Smallville Reviews

There will be no Smallville shown on Wed November 24th. The next new Smallville is Wed December 1st. The WB will be showing "A Walk to Remember" on the 24th instead of Smallville.

Smallville: Bound

We start out this week in what appears to be an reception for very rich people. We see Lex wandering around with a glass in his hand. He shares a flirty look with a woman. He walks after her when she wanders away. When he catches up to her, he sees she is listening to an ipod. She lets him listen with her, and they decide to go somewhere less crowded to make out. They head for a bedroom, and disrobe. I think you can figure out what happened next.

The next morning, we see clothes strewn all over the floor. A maid walks in and screams. Lex jumps up and sees the woman he spent the night with very much dead, with blood everywhere (including on Lex's hands).

*flash to credits*

We now see Lex walking out of what appears to be a courthouse with lots of people asking questions. They see the clip from a news report saying he is the only suspect in the brutal slaying. He is talking with a cynical lawyer. The lawyer then leaves, as Clark comes in. Clark asks Lex if he did it, and Lex said no. Clark seems bemused by the fact that Lex slept with a woman when he didn't even know her name.

Cut to Lana. We see Lana sleeping, having a nightmare about the whole countess thing from last week. She wakes up with a gasp.

Now we see Clark visitng the Lionel Luther. Clark asks Luther if he is trying to frame Lex, and Lionel says no. Luther said that he is a changed man. He said he woke up feeling like something good had been inside him, and that his liver was healed. Luther said that he was changed and that he wanted to help Lex, and gave Clark some advice on how to proceed. Clark went off to look for the girl's car.

Mrs. Kent is in the coffee house struggling with the cappuccino machine. Lana walks up and mentions a rough dream when Mrs. Kent points out that Lana looks a bit rough. Mrs. Kent then told Lana that she had a visitor. It turns out that the visitor is Jason's mother. Even stranger, his mother was a creepy woman in Lana's dream. Jason's mother says that Jason would not talk to her. She asked Lana to tell Jason that she came to Smallville, and would be staying in the Smallville Inn and that she wanted to talk to him.

Now it is off to Smallville high. Clark is doing research on the computer in the torch office. Chloe comes in and he updates her (and us) on his progress in the Lex investigation. He found a lead, and Chloe helps him out, but warns against trusting Lionel. Chloe finds out the name of the woman whose care was in the hotel parking lot (Eve). Clark runs over to the woman's house, and sees Lex is already there. Lex is burning photos that the woman presumably took of him. It appears that she was stalking him or something. Clark asks Lex what he is doing, and Lex says "saving my ass." We then hear police sirens in the distance.

*commercial*

Cut back to Lex's mansion. Lex and Clark fight about Lex destroying evidence. Lex said that she was a woman who had been stalking him, but he had never met her before. Evidentially, Luther Corp had a list of stalkers, so he knew her name…but not her face. Lex said that Clark had played into his father's hands by looking for the car.

We see Chloe and Clark talking about the entire situation. Clark is upset about the fact that Lex had lied about stuff, but Chloe thinks something fishy is going on. Chloe loads up security footage of the elevator and sees that at one point the woman had lost one of her earrings. However, the dead body had two earrings on. Chloe said that either Eve found the earring and put it back on before her death, or that Lex was with two different women.

We now see Lex sitting in a room with his lawyer. She said that his tox screen came back negative. Lex pointed out that this could mean whatever drugs were used on him had left his system by the time the test was done, or that the test was altered. His lawyer told him that he was basically screwed. She also said that it turns out that Eve (dead woman) had been stalking him because he had slept with her 18 months ago, and gave her diamond earrings as a 'consolation prize.' Lex said that he did not always get the names or remember the faces of those that he slept with. The lawyer also pointed out that she herself had been one of Lex's conquests. He did say that he remembered her. She gets a bit more biting, and when Lex said that he suspected that she was involved in the set up, she smiles and said that she had thought that there would be a conflict of interest when she took the case, but thought that they could move past it, but now she could see that she was wrong. She then said that she would be removing herself from the case. She smiled in a way that suggested that she did have something to do with the setup.

Clark and Chloe then go to the hotel, and get in the elevator to reenact the knocking off of the earring. After a few awkward moments, Chloe says, "what if it fell down the crack." Clark uses his super vision, and sure enough, the earring was down the elevator shaft.

Clark then goes to Lionel Luther to ask about the earring. Clark said that he did not think that Lex would tell him the truth. Lionel said "and you think that I will." Lionel said that when he wanted to get rid of a woman he would give her diamond earrings. Evidentially, Lex copied his technique. Lionel then said that the woman in the elevator must be an ex lover of Lex's, and she is the real killer. Though it is not explained how the woman in the elevator put Eve in Lex's bed, or why Lex did not notice that the women changed.

We now see Lex going for a meeting with his ex lawyer. He walks in and asked what the new evidence was. He walks up to her chair, and sees that she is dead (with a slit throat). He then call's 911 on his cell phone to report a murder, but gets a message that says all circuits are busy. He then looks down and sees that pink ipod from earlier in the episode. He looks up to see a woman with a gun. It seems to be the same woman that he met up with early in the episode. She says what's the matter Lex, you don't recognize me? She then hits him with the gun, and he is knocked out cold.

*commercial*

Lex is now bound in a chair, with duct tape. It turns out that Lex had slept with him in the past. She had a fiancé, and dumped him because after sleeping with Lex she thought that Lex was in love. She is all bitter so she made this plan to get back at Lex.

We now see Lana talking to Jason, Lana tells him about his mother. Jason said that his mother is manipulative and controlling. Lana then tells Jason that his mom was in her dream…the dream she had before she met his mom. They both share a creeped out look.

Chloe and Clark are now in the school. They are looking at the earrings that they found, and read off the serial numbers. They match them to a listing that Lynol sent over and find that the earring belonged to Shannon Bell. Chloe then said that Shannon worked in Lex's law firm. Chloe calls the police, while Clark goes to rescue Lex.

We now see Lex's mansion. Shannon soaks Lex with alcohol and then sets the room on fire. Clark races in, knocks her out of the way, and then puts out the fire (then runs away)…all in superspeed. Lex sits in the room looking very confused. We see a burned circle all around Lex.

*commercial*

Back at Clark's farm. He sits there talking to his parents, very conflicted about the fact that Lex had hurt those women (even though he hadn't killed anyone). He couldn't understand how someone could do that. Clark told his father about the fact that Lionel helped out, and that he thinks that he might have changed. Mr. Kent still seems very suspicious.

Lex then goes to visit his dad in jail. He says that he heard that Lionel had something to do with his vindication. Lionel then said that he just pointed Clark in the right direction. Lex then said that he imagined that he wanted something in return. Lionel said yes he did. Lex then said that he wouldn't help him get out of jail. Lionel said that he deserved to be in jail, but he just wanted to be Lex's father again. Lex said that he had his health, but not to expect another miracle. He did give Lionel a meaningful look as he walked out though.

Lex then stopped by Clark's barn. He thanked Clark for helping him, and apologized for not trusting him. Clark asked how he could do it, and said that he wanted him to change. Lex then said that he realized that he had done wrong but didn't know if he could change. Lex said that now he feels like he has a second chance, and asked Clark to not give up on him yet.

Jason goes to see his mother. They have a very strange conversation about Lana. He asked if he met her by accident or not. His mom said of course, how else could it have happened. She then said that she would wait to hear from him.

--

It was definitely an interesting episode. I liked it better than last week's episode, but I felt that there were a few odd parts. I was really confused by Chloe and Clark's investigation. It just seemed that some of their leaps of faith were a bit odd. For example, their assumption that something was up with the earring. They seemed rather sure that something fishy was up, when simply assuming that the woman had found the earring would have been a much more obvious assumption. Of course they turned out to be right (thanks to the writers) but it just seemed to be a big leap on their part.

Personally, I think it would have made more sense to simply compare the face of the girl in the elevator with the face of the girl that was found dead. Why go through all the junk with the earrings when you have a video of the person. I guess this gave Lionel a chance to get involved.

I did find the changing relationship of Lex and Clark to be interesting. Clark is beginning to worry more and more about Lex's behaviors. He is seeing a side of Lex that he does not like. Lex is also realizing that he does bad things, but doesn't know how to change. He tells Clark about his struggles, and how for a moment he thinks that perhaps the world would have been better off without him.

Jason's mother has me a bit intrigued as well. While it is strange to see Dr. Quinn, medicine woman on Smallville, I think it will be interesting to see where that story line goes. She clearly has a strange history with Jason, and it seems to have something to do with his girlfriends. I wonder if she is somehow involved with the stuff that Lana has been going through. I guess we will find out as the season moves on.

Smallville: Spell

It starts out, with a guy trying to set a girl free in France, 1604. The girl is freaked out, saying how they must escape. Another creepy girl in red says that if they fall, they will rise again to complete their quest. They yank the red hood off of the creepy girl, revealing what looks like a very pissed off Lana. She smarts off to a magistrate. He orders her to tell him where the 3 stones are. She asks for her book, spits blood into it, and then reads something out from a page that has the symbol that is on Lana’s back. We find out that the woman is the Countess Thoreaux who then says that her heir will awaken her and she will have vengeance. She seems rather evil, and creepy.

We then see Lana, wearing one of her odd outfits from this season. She said that she found a magic book that belonged to Thoreaux on ebay and bought it. She asks Jason how his Latin is as she flips through the book. The fire goes out, and Jason goes to fix it. She finds the page that has the symbol that is on her back and touches it. A light then flashes, her eyes light up, and the fire in the fireplace flames up as well. Jason then asks here if she is OK, and she says “never been better”

(cut to commercial)

We now see Clark lifting hay on the farm. Lois shows up with boxes of crap. She said that they were going to have a party for Chloe’s 18^th birthday (which he had previously told her she could not have at his place…but of Lois chose to ignore). She bullies him into agreeing, even though some Princeton guy is coming to see him tonight.

Flash to Lana. She is making some strange spell…which needs the hair of 2 virgins. She chooses her own hair for one (I guess Lana didn’t do more than kiss the coach after all) and then smiles as Chloe and Lois walk in the room. They joke about strange science projects. They get Chloe to leave the room (to talk about the party that Lois previously mentioned to Clark). Lana pulls some of Lois’s hair…but apparently Lois has been naughty (Lana says ‘that is no good’ after looking at the hair).

She then goes over to Clarks, and tries to cut his hair…but evidentially his hair has super strength, and she can’t cut it (but he kindly offers to pull it out for her). She then goes to bully Lex into giving her some old French wine for the party. Lex feels uncomfortable giving 18 year olds wine, but he relents after she gets begs for a bit. Lana then notices that old painting with the map under it that Lex has, and asks him about it. He mentions that he picked it up in St. Petersburg. She points out that she knows he is lying…that he really knows about the map. Lex then asks her how she knows about the map…but she acts like it is obvious that she should know. She uses magic to reveal the map, and freeze Lex. She then says “you seek the stones, well we can’t have that.” She then tells Lex to keep playing (the piano) “infinitas.” She leaves as Lex sits down to play the piano.

We see Lana doing some strange spell with what we have come to know as kryptonian symbols on the ground. Lois comes up with Chloe. They talk about the party some (which Chloe already knew about). Lana offers a toast, and gives them the creepy stuff she was mixing with the wine. We see lots of wind and lighting, and both Lois and Chloe’s eyes light up. She calls them Madaline and Briana and welcomes them to the 21^st century. She gives them the cliff notes version about the spell that brought them here, and the witch that took over Lois says that she is rather impressed with her breasts. Lana just says “yes, there very nice.” They quip about the quest for the stones...and how they are going to seek the power.

We now flash to the party where Jason and Clark have an awkward scene. Before anything can be worked out, Lana and company walk in the door dressed up. Lois hits on Clark some and Lana blows off Jason. They then use some magic to liven up the party a bit. Of course, this is when the Princeton guy decides to walk in. He sees Clark in is boxer shorts dancing. He tells Clark who he is, and Clark tells him to join the party (the spell clearly changed Clark’s attitude as well as his state of dress.

(cut to commercial)

We come back the next morning to see a mess in the barn. Clark realizing that he blew things with the Princeton guy goes to see Lex to see if he can fix things. Lex is of course still playing the piano, by this point his fingers are bleeding. Clark pushes the piano away, and asks Lex what happened. Lex stammers out “Lana”

We now see Jason looking at the spell book. Lana walks in and tells him that he doesn’t want to mess with that. She tells him that she is that old witch. Jason does not approve. He asks her to let Lana come out. He acts all tough and threatens to burn the book. She of course uses magic to take the book from him and then starts beating the crap out of him. Clark storms in and tells her to stop, so she tosses him out the window. She leaves a message for him to meet her at midnight. He of course does…and they chuck a wagon wheel at him. They have a bit of a duel with him. They actually get the upper hand and decide to steel his “magic.” We see a bunch of lights flashing and Lana gets a smile and claims his powers are gone.

(cut to commercial)

Clark is now chained up. He tells them that he is not a sorcerer. Chloe seems confused, but Lana says she could sense that he was something more. Chloe wants to “cut it out of him” Lana stops her, and flirts with him a bit. When he kisses her, purple smoke appears and his voice says “the cave.” The girls disappear and Jason runs up and frees Clark. Clark tells Jason to go to the school, and tells Jason that he will go to the Talon.

The witches are in the cave, and Lana gives a cheesy monologue about getting power from the stones. She uses some magic spell to open the cave wall and walk into it. She sees the stone sitting into a pedestal. As she reaches for it, Clark shows up with a shotgun. Lois uses magic to knock the shotgun away. Lana then reaches out for the stone, but it hurts her and flies out of her hand. Clark catches it, and we see lights…and his powers are restored. Lana seems confident that she can take his powers away again, but Clark seems sure of himself this time. He then uses his eyes to burn the spell book that Lana is holding. Lana screams “NO” And lots of lights flash.

(Cut to commercial)

We come back with the gang laying on the cave floor. None of the girls know what happened.

We then see Clark at home, where his mom gives him a hard time for over sleeping. It seems his dad is out doing the chores. His dad then comes in holding a bra he found out in the barn, and is rather curious as to how it got there. The look on his mother’s face is priceless. Clark then said “it was magic” his mom says “I’m sure it was” He then tries to explain what happened, it sounds like a cheesy excuse at first, but they realized that he was serious when he said that he found that magic can hurt him.

Cut to Lana and Lex. They talk about her hocus pocus and the subject of Jason came up. Lex told her that it was him that got Jason fired, not Clark. Lex said that he didn’t want someone in a position of authority to coerce her into a relationship, and that he was looking out for her best interests. She was not the slightest bit impressed with that reasoning…and said that she could decide who she wanted in her life, and who she didn’t.

Lana then drops by Clark’s barn as he is picking up a pair of panties (and says “at least they are not mine”). She thanks him for saving the day and apologized for thinking he got Jason fired. She said that she got upset at him last year for keeping secrets, so she decided to tell him her secret. She then tells him about the strange stuff in France…and shows him the symbol on her back. He said that he saw it on the cave wall before. She then asks if he knows what it means, and he says no.

The show ends with Lex in the caves with a flashlight. He shines it on the symbol that is on Lana’s back.

--

Well, it was an interesting episode, though clearly not the best of the season. I was glad to see Lois again…but most of the rest of the episode disappointed me. I am wishing now that this was not the first episode of this season that I was able to review. Overall, I thought the acting was very weak, particularly Kristin Kreuk. I think she just decided to overdo to creepy witch stuff a bit. I also thought it was a bit strange how they tied in magic with the kryptonian symbols. I think I am being a bit picky because I have thought that this was a great season so far…and I think this was a down point. I like the fact that they are moving away from a monster of the week format of previous years, but I just think the writers went a bit far with the magic stuff, and overtaxed their actresses in making them act like witches from the 1600’s.

This is not to say that there were not good things in the episode. I thought the look on Mrs. Kent’s face when Mr. Kent came in when the bra was priceless. Their response when Clark said “it was magic” was amusing as well. I am hoping that Clark and Lex are able to repair their friendship a bit now that Lex told Lana that it was him that got Jason fired (and now that Clark saved Lex’s life again). While I know that they will end up being enemies in the end, I do like seeing their friendship in this show.

Lana’s comment about being possessed by a slutty witch was funny as well…perhaps politically incorrect, but funny nevertheless.

This show also set some things up for the future. Clark and Lana’s friendship seems to be mending just a bit (and Lana and Lex are not doing well), and we see that Lex is very interested in the caves again. It will be interesting to see how these things develop over the next few weeks. I guess Clark won’t be going to Princeton.

I’ll see you next week for a murder mystery Smallville style.

due to time contstraints, I'll not be able to start the reviews until November 10.

Once the new season of Smallville starts (Sept 22nd 2004) this will describe and review each episode of Smallville.