Kinetic

DVD, Smallville S1 (Kinetic)

One I had no memories of, so I didn't know where it was going, though I did remember the concept of meteor-juiced tattoos that allow people to walk through walls. But the story is much more than that and really uses the cast well, so I became very impressed. It may be a side effect of watching something like 'Star Trek: Discovery,' where I come out of it uncomfortable and down, so that when I watch this series it's so wonderful in contrast that I love it all the more, but I really did warm to this episode early on and went with it every step of the way, even if there were things that seemed a little strange. Like the prosthetic arm, for example - one of the three hoodlums who raid Lex' Mansion removes this arm before exiting the vehicle and you're left to wonder why, and later Clark does the 'Kent Thousand Yard Stare' as Pete calls it, using x-ray vision to gaze into the Smallville Savings and Loan bank and sees a human arm embedded in the wall. It's not until later it gets confirmed by the guy that lost it what happened, but for some reason it was a bit puzzling as I thought it meant something, like he took an arm with him whenever he did one of these jobs and left it somewhere for some reason, but I got completely the wrong end of the stick. Or the arm. Then I think it was Lana trying to get Lex to consider returning the Talon into operative status just because she wants him to, and it was an odd thing for a usually bright girl to ask. I wonder if he always had in mind that she would want to save it and so his plan was to challenge her so that they ended up working together and maybe he'd have more influence over her regarding Clark…?

It's a bit Machiavellian, I admit, but it would be very true to his character, and at this stage of the series he's often doing things to bring the young people around to their place in the world and what they can do - he's very supportive in that way, even while he's also slightly sinister in that he promises he'll deal with the robbers and you get the impression he could and would make them disappear, just as he threatened to do to Nixon a few episodes back. So he definitely displays his ruthless side, but he's not a bad guy. Someone else who isn't a bad guy is Whitney. This is really his episode to a large extent, and certainly the most he's gotten to do on the series so far, and he shines at it. He's at a low ebb, has just lost his scholarship and sees no future other than a monotonous daily grind at his Dad's store for the rest of his life, his whole existence has flashed before his eyes and he doesn't like what he sees. Then out of the blue along come some guys who were once in a similar position, but know how to have a 'good time.' Right from the start the ringleader has a dangerous edge to him by the way he's fiddling around with this baseball bat in the shop as if he's no stranger to using one, and not in a baseball field! He was really well played as this plausible villain, a manipulative man that preys on Whitney's vulnerable situation and manly pride at being unable to confide in anybody else (I assume that's why he couldn't talk to his old football buddies for help), while showing him the dubious benefits of his lifestyle. In Whitney's state he's easily drawn into this world and it isn't until actual violence is perpetrated on Lex Luthor that he shows his true character.

It's not that he stops what they're doing, but he adds a note of horror to the proceedings, and it's really only Lex' foresight in not bringing the blackmail money with him that stops him from being killed. Otherwise Whitney would have been implicated in a murder and this would have become a very different series. But he reckons against Clark's strong sense of right and wrong, his desire to atone for what happened in his and Chloe's encounter with the dropouts at Lex' Mansion. It was a really shocking opening, not just because of the raucous music and thuggish attitude of the criminals, but because it gets us to the point where we think we're about to reach a release from the scariness. When Chloe goes through that stained glass window I was so relieved because I thought it was going to be great to see Clark rush down there and catch her before she hit the ground, but instead of the expected, our preconceptions are thrown off balance: Clark is unable to get there in time. As usual for the series (at this stage, anyway), things happen in a believable way. So the tattoos make Clark weak and he can't fight them, but he heroically yells at Chloe to run. As soon as you see her out in the hall with the window at the end you sense something bad about to happen. I was so glad she didn't break out into karate moves and overpower her assailant because although this suggests she's not a 'strong' woman, it certainly grounds her. Oops, I honestly didn't mean to make that pun! Seriously, she isn't able to fight back effectively, there are always bigger predators out there. The point is that she proves herself strong by bouncing back from the experience and not becoming a shrinking violet. That's a good lesson to be teaching.

As is that which Clark learns: he's on the reverse side of her position in that he is big and strong, but he has to realise whatever he can do he can't save everyone. It's been a theme that recurs here and there, but it's a tough lesson to grapple with because it's against his innate nature to believe that. So he hides out in the barn smashing wood. Not chopping, smashing. With his bare hand. It's a great scene, made even better by Jonathan and Martha coming in to reassure him and give him a new focus (and to save the wood pile from being reduced to chips!). It would be better if they'd been in the episode more, but what influence they had was deeply felt. Something that's impressively handled by the writers is the inherent dislike between Clark and Whitney. You see the look of disgust that crosses the latter's face when Clark pops into his Dad's store. It's like one more thing to kick him when he's down is to be reminded of Clark and his happy, secure future on the farm. He can't condescend to tell Lana about his loss, but he can throw it in his 'enemy's' face as a backhanded insult. But I can't help thinking he also may have suspected Clark would pass on this information to Lana that he couldn't bring himself to say. Clark is a real friend and such a good guy to Whitney. He may be acting out of guilt at Chloe's injuries, he may be looking for redemption, he may even want to for Lana's sake, but for all these reasons he makes sure to watch over Whitney as best he can. Sure, he's inexperienced and so doesn't realise that threatening Whitney not to go off with those guys again wasn't the most tactful thing to do, but he's still learning.

Once Whitney's seen what company he's fallen in with he comes clean with Lana and Clark and doesn't even feel angry that he has to depend on his 'rival' for assistance. He won't let Clark go alone to get the disk, even though it would actually have been easier for Clark to operate on his own, Whitney a liability. Then again, Clark is susceptible to the 'phasing' attack of the goon leader, so maybe he would have been killed if there hadn't been Whitney as another person they decided to have some fun in the killing of. They're obviously adrenaline junkies, and you can see why when they go crazy with the initiation of Whitney into the gang: bodily lifting him over a guard rail and flinging him into the path of an oncoming truck with no chance of escape. I have to mention at this point how irresponsible the driver was! He should have noticed them ahead messing about on the side of the road and slowed down at such suspicious activity. At the very least he should have screeched to a halt when a young lad was suddenly in his path, but he just honks his horn and drives on through the energised Whitney and apparently never had a second thought. Maybe that's realistic and he didn't want to lose his job or his payload, or just assumed it was 'kids' messing about and there was obviously no impact so nothing to worry about!

It was a big deal for Whitney to present himself to Lana in the state he was in, scared and weak, and it shows what a strong bond they have. Lana's problems seem minor in comparison to what her boyfriend goes through in the course of the episode: the sentimental connection of the place her parents met is threatened with being turned into a parking garage. But it's still important because it means so much to her, and that's why Lex' casual attitude to her proposal seemed very suspect as if Michael Rosenbaum was playing it from the idea that he was expecting Lana to fight for it and use her skills to try and persuade him and end up working with him, or essentially for him! You'd think Nell would be a little more sympathetic to Lana's feelings, but as Lex said, she's a teenage girl, mercurial doesn't do her justice! Importantly, Nell wanted to get the sale so she could ensure Lana's future and send her to whatever college she wanted to go to, so it's not a selfish decision, she has her charge's best interests at heart. Both she and Lex are serious business people and in business there can't be sentiment. We find out there are more businesses in Lex' portfolio than we knew about as we hear about some other secret project that involves a particle accelerator, part of the classified details on the disk the gang stole, not to mention he's embezzling funds from his Father to fund it. So there's more going on with Lex than we see, but at the same time I still believe him when he says to Clark that he didn't come for the disk, he came to protect his friend.

The other thing I didn't feel particularly clear on was on the reason the gang needed new blood. Why were the tattoos running out of power, was it just their bodies adjusting to the chemical changes wrought from the Kryptonite ink? We see the tattoos stop glowing, and so does Clark in the scene with the car that's going to crush Whitney while the leader holds him in place - so did Clark deliberately save only Whitney, knowing the other guy would be crushed to death? It's ambiguous and doesn't seem in character for him, but he seems to see the tattoo fade and then rugby tackles Whitney across the ground. It was also so fast that you have to wonder how the goon it happened in front of explained it. One thing's for sure: it was very cold at the time of filming as everyone has red noses! It was also funny to hear Clark ask how Chloe got internet access while she's in hospital. Now it would be all wi-fi, but then it would have been dialup and Pete did the dirty with patching her into the hospital's line! I couldn't tell if the snowboarding game at the goon's hideout was '1080º' on N64, but it certainly looked similar. And lastly, I'm not sure if the music at the end fit Lana's hesitation at the realisation she'd be working with Lex, when she looked somewhat concerned. Still, it was a real treat: a great idea, a new spin on the meteor freak, they were still coming up with gold and masterfully handling the characters and subplots, making it a joy to watch.

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