Smallville 1.13 - Kinetic

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This week there isn't just one freak-of-the-week, there are three. Maybe four, if Lana's boyfriend Whitney is included. They all have the same powers, which is an unusual occurrence, though not unique. In the episode "Hug" two men both possessed the same power of persuasion.

Whitney is Lana's all-American boyfriend who's captain of the football team. I've hardly mentioned him until now, because he's a background figure in the series. He appears in every episode, but he isn't an important character. He only exists as Clark's rival for Lana's affections. Over the last two episodes we've found out a little about his family. His father is sick with cancer, which is putting a strain on his relationship with Lana. This episode, "Kinetic", is the first time that he plays an important role. He's just been notified that his scholarship to Kansas State University has been cancelled. No reason is given, but he's devastated. This means he'll be trapped in Smallville for the rest of his life. In turn, this disappointment causes him to associate with the other three freaks.

These three men have something in common with Whitney. They're all former high school athletes who didn't go to college. They're all young men who feel trapped in Smallville. Their hobbies are loud rock music and tattoos. If that were all, I'd say they sound like cool guys, and I'd want to associate with them as well. But it goes a step further. They make their tattoo ink from meteor rocks. This gives them the power to walk through walls. They can break into any bank and any vault. The episode opens with them breaking into the vault at Lex Luthor's house. Clark wants to stop them, but the exposure to the meteor rock ink makes him weak. In the same incident Chloe is thrown out of the (fourth floor?) window and is badly injured. Lex doesn't report the break in to the police, because he says he'll find them himself and they'll be "dealt with appropriately". 

There have been a number of reports of strange incidents where items were taken from locked rooms without evidence of a break-in. Lex suspects that it's the same criminals. There's just one case which is different. The alarm was tripped inside the vault of the Smallville Savings and Loans Bank, but nothing was taken. Clark walks past the bank and sees an arm inside.

One of the three freaks has a prosthetic arm. In the podcast, Tom and Michael don't understand what it's about. To me it's logical. The effects of the ink wear off quickly, so the tattoos have to be renewed. When they attempted to rob the Smallville Bank, the wall-walking power was two weak for one of the men, and his arm got stuck in the wall, ripping it off as he entered. This activity set off an alarm in the vault, so they fled without taking anything. The prosthetic arm that we see later in the episode is his replacement for the lost limb.

The effects of the ink last shorter times with each usage, which is why they want a new recruit for their team: Whitney. He's not a bad guy. He wants to have fun and chug beer with the others, but he has a line he won't cross.

There's an unexpected face in this episode. Evangeline Lilly appears in her first acting role, two years before she became one of the main characters in "Lost", not to mention her subsequent film roles. She has a non-speaking role, but it's a role that involves a passionate kiss.

After Wade, on the the tattooed freaks, drinks a glass of spirits, she comes to him with a piece of lime in her mouth.

She kisses him, squeezing the lime into his mouth. That must be a sour kiss!

Then she kisses him again, without the lime. That's much better.

As she pulls away she seductively looks down at his crotch.

Whitney looks on open-mouthed. Lana has never played games like that with him.

This episode also shows the future of the Talon, the cinema belonging to Lana's Aunt Nell that was put up for sale in the last episode. Lex has bought the building, and he says that he wants to turn it into a parking garage. Lana persuades him otherwise. She suggests turning the building into a combined cafe and bookstore. Lex immediately agrees. It's possible that Lex wanted to put Lana to the test. He wanted to do something more imaginative with the Talon, but he was challenging Lana to come up with an idea.

Nell says something interesting to Lana when talking about the sale. She tells her, "One screen can't compete with the multiplex". I disagree. A single screen can't compete with a multiplex cinema on its own terms, but it can offer something different. Instead of showing new films, a single screen cinema can show a careful selection of old films. There's a market for that. It's true, I have all my favourite films on DVD or Blu-ray, but I'd still prefer to see them on a large screen. There used to be a small cinema opposite Stuttgart's main station which showed old films, a different film every day, and it was wonderful. That's something the multiplex cinemas don't offer.

In the podcast Michael Rosenbaum tears the episode apart. He names many small details (that I won't repeat here) which he finds illogical. For me it's all about suspending disbelief. I don't like someone to tell me "That or that is illogical". I enjoy an episode if it's an exciting, well-filmed story with an interesting background, even if the characters make some stupid decisions. I enjoyed this episode a lot because of its focus on Whitney and the deepening of the character development. That makes it a good episode in my eyes.

Tom shows the horns. Is he a rocker?

Every week Michael Rosenbaum presents an advert to one or two products, backed up by Tom. I've been tempted to mention them before now, but it wasn't until today that I finally gave in. It would be easy for them to read a script written by the respective companies, but that isn't what they do. They talk enthusiastically about the products, and in most cases they've actually used them. For example, the above screenshot shows an ad for Athletic Greens, a vitamin drink. They both talk about its good taste, and Tom tells us that he took it with him on holiday. They're not just talking about it because they've been paid to advertise it, they really enjoy it.

Today Michael mentioned a new Buffy the Vampire Slayer rewatch podcast, which is now in its fourth week. I'm a big fan of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", probably more than "Smallville", so I sat to listen to it. I only got half way through the first episode. It didn't captivate me. It's partly because it's a real podcast without showing the faces of the speakers, but it's also because the hosts lack the charisma of Michael Rosenbaum and Tom Welling. Maybe it's because they're not actors from the original series. I can't relate to them the same way. I'll stick with the Talkville podcast,

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