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Smallville
Episode 1.15: "Nicodemus"
Air Date: March 19, 2002
Story by: Greg Walker
Teleplay by: Michael Green
Directed by: James Marshall
Guest Stars: Joe Morton (Dr. Hamilton)
Where to begin? Remember "X-Ray"? God knows I do. Do you know what I hated about that particular episode? Two words: Ham and Fisted. This was the most emotionally manipulative Smallville yet. I'm sure some people go for that sort of thing, but I sure as hell don't.
"Nicodemus" is the episode all shows in this genre are required by Federal Law to air. The Loss of Inhibitions Episode. Remember Dr. Steven Hamilton (Joe Morton)? Lex paid him to research the effects of Kryptonite radiation on people. Being the considerate mad scientist that he is, he started small. He managed to resurrect an extinct plant using Kryptonite. Kryptonite, it's better than Miracle-GroTM. The bad news is that this plant was extinct for a reason. Over a century ago, during the founding of Smallville, the plant was responsible for an epidemic of emotional freedom followed by death. The Cavalry burned the evil veggie out of existence. Now some lackey from LuthorCorp has stolen a sample and it's started to infect the town, starting with Pa Kent. Given that 9 out of 10 plots on this show are fairly weak, this one was middle of the road.
Let's start with the bad since there's more of it than good. Whenever a show does a "out of character" episode the chances of screwing it up are tremendous. Some actors, especially the young ones, lack the versatility to pull of a completely liberated version of their characters. John Schneider's portrayal of Pa Kent Unbound was pretty solid, but Pete and Lana were pretty heavy handed. Pete, in particular, was the most strained. I know he hates the Luthor family for what they did to his family years ago, but this festering hatred for Lex seems to come almost out of nowhere. Lana's Lolita phase was entertaining, to say the least, and I'm sure post-pubescent fan boys really enjoyed it. Unfortunately, Lana stripping down and trying to seduce Clark only reinforced my previous sympathies for the man. He can't get any play unless the women involved are under the influence of maniacal pesticide salesman or evil extinct plants. Poor guy.
The good, though scarce, was pretty sweet. Lex has finally lied outright to Clark, and that can't be good. Even though Lex wasn't directly responsible for the bad things that befell the Kents of late, he still lied about his limited involvement. That's a sign of Lex's growing fear about losing Clark's friendship through his shady dealings. I can understand why he did it, which makes it all the sweeter. Clark's trusting nature is obviously something he inherited from his father, as evidenced by a story Martha tells Clark at Jonathan's bedside. That willingness to trust is going to be his downfall. Establishing that was probably one of the most effective moments in the entire episode. They didn't beat me over the head with it like they did a lot of other things.
From a long term standpoint, I have to give "Nicodemus" bonus points for establishing some character developments. Unfortunately the half-assed manner they employed only left me hanging. Also, how many times is Chloe going to magically wind up with photographic evidence that saves the day? For crying out loud it's getting ridiculous. In the end, "Nicodemus" gets:
Episode Rating: 7 out of 10
Steven "Drenball" Dougherty enjoyed the Lana striptease a lot more than he'd care to admit. Nudge nudge, wink wink, say no more.
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