TNMC

It’s amnesia, and Clark has it. As Lois says in the second act, "Again?"

I know, I know. Again. Yeah. He can’t remember who he is. This is all just a cheap excuse to have Chloe tell Clark about his powers. This might have made a pretty good jumping-on point for new viewers. Too bad no one took them up on that offer, if the ratings were any indication.

Also, this was a Freak episode, though more in the vain of Season One’s "Hug". I seem to recall liking that one. There was a definite first season feel to this episode, which saved it from a good deal of my hatred. It was still pretty low in quality, but I didn’t have as much trouble sitting through it as I’ve had with most of the past two seasons.

The Good: Clark’s behavior during his amnesiac episode is quite different from his previous bout with the Soap Opera Standby. He was just a normal guy in this who marvelled at his powers. He even wondered why he moped so much when life seemed pretty good to him. Yeah, that’s a good question Clark. If only that healthy attitude lasted to the end of the episode. Chloe was doing pretty well here. She got to find out about the rest of Clark’s powers and she even understood just how complicated things can be for a guy who lifts tractors and sees through walls.

The Bad: Most everything else. The direction was sloppy. There were a few scenes, mostly with Lois, that seemed rushed. It was as though the director had no time for her, so he just used whatever piss poor shot she gave. I don’t dislike Erica Durance as much as some of you out there, so I’m willing to bet this isn’t entirely her fault. There are just times when she’s staring and giving it half-ass. She wasn’t even necessary for this episode. It’s like she was added to the mix late, so that could be why. No one, including the actress, knew what to do with Lois.

The Ugly: Lana.

I liked that Lex and Clark aren’t really friends, and they both seem to know that by now. Clark seems to feel guilty, but he’s a douchebag to Lex at the best of times. So fuck him. Lex, on the other hand, seems to be operating outside of that moral conundrum, which is where I like him. Lex tries to use Clark’s amnesia to figure out more about the caves. In the process we learn that Lex is very close to figuring out how close Clark’s involved in everything.

There are times when I can’t even have the audio on when I’m watching Smallville. It’s like I the closed captioning prevents me from having to commit my eyes to what’s on the screen. I’m this close to driving ice picks into my ears, but this episode proved to me that it’s not always that bad. Next week, though, that’s gonna be a challenge. I give "Blank":

7 out of 10