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Smallville
Crush
airdate 05-07-02
Much as I loved Spider-Man, it made me turn a more critical eye to Smallville this week, with its clumsy exposition, television pacing and painfully obvious foreshadowing. On the other hand, Smallville may be the better media manifestation of a comic book, with serial plotting, more room for character development and more ability to change tone. But that doesn't help slog through Tuesday nights in this calm before The Storm.
The episode, called Crush, takes advantage of both meanings of the word. As we all know, Chloe has a crush on Clark, but the title also refers to this week's not-necessarily glowy-green freak, Justin. He's returned to Smallville after several months in rehab in Metropolis, his hands having been crushed in a car accident he can't quite remember.
As a former artist, this is quite a blow, but he makes up for it by manifesting a talent for telekinesis. When he makes kissy-face with Chloe, everything in the room floats (well, everything light enough to be rigged to "float" safely - the green iMac stays put). He even tells her about it, but she's smitten enough not to let her journalistic integrity (so very ingrained last week) get in the way, no matter how curious she may be.
But it's not all smooches and sketches. Justin's doctor, who may not have given him the best care, had his hands ripped off in a bizarre elevator accident. Determined to keep Justin off the Wall of Weird, Chloe devotes her reporting time to investigating the accident. When it turns out that Principal Kwan may have been involved, Justin doesn't hesitate, and hits him with the car, killing him.
More death in this small town, and this one is handled with an appropriate gravity. But coming as it does at the show's halfway mark, it's obviously not that simple. The painfully obvious foreshadowing mentioned earlier took the form of a Career Fair, and an overly understated reference to Kwan's son made it clear that Justin had the wrong man.
Speaking of death, it's also the nine-year anniversary of Lex's mother's death, and as he's bringing flowers to her grave, a mystery woman from his past appears. She is Pamela Jenkins, Lex's former nanny, and she disappeared after the late Mrs. Luthor died. Accounts vary as to why; Lex believes the story his father told him, that she bolted with several shares of LuthorCorp stock, but she claims Lionel threatened her to stay away or else, wanting to make Lex his son.
She's come back, to see what kind of man her Alexander has become, and to ask his forgiveness for abandoning him. It's a trifling, throwaway subplot but anything that brings us more John Glover is welcome.
Clark saves Chloe, having been suspicious or perhaps merely jealous of Justin from the start, and they end the episode holding hands, perhaps headed for "something more." Lana is a little jealous of that, and a bit weary of Whitney's increased attention since his father's recovery. She feels it's time for them to redefine their relationship, now that he doesn't need to lean on her.
Oh, did we say recovery? Right. Painful foreshadowing again - the episode ends with the rainy, somber funeral for Mr. Fordman. Of all the contrived ways to keep Lana away from Clark, this is a very realistic one.
Next week, we might get to see the spaceship! I'm very excited. And then, of course, The Storm on May 21. I plan to compile a Season One retrospective during the summer re-run months, so if you've got a bone to pick with me, or if you want to add your thoughts, let me know!
Also of interest, one of the best TV sites on the Web recently published an interview with Smallville co-creator Al Gough, and it's well worth reading.
