By Brandon Nolta

Of all the gin joints in all the world … OK, maybe not, but that’s the first thing one of the support group around Clark (Tom Welling) should have thought when Hollywood came knocking at the Kent farm. Apparently, somebody thought the Kansas plains made a great location to film the Warrior Angel movie, so now Clark and Chloe (Allison Mack) get to watch the magic of movies up close and personal. This is all cool, until the leading lady, Rachel Davenport (Christina Milian), nearly gets killed in a car stunt gone awry. Fortunately, Clark’s there to save her bacon.    

Soon after, we see Lois (Erica Durance) get slapped down by her editor for wanting to investigate Lex (Michael Rosenbaum) and his supposed new leaf, we switch to a cabin out in the boonies. Who’s in the cabin, you ask? Why, our friend Lionel (John Glover), looking like hammered crap and twice as pale, who comes out of his coma to find himself in a scene out of MISERY, pinned to a bed with a bear trap on his arm. Ow.


Back on the farm, Rachel has moved in to keep a low profile; an investigation shows the car was purposely rigged to crash. Fanboy vitriol has reached nasty levels on the Internet about changes to the mythology (like that would happen), and somebody’s gunning for Rachel. Literally; one of the gofers on the film is the bad guy, and he decides to stack the odds by loading a gun with real bullets. Fortunately for her, Clark realizes this and speeds the bullet out of harm’s way. Unfortunately for Clark, the psycho sees Clark dump the bullet, and puts things together. At the mystery cabin, Lionel decides to try out for Toughest CEO by pulling his hand out of the trap without fully opening it first. Bloody and weak, Lionel still manages to overpower his captor and escape, until he runs into a shovel wielded by … Lana. Is it really her, or is it a clone? Hmmm.

Clark gets a mystery package intimating that the jig is up, so he takes Rachel into hiding. Clark and Chloe track the nutjob production assistant, but he’s made himself scarce, and the PA is on the move to get Rachel, who is hanging out with Lana. Meanwhile, Lex finds Lionel, and in the process, Lionel gets the upper hand on his captor and beats her to death. The PA decides that Lana’s got to die and throws her off a building. Does Clark save her? Duh. Does he fly? Nope; there’s a real sad minivan by the time it’s over.


By episode’s end, Clark’s received a propitious gift, Lex has a frustrating talk with the nutjob, and it’s looking like Lana may take herself out of the picture for the good of mankind. By explicitly tying the events of the episode to the Warrior Angel mythology, the writers are making it clear that Clark will grapple with the issues that define Superman soon. Welling is solid as ever, but Kreuk is the centerpiece here, and it’s the first time I’ve seen Lana act as a real character and not just a surrogate for Lois. The streak of Luthor she’s got has made her more interesting, an all-around improvement. Glover is his usual self; even with a bear trap on his arm and colored in corpse white, you never doubt he’s the most dangerous mammal in the room. This latest season of SMALLVILLE is turning in one of the best of the series, and episodes like this that extend the mythology are one of the reasons why. If only Clark could visit Gotham sometime …