Metamorphosis

DVD, Smallville S1 (Metamorphosis)

If anything this is even better than the first part. It feels more complete, partly due to the addition of the opening titles with its well chosen song, but also because there's so much subtlety and craftsmanship in the writing. It's hard to see where the series went so wrong later when it began so strong, but a lot of the goodness must be credited to Miles Millar and Al Gough, the creators of the series who had previously written for my favourite English TV series, 'BUGS,' and were proven quality. Though this was designed to fit neatly back to back with the first part, continuing directly from the end of that episode when Lana goes into her house as Clark lovingly watches her, it works perfectly well as a contained episode in its own right, comfortably building on the characters and their interconnectedness set up in the pilot: Lex continues to be big brotherly, showing up to get the measure of Clark and those around him, partly because (as we'll find out), he's fascinated by the youth that saved his life, and partly he feels an obligation to repay a debt. So he starts to mingle, finding out the secrets and the events that he's already been partially involved in (he found Clark in the scarecrow field, after all), and flexing his influence: first by advising Clark, second by prodding Lana about Whitney. There's a slight sinister air about him, or is there? That's the great fine line the writers tread, not making him a villain, but yet throwing in little intimations or suggestions, like when he hints that Clark's problems with Lana wouldn't exist if he hadn't saved Whitney's life. Only joking!

Clark's reputation for saving people continues thanks to getting in the way of the blast of Whitney's truck blowing up after a crash instigated by the freak-of-the-week, Greg Arkin, or 'bug boy' as he becomes monickered. Arkin was certainly a memorable character, and I love the fact that in the final season, he was one of various people they brought back, only this time he's a reformed individual that thanks Clark for what he did for him. At the same time, seeing that fairly recently, then coming back to this first appearance is a little confusing because it's a little ambiguous as to what exactly happened to Greg - he fights Clark in some foundry warehouse place (getting the upper hand since although Clark is just about invulnerable, he is of course susceptible to fragments of meteor rock dotted around such places), and Clark manages to chuck him about until some heavy lifting equipment falls on him. I assumed he was crushed to death, but then you see all these little bugs rush away from the accident and they never mention in the episode exactly what did happen to him, unlike the guy in the first part whom we see awaken as if he's been in a coma for years. Maybe they'll mention Greg in the next episode, but it's an interesting question as to what that was all about. It wouldn't do for Clark to be killing fellow students, even ones mutated like Spider-Man into a bug creature, so it makes more sense he was still alive and locked away for study.

It's a much more effective demonstration of the series' mandate to have Clark up against dangerous villains: on one side it's more about him having to protect the innocent from such dangers as he does with Jonathan Kent in the barn when Greg pays a scary visit from the rafters (terrific slow-mo effects as Clark moves at normal speed while Jonathan plummets towards some blades slowly, but surely). More importantly, he has to go after the girl of his dreams to save her, and heartbreakingly he does just that only to arrive in time to see boyfriend Whitney take all the credit. That's another thing that works so well in this season, how Clark is constantly put into a position of selflessness without reward, the mark of a true hero. So there's both excitement from the danger Greg poses, which is set up so well - they're definitely heading much more into horror territory than part one, and a sense of loss and failure, sympathy we feel for the wronged Clark. Then there's the bright, glorious colour they insist on painting with that continues to make the series a glowing jewel to watch: the green of the fields Lana rides through, the yellow of the sun over Smallville, the blue of the sky. It's just beautiful to see and uplifting in a 'Star Trek' way - though that series tended to do its positivity through the moral actions of its characters, it also had a brightness in its technology, the lights and the glows that surrounded its starships both inside and out, like Christmas. 'Smallville' does that with natural light, and also follows the moral way of a character doing right, another reason this season is so feel-good.

There are so many references to Superman, whether it's the boy scout thing or another nice little fantasy sequence where we're duped into thinking Clark is flying over the land, eventually coming to rest in the air above Lana's bed, until he wakes up with a bump and realises it was a dream. Except he was defying gravity, if only a little way above his bed. It's a great scene, and you could be forgiven for thinking it was too soon if they weren't going to have him flying (which they didn't do until the last season or two), but you could also say it was good to get it out the way, have a little laugh over it and move on into the much more grounded version of the world the series chose to pursue (at first, anyway). So far there isn't really any ongoing plot as such, no story that is unfolding, which is strange when you compare it to the later seasons when they always had a story or several arcs across the season. That's not to say there are no arcs, because there are: clearly Lana and her necklace, her boyfriend, and her newfound connection with Clark are one such, and there's also the changes Clark's going through as his puberty is hitting home. Then there's the ongoing investigations of the Scooby Gang of Clark, Chloe and Pete that would come to the fore many times and were birthed in this episode. Chloe is much more recognisable now, with that huge, but slightly insecure grin, and we get the trio investigating Greg's house.

Amid the ongoing interpersonal developments, the spots of action, and the romantic intentions, there are deeper moments of truth that make the episode mean so much more. Jonathan trying to reassure his son of the things he's going through, even though neither knows what it'll mean, or reminding him that the meteor shower and the deaths of Lana's parents were not his fault, despite his feelings of responsibility. That responsibility is a large part of the core of the character so it was very intelligent of them to tie it directly to Lana as they did, giving Clark a motivation and guilt of deep meaning. Superficial this version of 'Smallville' is assuredly not! My favourite line of the episode, though, comes from Lana herself when she talks about life being about change: sometimes it's painful, sometimes it's beautiful, but most of the time it's both, a useful sentiment to remember that never loses its meaningfulness. Change is the obvious theme of the episode, and while some changes don't happen (Lana is still tied to Whitney in spite of everything), some are for the worse (Greg's), and some remain unknown (Clark's), there's also talk of friends changing (Clark and Greg; Chloe and Clark), and it's a strong theme, well explored. That's one of the series' strengths at this time, how they took an aspect of Clark's powers, or a freak-of-the-week, and worked that theme around it, while also weaving in Lex' interventions and growing interest in Clark, or Lana and Whitney's impact on his world.

Whitney shows he's not such a bad guy after all. Okay, so when he approaches Clark to try and make it up a little, it's only so he can get Lana's necklace back, but he's also honest with Lana over his jealousy when he saw her with Clark, and he and his 'rival' work together to save her (even if it wasn't closely). Whitney was even about to apologise when Clark disappeared, so he's not so bad, he's just an ordinary teenager who maybe has let a sense of superiority go to his head. When Greg chucks him around in the stables he feels less sure of himself, perhaps, but it's more about him being in a more vulnerable position than he's used to by the 'accident' of his truck's crash earlier. And he still goes after Lana as any good guy would. He's supposed to be something of an antagonist for Clark, blocking the affections Kent has for Fordman's girlfriend, but in the light of real enemies like bug boy, he's seen as just a regular sort of guy and the writers write him as a dimensional character. Lana, too, is shown to be more complex than a mere 'Homecoming Queen' or whatever accolade she was awarded. We know from her bawling childhood face that there's a lot of pain in there, but despite that she's blossomed into a good, kind and gentle human being that doesn't brush off Greg when he at first seems to want genuine help with some homework. She doesn't hang on Whitney, we see her as a solitary person, too, riding her horse, looking after it, and Clark even gets his wish of having her visit his 'Fortress of Solitude' as his Dad calls the upper room in the barn, something he imagined last time.

There's progression, good character moments and some real discomfort to counterpoint the general bright tone: when Greg sprays his Mother, and the camera, with a ghastly black webby mass, it's disgusting, or when he moults in the shower, rubbing his skin off, it's really quite horrible, but they also do the transitions really well, such as the spotty teen that turns into the spotless, suave figure (a bit like Peter Parker in Spider-Man in that first film of 2002). The CGI is also used well, whether it's the little bugs or butterflies that flitter around so colourfully (don't know why he didn't just brake his car or open the window when the bugs were flapping round his head before the crash!). Sure, you can see where they removed the wires when he leaps around because it doesn't look quite natural enough, but it's far from shoddy and only adds even more discomfort to what we see. Speaking of which, we get further confirmation of Clark's weakness as he encounters the deadly green rocks, yet despite all that, he still leaves Lana's necklace on her porch for her to find in another act of generosity of spirit that is impressive to see. He's a good guy, Clark, and it's a pleasure to see him do good, save people and remain true. I especially like when they do scenes with little or no dialogue as that emphasises things even more. Inspirational, organically written, there really is nothing to dislike.

***