The episode was first broadcast on 4th April 2004. Maybe I should have named
the broadcast date for all the episodes, but I'm not going to go back and add
it to the 55 previous episodes. It's too much hard work.
Most of the Smallville episodes have a main story, accompanied by one or more
subplots. This episode is made up of two stories that have almost equal
screentime. The first story follows the typical freak-of-the-week format. It's
about Jordan Cross, a teenager whose mother was struck by a meteor while he
was still in the womb. His mother died a few days after he was born. Ever
since he was born he has the gift of seeing a person's death when he touches
him. This was first noticed by his father when Jordan was six. Since then he's
been home-schooled, but now he's said he wants to enrol in Smallville High
School as a normal teenager. That's not a good idea, because he can't control
his power. Even an accidental touch in the hallway gives him a vision.
First Lana touches him as he picks up a cup of water, and he sees her dying
peacefully as an old woman. Then the cross-country coach, Joseph Altman,
congratulates him on his running, giving him a friendly tap on the arm,
and Jordan sees him being run over by a car. A
few minutes later the coach walks into the road and deliberately
places himself in the path of a car that's out of control. Jordan cries for
help. Clark super-speeds to the rescue and saves the coach. Strangely, nobody
spotted Clark using his powers. The coach is depressed that he's had to shut
off the life support of his daughter Julia, who was injured by a hit-and-run
driver a few years ago. This is the first time that Jordan's seen a death
which didn't happen.
When he touches Clark he sees a cape flying through the sky towards the stars.
This makes him think Clark will never die.
Coach Altman is taken to hospital. While he's asleep he's visited by Lana and
Megan, who used to be Julia's best friends. The accident happened while they
were walking home together. Megan blames herself for not preventing the
accident. Lana tells her there was nothing they could do. Coach Altman isn't
really sleeping, and he hears the conversation.
After accidentally touching Megan, Jordan sees that she's going to die in a
fire. He knows that this will happen soon, so he tells Megan he wants to
accompany her home. She finds this creepy, so there's a big argument. Megan leaves alone,
but she doesn't get home from school, so Sheriff Nancy Adams questions him as a
suspect.
Jordan's father now wants to withdraw him from the school, so he hides in the
school building after dark. Lana finds him and touches his arm to comfort him.
He has a vision of Lana dying in flames, a different death to the one he saw
before. He deduces that by saving the coach's life Clark has changed the
future. Then he's knocked out by an unseen assailant, and Lana is kidnapped.
Jordan tells Clark about his visions. Clark deduces that the two girls have
been captured by Coach Altman. He wants to deal with it alone, but Jordan
insists on going with him. They drive to the coach's house and fins it in
flames. The coach blames the girls for his daughter's death, and he wants them
to die with him. Clark rescues the two girls. Jordan wants to rescue the
coach, but when they touch each other he has a series of visions. Clark pulls
Jordan out of the flames, but the coach dies.
Jordan had seen his own death, but Clark saved him. As a result, Jordan no
longer has visions.
Clark was foolish to take Jordan to the coach's house. If he'd gone by
himself, he would have arrived before the fire started and saved everyone. By
taking Jordan with him, he had to drive in a truck. This mistake led to the
coach's death.
The second story is about Lana's new love interest, Adam Knight. In
the last episode
he moved into a small apartment above the Talon. While cleaning up after work,
Lana hears shouting. She rushes into the apartment and finds Adam in the
middle of a nightmare which is making him scream and knock things over. He
refuses to tell Lana what he was dreaming about.
The next day at school, Chloe finds Adam in an empty classroom injecting
something into his arm. She's so shocked by what she saw that she doesn't even
ask why he was in the school. She rushes to the Talon to tell Lana what she
saw.
Lex, who doesn't yet know about the syringe, invites Adam to his mansion to
ask him about his past. Adam sits at the piano and begins to play a tune from
memory. Lex is amazed at his skill, because
"it's one of Rachmaninoff's most complicated pieces". Those are Lex's
words. Piano is piano to me.
Adam was an ace student who had straight A's across the board. Lex had
also questioned the teachers, and they said he was
"a fine pupil and a joy to teach". Curiously, they'd all used
exactly the same words, as if they'd been told to say it.
Lana confronts Adam about the needle, discreetly asking if it's diabetes, but
he gets angry and storms off. Chloe sneaks into Adam's apartment and finds a
vial of clear fluid. She's interrupted by Lex, who's also investigating Adam.
They're both amazed at Adam's skills in different areas, such as piano
playing, martial arts and computer hacking.
The next day, Lana visits Lex to tell him about Adam's reactions to her
questions. Lex tells her to give him a chance, because he's found that he's
part of a clinical trial to test a new drug.
The day after Jordan's rescue from the flames, Lana visits him to help him
catch up with class. He tells her that he'd touched Adam in the school, and
his vision told him that Adam was already dead.
There's an epilogue in which something dramatic happens. Clark takes his
father cookies in the barn, and he finds him on the floor, barely conscious.
Is this Jonathan Kent's death? I shan't give any spoilers. This incident was
discussed at length in the podcast. One of the few things I remember about
Superman lore is that Clark's father died when he was a child. I don't
remember if the age was mentioned, so it could have been any age between six
and sixteen. I just remember reading Superboy comics in which Jonathan was
already dead. I didn't know if "Smallville" would follow Superman lore
precisely, but I was prepared for something like this to happen.
Neither Tom Welling nor Michael Rosenbaum knew that Jonathan Kent would die.
They weren't well versed in the comics. They should have asked Jeph Loeb as
the series consultant.
In the podcast Michael Rosenbaum is is usual crazy self. We wouldn't have him
any other way. He has to become serious after a question from Annie from
Ocala:
"This episode deals with a lot of questions about predestination and free
will. So what do you guys personally think of these questions? Do you think
that our lives are governed by destiny, free will or a combination of the
two?"
Ryan Tellez could only say "Oh damn!" Michael attempted a reply, rambling on
without really answering the question. His cousin died of cancer. Was that his
destiny? Michael doesn't know. When put on the spot, he said that things are
random.
Tom's words were wiser:
"Does everything happen for a reason, or do we find reasons for things that
happen?" But it's still not an answer.
I don't want to criticise Michael or Tom. They were caught off guard. Annie's
question is too much for a simple podcast. It's the subject for a 600-page
doctoral thesis. Don't expect an answer from me either. Not in the real world.
In "Smallville" there's a clear answer. Everything is predestined, unless
Clark Kent intervenes and changes destiny.
Tom Welling looks different in this podcast. It's a mixture of the glasses and
the new headset that shows off his hair.
Always hold on to Smallville
and...
Bring back the Blu-rays.
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