and seems surprised at the amount.

Jonathan: While I appreciate the gesture, I hope we’re not getting special treatment because of your friendship with Clark.
Lex: I assure you Mr. Kent that has nothing to do with this.

Martha tells Lex that this is very generous and he argues that it is not, adding that he would not insult them by putting them into his debt. He says the money reflects the exact loss they suffered to their cattle and grazing land and that he hopes that they are able to put them past behind them. Jonathan looks at him with consideration and then shakes his hand.

At school, Lana visits Clark at The Torch and he asks how she is feeling. She answers that she is better but seems worried. Clark tells her that he is surprised to see her as a hospital visit usually comes with a get out of school free card. She tells him that she is looking for Chloe. Lana asks if he is covered for her and Clark tells her that the printer is jammed, the scanner is broken, and that the schedule for the Spring Formal is late.

Clark: Chloe leaves for a day and The Torch goes down in flames.

Lana jokes that it is safe to say Clark will not be lost to the world of journalism. Lana asks Clark if he has talked to her and he answers that he left a message on her cell phone. He speculates that she is busy convincing the Planet that they were insane to ever publish without her. Finally noticing that Lana is worried about something, Clark asks her what is up. Lana tells Clark that she had an intense dream about Chloe, wherein she was attacked outside of the hospital, and that she cannot shake it. As Lana accurately describes the bag Chloe was carrying at the hospital, despite Lana being asleep, Clark begins to worry, too, and offers to call her dad. Lana then decides that she does not want to scare Chloe’s dad just because she had a bad dream while on painkillers and Clark agrees that it was probably just a nightmare but he still seems concerned after Lana leaves.

At Lex’s mansion, Roger Nixon, his man at The Inquisitor, enters and asks Lex why he is doing favors for his competition. He reminds Lex that they had an arrangement and that Lex is supposed to give him stories in exchange for favorable coverage. He then hands Lex a copy of a newspaper and asks what Carrie Castle could do for him that he could not. Lex smiles at him and says she gave him a pretty mean shiatsu massage.

Roger tells Lex that this development has forced him to go find his own leads and he says there is a story in Smallville that he means to make his name on. Lex warns Roger that the Kents are more than off-limits, they are under his protection. Roger asks him if the meteors are under his protection, too, and then shares with Lex that he has a man who tells him that he saw something fall out of the sky with the meteors. He hands Lex a pile of paperwork, with the top sheet featuring an add for Eddie Cole’s crop dusting business. Lex asks why he brought this to him and Roger replies that getting the full story requires money and access, and he adds that unlike some he always holds up his end of the deal.

On the farm, Clark is trying to get the tractor to start, unsuccessfully, and he demonstrates his frustration by pounding on the machine with his fist. His dad approaches and tells him to take it easy and then knowing the issue, reassures Clark that Chloe will likely call any minute. Clark sighs and agrees before changing the subject to say that he is glad they will finally be able to get rid of the tractor. He tells his dad that they spend more time fixing it than riding it. Jonathan says he is not sure that he is ready to retire it just yet. Clark says that with Lex’s check they can get a new tractor. Jonathan then tells him that he has not decided yet whether or not he wants to deposit the check.

Jonathan tells Clark that he knows Lex is just trying to pay him back for damages that he believes he caused, and that he knows he should have no reason to doubt him, and yet Jonathan says something in his gut tells him he should doubt Lex.

Clark: Lex isn’t perfect dad, I know that, but slamming the door in his face, over and over, only helps turn him into exactly what you think he already is.
Jonathan: When did you get to be so wise?
Clark: Ask my dad.

Later, Clark runs into Pete at The Talon and asks him if he has talked to Chloe yet. Pete says no but adds that the Planet better not have turned her down if they know what is good for them. Clark says he assumed she would have called by now to get an update on The Torch, but Pete says she probably got the internship and is now out partying with her cousin. Abruptly, Pete tells Clark that he is taking Erica Fox to the Spring Formal. Clark smiles and says that Pete has already informed him several times.

Pete: The hottest girl in our class… just want to make sure that was clear.

Pete asks Clark if he wants to know his secret and before Clark can answer, Pete tells him that he asked her. He suggests that Clark should try it. Lana catches the end of Pete’s self-celebration, as he goes, and then asks Clark for an update on Chloe. He tells Lana that he called Chloe’s dad but that he was stuck in a seminar. They both reassure themselves that she is okay. Clark sees a sign on the wall that says you can buy tickets to the Spring Formal here and tells Lana that is a good idea. Lana asks Clark if he has asked anyone yet and he replies mysteriously that he has his eye on someone.

Lana: Well, you better hurry up. No one likes to look for a dress last minute – not even Chloe.
Clark: What makes you think I’m asking Chloe?
Lana: [smirks]

Lana stops what she is doing, gasps, and has a vision of Chloe tied up and blindfolded. She drops the drinks she is holding and Clark jumps up to check on her. She tells Clark that it happened again, that somebody has Chloe, and that Clark has to believe her.

We cut to a scene of Chloe, blindfolded, trying to cut loose her own bondages as she is tied up inside a warehouse. Just outside, a man is welding. She finally manages to break through the duct tape bonds holding her wrists behind her back, by rubbing them against the bed rail where she is sleeping. She quickly pulls her blindfold off and takes the tape off from around her ankles. She gets as far as a metal wall, with grated holes, but as she looks through the holes into the room beyond, the welding man grabs her and stabs her with a needle that is dripping something ominously green. She passes out a few moments later.

Chloe’s dad and two police officers meet with Clark and Lana at The Talon. Her dad tells them that he has not heard from Chloe and is starting to become concerned. When Lana tells the police officers about her vision, one of them is extremely hostile to her and suggests that she should have called the Psychic Friends Network. When he asks her what she saw, and she tells them that she saw Chloe bound in a dark room, he mocks her for not seeing something useful that might actually help them find her. The hostile officer gets a call and walks away as the other officer asks Lana, much more gently, if she is feeling okay. He reminds her that she went through a very difficult day yesterday. She tells the nicer officer that it felt like she was seeing through the kidnapper’s eyes and he tells her that he promises they will take this seriously and look into it. Chloe’s dad gets a call and he is told that Chloe’s car has been found abandoned in the woods.

Lex, Roger Nixon, and a man named Eddie Cole meet. Cole tells Lex about the FAA pulling his license due to concerns over his mental well-being. Lex hands the man cash and tells him that he would very much like to hear his story. Cole then explains that on the day of the meteor shower, he was up in his prop plane, He tells Lex that he was sure he was going to die and adds that one of what he thought was a meteor missed the tail of his plane by ten feet and then swerved just before it hit the ground.

Lex: Doesn’t sound like a meteor.
Cole: I know a-aircraft better than most. The way that thing moved, i-it had to be a ship.
Lex: You saw a ship crash?
Cole: It wasn’t just that I saw a ship crash. A couple hours later, I went to look for it — it was gone.

Lex suggests that maybe it burned and Cole retorts that maybe it was taken. Cole asks if Lex saw the map of the crash site and Lex says that he did. He then leaves and goes to his car. Roger chases after him and Lex tells him that Cole is a desperate man with a tall tale.

That night, Lana visits Clark in his loft and asks if there is any work on Chloe. Clark tells her no. He says he and a group searched the woods but did not find anything. He says a search party is going to look in the morning. Clark asks Lana how she is doing and she explains that she spent the afternoon at the sheriff’s station telling people what she saw and she says everyone kept looking at her like she was crazy. She asks Clark how he is holding up and he tells her that he just keeps wishing Chloe would walk up his loft steps. He says he never appreciated how much she means to him until now. When Clark starts to talk about the thought of not seeing her again, Lana puts her hand on his forearm and tells him that he cannot think that way.

Clark tells Lana about the first time he met Chloe in eighth grade. He says she just transferred from Metropolis and that he was assigned to show her around. He tells Lana that the first thing Chloe wanted to know about was where she could get a copy of the Planet so that she could keep in touch with civilization. Clark says that when Chloe found out he lived on a farm that she insisted he invite her over so that she could experience it first hand.

Clark: I think she thought I was Amish.

Clark then tells Lana that when he invited Chloe up to his loft, she kissed him out of the blue. Chloe is said to have told Clark that she knows he has been thinking about that all day so she wanted to kiss him, and get it out of the way, so that they can become friends. Clark tells Lana it was his first kiss. Lana tells Clark that it is nice it was with someone he still cares about. After a long pause, Lana tells him that they are going to see her again. As Lana gets up to go, she has another vision. She sees a windmill and a shovel digging a hole in the ground. When she comes out of the vision, she tells Clark that the windmill was large and that Chloe is being buried but is still alive. Clark tells Lana that she must be out in Chandler’s Field. He tells Lana that he will go get help.

We see Chloe lying alive in a box, underground. A green glow stick is lying beside her. Clark uses super-speed to get to the location and begins looking around. He uses X-Ray vision to scan the ground and finds the coffin inside of which she is buried. He then punches his first into the earth and grabs her coffin to pull it out. He then rips the top of the box off and shouts her name. She gasps for breath and sits up.

Chloe: [crying] Clark! I knew it was you. It’s always you.

As the camera pans away from their reunion, we see that Chloe’s unknown kidnapper was watching Clark rescue her from a distance.

Clark and Lana later visit Chloe inside of Smallville Medical Center. As they arrive she is getting off of the phone. They ask who that was and she tells them it was the Planet. Lana says that she thought Chloe missed her internship interview and Chloe tells them that they wanted to interview her about what happened. Clark asks if she is going to talk to them and she says no because while she has always wanted her name in the Planet, she does not want it there like this. She then says though that The Torch will get an exclusive and that she will write it as soon as she gets out of here.

Clark asks what she remembers and she tells him that she remembers tripping on some rails, and hundreds of teddy bears hanging from the ceiling. She says that is at least where she was kept until she was moved. She begins crying and telling them that she can still remember the sound of the dirt falling onto the coffin. Chloe tells Clark that if he had not found her, she does not know where she would be. Clark tells her not to thank him, but to thank Lana.

Chloe: Yeah, I gotta hand it to you, you sure picked the perfect time to take a walk on the weird side.

Clark tells Chloe that she should get some rest. He stands up to go but Chloe grabs his hand and asks if he minds sticking around for a while because whoever did this is still out there. Lana sees them holding hands and tells them that she will go. Outside of the room, walking down the hallway, Lana has a vision – this time she sees herself from behind. When she turns around, no one is there. We see that someone who had been following her had hidden behind an outcrop in the wall when she turned around.

The next day on the farm, Jonathan, who is doing chores, greets Clark and asks how long he was at the hospital. Clark tells him that he was there all night and that he sneaked in after visiting hours. He says he is worried because whoever did this is still out there. Jonathan tells Clark that he got Chloe back, safe and sound, and that this is what is important. Clark agrees but says he wouldn’t have done it without Lana. His dad asks if Lana has had any more visions and Clark tells him no. Clark adds that he thinks the visions are connected to the gas pipe explosion, somehow, as that is when they started.

Clark changes the subject and asks his dad what he will do with Lex’s check after a night to sleep on it. Jonathan tells him that while he might be stubborn, he is not blind. He say that as soon as they deliver the feed in his truck, he is taking the check to the Savings and Loan and depositing it. From a distance, someone spies on the Kents as they leave.

Not far down the road, the Kents see a team of people in hazmat suits meticulously going over the piece of property where Eddie Cole said there was a crash site. They pull over and ask Lex, who is present and not in protective clothing, what is up. He tells them that he is considering buying the land for a pilot agricultural project but says he wants to test the soil, first. Lex says that it is standard operating procedure and Jonathan asks him when standard operating procedure started including hazmat suits and metal detectors. Lex tells him that they learned there may have been a major meteor strike on the site.

Lex: Of course there’s no proof the meteors are actually harmful, but…
Jonathan: It never hurts to dot your i’s and cross your t’s, right?

Lex reminds Jonathan that, as he is well aware, LuthorCorp’s environmental reputation has taken hits in recent weeks and says that it is better safe than sorry. He asks Jonathan if there is a problem and Jonathan, flustered, tells him that what is good for LuthorCorp isn’t always what is good for the town. Someone calls out to Lex and Jonathan tells him that it sounds like he has business to attend to. Before he goes, though, he gives Lex the check for the damages to his property and tells him that he cannot accept the money.

Lex: Mr. Kent, I don’t understand…
Jonathan: I wouldn’t expect that you would.

Jonathan walks back to the truck. Clark tries to talk to Lex but Lex tells him it is okay and that they will talk later.

Clark runs to catch up with his dad and tells him that Lex did not deserve that, and he points out that scientists test fields all the time. Jonathan tells him that he knows that but then explains to Clark that this field is where Clark’s ship crashed. He says that if Lex’s scientists find anything out here that they could trace it back to him.

Lex walks over to talk to a man n a hazmat suit. When he pulls the mask off, we see that it is Dr. Hamilton, the meteor rocks researcher on Lex’s payroll. He hands something out of sight to Lex and tells Lex that he knows what this could mean . Lex replies that he knows more than Hamilton and then instructs him to do all of the tests personally and to report directly to him.

Whitney meets up with Lana at The Talon and asks how she is feeling. She replies that she is feeling better and reports that the nightmares seem to have stopped. Whitney tells Lana that he has been going through some of his dad’s old things and found some of his war medals, including one awarded for valor.

That night, Clark is doing research about Lana’s accident, in his barn loft, when Lex arrives. Clark asks what he is doing here and Lex replies that he feels as though he owes Clark’s dad an apology but says he is not sure what he did wrong. Clark tells Lex that it’s not him, it’s everything, from money problems, the farm, and Clark says he guesses that his dad just did not know what Lex was doing out in the field.

Lex: I thought I made myself clear.
Clark: You did.
Lex: You don’t believe me either.

Clark tells Lex that he knows he gets obsessed about things, such as the car accident, and he says he finds it hard to believe Lex would spend his time supervising a routine land survey if that is all that it was. Lex tells Clark that his life changed when the meteors hit and that he needs to know why. Lex tells Clark that this is not just about an empty emotional quest, it is about the truth. He continues telling Clark he met a man who told him that something else besides the meteors came down that day.

Clark: Like what?
Lex: A ship.
Clark: [big smile] And you believe him?

Lex tells Clark that chances are, the guy is just a crackpot, but he says he would be remiss if he did not check it out. Clark asks if when the next thing crops up he will check that out, too, and then he asks Lex when he will be able to put the past behind him. Lex tells Clark to look out the loft window at the stars. He says that some of those stars have been extinguished for thousands of years but their light is only reaching earth now. He tells Clark that the past is always influencing the present.

At The Torch, Chloe and Whitney arrive to meet Clark. Chloe is surprised to see Whitney and he tells her Clark called him and said he needed his help. Clark tells both of them that he figured out how Lana got her visions. He says that the blast somehow connected Lana with someone else who was at the accident. Clark explains that he knows there were meteors at the explosion site and then he hands them articles on something called the De Kretser Syndrome. Clark tells them that there were several cases after the London Blitz and then Chloe reads aloud, from the article, that people huddled together were psychically linked after a bomb exploded nearby. They discuss things and Clark concludes that one of the cops at the explosion site must have kidnapped Chloe Whitney is a little incredulous but Clark asks him who would suspect a cop. Clark then points out that if one of those two guys really is the kidnapper, then he knows Lana is seeing through his eyes, so they need to warn and protect Lana.

At The Talon, a police officer approaches Lana, late at night, and tells her that he just wanted to ask her a few questions. She says that she is surprised he found the time and he admits that he deserves that. She asks if he wants a cup of coffee and when he agrees, she walks away and has a vision. She sees another man enter The Talon and punch out the officer already inside. Lana then again sees herself from behind, through the bad guy’s eyes, She turns and screams when she sees a man wearing a mask.

Clark, Chloe, and Whitney find the knocked out police officer at The Talon. They help him up and ask about Lana and the officer tells them she was here before but that the assailant must have taken her. Clark asks the man about his partner, Gary Watts, and the officer tells him that his partner has a part-time job as security at the carnival, and that he is there tonight. Clark confirms with Chloe that she saw stuffed animals where she was hidden and she informs Clark that the carnival closes at 10 p.m. and that it would be the perfect place to hide someone.

We see Lana being held in a small room at the carnival, shouting for help. The police officer who was kind to Lana during her first police confession of her abilities, tells her that nobody can hear her and he asks how she can see through his eyes. Lana asks Deputy Watts why he is doing this and he replies that he never wanted to hurt Chloe. Lana asks him if he kidnapped Chloe so that he could take credit for finding her and Watts shouts at her that he could have been a good cop, the best cop the town has ever seen.

Watts: But it doesn’t matter now. I can still be the hero.
Lana: What are you gonna do?
Watts: Solve your murder.

As he cocks the gun, Clark arrives at the carnival. He uses X-Ray vision and sees the police offers pointing his gun at Lana, through a wall. As the officer fires the gun, Clark speeds into the room and deflects the bullet upward into a pane of glass. As the shards fall down toward Lana, Clark shields her with his body. After they are done falling, Clark pulls her up and unbinds her, she tells him that the kidnapper is Deputy Watts.

Outside, Watts hides as he hears police sirens arriving. Clark superspeeds to that location and tells him that it’s over. Watts shoots at Clark several times, hitting him, and doing zero damage. He asks Clark what he is and for an answer, Clark throws him about 50 feet into the air and against a large sign high atop a neighboring carnival tent. As Watts gets up, the police arrive and Clark speeds away to be beside Lana. She is now having another vision through Watts’ eyes. She sees a bullet travel right toward the evil officer and then her vision ceases.

After everything is over, we see that Roger Nixon is spying on Clark from a distance as he ushers Lana toward waiting police officers.

Sometime later, as Clark is mucking his barn, Chloe finds him. She is beaming and tells Clark that the Daily Planet called and gave her an internship. Clark notes that she did not have to interview and she says that they read her article in the Ledger on the kidnapping cop and she guesses her work spoke for itself. Clark says that he gueses that means she will spend the summer in Metropolis and she says yes, asking if he will come visit. He says he will not miss an opportunity to see her in her natural habitat. After a long pause, she says that she just wanted him to be the first to know, and hten leaves. As she is on herway out, Clark hesitantly asks if she has plans for the Spring Formal. When she tells him that she does not, at the moment, he tells her that he was hoping she would go with him. She can barely contain her emotion as she tells him that she would love to. She then tells him she is going to go before her good karma runs out. He tells her that he is sorry for not asking sooner and she tells him it was worth the wait.

Hamilton enters Lex’s office and asks where his crop duster is. Lex says something or someone seems to have scared him. Hamilton tells Lex that he analyzed a piece of the fragment they found.

Hamilton: All I can tell you is what it is not.
Lex: I don’t like riddles, doctor.
Hamilton: Then this object will make you profoundly unhappy. To be honest Lex, there is nothing like this alloy on this Earth.

Lex stares down at the object that we can finally see – a grey octagonal disk about the size of his palm.

We cut to the Kent Farm and see that a grey octagonal void exists on the outside of the ship upon which Clark arrived.

REACTION:

This episode has a few warts but overall I enjoyed it. The secondary plot of Lex finding the octagonal disk more than makes up for the flaws of the main plot. Lex spent millions of dollars analyzing a car crash. What will he do with an octagonal disk made of an extra-terrestrial alloy? My guess is… a lot.

The main driver of the plot in this episode is that Lana gets a meteor rock ability which is based on a made-up real world phenomenon. I looked and I found absolutely nothing in the conspiracy world about “De Kretser Syndrome.” I guess Smallville’s writers just made it up and gave it a legitimate sounding (but fake) backstory about it being documented during the London bombings of World War 2.

When I looked into “De Kretser” I found this guy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_de_Kretser

I assume he is the inspiration for the name of the syndrome… however, I have no idea how the two might be linked in the imagination of the writer.

Anyway, Clark uses a search engine and comes up with a syndrome that matches Lana’s symptoms and that helps him to figure out who the bad guy is. It was a little too easy but whatever. The really sloppy thing is Clark letting himself be shot. What does he do if the officer does not die immediately after? It was very un-Clark to not think that one through. Even when Lana has been endangered in the past, he is usually careful. For the time, the graphic of the bullet coming at Lana, in her vision, and the screen going black, was cool. It still worked pretty well. It’s fortunate for Clark that she didn’t see him doing super-things while taking that guy down just a moment earlier. Again… very uncareful and un-Clark like.

Sloppiness notwithstanding, the moment did *feel* very Superman-like.

I was amused at Clark and Lana discussing the time Clark met Chloe “in 8th grade” as if that were a long time ago. I realized a moment after he said it that Clark is in 9th grade during this conversation. Is “last year” all that long ago as a teenager? I guess it could be. Nevertheless it was funny to see a 20-something year old man, pretending to be a 15 year old, opining nostalgic on his long ago meeting with a then 13 or 14 year old.

The thing that makes this episode good is Lex finding the piece from Clark’s spaceship. I really want to hurry on to the next episode to see how *that* part plays out. I am much less interested in how Clark will undoubtedly break Chloe’s heart. He clearly does not like her in the way that he is leading her to believe he does and I suspect that will come to a head much sooner than later.

Jonathan refusing to be reimbursed for hundreds of thousands of dollars in property damage was also bizarre. I mean… I kind of get it from his character. But the scale of the damage earlier in the season was way too large for Jonathan to just flatly refuse reimbursement. It does ring a little true for the character though who is borderline insane regarding the Luthors.

However… his reaction to seeing Lex in the field where Clark’s ship crashed was really good. Initially I did not like that he and Clark did not say aloud after the confrontation why Lex was obviously lying but I liked that Clark brought up those things with Lex later. It lets us know that he and his dad talk off-screen, too, and in reasonable and believable ways.

Yet another wasted Pete episode. “Hey Clark, I got a date with the hottest girl in school. Bye. See you next week!” Just a total travesty that Whitney has been given meatier stories all year than Clark’s hometown best friend.

Theory Time:

I think Chloe moved to Smallville from Metropolis to spy on Clark. She immediately embedded herself in his life upon arrival. It seems very likely that she got him to work with her on The Torch. Her father is a LuthorCorp plant manager who was there before Lex arrived. He’s not a nobody. I suspect the reason he was not at Chloe’s bedside over night – leaving the job to Clark – is because he was having conversations about his daughter’s security with high level somebodies. Chloe is inexplicably well-funded to run her high school newspaper operation at the school. She has inexplicable government connections and computer abilities. Some hidden hand just got her an internship at The Daily Planet. Chloe Sullivan feels like a deep cover spy operation and no spoilers or anything but I’m guessing it feels even more that way when the show tells us more about her extended family. I’m going to see if this theory plays out as plausible during the run of the show. The obvious candidate as her secret backer is Lionel Luthor but perhaps another candidate will emerge, too.

Next episode is the Season 1 finale. Up, up, and away.