Smallville 3.07 - Magnetic

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Michael Rosenbaum and Tom Welling have been selling merchandise to support the Talkville podcast with many beautiful items. This is what I'd like most: a Smallville snow globe. In the episode "Magnetic" the snow is replaced with meteor rocks, so it's green instead of white. Maybe I should call it a meteor globe.

Of all the items currently in the Talkville store, what attracts me the most is the "Damn! Who's That?" shirt with a picture of Sam Jones III. The only thing that puts me off is the high price for customers outside America. But maybe I'll give in and buy it eventually.

Lana Lang and Chloe Sullican find the meteor globe on sale at the fairground in Lowell County. Lana finds it tasteless. The meteors killed her parents.

There's a mildly enjoyable pop rock band performing on stage. It's the sort of music that I'd like for the ambience of a fairground, but I wouldn't sit and listen to it at home. Tom and Michael don't know who it is, but it's Josh Kelley and his supporting band. All they know is that it's the first band performing live in "Smallville" that doesn't have a bald singer.

Enter the freak-of-the-week, Seth Nelson. He's a boy in Lana's class who's helping out at the fair. He's actually Lana's lab partner. Chloe points out that he's had a crush on Lana since fifth grade. That's a recurring theme. Almost every boy we see in the series has a crush on Lana. I would have had a crush on her as well.

Anyone who hits a floating ball wins a meteor globe. Lana tries her luck anyway, just for fun, even after Seth warns her that the game is rigged. There are magnets that prevent a direct strike. Lana makes two attempts and fails, but lovestruck Seth gives her a meteor globe anyway. This makes another man angry, because he also missed and didn't get a prize. To stop the argument, Lana gives him her meteor globe, but the man's still angry. He's probably had a few beers, and he doesn't want to look bad in front of his girlfriend. He smashes the globe over Seth's head, giving him a nasty cut. Fragments of meteor rocks are lodged in his wound. He's taken for an MRI scan at the Smallville Medical Centre. The kryptonite in his blood makes the MRI machine short circuit. After this Seth discovers that he can move metal objects with his mind. So that's how easy it is for a 16-year-old boy to become a freak.

The meteor rocks have given him a second power. When he touches a woman she becomes attracted to him. There's a pseudo-scientific explanation about how metal particles in the bloodstream can be affected by magnets. It's not very convincing. It's also unconvincing that Seth immediately knows what he can do. He touches Lana, and she falls in love with him. What's worse is that he does this in front of Clark, who immediately gets jealous. He has no right to feel jealous. Lana has repeatedly tried to get closer to Clark, but he's always turned her away. Eventually she'll say Yes to one of the dozen or more boys who have a crush on her.

Seth takes Lana for a ride on the Ferris wheel at night, using his magnetic powers to open the gate and turn on the wheel. I've got to admit, that's romantic. He doesn't need his powers to attract Lana. He reveals his powers to her (the magnetic powers, at least), and she accepts him. She doesn't consider him a freak. I'm sure she would have accepted Clark's powers as well.

Clark has followed them to the fairground. Lana accuses him of stalking her. That's a valid accusation, even if Clark suspects something is wrong.

The next day Clark takes Chloe with him to break into the hospital and look at Seth's medical records. They find that Seth has abnormal electromagnetic activity in his body. They're interrupted by a doctor entering the room, so Chloe throws herself against Clark to pretend they were making out. Hot damn! Clark doesn't stand a chance.

What does a horny 16-year-old boy do when a hot girl like Chloe is pressing herself against him? Does he push her away? No, he embraces her and enjoys the kiss.

I've often said that I find both Lana and Chloe attractive. I think this scene helps me make a better decision. They're two very different girls. Lana is (probably) more attractive, but Chloe has more sex appeal. Lana would never have pressed her body against Clark like this. Chloe has more self confidence. If I'd been in Clark's position, I would have chosen Chloe.

Look at Clark's red face after the kiss. That's not acting. Tom Welling is genuinely flushed with embarrassment after Allison Mack threw herself against him. Clark has to straighten his clothes and awkwardly follow Chloe out of the room.

The next day Seth persuades Lana to leave Smallville with him. She takes all the money out of the Talon's cash register. Lex sees her and calls the police. He follows her outside just as Seth arrives in a stolen yellow Mustang.

There's a lot of talk about this in the podcast. Michael Rosenbaum goes on and on about how much he hates yellow cars, especially expensive yellow cars. He says that when he was young he always used to shout "Yellow!" when a yellow car went by. I honestly don't understand what his problem is. My first car was a mustard yellow 1977 Volkswagen Passat. It was a beautiful car. I wish I had a photo of it. A good idea for a new Talkville shirt would be Michael Rosenbaum shouting "Yellow!"

Clark runs ahead and melts the road out of Smallville with his heat vision. This allows the police to catch up with them. We see Sheriff Nancy Adams very briefly. Seth escapes by jumping onto a passing truck, clinging to the side. Lana is arrested and put in jail. It doesn't last long. Seth breaks her out, easily overcoming the guards and forcing the doors open.

Clark tracks Seth down by using a compass. Is there any reason why Seth himself should be magnetic? And even if he were, how would Clark know? There's so much about this episode that doesn't make sense. Lana pulls a gun on Clark, a gun that Seth stole from a guard when he broke her free. Clark backs away, and Seth takes the gun. He shoots Clark and sees that he's bulletproof. Seth picks up a roller coaster car and hurls it at Clark, pinning him against the wall. Clark grabs an electrical line and electrifies the coaster car. Seth is pulled off his feet, attracted to the car. I don't understand the physics of this activity, but when he makes contact he receives a shock that puts him in a coma.

Lana goes back to normal, but she has to do community service for stealing the yellow car. The sentence would have been harsher, but Lex got her a good lawyer. And she's allowed to carry on working in the Talon.

The subplot concerns Chloe's investigations into Lionel Luthor. After the threats he made to fire her father, she's been investigating Lionel's past to find information she can use against him. When questioned by Lex she declines to use the word blackmail, even though this is definitely what she means. Lex warns her that she's living dangerously.

The next day Chloe finds the Torch office ransacked. The culprit is still in the room. It's Officer Mason, who we saw in last week's episode. He's working for Lionel Luthor, and he's investigating the death of Lionel's parents. He's discovered that Chloe is also investigating Lionel, so he takes her computer. Chloe thinks that he was sent by Lex, so she visits the mansion to complain. Lex says that it was nothing to do with him, but Officer Mason is already dead. He takes Chloe to the morgue to show her his body. He died of natural causes, supposedly. Nobody believes that. But who was responsible, Lionel or Lex? Nothing is said in the episode, so I have to make my own deductions. I see no motive for Lionel killing Mason. He was only doing his job. It must have been Lex who killed Mason to protect Chloe. Lex offers his future protection, but it comes with a cost. He wants to know everything she discovers about his father.

Chloe tells him that Lionel Luthor used to be close friends with the gangster Morgan Edge, who was seemingly killed in the episode "Phoenix". We, the viewers, already knew that, but it was news to Lex.

In this week's podcast Michael Rosenbaum was ranting more than ever before. It wasn't just about yellow cars. He said that he's a snob, so he refuses to watch "Barbie". He's been told that the film has a serious message, which is true, but he refuses to go. I think he needs a wife to straighten him out. Can't Bryce arrange a blind date for him?

Always hold on to Smallville

and...

Bring back the Blu-rays.