In this episode Clark comes into contact with a young boy who has powers that
aren't connected to the meteor rocks. Ryan James has the ability to read
minds. He can't delve deep into a person's mind, but he can read what's on the
surface. It's easy enough to exploit this. If he discusses something with a
person, the information he wants to know comes to the top of his thoughts.
Ryan's mother is dead. His step-father and his step-father's girlfriend
are using his abilities to support their life of crime. In the opening
scene Ryan visits a pawn shop and reads the safe's combination from the shop
owner's mind. Ryan has a line he won't cross. He's willing to assist in
thefts, but when his step-father shoots the owner he runs away. He's hit by a
car, and the driver is Martha Kent. That's a lucky coincidence. In hospital
Ryan pretends to have amnesia, because he doesn't want to be sent back to his
step-father. Clark's parents offer to look after Ryan until he can be given a
foster home.
Clark and Ryan get on well. Ryan is the younger brother that Clark has never
had. Ryan's powers soon become apparent, because he makes no attempt to
disguise what he's found out. He tells Clark that Chloe loves him. He says
that Lana also has a secret, but Clark stops him before he reveals it. He
knows that Lex's father has asked him to return to Metropolis.
That's another subplot in this episode. Lionel Luthor asks Lex to return to
Metropolis to become his personal advisor, effectively the second most
important man in Luthorcorp. At the end of the episode Lex refuses, because he
thinks it's Lionel's way to control him.
Ryan's step-father captures Lex and uses Ryan to get the password to Lex's
trust fund account. Ryan lies about the password, though it's not clear why.
He has no reason for protecting Lex's money. Possibly it's because he thinks
his step-father will kill his girlfriend when he finally steals a large amount
of money.
At the end of the episode Ryan warns Clark about trusting Lex. He says that
Lex has a lot of darkness in his thoughts. As we see in the following
episodes, Clark doesn't heed Ryan's warning.
Interestingly, Tom Welling has completely forgotten making this episode. In
most cases, rewatching old episodes reminded him of his experiences, but not
this time. The episode was completely new to him. He had a beautiful
relationship with Ryan in the episode, and he found it moving, but he can't
remember filming the scenes.
Greg Beeman appears as a guest in this podcast. He directed many Smallville
episodes, though not "Stray", and he's been frequently mentioned as a director
that Tom and Michael liked working with. Later in the series Greg became the
showrunner, i.e. the series' main executive producer. He's been the showrunner
of ten series, but "Smallville" was the first, and it's the series he
remembers most fondly. He remembers struggling to make the show with an
insufficient budget, especially in the first season. The scripts written by Al
Gough and Miles Millar had too many action scenes for the money available.
Curiously, Michael Rosenbaum says he has a special memory of Greg Beeman that
he'll only tell Tom Welling in private, not in the podcast.
Now I'm curious!
There are new Talkville T-shirts. I wonder if they'll be available for a
reasonable price in Germany. Or in England. I'm visiting England next month,
and it's more likely they'll be on sale there.
The episode has magnificent acting throughout. It's always a pleasure to see
John Glover's guest appearances as Lionel Luthor. He was the most experienced
actor in the cast. Tom Welling and Michael Rosenbaum both looked up to
him, especially Michael as the one who shared the most scenes with him.
Despite being only 19 when "Smallville" began, Allison Mack was already an
experienced actress after years of roles as a child actress.
John Schneider and Annette O'Toole always deliver excellent performances as
Clark Kent's parents. In theory they're only background characters, but they
give a strong emotional framework to the series. They're sound, loving
parents, the sort of parents that every child would like to have.
Tom Welling says he was the least experienced actor in the series, which made
it awkward for him to be the main character. As the series progressed he
gradually became more skilled.
The Talon is showing silent films? That's surprising. I thought the theatre
had been dismantled. Or maybe the films are just being projected onto a wall
over the café tables.
Shouldn't that be spelt "Open Mic"? I'd rather remain in the shower. My
singing isn't good enough to be presented on stage. Here's a little piece of
trivia that I've never told anyone. I don't sing in the bath, but I do sing in
the shower, and I've sung the same song in the shower for the last 45 years:
"Sea Song" from Robert Wyatt's album "Rock Bottom".
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