Smallville 2.08 - Ryan

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This episode is called "Ryan". No, it's not about Ryan Tellez. It's about the young boy called Ryan that we last saw in the episode "Stray".

"Stray" ended with a happy ending. After being abused by his step-father and forced into a life of crime, his aunt adopted him and gave him a good home. This didn't last long. He was suffering from headaches and nosebleeds, so his aunt handed him over to an elite facility, the Summerholt Institute in Metropolis. The pain is being caused by a brain tumour, but they also discovered that Ryan could read minds, so this became the main focus of their research.

Ryan is being abused again, so he rings Clark and asks for help. The receptionist insists that they don't have any in-patients. Clark finds Ryan and takes him to Lex Luthor's mansion.

The next day a doctor from the institute comes to the Kent farm with the sheriff and insists on taking Ryan back. He says that he's Ryan's legal guardian, and Clark has committed a criminal offence by kidnapping him. Lex presents a restraining order, counter-signed by Pete Ross's mother, the head judge in Smallville.

Lex and Ryan become friends. Lex shows Ryan his Warrior Angel collection. Warrior Angel is a comic book character who has similarities with Superman. Lex has a complete collection, including Warrior Angel #66, the rarest comic in the series, in which Warrior Angel's best friend Devilicus turns against him. Please, with a name like that isn't it obvious that he'll turn bad one day? Ryan and Lex have a significant conversation:

Ryan: Why do you think Devilicus went bad?

Lex: I'm not sure. He probably wasn't aware of it. You see, Ryan, in life, the road to darkness is a journey, not a light switch.

Ryan: You should remember that, Lex.

Ryan can't tell the future, but he can see the darkness in Lex's soul. He tells Clark to look after him.

That's a big subject that I have to leave until I'm writing about a future episode.

There are several sub-plots. Lana's Aunt Nell tells he that they're moving to Metropolis. Lana doesn't want to leave her friends behind. She arranges to live with Chloe's family.

There's an amusing little conversation with Clark. He says that Lana won't be the girl next door any more. To this she replies, "I'm not going anywhere, Clark. Maybe now you can give your telescope to Ryan". This reply would have made me turn bright red. Clark never knew that she was aware of him spying on her. This reminds me of Jayne Heitmeyer in "View of Terror". When her friend complained about a man spying on her through her window, her reaction was to open the curtains and put on a sexy striptease for him. I wonder if Lana ever gave Clark a treat while he was spying on her.

In another sub-plot, Mayor Tate visits Lex to talk about approval for the expansion of Lex's fertiliser plant. He hints that he might be more willing to approve the expansion if Lex contributes to his election campaign. After all, Lex's father Lionel was always generous. Lex makes it clear that he's not his father. Instead, he pays for an advertisement in which the mayor is exposed as corrupt.

Lex discovers an article about a doctor who's discovered a revolutionary way of healing brain tumours. Clark persuades him to treat Ryan. The treatment is a failure. All it does is allow him to live another two days. Clark is sad that with all his powers he wasn't able to save someone who was close to him. This is the first scene in "Smallville" that's made me cry.

Now let's move on to the podcast. Michael Rosenbaum points out that they recorded two podcasts in a row, but broadcast them a week apart. In this case, both episodes, "Lineage" and "Ryan", were good episodes.

"Smallville" was a series that the family could sit and watch together. Michael says, maybe inappropriately, that many children were born as the result of watching "Smallville" together. Tom tones down the message by saying that "Smallville" brings people together.

The listener Ally rang in to the podcast to ask a question. She says that her son's name is Clark. Wonderful! I hope he'll be a fan when he gets older.

Another listener with a question is Chase from North Carolina. I like his number plate. His Patreon handle, which is read out every week, is "I made Talkville say butts". That's only lightly amusing. He could have called himself "I made Talkville say bollocks". Or is that too British?

The Talon is promising a silent film festival. Or is that yet more footage reused from "Stray"?

My thanks to Michael and Tom for yet another great podcast. Keep up the good work, guys!

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