February 15, 2007: Freak
Chloe being outed as a meteor freak yielded some really interesting drama. I don't know why, but for some reason, I just didn't think Chloe would have such a problem with being one. Sure, she's the creator of the "Wall of Weird," but she's usually a "we'll just deal with things" kind of girl. So the fact that she was so freaked out about getting abducted for being infected was surprising to me. On the other side of things, Lana pretty much admitted that if Clark had been one of these "special" people, she'd have been OK with it. After all, he'd still be the same Clark Kent. Wow. I have to say, I kinda loved both reactions - especially Lana's. That's what I've been waiting for from her. Sure, there's a bit of a jump from "meteor freak" to "alien from another planet," but I just knew the girl could handle it. I liked Lana in this episode. There, I said it.
I know we're in the sixth season and Lana and Chloe have been friends for a while, but it's still weird for me to think of them as best friends. So that two-person bowling-alley bachelorette party was just odd. But at least it set up the big story: a doctor (on orders from Lex) is using a blind meteor freak who has the ability to point out other meteor-infected individuals. After using his handy-dandy freak-radar (freak-dar?), the bad guys abduct said freaks, experiment on them, and then return them home the next day complete with a memory wipe. Ever the observant (and nosy) reporter, Chloe spots the bowling-alley employee using telekinesis to hit on Lana
and blind Tobias, who'd just pointed out telekinetic boy to the evil doc.
One of the best things about this episode was Clark. Not only did he finally have a civil conversation with Lana, he also got to show his support for Chloe. (I'll let you know my favorite line of the entire episode later.) That was all well and good, but what trumped all of that was every single time the farm boy used one of his powers. He just about used all the ones the show has introduced: superstrength, superbreath, superspeed, X-ray vision, heat vision and superhearing. Sometimes, he would use them one after the other! There was just so much superpower goodness, it wasn't even funny. I wish every episode had more of that. If he had been able to use those powers in order to give someone a serious smackdown, that would have made everything perfect. As it is, he brought down some wimpy doctor that Lex was keeping on a short leash.
Speaking of Lex, I love it when he is up to no good, 33.1-style. I don't think Lana bought his lies, but that didn't stop him from telling them. That didn't stop him from swearing on the soul of his unborn baby that he had nothing to do with Tobias. How does the man sleep at night? Part of me was wondering how Lana could fall for the lies, but how can you doubt someone who swears on the soul of the child you're carrying? You're gonna have to go on faith once someone makes a heavy statement like that. By the way, kudos to
Michael Rosenbaum for directing this episode, he did a good job. It can't be easy to direct this show, and both Rosenbaum and
Tom Welling have done credible jobs.
But back to a freaked-out Chloe. She keeps claiming nothing good can come from being a meteor freak - she says they either end up "dead or in Belle Reve." With her mom having pyschological issues, that has to be on her mind. That experimentation scene was a bit disturbing with the contraptions and the ginormous needle. It almost seemed like what happens when any show features an alien abduction. Thankfully, the victims have no recollection of the entire evening. It was nice to see Clark be there for his friend, because as we know, it always seems like Chloe's dealing with
his issues. I love that she gets to angst about something that directly affects
her for a change. It seems like they'll continue this at some point, especially after seeing Lex watch a video of her evening of experimentation.
As for Lana, I just loved her thinking she needed to cover for Clark with Tobias. Pretty much everyone deduced that he was going to out Clark as a meteor freak. So the fact that Lana went to Tobias and offered to get him out of town and get him the "no strings attached" surgery he needed, all in the name of keeping Clark's secret, that just rocked. I loved that she was trying to do something for him. Last week, she lost the mangled chisel. This week, she gained the crushed bullet. Wonder if she's going to give up now that Tobias has confirmed that Clark is "normal," or if she'll continue to dig for the truth? Here's to her keeping up the excavation.
Other thoughts:
- Clark getting that GPS chip out of Chloe using his heat vision? Ouch.
- I loved Clark mentioning that Oliver Queen was arranging for Tobias' cornea transplant surgery. I had a nostalgic feeling when he mentioned Ollie. I miss him being a part of the action.
- Did Lana see Lex in the tux he'll be wearing for the wedding? I know it's usually bad luck when the groom sees the bride in the wedding gown, but on this show, you can't tempt fate. Nothing good can come from Lana seeing Lex in his tux
before the big day.
- For those who watch
Smallville and
Supernatural, Dr. Bethany was the evil doctor/shtriga in the Season 1 episode called "Something Wicked."
- Chloe and Clark scenes always manage to give us some good dialogue. Here's my favorite for this episode: "Face it, I'm a walking time bomb." "Then consider me your own personal bomb squad." Awesome. Just awesome.
- Al Gough is back answering more of your questions
here. It's kind of spoilery, so beware....
