finally we return to the caves and the key. Chris Reeves is back as Swan. Only flies in the ointment are the usual Clark/Lana angst-ridden love scenes (enough already).
Seeing Clark’s dad put a shotgun butt upside Lionel’s head is worth the cost of admission.
I’m just glad to see them get back to the krux of Kal-el’s raison de etre.
anybody else ?
It was new? Crap. I saw them talking about the cave, and the listing for Reeve and assumed it was a rerun. Oops.
I only get to see Smallville sporadically, and in the episode where they introduced Swan, I missed the last half, so I have no idea who the hell he is. So, anyone car to elaborate on who this character is and how he knows Kryptonian and all that other stuff about Clark? Thanks.
Color me even MORE out of touch. I’ve watched sort of sporadically, and I’m glad that they’ve moved away from the kryptonite-radiation-induced evil superpower of the week. However…
I thought Jor-El was a GOOD guy. Ain’t he the one that puts li’l Kal-El into the spaceship to escape from the exploding planet, sacrificing himself (he coulda gone) for love of his child? When did he become a nasty dominating bad guy? And isn’t he DEAD? I mean, the Christopher Reeve SUPERMAN movies had Jor-El able to speak to Supes via holograms, because he (Jor-El) knew what kinds of things his son would ask, and prepared his answers in advance. The Smallville plot of a conniving and devious Jor-El who seems alive is… well… confusing, to me, let’s say. Can someone explain please?
Jor-El died with Krypton, as far as we know. He’d left behind messages in the ship that brought Clark to Earth … along with what I guess is a decision-making Artificial Intelligence, as Jonathan Kent was able to bargain with him.
Jor-El isn’t definitely a villain… but he certainly seems to be encouraging young Kal to conquer the world. There may be an ulterior motive there, for good.
I swear, I’d like to get through just one episode without watching Lana’s eyes well up. sigh And where was Chloe?
Elvis, Swann is some sort of billionaire genius who intercepted and decoded Jor-El’s message to earth that said something to the effect of “Here’s my son, take care of him.” That’s how Clark knows about Krypton, Jor-El, and his own real name.
CK Dexter, Jor-El seemed to be a good guy at times–back when he came to earth himself, and the fact that he sent off his son, but last year, he informed Clark that his destiny was to conquer the planet. Naturally, Clark wasn’t too thrilled about that. As far as I can figure, Jor-El’s consciousness was in the ship, and now, it seems, in the key as well. I have a hard time accepting Jor-El as a big bad guy, so I’m reserving judgement. 
But oh, yes, it was so worth it to see Jonathan and Lionel throw down. happy dance Although, if Clark had just waited maybe five more minutes before going down into the caves at the very beginning of the episode, Lionel may very well have blown his own head off.
Okay, I’m with CK on this - I’ve been sporadically watching.
Danka.
Okay–Jonathan had a heart attack a few months back, open heart surgery and everything. It has something to do with the deal he made with Jor-El back at the beginning of the season (when Clark had run away to be Bad Kal in Metropolis), so he could get Clark away from the red kryptonite influence and bring him home. Said deal is what’s going on between Jonathan and Jor-El right now, but beyond that, I don’t know exactly what’s up.
And over the last summer break, Lex was stranded on a deserted tropical island, where he contracted malaria and proceeded to invent himself a companion, who was really himself, in a weird way. Lionel took advantage of that later in the season, had a huge conspiracy plan to make Lex think he was completely nuts (which worked like a charm, of course–he actually did go nuts for a bit), and had Lex locked up in the Metropolis version of Arkham. Right before his committment, Lex more or less fully discovered Clark’s secret, but, of course, since he was crazy, nobody was going to believe him, and he knew it, so he kept his mouth shut. Clark went to visit him at the asylum, and Lex told him he’d keep the big secret. Lionel had Lex put through some electro-shock therapy that more or less erased a couple months’ worth of memory–including all his information about Clark. Shortly after Lex’s memory was irreparably modified, Lionel sees a security tape from the asylum that has Lex saying to Clark “I know your secret, and I promise not to tell.” I think it was the best Smallville moment ever when Lionel realized that he had all the answers, and he shocked them right out of his son’s head.
Just to add to Draelin’s most excellent synopsis:
There was a bad guy earlier this season who had found a way to embed hypnotic suggestions through emails. Lex learned of this guy and found out that he also knew how to retrieve lost memories. Lex bargained with the guy to get back what he had lost from the electroshock threatments.
I’ve noticed that Lex has been even more of a super nice guy since that episode. I’m wondering if they will do an arc which shows that Lex has known of Clark’s secret ever since then and is just waiting for his chance for revenge or whatever. But like others have said, I hope they just stick to this storyline for a while and don’t go back to the oneshot Kryptonite-powered supervillian of the week.
My suspicion of who sent the “Kal-El must conquer” message?
Brainac, hopefully. I had hoped the doctor who got a coma was going to be him, but the Kryptonian A.I. theory seals the deal. After all, to say “Take care of my son” and then to turn around and proclain him as the Interstellar Alexander the Great don’t make sense to me. Of course, it might be too “comic-booky” for this show…
And the Jonathan/Lionel smackdown was overdue. Gladly Stupid Pete was nowhere in sight, but I missed Chloe. And I second the annoyance at Lana’s weepiness.
Ooh ooh! Me next!
How did Lionel manage to get a sample of Clark’s blood in the first place? Through what manipulations, and also, how’d they get a needle in his arm?
I take Lana’s weepiness with a grain of salt. Seems like I read somewhere that she will leaving the show at the end of the season and this will be her final goodbye.
Aw heck, I did this too. And no Sunday EZView Repeat? Feh, maybe it’s time for me to quit this show for good.
There was an episode (I think when Clark got sick from kryptonite dust or maybe the one where all his powers got transfered to “Superboy” by the lightning strike) where Dr. Helen Bryce (the woman who married Lex) took a blood sample from him. That sample got stolen from her later.
In the first episode of Season 3 Clark (as Kal during his red kryptonite repression phase in Metropolis) got hired by Morgan Edge to break into Lyonel’s vault at LutherCorp and steal a box. That box ends up holding the stolen blood sample (I can’t remember if Lyonel’s possesion of it had been established before that). Clark doesn’t deliver it after his father snaps him back to reality.
Edge really wants that blood, and ends up tracking Clark back to Smallville. After his thugs threaten Martha and Johnathen, Clark uses a meteor rock to slice his hand, collecting blood in a canning jar to give to Edge. My memory gets a little fuzzy here about why, but Edge ends up selling the blood back to Lyonel. Maybe it was just a power trip for Edge to show he could still touch the relatively “gone straight” Lyonel or something. Edge also mentions knowing the source of the blood, but before that information can be passed along there’s a big gunfight and explosion, and Edge “dies”.
Oh, and I apparently have no idea how to spell “Lionel”. It was spelled right in Max’s post, and in the episode guide I was consulting. My brain is apparently mush. Nothing to see here, move along.
But, but, but…
Now I’m getting all weepy eyed. I know that Clark will eventually end up with Lois (kinda), but I wanted her to last at least until their senior year.
That show was kinda dark. Isn’t Superman about hope and stuff? I kinda want to see Clark throw down on some disposable freak of the week for old time’s sake (disposable, unlike that teleporting girl who would have been a great reoccuring character). I’m liking the whole plot thing rather than all freak of the week, but lighten up, eh?
Oh, I’ll watch the show anyway as I’m a fiend for it. I’m still sad about the whole Lana thing, though.
Unless, Lana leaves and the teleporting girl comes back, rehabilited and sane, as a steady character. She so much cooler and hotter and opens up new storylines. Go teleporting girl!
Last year, the rumor was we’d see this season the appearance of another member of the superman family: superdog! That never happened.
But now it’s been announced that another member will be in the finale
Kara-El!! - Supergirl