Away From Smallville

The first two episodes of Smallville, Third Season, are like a liberation. Lex and Clark seem already to have escaped the restrictions of Smallville. We see Lex surviving half naked on an island and Clark enjoying the greater freedom of Metropolis as against Smallville as well as the unrestricted license of a super-powered villain's role.

Although we had already seen "Kal" robbing ATM's, I did think, when he interrupted a bank robbery, that he had returned to a familiar crime-fighting role but instead he proceeded to rob the bank himself. Of course, it is the Red Kryptonite influence but he knowingly opted to wear the Red Kryptonite ring.

Will it be an anti-climax when, in the third episode, all the action is safely back in Smallville? We have had a preview of what will happen in later seasons when Clark moves permanently to Metropolis and uses his powers covertly. Will Morgan Edge still be a crime boss? Will Edge also control Galaxy Broadcasting? Will Lionel Luthor still be in Metropolis? Will Lex also have moved there? Will Lex build a LexCorp Tower in Metropolis? Will Chloe be working for the Planet?

We know that Clark and Lois Lane, who has not appeared yet, will work for the Planet. Some plot features have to be the same in any version of the story.

Smallville: Phoenix

Third Season

It only took two episodes to get everything nearly back to normal in Smallville. Lex wants to learn more from Lionel, which edges him closer to being Our Villain. He also moves closer to the Kents, which means that he is being pulled in opposite directions. Lex and Clark have been through comparable experiences and both have risen like Phoenixes.

It was good to see a spontaneous shootout between Lionel's and Edge's men. Did Edge drown in the harbor or survive, knowing as much as he does about Clark? So many people dance around the truth about Clark. Lex stole Clark's blood sample but did not have it analyzed and returned it to Helen. Lionel bought it from Helen and (must have) had it analyzed but did not know it was Clark's. Edge learned it was Clark's but did not tell Lionel. Helen, who knew, is whereabouts unknown.

I find Helen's sudden murderous villainy implausible after everything we knew about her. It confirms the Luthor view of the world, of course. Lionel was right about her all along. Yet again, Clark should trust Lana at the end but the story demands that he doesn't so the relationship between Clark and Lana should have been written differently to fit in better with the story.

We do not yet know what deal Jonathan made with Jor-El's technological ghost.