NEXT ON SMALLVILLE 7x20 Artic - May 15, 2008 8/7c LEX DISCOVERS CLARK'S SECRET — Kara (Laura Vandervoort) tells Lex (Michael Rosenbaum) he is destined to defeat the Traveler and offers to take him to the Fortress to learn how. Clark (Tom Welling) is stunned that Kara would go to Lex but it is revealed that Brainiac is impersonating Kara and she's actually trapped in the Phantom Zone. Chloe is arrested by the Department of Domestic Security and Lana awakens from her comatose state. Meanwhile, in an epic turn of events, Clark and Lex face off in the Fortress and Lex learns Clark's secret. Erica Durance and Aaron Ashmore also star. QUICK LINKS DI on MySpace: / ZodCast on MySpace: / Fans Around the World / Lois Lane's Daily Journal / Redboots / The Clois Fanfic Archive / Christopher Reeve Foundation / Guestbook FEATURED CLIP TOP AFFILIATES { All Affiliates } BANTER LOG Lois: You've just been hit by lightning, you're stark naked, and, uh, you don't even remember your own name. You have a fairly loose definition of "fine." { All Quotes } SEARCH FOR SMALLVILLE @ Amazon.com @ eBay.com @ AllPosters.com SITE STATS Clois fans online You are visitor # Since 11/27/04 CONTACT US For any news and information or to contact HappyEnding.Org Staff, you can e-mail one of the following: Webmaster: Jerilee Co-Webmasters Nautica7mk, ZodCast and Arwen DISCLAIMER We are in no way affiliated with Tom Welling, Erica Durance, Smallville or The WB. This site is strictly a fansite and nothing monetary is gained. SUPERMAN and all related elements are the property of DC Comics.

Reviews

4:18 Spirit Review

By Zoomway

Yeah, this is probably the latest I've ever done a review, but this episode, as the topic line implies, was a bomb. Not to be confused with "da bomb." This was a complete mess. It ran rampant with terrible continuity, a spoiler in the opening segment that deflated a later scene and the episode contained setups that led to utterly illogical resolutions.

I'm not going to start the review with the pre-title segment because it repeated itself in its entirety later in the episode. Instead, I'm going to start with what I assume was originally meant to be the pre-title scene.

Lana, who seemed to be caught between two blondes in a face-making contest, quoted Chloe's article from the Torch. "Election of prom royalty is an archaic and elitist ritual whose time has come and gone. Chloe Sullivan strikes again."

"Oh, what?" Chloe asked. "Don't tell me I've lost you to tiara fever, too?"

When my sister heard this line, due to the actress' pronunciation, she asked, "What's T.R. fever?"

Chloe explained that prom is a rite of passage that shouldn't be tainted by a popularity contest. I have a news flash for the ace reporter. There is no bigger popularity contest than high school.

Lana informed Chloe that she wasn't going to prom.

Chloe was nonplused. "What? You're not going? What happened with Jason?"

"Showing up with the coach who got fired for dating a student -- that is an entrance I can do without."

We know it's all about image for Lana, but geez, Clark showed up with Alicia at the Talon a few weeks ago and she was a psycho stalker.

"Besides," Lana continued, "after imagining something for four years, I just don't think it could live up to expectations."

It's one of those rare occasions when I know how Lana feels. Back when Smallville debuted four years ago with all the hype and buzz and promise, it's amazing that not one character on the show has evolved in all that time.

"The Lana I know wouldn't cop out like that," Chloe said and the audience is left wondering what Lana Chloe knows. "Lex even got Lifehouse to play for the seniors. You can help me bring stag back in style."

Thankfully Dawn Stiles and her two-girl entourage interrupted the bad dialogue with more bad dialogue. "You may think bashing a sacred school tradition in your tabloid rag is cool, but I think it's disgusting," Dawn said.

"Lighten up, Dawn," Chloe replied. "You'll get your crown because this entire school is terrified of you and your vicious rumor mill."

Dawn then accused Chloe of being a "hypocrat" (her verbal typo, not mine) because Chloe was one of the nominees for prom queen, which came as a shock to Chloe.

Meanwhile, Lex and his men dug up Margot Kidder. I'm sure that's a leg body-double because Kidder had a dispute with the producers and that means a death sentence.

I feel so bad that Kidder is now represented by a stand-in's leg ... ha ... a stand-in without a leg to stand on ... where was I? Oh, yes. This is a picture of Bridgett Crosby from the comics (thanks for the scan, Georgia). A character arguably even less important to the Superman myth than Lana. However, the dear departed Crosby should have a face in her final appearance on the series.

If you'll recall, Crosby was Virgil Swann's assistant. He was a reclusive billionaire who helped or hindered Clark depending on your point of view. As for Crosby, we don't know if she was good or evil only that she absconded with one of the magic stones of power when she had been told by Swann to send it to Clark.

Lex told Jason to butt out, but Jason said he recognized Crosby's name from his research on the artifacts (stones) and that made her death his business, but Lex gave him the bum's rush and we cut back to the high school.

"Should I bow when I see you?" Clark asked as Chloe entered the Torch.

"Cute. What part of 'boycotting the vote' didn't anyone understand?"

"They understand it perfectly. You see, you are the boycott," Clark informed Chloe. "Think about it. For the last four years everyone has been trying to break out of the stereotype they've been stuck in. You're the battle cry."

The line about breaking out of stereotypes becomes very ironic later in the episode.

"The great Smallville High prom coup, huh?" Chloe asked. "Clark, you didn't happen to have anything to do with this, did you?"

"I may have spoken to a few people."

Chloe tossed a pencil at him. "Now I know you're not going to let me storm this bastille alone. Who is Smallville's most eligible bachelor (really? that's kinda sad) taking to prom?"

"Actually, I was thinking of sitting this one out."

"What? Ah, not you, too. Wait, let me guess. You spent four years imagining what it's going to be like and you just don't think it'll live up to your expectations," Chloe said in an eye-rolling rendition of Lana's manifesto.

"Something like that."

"So, you're going to let me break out of my rut on stage with a sash while you're at home playing the 'what if' game for the nine-hundredth time?"

"I never said you were in a rut."

"Yeah, but I am and I'm not alone." I love when eighteen year-olds think they're in a rut. "Clark, in two weeks we're going to graduate from this adolescent fantasy." You wish. "And we're not going to have a rut to fall back into." Make up your mind. Is a rut good or bad? "The thing about expectations, Clark, is they're supposed to drive you to do more with your life, not stop you from living it. Personally," she said, winding down her speech, "I think the future holds more promise for you than you give it credit." I wonder if Chloe would have said that if she didn't know Clark had special powers, because there's absolutely nothing else interesting or motivated about him.

Since Clark had no comment or rebuttal, the scene shifted to the Talon where Dawn found her boyfriend chatting with a freshman. Dawn told "wonder bra" to beat it and then she confronted Billy. "Prom is only 27 hours away."

"Yeah, about that, I'm not going."

"Don't be stupid." Pretty tall order in this town.

"Dawn, it's over. It should have been over a long time ago. I'm not hanging around just so I can be a bow tie that matches your dress."

"You can't break up with me the day before prom!"

"It's over," he said and left.

That required a "massive re-strategy" and Dawn decided to peruse the yearbook looking for new candidates to be her date. Unfortunately, she was perusing the yearbook while driving. Her car crashed though a railing and fell off a cliff just as she decided on Clark as her replacement date. Naturally she landed next to kryptonite.

She trudged up the hill and began waving her arms as she saw a truck approach. Wouldn't you know it was Martha in the truck? However, from Martha's POV, there was no one in the road at all. Apparently Dawn was having an out-of-body experience courtesy of the kryptonite. The truck passed through her spirit and her spirit then entered Martha.

Dawn saw her new face in the rearview mirror. "Holy crap, I'm Clark Kent's mom!"

That's where this episode would normally have led into the theme music, but instead they chose to take a scene from near the end of the episode and put it before the title sequence. I'll get to that later.

When Clark arrived home from school, he found his mother dancing and, unlike Ashlee Simpson, actually singing an Ashlee Simpson song.

"Mom!" he shouted over the music. "What's going on?"

Dawn-Martha turned off the music, for which we were all grateful, and said, "Hi ... son." She then ate some ice cream out of the carton.

"What's for dinner?" Clark asked.

I like that his mother was singing to Ashlee Simpson and apparently that was fine with Clark as long as Martha got dinner on the table on time.

"Dinner? Oh!" Giggle. "Here," Dawn-Martha said, handing Clark the ice cream carton. "Have some of this. It's yummy."

"Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm great," she said and then became coy. "I was wondering, do you have a date for the prom yet?"

"Mom, I told you I'm not going to the prom."

"What? You have to go!"

"Well, I kinda wanted to go with Lana, but ..."

"Lana Lang? You can't be serious. You two are so last year." More like so every year. Every excruciating, boring year.

"Clark, your prom is the most memorable night of your life (if you die before you're 19)! I'm not going to let you miss it. You can take me." Ewww.

"Mom, you're already going, remember? With Dad. You're chaperones."

"Yeah. Right. Cool." And then an eye roll.

Lois, sneezing and accompanied by Shelby, descended the stairs. "I swear the dog knows I'm allergic. He follows me wherever I go. He's torturing me."

Dawn-Martha became miffed. "Oh, so this is your little secret. You're taking her to the prom, aren't you?"

Clark laughed. "Lois?"

Lois found it equally amusing. "Mrs. Kent, a lot of things are possible, but there will be a man on Mars before Clark and I go to a prom together."

Dawn-Martha eyed the couple suspiciously. "So you two get together and mack, but keep it on the down-low in public?"

"Mom!"

"I don't mean to be rude, Mrs. Kent, but did you crack open the cooking sherry?"

"Of course not! I'm just super-pumped about prom!" she wailed.

Dawn-Martha decided to exit and was reminded she works at the Talon. "Oh, yeah. Laters!"

At the Talon, Dawn-Martha ran into Lana. "Hi, Lana. Shouldn't you be at the school helping with the decorations? The prom committee needs all the help they can get."

"I'm not going to go to the prom."

"Why? You think you're so above it all?" Yes.

"No, of course not."

"Oh, come on. Poor little orphan girl going off to your fancy French art school. Dating a big college guy."

Lana had her pat argument ready. "I don't have to listen to this," she said and began to leave. Dawn-Martha touched Lana's retreating shoulder and transferred into Lana.

"Genius," Dawn-Lana said and started to flounce out of the Talon, but ran into Clark.

"Hi, Lana, have you seen my mom?"

"Forget about your mom, Clark. I have been meaning to ask you something."

"Yeah," he replied, forgetting about his mother as instructed. It's Lana giving the order, after all. "What is it?"

"I know this is last minute," she said in a singsong voice, very reminiscent of how Kreuk used to deliver Lana dialogue. "But I thought it would be totally amazing if we went to prom together."

"Us? Lana, what about Jason?"

"It's you I want to go with. Don't you want to go with me?"

"Well, I mean uh..."

"Awesome, it's a date! I've got to get back to the school and help them set up. They're lost without me. Laters!"

With Lana gone, Clark could finally attend to his befuddled mother. "Mom, are you all right?"

"For the life of me, I can't remember how I got here," she replied and then blank stares ensued longer than necessary before action cut back to the school.

Dawn, little by little, found out how disliked she was as she interacted with her classmates in her Lana guise. Even her entourage didn't like her. So, as with all kryptonite mutants, it was time for revenge.

Dawn-Lana pulled the electrical cable from a floor buffer, entered the boy's locker room and pressed the sparking ends of the cable to a row of metal lockers that former boyfriend Billy was leaning against. Zzzzzzt.

Clark entered the school and Chloe just happened to be there for no particular reason because, as she told Clark when he asked if she'd seen Lana, the only people there were students decorating for the prom. So why was anti-prom ritual Chloe there?

Anyway, Clark explained that his mother was channeling an inner teenager and "Now Lana's not acting like herself."

That's not a big revelation or even unusual this year. Lana has been possessed by a witch for most of the season. It must be pretty crowded inside Lana now. Maybe Dawn and Isobel are playing canasta.

Chloe looked concerned. "Well, if you think Lana is here decorating for the prom, that definitely falls under altered states."

How? Why? As far as I know it just takes some school spirit and maybe some artistic ability to decorate for prom. I would assume Lana, former cheerleader and former art student would have both. Now if it had been Lois, sure, I could see that being altered states, but Lana? A girl so altruistic and naturally wholesome and good she'd decorate a dog kennel if asked?

No matter, the lights winked out momentarily as Billy sizzled. Clark pulled Billy away from the locker and saw Lana exit. He followed her and she passed her spirit to another student in the hallway. He passed it to a teacher and she did a hand-off to a member of Dawn's entourage.

If you've ever seen the movie Fallen starring Denzel Washington, you'd know the only thing missing was the people continuing the song 'Time is on My Side' as the spirit transferred from person to person.

The teens gathered at the medical center, which has become a more popular place to be than the Talon this season since Lana no longer owns the Talon. They were there, not for Billy, who is going to be okay, but because Dawn's body, sans her spirit, is there in a coma.

We got a bunch of exposition about Dawn's car being found at the bottom of a gorge that apparently contains the mother lode of all kryptonite. Dawn's entourage girl, who happened to be possessed by Dawn, asked how Dawn was doing. Have a headache yet?

Clark said, "She's barely hanging on. She has massive head injuries and is severely disfigured."

However, when we got a look at Dawn, she seemed to just have a few scratches on her face and some bruises. Severely disfigured means you had Michael Jackson's plastic surgeon. Oh well, a few scratches were enough for Dawn to kill herself. Yes, this was an assisted suicide. Dawn's spirit left her entourage girl and entered a doctor who killed her off with some type of injection.

Clark then told Lana that she had asked him to the prom. "But it wasn't you, right? It was Dawn."

I think Lana nodded, but it seemed like an effort for her without Dawn operating the machinery.

A 'code blue' was announced over the speakers and Dawn-Doctor informed the teens that Dawn died. Then the action, or lack of it, cut to Jason hacking into Lex's computer and finding correspondence with Bridget Crosby.

"Find anything interesting?" Lex asked.

"As a matter of fact I did ... it says here that you sent mail to Bridget Crosby."

"I never denied I knew her."

Jason said one of the e-mails indicated that Lex was supposed to have a meeting with Crosby the same morning she was found dead. Lex claimed Crosby never showed up for the meeting.

"You mention an item in your e-mail. Could it be an artifact? Were you going to buy it from her, or take it by force?"

"I don't have to explain myself to you, Jason."

"Well, you're going to have to explain it to the police."

This is where the Jason-type character is usually marked for death. And if the cops were never called when the body was found, then where is it? Still partially buried in the Luthor's lawn? You'd think so when we get to a later scene.

Suddenly it's the next morning and Lois is at the medical center (told ya it was the new hot spot) arguing about her allergist's bill. Then Dawn-Doctor (or nurse?) showed up. "Maybe I can help you."

Then we cut real quick to that night where Clark was moping over his yearbook. The Kents entered and Clark told them they looked great and Martha said, "The only reason we agreed to be chaperons at the prom is because we thought you were going."

"Yeah, it's a little weird," Clark said. "My parents are going to prom and I'm staying home waiting up for them."

"Son, when you're older," Jonathan said, trying to ignore the fact that Welling hit his 28th birthday. "We don't want you to look back on high school and regret not going to the prom."

Martha sighed. "I think I know why you're not going tonight."

"When I was a freshman," Clark interrupted, "I remember standing outside and watching the seniors going in to prom. The guys in their tuxes and the girls in their dresses (or vice versa). "I guess I always thought that would be Lana and me."

Clark's senior year he fell for Alicia and would have even been married to her if not for being underaged. Yet he still pictured going to prom with Lana? When he was a freshman, Lana was in a relationship with Whitney. After she dumped him, she ended up in a brief relationship with Clark, which he broke off. Then there was Adam, Seth and now Jason. Did he plan on going to the prom with a shoehorn?

"Oh, Clark," Martha said, speaking for the majority of the audience. "Things don't always end up the way you picture them, but they can end up even better if you give them a chance."

Okay, we have two hints now that things will be different. People will break out of their stereotypes and things will be even better than pictured if you give them a chance. So, my left and right brain began arguing. On the one lobe, I was sure Clark would end up with Lana, no matter how illogical, but my other lobe was arguing that this is too big a setup to illustrate change to return to such a cliche. I probably don't have to tell you which lobe was correct.

Anyway, Dawn-Lois appeared at the top of the stairs in a Jessica Rabbit original. She said she wasn't going to let Clark sit around and mope on prom night and insisted they go.

Chloe arrived and she and Clark shared big smiles. Chloe said she was surprised Clark showed up and he replied, "Well, remember those regrets we talked about? Not seeing you with a crown on top of your head would be at the top of the list." My brain's left side called Clark a liar, but my brain's right side told it not to be so cynical.

Now for a totally schizo shift. Jason dragged the sheriff to the Luthor estate claiming a dead body was there. How ridiculous is this? If Lex never called the cops in the first place, then it's pretty logical to assume he moved the body shortly after it was discovered. All logic aside, which should have been the title of this episode, Jason insisted that the body of a woman named Bridget Crosby had been buried there.

"The thing is, Mr. Teague, you can't have a murder without a victim and this Bridget Crosby, there's no record that she ever existed."

"It's Lex," Jason said. "He's paid them off."

"Mr. Teague, the next time you say there's been a killing, I better see a stiff." And so departed the beady-eyed sheriff.

Then Jason got on his cell phone. "Hello, Mother? It's done. Lex took care of the body just like we wanted. Love you, too." He hung up and examined the stone of power that had been in Crosby's possession.

Okay, the writers have confirmed that they expect their audience to be composed of idiots who have such short term memories they can't think back to episodes this season, much less previous seasons. Either that, or Jason has a Manchurian Candidate relationship with his mother. She controls his devious actions with some kind of trigger word and he does her bidding and then doesn't remember a thing about it.

What I'm driving at here is that way back in November, Jason confronted his mother and asked if he'd met Lana by accident as it seemed. It was very clear back then that Jason didn't trust his mother and believed she was capable of devious behavior. They were alone together so no pretense can be made that Jason was always evil and in cahoots with his mother.

In the episode Unsafe from January, Jason confided in Lana that he was afraid their meeting in Paris was not by chance. "I think that my mother arranged it."

Lana was shocked. "How is that even possible?"

"My mother was the one who convinced me to go to Paris in the first place. She said that I would meet someone special and I did."

There is no indication that Jason is not being honest about his feelings about his mother or about Lana. Then, the very next month in the episode Recruit, Lex shows Lana a photo of Jason and his mother together in Paris. Lana said, "No, that can't be. His mom was in the Hamptons."

Now, two months later, Jason is blatantly in cahoots with his mother? Again, either the writers believe their audience lacks the brain capacity to see the inconsistencies, or Jason is under his mother's control at times and doesn't even know it. However, like so much else in this mishmash episode, the reason Jason's villainous turn was brought out of the blue in this particular episode is made apparent later.

It was time for the big announcement of prom queen. As soon as Chloe's name was announced, Dawn-Lois hugged her and transferred herself into Chloe. This is where all the sad and bad stuff started happening to such a degree that Carrie could honestly say she had a better prom night than Chloe. The right half of my brain conceded defeat.

Lois turned to Clark. "What the hell am I doing in a dress and what the hell am I doing at your prom?"

"Oh, no," Clark said, speaking for all of us.

Looking at her corsage, Lois said, "Did you pin this on me?"

"I'll explain later."

"A little close to the boob, don't you think?" Yes, Lois, you're standing right next to the boob and how big a boob Clark is will be, like everything else, shown later.

Chloe, now possessed by Dawn, took the stage and prattled on about how being crowned prom queen was her lifelong dream and that it rightfully belonged to Dawn Stiles. Laughter and catcalls followed that comment as Clark and Lois looked on in stunned silence.

Brought to tears, Dawn-Chloe said, "This is one night I will always remember and one you will never forget."

Chloe bolted from the stage and then we got a repeat of what actually aired as the opening sequence of the episode. Chloe smashed the glass and got out a fire ax. On the way down to the school's basement, she ran into Jonathan, who'd just been seen in the gym with Martha. We'll assume he teleported there.

Chloe slugged him in the jaw and continued on her way. Clark ran to Jonathan. This part was left out of the opening sequence. "Dad, are you okay?" he asked as he helped Jonathan to his feet.

"Yeah," Jonathan replied. "It was Chloe. She's not acting like herself." I laughed out loud at this line. He said that as casually as if Chloe had just walked by without saying, "Hi, Mr. Kent," rather than walking by carrying a fire ax and knocking him down a flight of stairs.

Clark said, "Dad, I need you to get something for me." A better script?

Then the repeat of the opening sequence continued with Chloe going into the basement and using the ax to chop off a fuel valve. As fuel started spilling onto the floor she opened the furnace door. "You're all gonna pay," Dawn-Chloe said and then stuck a mop into the furnace and set it on fire. "Now that's what I call a torch," she said, keeping a straight face during the corny dialog.

I don't know why this whole scene was repeated twice. Showing Chloe in the opening segment wearing a tiara took away any surprise that she was nominated for prom queen and it took away any suspense they had hoped to create as to whether or not she would win. Both scenarios were spoiled in the opening segment.

Chloe tossed the flaming mop at the puddle of fuel only to have it intercepted by Clark. Good to know his football skills have a practical use now.

"How did you do that?" Dawn-Chloe asked.

"I know it's you, Dawn," Clark said. "You don't want to do this." Sure looked like she wanted to do it to me.

Dawn-Chloe squared her shoulders for the character motive exposition. "All those years I tried to be what everyone wanted and it turns out those losers don't even care. This was supposed to be the best night of my life and they laughed at me!"

"Let Chloe go!"

"I will," she said with a sinister smile. "See, Clark, there's a whole life after high school (not on this show). I can be whoever I want." So saying, she transferred into Clark and we got the gayest scene in the history of Smallville.

Dawn-Clark snatched the tiara from Chloe's head and said, "The crown's mine, bitch," and knocked her twenty feet across the room.

Dawn-Clark then picked up the flaming mop and it really was hard to tell which was flaming more intensely as he-she prepared to toss it onto the fuel.

"Dawn!" Jonathan shouted as he stepped into the scene.

"Seriously, Mr. Kent," a very fey sounding Welling said, "you can't stop me."

"That may be true, but I can stop my son," Jonathan said, and flashed the green rock at his flaming boy. I guess the Kents keep bits of kryptonite stashed in the house and truck in lead-lined boxes for those times when their kid isn't quite feeling himself.

Dawn-Clark hit the deck writhing in agony. Chloe, though pretending to be unconscious, watched what happened. Dawn's spirit finally drifted upward to the nether regions of the high school's plumbing system.

Jonathan tossed away the kryptonite and Clark helped Chloe up. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, fine, thanks." Isn't everybody after being slugged twenty feet?

Clark picked up the tiara. "You dropped something. Congratulations, Chloe."

Clark made his way back to the prom. "Listen, Lois ..."

"Your parents filled me in (Jonathan teleported again). Apparently some girl named Dawn was possessing me."

"Well, that's the short version."

"Well it's the last time I let her do my hair," Lois snarked.

"Look, I'm sorry you got pulled into all of this."

"Don't worry about it, I never quite made it to my senior prom," she said and took a sip of punch and then commented it could use a little kick.

The band Lifehouse began to play one of many dirge-like songs and it reminded me of a line from Mystery Science Theater. "You're being kidnapped by the light FM."

Clark began to shift nervously. "You know, I was thinking (how refreshing) since you did get all dressed up and you came here with me, you should at least get a dance out of it."

"Chivalry noted," Lois said. "But I'm not the one you want to dance with," she added and cast her gaze to the left. "She is."

On a series that understands logic and what is known as "character justice," Lois would have been referring to her cousin Chloe. After all she was the prom queen and that came about partly because of Clark's backstage machinations. It would also be Chloe because Clark himself talked about breaking out of stereotypes and Martha promised a surprise that would be better than the Lana dream he'd been moping about. However, this is Smallville and it was not a surprise that Lois was referring to Lana.

You know, Lana, the one who didn't want to go to the prom with her boyfriend because it wasn't good for her image? Lana, who didn't even take Chloe up on her request that they go stag to bring it back in style? Lana, who treated Clark like crap most of this season? Yeah, that Lana. The one who entered in her junior petite Mt. Olympus Grecian urn gown. Of the purest white, of course.

Lois went over to console Chloe. Some Chloe/Clark fans were pissed off at Lois for directing Clark to Lana instead of Chloe, but if Clark had his heart in the right place at this point in his life, no one would have had to direct him to Chloe, he'd have known it was the right choice to begin with.

"You know, a year from now, this is all going to feel like a lifetime ago," Lois said, noticing Chloe's unhappy expression.

"That's funny," Chloe replied. "Because it feels like just yesterday when he [Clark] deserted that nervous freshman [Chloe] on the dance floor."

Chloe was referring to the first season cliffhanger where she and Clark's one date at the spring formal four years ago was interrupted by tornadoes and Clark having to rescue Lana who was too stupid to get out of the storm.

"You are headed for Metropolis. You're destined to be a bigshot reporter at the Daily Planet. Do you really picture Clark Kent being able to keep up with you?" Lois kept trying to lift Chloe's spirits, but it was clear in this episode that spirits are only lifted when they're driven out of Clark's body by kryptonite.

"You know, Lois, I think Clark might have a lot more to offer than you realize."

Lois glanced at the moron in the tuxedo. "I wouldn't bet on it," she said. I have to agree with Lois, at least when it comes to this version of Clark Kent.

Clark crossed the room and yes, it did take the span of Chloe and Lois's conversation to accomplish that mission. "May I have this dance?" Clark asked.

"I thought you'd never ask," Lana replied, even though she has a boyfriend she neglected to break up with.

Realistically it's not too big a deal if someone in a committed relationship dances with someone else if their partner is missing, but what makes this dance wrong is that Clark was a former love interest of Lana's and Lana herself made sure she showed up without her current boyfriend. It was also wrong for Lana to snuggle into Clark's armpit as if she were a free agent.

Jason, of course, who apparently didn't have a problem with "appearances" showed up at the prom only to find his girlfriend dancing with someone she continually denied still having romantic feelings for.

This episode got poor ratings and that's usually hard to do with a prom episode. However, no guts -- no glory, as they say. Smallville has never had the guts to let Clark move on with his life. Instead of moving towards the future, they're stuck in the past. Very little has changed in four whole years.

You can actually see it in the actors' faces. They know they're covering redundant ground, but have to grin and bear it. They look tired. The spark the show started with this season has all but burned out. There are now Chloe fans wishing she would be killed off so they won't have to continue watching.

In a way I know how they feel. Lois needs to find H.G. Wells and get into the right universe, because Smallville is purgatory.

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