Smallville Review: Bad Daddy

Well, this week’s episode of Smallville wasted absolutely no time getting right into the thick of things. Mere seconds after a syndicated rerun of the godawful Two and a Half Men, the fiery Tess Mercer (Cassidy Freeman) walks into her office at the Daily Planet only to find dear old dad Lionel Luthor (John Glover) sitting behind her desk and running the show once again with zeal.

As we all know the real Lionel died back in Season 7 but earlier this season Clark found himself trapped in an alternate universe where Lionel still reigned supreme and the wily old bastard managed to sneak back to the “real world” along with Clark. After lying low for awhile he now seems poised to go public again by claiming that he previously faked his death. Luckily for him, stranger things have happened on this show so this is hardly unbelievable. Of more interest though is the fact that Lionel knows of the Lex clone that Tess was raising…and he wants him!

Meanwhile Senator Martha Kent (Annette O’Toole) has returned to Metropolis to campaign for the nationwide vote against the VRA and after giving a rousing speech to repeal the act, she is shot by a would-be assassin. In a storyline that could have easily hit too close to the Gabrielle Giffords tragedy in Arizona, producers take a much tamer route with Martha being saved by a bulletproof vest and simple arm wound. The bigger damage is done to Clark who is disturbed that his mom didn’t seek his protection before the campaign rally. In true Clark fashion he immediately goes on a quest for the killer.

In a search of the crime scene Clark and Oliver find one curious piece of evidence – shards of kryptonite that used to be in bullet form. This naturally means that the assassination attempt wasn’t so much political as it was personal. We were therefore not surprised when Lionel shows up at some slum-house across town to find the now teenage Lex clone (Lucas Grabeel of High School Musical fame) with kryptonite bullets in his possession. We learn that the real target of the assassination was actually Clark who Lex was counting on to zoom in front of the bullets to save Martha. Any good father would heap shame on the vengeful young lad so leave it to Lionel to do the opposite and pledge to help Lex (or Alexander as they call him) kill Clark once and for all.

Tess eventually warns Clark that Lionel is in town and suggests simply sending him to the Phantom Zone but Clark being Clark would rather take a more civil approach and wants to discuss it with Jor-El at the Fortress of Solitude first. So while Clark takes the more deliberate approach, his own mother storms into Luthor Mansion to confront the twisted father and clone son. Lionel at first  gets all pervy and creepy with her harking back to the mild flirtations they had back in Season Two but luckily backs down when she repels all of his advances. Just as she is about to leave though, Alexander knocks her unconscious and turns his anger toward Lionel who he doesn’t trust to love him more than Clark. In a fit of rage he knocks Lionel out too and sets Luthor Mansion on fire leaving daddy and Martha Kent to burn alive.

Alexander next shows up at the Kent farm where he menaces Clark and Tess with those pesky kryptonite bullets. Tess, as his quasi-mother, is able to talk him down long enough to get the gun away and allow Clark to dash off to save his mother and then, reluctantly, Lionel too. It remains unclear where Lionel can go from here but of more significance is the destruction of Luthor Mansion, which has been a major location for the entire series. The Luthors certainly have enough money to rebuild but something tells me that it now joins The Talon and Smallville High in retired set heaven.

While all of this was going on Lois stayed focused on her efforts to publish pro-vigilante articles leading up to the nationwide vote to repeal the VRA. With her efforts failing at The Daily Planet she turns to Martha who tells her how her boyfriend, Perry White, got his start printing pamphlets out of a storage unit. This inspires Lois to start her own guerilla campaign so she enlists Chloe to help her hack into every national news network and broadcast videos of citizens proclaiming their love and admiration for The Blur and other heroes that have been labeled as vigilantes by the VRA. These videos were actually submitted by real fans of the series and what could have come off really cheesy and half-baked actually turned out to be quite touching and nice. And what a treat for the fans who actually got accepted to be put on air. Consider me jealous.

The episode then ends with both good and bad news. Good news: The repeal of the VRA is passed by the national vote and is an obvious cause for celebration. Martha then even tells Clark it’s time to step out as a public hero although a certain disguise might be in order…(insert me: shaking and crying)

Bad news: Tess realizes that Alexander is indeed a danger to humanity and needs to be put down. She gets some poison and prepares to do him in while giving him a motherly embrace BUT upon plunging the injection into his neck she finds that the needle merely bends against his skin! That little shit is invincible! We should probably get nervous.

In news relating to the final eight episodes, rumors sprouted this week that Michael Rosenbaum is not going to be returning in any capacity as Lex Luthor for the series finale. I want so much for this to all be an elaborate ploy to mislead us only to have his appearance come as a complete surprise but…..I’m doubtful. It’s certainly disappointing that we may not see him onscreen again as Lex but no matter the outcome, the finale will be stupendous. I can promise you that.

Update: In greater news, Michael Rosenbaum has announced that he WILL be returning to Smallville for the show’s series finale.

Smallville: Season 10, Episode 13: “Beacon” (Originally aired February 11, 2011.)

Smallville airs Fridays at 8/7c on the CW.

Images courtesy of Jack Rowand and the CW.