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Smallville
Episode 1.13: "Kinetic"
Air Date: February 26, 2002
Written by Philip Levens
Directed by Robert Singer
Guest Stars: Sarah-Jane Redmond (Nell Potter)
Kryptonite-powered Freaks of the Week, or as I like to call them FoW's, come in the form of washed-up sports stars this time. One thing Smallville really likes to do is play fast and loose with both the laws of physics and suspension of disbelief. Smallville has some solid characters that constantly get thrown up against somewhat screwy villains week-in and week-out. This week, Whitney gets tossed into the mix.
Everyone's favorite WASP has been having some personal problems lately. His father's really sick, his girlfriend is always making time with that really tall farm kid that saves lives, and he just lost his football scholarship. Normally, I'd expect Whitney to seek solace in the warm embrace of Lana Lang, but instead he decides to go boozing with other washed-up Smallville High sports heroes. Sports heroes from my graduating class. Thank you, Smallville, for making me feel old once again.
Whitney's buddies also turn out to be small time thieves pulling heists all over the county. Must be some rich folk in them there hills. They're really successful at what they do though, mostly thanks to these snazzy Kryptonite-laced tattoos. The tattoos bestow upon them the mighty power to walk through walls. I was with them until the writers tried to give me a crazy pseudoscientific explanation for how these tattoos work. The worst part was that Chloe came up with it.
Chloe had to come up with that wacky leap of logic from her hospital bed. Oh, did I forget to mention Chloe was in the hospital? Sorry about that. When the Krypto-crooks broke into Lex's mansion they shoved Chloe out a window. Clark, true to character, blamed himself for not saving her in time. Is it me, or is Clark proving to be increasingly impotent on this show? I know Kryptonite hurts him, so it stands to reason that Kryptonite-powered bad guys would probably weaken him, too. The only problem is there were plenty of villains on this show that had little to no direct effect on Clark. A bit of laziness is beginning to peak through.
Last episode's Lana subplot was so weak I forgot to even mention it. We get more of the same, but since Lex was involved it merits a mention. Lana's aunt is selling the town theatre, called the Talon, to Lex. He plans on turning it into a parking garage. Lana's sentimentality is both mocked and ridiculed this week, but she manages to convince Lex to change his mind. I love Lex, he's wicked and good. That was made very clear this week as he threatened the crooks that broke into his house and brought in specialists for Chloe. I can't imagine this character as being wholly evil. That lovely blend of clever villain mixed with compassion would be sorely missed by me at least. Now that I think of it, I think Clark's parents only showed up for about 30 seconds. They aren't being used very effectively on Smallville. Often times, they don't get very good dialogue either. Still, I give "Kinetic":
Episode Rating: 7 out of 10
Not a horrible score to get, but it wasn't the best offering either.
Steven "Drenball" Dougherty likes watching Clark get angry. Especially when he breaks things.
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