Ryan

DVD, Smallville S2 (Ryan)

I had completely forgotten Ryan's fate. I thought he was only in two episodes, but assumed it was just one of those instances where he went off again to live happily ever after and was simply never brought back. So it was a shocking twist when Martha and Jonathan appear with saddened faces after Clark was so optimistic. It was lovely that they brought him back as he was a good character from Season 1 that helped to tell us the things we know about these characters - Clark is the hero, Lex is on the journey down the dark path. But more importantly it was telling the other characters these things, so it made sense to reiterate all that a year later and see where Lex has got to. Before, he was just an employee of his Father (Lionel doesn't show his face this time), learning to stand on his own, and now he has LexCorp and is fighting his own battles - this episode he has a lot on his plate, dealing with crooked Mayor Tate, assisting Clark in harbouring a kidnapped minor, and most devastating of all, one of his prized Warrior Angel comics gets marked! But it's okay, though, the one Ryan bled on was the reading copy, not the mint condition original he had stashed away, so it probably doesn't matter too much.

His dealings with Tate were fascinating as this Mayor thinks he can just play by the same rules as he had with Lionel, bribes and manipulation to get what both sides want, while Lex isn't crooked, at least not in that way. He shows Tate that he's made an enemy, but it's not because he won't do what he needs done, it's that he's realised how corrupt this public official is and wants Smallville to be rid of him. So he does what any man of money would do and puts his financial influence behind the Mayor's opponent. It's a good move, because at least at this stage it makes Lex look like a crusader intent on making Smallville a better town. Whether it's purely altruistic or a wise business decision in an eternal battle with his Father's ways, probably Lex doesn't even realise at this point, but as the conversation about Warrior Angel's foe, Devilicus, goes, it's a path, a journey that one doesn't even realise one's on. I'm not bothered that there's not the greatest level of subtlety in the story, it's all overt, and there are plenty of things that are questionable in terms of how Clark gets away with what he does, but the story has a strong core as we've learned to care about young Ryan and it matters what his fate is - he's worse off than ever as his adopted guardian ran away when she discovered his powers, a tragic enough development, but then he's diagnosed with an incurable brain tumour and it seems so harsh. For once there's not to be any happy ending.

Ryan seems to be slightly more circumspect in what he says, but only slightly. Lex suspects he has some kind of ESP ability due to the nature of his tumour and that could be part of the motivation that drives him to help the young lad, who didn't really get on that well with him last time. Ryan does drop some clangers along the way that would be part of the ongoing story: Pete's worried about slipping up when it comes to Clark's secret and Lana may be moving to Metropolis! Because of his knowledge Clark is able to intervene with the second issue (a way to write out yet another recurring character, Aunt Nell), though it's telling that he never did anything to reassure Pete, who once again has very little to do in the episode. Nor does Chloe, but at least with Lana choosing to become roommates with her and stay in Smallville they'll automatically have more scenes to play, though I've a feeling, annoyingly, that that was when things began to go downhill with too much moaning about Clark not treating them with enough trust, etc. I don't know how many episodes Pete had left before he'd be gone, but it's a shame that plot wasn't given equal thought as to how Clark could help him.

Clark does his best for people, but he comes up against something that no amount of super-strength, speed, x-ray vision or any other fancy power can fight: a terminal medical problem. It's a good thing for Clark to have to face, I'm not sure if he hasn't already gone through something similar before, unless I'm just remembering this episode (I also had a sense of déjà vu with Lex' story about Winston Churchill, but again, it could be this episode I'm thinking back to). It's a tough situation, one that is ultimately the blessed and cursed position he'll always be in: to outlive all the people he knows. With Ryan it was doubly difficult because it was all of a sudden and they'd had so little time together - I loved Lex' story about how he strove to research and find out all about his Mother's illness, and there was nothing he could do, but later realised he should've spent that precious time with her. Although it did give me pause, because how old was Lex when she died, wasn't he a young child, so obviously he couldn't have done anything, but perhaps it's that old story of him needing control and power? If certain parts of the story didn't quite add up, Clark being able to smuggle Ryan out of the Summerholt Institute was one of them - do they not have CCTV? Guards? Signs of forced entry and exit? It's not like they don't know Ryan was kidnapped by him! Then there's the epic dash to the airport to reach this great surgeon who may be able to save Ryan (what about the other patients he was flying to see, aren't they critical?), with some good effects work and some not so good. Clark seemed to be taking mighty big risks that no one saw him appear at various places like that!

That's the key, though, Clark will take risks if it's to save his friends, and this was a dire situation. Even Jonathan Kent had no qualms about talking of prayer and he doesn't particularly seem like a man of faith! At least Clark was able to treat his young friend to a balloon ride, though even that seemed risky as he could collapse at any time and there'd be no medical staff to ease him, but it was a nice gesture. The direction was strong in this one, two scenes stood out to me: the transition between Warrior Angel's face on the comic book, to the concerned Clark watching over Ryan in the Smallville Medical Centre, and the shot at the end when Clark picks up Ryan's comic books that had been left on his empty hospital bed. There are even little moments of intrigue such as Martha having a 'secret' that only Ryan knows, which you presume must be that she's pregnant as that's the only thing I can think of, though I don't remember what happens - if it is that then it doesn't end well since there's certainly no baby in the rest of the series! And I know Lana's situation is supposed to be something we're sympathetic to, but was it really wise to go against her guardian, Nell, and demand to be allowed to stay in Smallville? It does seem that Nell's only thinking of herself and new partner, but it also shows she wants to include Lana in their new life, not exclude her, so from an adult's perspective you can see it does make more sense for her to go with them. But it's written for teenagers so of course we get it from Lana's perspective.

It was certainly unsettling and disturbing to see Ryan strapped up and made to answer questions (though it did seem pointless as he got every one right so how many do you need to prove he's doing it without looking!), but again, maybe it was a child's point of view and that this doctor may have been able to help in some way. In reality we know he's expecting Ryan to die soon, so it's fair enough, and in that case you'd think that doctor wouldn't be anxious to involve the authorities since he was holding Ryan under duress and seemingly for his own research rather than a guardian that had his best interests at heart - it seems pretty obvious. At least it gave Lex a chance to speed up in a cloud of dust and put the legal brakes on, once again it shows he cares for his friends and is willing to put his money, and in his case more importantly, time, where his mouth is. Still, all Ryan needed to do was say what had been done to him and he'd be taken into care. Maybe not by the Kents, but someone more responsible than that doctor! Ryan fared very badly throughout, but at least he got a 'surprise' party with no expense spared (when they said there was a band I was sure it'd be Remy Zero again, but it wasn't!). There's a lot to like in this one, it may end sadly, but it's good to recall people or events from Season 1 and I'm glad we got this chance to revisit Ryan again.

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