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Smallville
Episode 1.12: "Leech"
Air Date: February 12, 2002
Written by Tim Schlattmann
Directed by Greg Beeman
Guest Stars: Kelly Brook (Victoria), Shawn Ashmore (Eric Summers), Kevin McNulty (Mr. Summers), William Samples (Sir Harry Hardwick)
With a plot device taken right out of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, "Leech" warranted low expectations. Very low. I guess that's why I ended up enjoying it. Not a good sign. In an earlier review, I mentioned that I had "seen the future of Smallville" and I was worried. This episode was the cause of that statement. Fortunately, my fears seem to be unwarranted, because this installment delivered more than a contrived means for Clark to lose his powers.
We start with a geology class field trip, where most nightmares typically begin. Clark and all those other people whose names appear in the opening credits are looking for rocks to satisfy the abusive Mr. Summers. Exactly how abusive is driven home when we meet Eric Summers, his son and this week's Freak By Default. Eric is portrayed pretty well by Shawn Ashmore, whom you might recognize as the young Bobby Drake from X-Men. When Eric decides to get his rocks off by standing on the edge of a nearby dam, Clark has to save him from certain doom. The rescue backfires, as many of Clark's do, and the pair are struck by lightning. How this is supposed to bestow a Kryptonian physiology on another person is beyond me, but then again I never did care for Comic Book Physics. At least they don't try to explain how it happened. Nothing is more infuriating than half-assed pseudoscience.
I won't bore you with the details of plot A, because odds are you saw the very same ads for this that everyone else saw. The marketing department at the WB must be stoned, as evidenced by the spoilage of the ending. Maybe they assumed, like all good kindergartners, that it was obvious Clark would get his powers back. I prefer my "getting high before doing the editing" theory.
Moving right along, let's get to the good stuff. That sleazy tabloid reporter makes another appearance and provides Lex with concrete proof that Clark was hit by Lex's car back in the premiere. That depends on whether or not you consider computer-generated effects as proof. Needless to say, Lex confronts Clark. Of course, the convenient plot device stated above contradicts Lex's findings, leading him to believe that he was mistaken all along. Oh my, how convenient. Lex closes the book on the accident and claims to put it behind him. His confrontation with Clark seemed to put a strain on their friendship. Who knows where this might lead?
We also get to meet the fabled Sir Harry Hardwick, a man with a strange accent that might be British. I'm no dialectician, but it sure sounded odd to me. Information Victoria pilfered from Lex's computer way back in "Shimmer" makes its way to Sir Harry's ears, only to prove his downfall when his investment goes south. Lex, you magnificent, shiny-headed, manipulative bastard.
Clark Kent is the only character for which responsibility is one of his primary weaknesses. He could have spent the rest of his life as a normal human being, physics be damned. The scene where Clark plays basketball with Pete and Whitney alone earns this episode a couple of points (Hi, I'm Clark. I suck at basketball and my bones are brittle. Me happy.), but weak premise damn near killed it for me. Some of the camera work was a bit jarring, as well. "Leech" garners:
Episode Rating: 7 out of 10
Steven "Drenball" Dougherty wishes that some super-villain would wipe the memories of Lois & Clark from his mind.
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