PeterDavid.net

My friends and I have been joking for the past month that it would be Pete.

Just imagine, 44 minutes of absolute "ho-hum" boredom, and at the very end of the show, Clark gets a phonecall and finds out that Pete is dead. I would die laughing.

Since the producers have said that it would be someone whose name is in the opening credits every week, that rules out Dr. Costa, Krypto, or Pete. Lionel would be a good choice, except that the commercials have shown Clark as being upset standing at the grave. I doubt he'd be too distraught over Lionel's death. So, regretfully, we'll say goodbye to Chloe this week. Her death will inspire both Lois and Clark to pursue journalism as a career. And, maybe Allison Mack can get a job on Veronica Mars as Veronica's look-alike cousin, or something. Or, maybe she can finally do that play of Peter's that she read for before "Smallville" started.

I, for one, hope it is Lana. I think that, in this take on the legend, she has outlived her usefulness to the storyline. I really hope it is not Chloe as I love her relationship with Clark so much more since she found out who he is. Of course, it does look to me (from previews) that they are setting it up to be Lana, so I'm probably wrong. BTW, Peter, do you watch 24? I'd be interested to know your thoughts on it. It is the best show on TV, IMHO.

G-Dog

"The life of someone close to you will be exchanged for yours," Jor-El said. But what Clark doesn't realize is that Jor-El's command of English is still pretty rudimentary; he doesn't understand that certain words can have different connotations. Thus, "close to you", in this case, doesn't refer to emotional closeness, but geographical closeness.

In short, it'll be some guy standing next to Clark at Burger King.

Rick

Wasn't there was a rumor a year or so ago that if any series regular would not sign a long term contract and try to hold out for more money, they would be killed off. Maybe this is a ploy to see who will sign another contract. Whoever thinks they are getting too big for Smallville goes now.

I want it to be Lana, but I'm pretty sure Lionel and Jonathan are the ones to buy it.

Am I the only one who would love, in the middle of a special FX ladden fight scene, to see them cut away with the voice over: "Meanwhile, in Kansas City...". And we see Pete, sitting in a mansion, sipping a latte, reading the paper with a super model in his lap. He smiles, sighes a content sigh, and then we cut back to Clark fighting a Kryptonite powered moose or something......?

What? I am the only one? Oh....sorry for the bother....

Cast my vote for Pa Kent. His death would be another reason to keep Clark in Smallville for another season.

If not Clark, could it be the death of Jor-El or the Jor-El program?

Lionel would be a good choice, except that the commercials have shown Clark as being upset standing at the grave. I doubt he'd be too distraught over Lionel's death.

I think Clark would be upset if Lionel died so he could live. Clark would probably feel responsible.

Wouldn't know who to bet on.

STILL boycotting every single WB show since they canceled ANGEL and then added the ol' insult to the injury by making snarky comments during the process.

I saw something a while ago that listed the number of shows that have failed in ANGEL's old time slot since the axe.

It was a VERY long list.

The WB sucks. Can't wait to HEAR how they screw up
AQUAMAN (LAD)!

Isn't Ma Kent supposed to be very important for Clark to become Superman, creating the costume that he wears?

I don't think it's going to be Chloe. We'veall been expecting her to buy it since day one. It's too obvious. Tom welling was quoted as saying he thought it would be one of two characters, and was shocked to find it was neither of them. I'd have bet on Chloe or Lionel, but now, I don't know.

I doubt it's going to be Pete, because a recent interview with one of the producers revealed that they've been trying to get Sam Jones III in for a guest appearance since he left the show, but have never beenable to coordinate schedules, and now, they doubt they're ever going to bother. Seems odd, since I met him at MegaCon last year and he said he'd love to come back, and his IMDB listing doesn't show him as being particularly busy (a recurring role on ER, a recent guest shot on 7th Heaven, and an appearance in the current film Glory Road), but that's the party line.

I'm going to guess Jonathan, especially since John Schneider is appearing at MegaCon this year - weird for a star of an ongoing series to be free in late February, when they should be gearing up to shoot season finales and such...

Here's my prediction and I predicted this back in season one;

Chole dies, and it's Lex that kills her. That puts the final nail in Clark and Lex's friendship and sets everything up for Metropolis and Supes vs Lex.

More to the point, to honor Chole, Clark becomes an investigative reporter and returns to Metropolis. And there, the games begin.

Of course, what puts a glaring hole in an otherwise perfect theory is that Lois is already present.

LANA LANG--10-1. Yes, she's in current continuity, but that doesn't mean anything. Plus if Clark proposes and she accepts, she's toast. Which leads us to conclude that either she accepts and dies, or she says no and lives. Bottom line, I suspect the latter.

LOIS LANE--Quadrillion to Zero minus 5. Now for all I know the guys in the "Smallville" offices are chortling and saying, "They'll never see THIS coming." But I suspect we don't see it coming because it ain't coming. No fricking way.

I don't know. if "The Batman." can skip Robin and go straight to Batgirl, Lois may be the one who's superfluous.

My bet as to who dies: Lana

Lana has outlived her usefulness. Clark and her finally got together and now are on separate paths. Because he fears of his powers could kill her, he hasn't been that close to her and she has been sticking around Lex more and more. In the latest ad, she is in a car with Lex when there appears to be an accident. While there isn't a sign of Lex at the funeral, the grave area does look like the area Lana's parents are buried at. Plus, wouldn't it just break Clark's heart if Lana's last words were words of love toward Lex?

Of course, the ad and all that just could be a red herring.

About that time-travel trick from the first Superman film: just how was that supposed to work again? How exactly does making the earth spin 'backwards' reverse the flow of time, and making it go forward make time flow 'correctly' agian? If Supes had some sort of magical item/spell he used in conjunction withe the reverse spin, or some time-travel doo-dad on hand, this would have gone down better with me. As it is it was never spelled out how it was supposed to work that I recall. Even comic-book science needs SOME sort of explanation for it to work right.

Chris

KRYPTONESIA

http://groups.google.com/group/alt.tv.smallville/msg/c2b5a27ae6e9ae4f?hl=en&

Kryptonite is so widespread in Smallville, everyone has to breath trace amounts (perhaps explaining why Clark's powers are so limited in town, why his superspeed or superhearing doesn't always kick in.

OR

Someone releases a massive of kryptonite in the air and exposes everyone, triggering the mutant effect and affecting the brains of the Smallvillians--except for the Kents who are held captive or out of town, whatever, explaining why they will remember Clark when the rest don't.

A variation could be they don't remember the last several years, so they remember Clark--as a child--but can't remember his current more adult face. Thus explaining why Supes doesn't need to wear a mask.

-- Ken from Chicago

Ah, but you're forgetting the dies-and-is-replaced-by-a-clone option. Lex has been replaced by a clone at least once in comics canon, so that's quite possible for him, and even for Lois or Lana. I don't think either of those three will die *unless* they're replaced by a clone.

Although actually . . . The overarching purpose of this season of SV IMHO is to launch the movie "Superman Returns". That movie is supposed to pick up more or less after the Superman II movie. For Clark in SR to be mostly emotionally focussed on Lois, perhaps *both* Chloe and Lana need to be dead or lost to him.

I hope one of them gets to survive and be Lex's Sexy Evil Minion, because that's a fun job. Chloe in particular deserves some sexy happiness as she helps Lex try to rule the world, bwa-ha-ha-ha.

I'm voting for a twofer--both Pa and Lionel. Their deaths and the way each boy reacts to those deaths would again play out the nice contrasts between Lex and Clark

One possible clue that points to Pa's death--the election. I don't see either Kent or Lex actually being a senator so the best way out is to have Kent win and then get whacked.

Lana - lex brings her back as Matrix Supergirl.

How about a double tragedy? Jonathan wins the Senate seat ... only to die of a heart attack in the ensuing euphoria, leaving the way clear for Lex. Question being, are the writers mean-spirited enough to do it? I'm hoping not, but ...

How about this: it is Lois (she did not show up in the Christmas episode) and Chloe decides to honor her by taking "Lois" as her pen name. I am sure they can easily give her amnesia later.

I think it will be Chloe and I hate that. She is, by far, my favorite character on the show, even more than Clark.

I can almost guarantee Lionel is safe. I think the very last episode of Smallville will see Clark and Lex take those final steps to become who we all know them to be. Clark will put on the costume and I think Lex will kill Lionel with his bare hands as the final push over the edge.

I agree with PAD. It's Chloe. She's not in ANY future continuity and her death would make a big impact on Clark. Plus, have you ever noticed how any character that finds about his powers either leaves (Pete) or dies (too many to mention). Of course, Lana (at least in continuity) finds out about his powers, totally freaks (which drives Clark away), but is later okay with it. She also later for Lex, too.

My vote is for Chloe. period.

Trace

BLAST.

The last sentence in the first paragraph should read.

"She also later WORKS for Lex, too."

Trace

"How about a double tragedy? Jonathan wins the Senate seat ... only to die of a heart attack in the ensuing euphoria, leaving the way clear for Lex. "

How bout Jonathon wins the Senate seat, then dies, and the governor appoints Martha into his seat. That would make some good TV.

I wondered about the "geographic solution" too. Does it have to be someone Clark cares about, or simply someone he's standing close to?

Anyway, my guess is Lana, who will later be resurrected using Braniac and black kryptonite, or some other such method.

Count me among the "it says someone dies...doesn't say they stay dead" camp.

I'm afraid for Chloe...in addition to being unique to the show from the comics continuity, she's been tossing out some "signing the death certificate for the character" lines lately, like, "I'd die before I'd give up your secret."

There is the idea that it'll be Lois, and Chloe will assume her identity as a pen name, but the producers have been pretty adamant since the one time Chloe used Lois' name for a byline that that won't happen.

I'm hoping for Lana, and continuity be damned. She's been the most annoying character to me since the first episode, and she gets worse with each passing episode. Some have said that if, as it appears, Clark spills the beans to her it makes Chloe superfluous...but, it also makes Lana superfluous.

But, my money's on Jonathan and/or Lionel. Lionel's also a two-fer, if he's still housing Jor-El's consciousness.

Posted by Elf with a gun:
About that time-travel trick from the first Superman film: just how was that supposed to work again? How exactly does making the earth spin 'backwards' reverse the flow of time, and making it go forward make time flow 'correctly' agian? If Supes had some sort of magical item/spell he used in conjunction withe the reverse spin, or some time-travel doo-dad on hand, this would have gone down better with me. As it is it was never spelled out how it was supposed to work that I recall. Even comic-book science needs SOME sort of explanation for it to work right.

Fans have complained about this scene for over twenty-five years, but I personally find it easier to take if you can find it in your heart to not take it literally. Then, it's not that Superman by spinning the Earth backward; it's more like the spinning-the-Earth backward is a visual metaphor on the part of the movie-makers to connote time travel. (As I'm fond of pointing out, Silver Age comics used to convey time travel by showing Superman whizzing past the numbers of the passing years; are we to think that there are literally year markers posted along the timeline like temporal Burma Shave signs?)

That may not be satisfying for you, but it works for me. What's come to bug me most about the end of that Superman movie isn't how Superman travelled back in time. It's that once he goes back in time, he doesn't really do anything--at least, not anything useful, exciting, or interesting--to change history. So what's the point?

End digression...back to Smallville speculation...

If they kill off Lana, wouldn't this be starting the "James Bond" syndrome, where anyone who has sex, or comes close to having sex, with the star dies? Clark and Lana get it on (and who else was surprised Pa Kent was more upset over it than Martha Kent?), then she dies. Clark almost came to having sex with that blonde teleporter (and the sight of her in the wedding-night outfit still brings a warm feeling to my... heart), then she's killed off a few episodes later. It's a scary precedent if Lana snuffs it.

As for the person who wondered about Superman flying around the earth and reversing time, I refer you to the wonderful Seanbaby Superfriends page, mocking the old CHALLENGE OF THE SUPERFRIENDS cartoon http://www.seanbaby.com/super.htm . While all the entries are great -- love Aquaman and Hawkman especially -- they observe this about Superman: "Spinning around was Superman's favorite problem solver. If he ever had a doubt as to what to do to something, or it didn't respond to a bad speech, he'd fly around it as fast as he could. If a black hole was coming towards earth, he'd fly around it until it, you know, left into another dimension. This Spin-Around-It theory of physics was discovered by one of the animation studio's night janitorial staff when he happened upon some scripts and then changed all the words around so they were more retarded. His groundbreaking theories, however, are backed by common phenomenon. You might have noticed how after 300 laps at the Indy 500, all the puppets in the center of the track become real boys. Or sometimes, unexplainably remain normal puppets. That's because Spin-Around-It physics are as unpredictable as a stablehand's forbidden passions."

I think Jor-El is being misunderstood here. The one consistent thing about his portrayal is that he always comes off as a much bigger jerk than he really is, and people believe the worst of him.

"Someone close to you will die" is not a threat, not a punishment. It's a prediction. Because Clark blew it and had to be brought back, there will come a time when he WOULD have been able to save someone close to him, but now CAN'T. Lots of possible reasons. Maybe he never got the chance to learn to fly, which will mean the difference. Maybe Jor-El was planning to use his power to help out later, but now no longer has the reserves left to do it. Maybe the simple fact that Clark was in the wrong place at the right time means he already missed his chance to save someone (i.e. he would have caught Pa with his meds or something).

I'd also like to point out that the gravesite scenes from the previews could easily be the Sheriff's funeral, which Clark would definitely feel guilty over. The new death in this week's ep could happen as the final scene, or could result in a second funeral that Clark doesn't feel so guilty at (bookend the ep with graves, whee!). The people who put together the previews love to take scenes out of context.

I don't follow the show anymore, but have caught the last 2 episodes. So the following comments should be taken with a grain of salt and my ignorance of many facts simply kept in mind.

Clark would be upset if one or both of the following conditions were met:

1) Lionel died as a result of Clark failing to rescue him.

2) More importantly, Jor-El made it known that he is still in Lionel's head and gives Clark a farewell meessage. Lionel dying would potentially mean Clark losing Jor-El as well.

The "Time Travel" scene in the first Superman movie didn't bother me quite as much as as the "Huge-Honkin' Cellophane Logo of Death" scene in Superman II.

As for "Smallville," I'd have to say that killing off Jonothan or Chloe at this point would be kind of anti-climactic. Pa Kent seems to have been on death's door since season 2 or 3 and Chloe's "death" was already done with the season 3 cliffhanger. To me if either of them bites it, it would seem a little on the "ho-hum" side.

Re: Death in the Family (so to speak)
It could be Lois, or this Lois, who may not be the one in "continuity"... I'm betting on Chloe myself. Pity, too, because she is the most likable of the series characters.

Have Lois be the one who dies.

Wait a minute

Yeah, Lois dies, Lana falls for Lex, Clark can't take it.
Then Cloe takes the pen name of Lois Lane in honor of her cousin.

And then Cloe (the best part of the show next to lex) can have her dream come true when clark marries her. And they live happy ever after.

yep thats it

This is too easy guys. The producers of the show have never, ever read a Superman comic. They only know the character through the movies, so it will be Jonathan. This whole season has been a take on the first Superman movies. The only suprise is the second death.

Also, don't be shocked when Lana dies as has been hyped in all the trailers recently, only to have the old time travle routine be brought back so she can be brought back causing Jonathan's death. They have stolen the Fortress, no-powered Superman who can then make love to an earth woman, and other things from the movie, why not the lame time travel part as well.

Sorry, that was the worst part of the movie to me because if Superman could do that, then in essence he could never fail. If Jor-El can go back and change time, why not do the same for the fate of Krypton, etc.

And for the record, I agree with Peter, this Jor-El is arrogant and my feeling is deserves to be the one who dies, no one else.

Looking at the stills from the commerical, it really seems like it is Lana who dies. (The commericals also seem to show Lana accepting the ring.) However, that could just be throwing out a serious misdirection clue. I do think it will either be Lana or Jonathan, only where did they get the red SUV? The driver is in a vechile that I don't recognize being on the show before.

Here's my off the wall theory--Lois dies; but Chloe body switches with her. Now the old theory that Chloe becomes Lois is back.

KIP

While I'd hate to see Chloe be the one taking the dirt nap, I did have the thought that at her funeral, shouldn't some of her Daily Planet collegues show up? Maybe Perry White and that photographer named Jim she got it on with last summer?

A couple interesting ideas:

>>"Someone close to you will die" is not a threat, not a punishment. It's a prediction. Because Clark blew it and had to be brought back, there will come a time when he WOULD have been able to save someone close to him, but now CAN'T. Lots of possible reasons. Maybe he never got the chance to learn to fly, which will mean the difference.>>

>>It could be Lois, or this Lois, who may not be the one in "continuity"... I'm betting on Chloe myself. Pity, too, because she is the most likable of the series characters.>>

I wouldn't want any of the characters to die. I absolutely love Lana to the point I wish it was her and not Lois the one Clark stayed with but of course that's not how it is in the story.

I'm thinking it will be either Chloe or Pa Kent. If it is Pa Kent it will destroy the beautiful perfect family micro-heavenly world that Clark has and that has become part of the definition of Superman's character, ever since the first "Crisis" at DC. I thought it was nice how the last two TV series have used this. I remember the pre-crisis Superman and the movie Superman was a darker character, more believable at relating with Batman because of the death of her father and her mother staying behind alone running a farm by herself, no husband and her only son gone to the big city. I like that change on Superman, his naivity and optimism in life has a root on that happy old couple that is still living together and I'm hoping so much WB not to break it in this show.

The second likely character to go will be Chloe. I didn't use to like Chloe but she has grow on me, specially after demonstrating what a good friend and human being she is. The dialogue she had with Clark after finding out his secret in the hospital was just beautiful. I'm hoping she is not the one who dies but if they are trying to stay close to the comic book, since she is a tv series original, she could be the one. I will miss her.

Then the third choice would be Lana. If it is Lana, I bet she will be brought back and her return will be something done in an interesting way that will be slowly built through clues in a bunch of episodes and will be probably a surprise at the end of this season or the beginning of the next, or who knows maybe at the end of the next season. I love Lana but we all know important dead characters makes you crave the most for them after they have been dead for awhile and sometime add some angst, mystery, interest and expectation into the series.

"How about this: it is Lois (she did not show up in the Christmas episode) and Chloe decides to honor her by taking "Lois" as her pen name."

Well, that was the theory I tossed out ages ago before Lois was introduced: That Chloe was the future Lois Lane, taking her cousin's name as a byline for some reason.

"Fans have complained about this scene for over twenty-five years, but I personally find it easier to take if you can find it in your heart to not take it literally."

I was just joking around about it. It's flat-out impossible to take it literally. The only thing that's keeping everyone and everything on this planet is the Earth's rotation; if it's slowed or stopped, we all go flying off into space, and I'm pretty sure that the planet breaks apart too.

PAD

Ya know what, I am with you that the most obvious choice is Chloe, and I think it may be, but my second choice if you thinnk they are going to throw the curve ball is Lionel. They may not be "close" but if ANYONE dies in clark's place I promise you he'll be riddled with guilt. Besides with that pay out and my personal belief that he is choice number 2 I won't pass that bet up.

I don't think it's Lionel, because LEX is the one that has to kill Lionel to cement for himself and others that he is the rightful heir to the Luthor legacy. Unless it's some kind of morality play where Clark arrives too late to save Lionel from Lex, and Lex gets off with a self-defense explanation or something.

In the end, it really boils down to how much connection the producers have or want with the comics in which character may be permanently written out. On the other hand, if you think about it, the things that happen in the show might wind up being mirrored by the ongoing "Infinite Crisis" storyline in the comics leading up to the movie's release this summer. That'd be a kick in the pants if the comics retconned themselves to the show and movie (assuming it's connected to the show) continuity, now wouldn't it?

It's flat-out impossible to take it literally. The only thing that's keeping everyone and everything on this planet is the Earth's rotation; if it's slowed or stopped, we all go flying off into space, and I'm pretty sure that the planet breaks apart too.

Huh? You mean it's when the playground spinner stops that the kids start feeling the centrifugal force?

I've reread that several times and it still sounds like you're serious, but I have to assume you're kidding.

50 gazillion dollars on pa kent.

Chloe seems like the obvious one, but there are good arguements for it to be Lana. Losing Lana would pave the way for a future with Lois. Still, the previews seem to be pointing to Lana too hard.

I find it slightly ironic that there will be a major death on Smallville this week and it was just announced that the WB will be no more. It will be merged with UPN to form a new network.

http://www.thefutoncritic.com/cgi/pr.cgi?id=20060124cw01

Neil

I find this merger news encouraging Neil. (UPN + WB = CW).

I just hope that the same morons running/ruining the WB don't have much say in the new entity. If so, they'll banish VERONICA MARS to the boneyard-- which would be an ANGEL level mistake.

The PTB might also want to take a look at "un" canceling 7TH HEAVEN-- after complaining the show was getting "too expensive". I never watched the series but after almost 10 years it is supposed to be the WB's second highest rated effort.

Seems like a combined NETWORK would want to COMBINE the BEST (and highest rated) FARE that each has to offer.

It'll be fun watching this train wreck.

Imagine MARVEL & DC merging!

If my limited (just kidding...I'm a geek) knowledge of the Superman legend is correct. Superman traveled in time by either flying around the earth (faster than light) clockwise to go into the future...counterclockwise to go into the past. In the movie I always thought he was just flying counter clockwise. I never thought he was actually reversing the rotation.

I'd agree with you ERBFan, but they show the Earth's rotation slow down and go into reverse.

Anyway, about the death, please, please, please let it be Clark and end this travesty of a show.

Yes that is how they show it. I just always took it as time being rewound.

"The only thing that's keeping everyone and everything on this planet is the Earth's rotation; if it's slowed or stopped, we all go flying off into space, and I'm pretty sure that the planet breaks apart too."

Um, in case you were serious, no. Gravity is what keeps us on the planet, and that has to do with large masses distorting the space-time continuum, not rotation. Just as a quick counter-example, Martian gravity is much less than Earth gravity, despite having only a slightly longer day (i.e. slightly slower rotation speed). And given that for a long time astronomers thought Mercury didn't revolve and always kept one face towards the Sun (turned out, as I recall, there were similar surface features such that they were looking at different parts of the planet but not realizing it), it'd seem there's nothing intrinsic in a planet not revolving that would cause it to break apart.

Now, causing rotation to suddenly come to a stop/reverse to the same rate, yeah, that'd cause some damage. But from the rapid change, not it just not rotating.

The bit that bothers me about the "another must die" bit is that if it happened right after or during Clark's resurrection, it'd make sense. But waiting weeks? Can't you just grab a random life force from some traffic accident in Kansas if you really need one then?

Have to guess it'll be someone other than Lana (my personal choice; the character's not really worked for the last few seasons) or Pa just because they've been dropping so many hints about them as possibles. Hope it's not Chloe.

I'm going to jump on the Lois dies and Chloe takes her name ship.
It's not that I actually think it'll happen, it's just that my love for Allison Mack knows no bounds and I will throw my shoes at anyone who would conspire to take her off the show.

Also, where have the producers said that they wouldn't go the route of having chloe become Lois? I hadn't heard this before and have kinda been expecting it since Chloe first said she used her cousin's name as a pen name.

Now, having read it on the internet, I think that Superman actually went back in time, and this was supposed be suggested by the visual of the earth rotating backwards. I don't thnk that this caught on with the general public, as everyone seems to think that he simply reversed the rotation of the earth. I didn't see this until someone pointed it out on another message board.

And my vote for the death on Smallville: The Clark identity dies as the primary and Superman emerges.

I'm really starting to hope that it's Chloe. By the way you guys talk, maybe you'll stop watching the show then, and it'll get cancelled.

From the "Watch With Kristin" chat transcript at eonline.com:

From snarkycole: Do you know who dies this week on Smallville? Please, tell me Chloe's safe...That's all I really need to know.

I'm pretty sure she's safe. I asked Al Gough why people always assume it's Chloe, and he said, "I think because she wasn't part of the original mythology, people always assume it's going to be her. She and Lana seem the best bets because we created them. But we have altered the mythology before, and this death doesn't necessarily have to play into what happens later on. And we love Allison Mack."

(So they think they created Lana? Weird.)

But I suspect Chloe lives.

Also, I suspect Smallville survives the UPN/WB merger and is part of the line-up on The CW. The shows mentioned in all the stories/press releases are Smallville, Veronica Mars, Gilmore Girls, America's Next Top Model, Everybody Hates Chris, Supernatural, Reba, WWE Smackdown, Girlfriends and Beauty and the Geek. Therefore, it's practically a no-brainer that those shows are safe. I'd be more suspicious about the shelf life of the shows that were NOT mentioned, like Everwood, One Tree Hill, Eve, etc.

There is always the old trick (used on one occasion by PAD) that "die" isn't always permanent, with modern medicine. IE, someone could be clinically dead, then be revived.

That would also be the Cop-out of the century, but they could do it.

STILL boycotting every single WB show since they canceled ANGEL and then added the ol' insult to the injury by making snarky comments during the process

Don't worry, as someone already posted, WB ceases to exist this fall. And you'll be able to watch CW in good faith since CW never cancelled Angel and hasn't (yet) been snarky about anything.

Put me in the "It's not Chloe" camps because 1) She is the too obvious choice and 2) Technically, they've already killed her off once before, so it would be cheap to do it a second time.

My bet is either Jonathan or Lionel. Lionel is my first bet for one simple reason: The character is rapidly becoming superfluous. Before, he was the bad influence that Lex struggled to live down. But now, Lex is in control of the company and is already on the path towards the dark side, so what purpose does Lionel serve?

I'm guessing that Jor-El takes over Lionel's body again and then sacrifices both of their lives to save Clark. So, Clark feels bad about losing Jor-El just as he was finally coming to understand him.

Unless it's ratings plummet now that it's back, Veromica Mars is safe. As Julio said, it's one of the shows metioned in the Press Release. Plus it's always been more of a WB show than a UPN one. Plus it's the critical darling of TV.

I saw one theory that Lana dies first, is brought back to life, but then Jonathan dies in a surprise at the end. That doesn't feel right to me, but one way or another some of the people here are going to be surprised.

Neil

I'm guessing that Jor-El takes over Lionel's body again and then sacrifices both of their lives to save Clark. So, Clark feels bad about losing Jor-El just as he was finally coming to understand him.

That's actually a great solution...I hope they are smart enough to do it.

EINSTEIN aka Krypto???? I thought the dog's name was Shelby? Where's marty McFly when you need him?

I don't think anyone else has mentioned, but the producers have already stated that not only will a major opening-credit character die, but another will also "leave the show".

My bet is the Chloe becomes Lois deal for the death. I also bet the Jonathan wins the election and moves to the capital, leaving Martha and Clark to run the farm.

Daniel

(Apologies if someone's already said this - I deliberately didn't read the other comments or the main post.)

PAD, any chance you could hide this behind a link? The UK is a bit behind the US at the moment (only 3 episodes into season 5 as of today), so I'd prefer to avoid spoilers. I don't like to tell/ask you what to write in your own blog, but it's probably not too flattering if people load up the main page and then say "Aargh! Aaargh!" while throwing their hands up to block the screen...

My first thought is like many other posters have mentioned: Lois dies, but Chloe writes under an assumed name (Lois), and gets published. I like that idea, but don't think it's going to hold water.

More likely is Pa Kent.

What really bugs me is that you can see this coming. That is, a death. But I remember seeing Lana getting broadsided in an SUV.

I don't think we're thinking big enough. It's episodes 100. I think the producers want *big*. And since less is more, I think even more than we're aware will occur. And we're aware of at least one death.

I'd look for a major change to Lex. I'm thinking, turning point for the character.

We shall see.

RLR

I'm thinking Jonathan Kent. The comments he made about making a deal with the devil and having to pay in the last episode. Also after all the financial trouble his family has been in he finally sold that back 40 land? It's like he had a premomition. "Well I can't leave Martha and Clark with all this money trouble and land to take care of. I know my numbers about up. "

The promos have been focused heavily on Clark and Lana's relationship and really pusing that Lana would die which means she'll make it out of the episode alive. I wouldn't be suprised if she ends up with a case of forgetfulness and forgets everything they showed her and Clark discussing in the previews though.

Lionel isn't close enough to Clark and they said "Someone close to Clark will die". Lex will have to kill Lionel eventually probably.

Chloe would probably be most people's pics but there's a way they could incorporate her character into the comics and not have to do any rewriters or altering of histories. They'd have to retroactively add to it though and explain where she's been all these years.

Back last season we learn Chloe's mom is in a mental institution and what she has is hereditary. So if the series were to end with Chloe in the mental institution ...
We get a Superman story where we find out Clark has been visiting his high school friend who just happens to be Lois cousin on a regular basis since she was admitted. Chloe is cured and joins the cast at the Daily Planet.

The backstory though would have to be partially different from Smallville though. I mean Lois always met Clark at the Daily Planet and not Smallville in the comics.

Oh and I guess there's Martha but I figure Jonthan is the most likely of the two

Lots of interesting ideas here.

I think that Lana is going to die in ep 100.

Then, a few eps down the road, we find out that it wasn't ACTUALLY Lana, it was Braniac, who had taken Lana's place to mess around with Lex's Great Ship Experiment (not to mention messing with Clark's head).

Lana was placed into suspended animation in the ship around the time that Clark "destroyed" Braniac.

This gives them the great death they've been advertising, without significantly changing continuity, and fits the info that James M. is coming back later in the season.

(I hope that's what happens, anyway. I think it would be neat. *Grin*)

PAD posted:

"The only thing that's keeping everyone and everything on this planet is the Earth's rotation; if it's slowed or stopped, we all go flying off into space, and I'm pretty sure that the planet breaks apart too."

Not entirely correct - if the planet suddenly stopped rotating, then it would indeed break apart, and THAT would be why we'd all fly off into space. But, if I remember my astronomy lessons right (and freely admit that I might not, btw), then it's the Earth's mass itself that produces the gravity field - the larger the mass, the larger the gravitational force. The rotation has little or nothing to do with it. Venus has a "day" that is shorter than its "year", but it still has gravity close to Earth-normal because of its mass. Remember that centrifugal force is not the same as gravity, though it will likely one day be used to simulate it in the dark reaches of space...

As to the scene itself, I like the idea that Supes was travelling so fast, he warped time around himself, and the backward-spinning planet was more of a visual cue than a literal event. If not, then we can simply chalk it up to one ridiculous event in an otherwise outstanding motion picture.

>>I'd look for a major change to Lex. I'm thinking, turning point for the character.>>

Lex gets an afro and is replaced by carrot top in the series.

Pa Kent go bye bye.

Good Lord, someone actually realizes how "appalling" this concept is. Bless you for that. What kind of superhero lets someone die for him -- worse, lets his biological father/supposed-to-be mentor KILL someone for him? In all that's been written on the subject, seems like hardly anyone bothers to bring up this inconvenient point.

Who should die? I vote for Jason Todd! And I'll pony up my 99¢ to put my money where my mouth is.

While we're all worrying about this, Muslim extremists are adopting funny names:

http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2006/jan/25/yehey/top_stories/20060125top7.html

MILF renews hunt for Sayyaf, Jemaah

Ok, it stands for The Moro Islamic Liberation Front and while I applaud their efforts to battle al-Qaeda, they really need to get a better name before they become charter members of Organizations Totally Unclear About The Concept Of Acronyms (SPECTRE).

Yes, All is SAFE for ANGEL lovers at the new CW Network.

First thing Les Moonves did was toss snarky ANGEL hater Garth Ancier out on his ear and put the UPN's head honcho in his place.

No "Co-presidents of production"... No nothing-- for Garth.

See ya, Garth... Don't let the door hit your talentless ass on the way out.

My favorite headline of the day about the merger?

"Warner Bros. and Viacom join forces to form 5th Place Network!"

(Maybe now I can watch SMALLVILLE and see what everybody's been talking about for the last several years!)

DIE LANA!

My prediction: Chloe. Which I would hate. I really like her right now.

Why? Because the car in the crash in the previews sure looks like hers! Because Lana dieing would ruin the Lex/Lana/Clark triangle, and they have yet to milk that. (Though if Lex were to blame Clark for some reason, they could try.) Because Jonathan or Martha would take away the tension about the senate race too soon. (Though Jonathan is my second guess after Chloe -- she survives the car crash and he dies of "natural causes.)

I do agree the logic that someone close to Clark must die is beyond lame. The only way they might get away with it is if somehow Jor El is not causing it but simply saying Clark's refusal to obey earlier set wheels in motion that could not be stopped. But that would be really stretching things.

Iowa Jim

I think its going to be Clark's unborn child. While he was "human", he had relations with Lana to produce the pregnancy unknown to both at present. Jor-el will take that away.

My guess? Clark Kent.

Think about it. It worked before for DC. He would be resurrected. (In a forthcoming feature film, please note.) And since Jor-El was talking about "a person close to you," well, who's closer to Kal-El than Clark Kent?

And what happens between the rest of the season and the feature film? What a perfect place to have Sea-Man, or whoever that new character is going to be, try out his powers by subbing for Kal.

I just find it amazing that the people here believe that the producers of the show give two sheckels for what any of us think. We're not the main audience for this show. We're too smart for their taste. They want Joe Sixpack Junior - not the dad, but the son who buys the CD's of whatever crummy singers they throw on the soundtrack that week.

i think pa kent and the end of season....is chloe
will die

Because the car in the crash in the previews sure looks like hers!

Oh God, please, anything but a car crash. Cars should be OUTLAWED in Smallville. I can't smoke in a bar in New York but the people of Smallville still drive freely, cutting a swath of crashy death in their wake.

I think its going to be Clark's unborn child.

Well, that would beat the alternative, which would involve a very messy death for Lana somewhere in the second trimester. If you've seen Humanoids From The Deep you know what I mean.

I think its going to be Clark's unborn child.

That might be the second death, but, unless they add the unborn child to the opening credits Thursday ("pulling a Joss" a la adding Amber Benson to Buffy's opening credits on her final episode), it wouldn't fit the information that's been given...that it will be a series regular who's in the opening credits.

"Not entirely correct - if the planet suddenly stopped rotating, then it would indeed break apart, and THAT would be why we'd all fly off into space. But, if I remember my astronomy lessons right (and freely admit that I might not, btw), then it's the Earth's mass itself that produces the gravity field - the larger the mass, the larger the gravitational force. The rotation has little or nothing to do with it. Venus has a "day" that is shorter than its "year", but it still has gravity close to Earth-normal because of its mass. Remember that centrifugal force is not the same as gravity, though it will likely one day be used to simulate it in the dark reaches of space..."

Why would the planet break apart? There's plenty of celesital bodies with low or no spin that seem to be plenty non-break-apartable.

Centrifugal force can be used to simulate gravity, but not on a sphere. Unless you're walking on the inside of the outer edge of the sphere. The rotation of the Earth is constantly trying to throw all us little peeps on it off, as well as break the whole mess apart. The physical mass of the planet, including a super-dense core of whatever...magma, liquid iron, Twinky filling...creates a gravitational force strong enough to keep us rooted to the surface, as well as preventing all the gas and water from being flung into space.

As for dying...personally, I'd go with Lois. But the whole Chloe takes on Lois' name at the planet to honor her tragically dead cousin take is so prevelant on the internet that the PTB won't go that route. That leave Lana, Pa, or Ma Kent. Or maybe Ma Kent's dad, who I think Clark took a shine to.

And how lame was it that Ma Kent went to Lionel for underhanded money before hitting her dad up? You'd think that her old man would be doing cartwheels over Bo Kent getting out of the farming business and into something he could support for his daughter.

Why would the planet break apart? There's plenty of celesital bodies with low or no spin that seem to be plenty non-break-apartable.

Well, there are plenty of cars that aren't moving either but if one of them goes from 1,000 mph to zero in 10 seconds it doesn't look very pretty...it looks like something somebody might have driven in Smallville.

Actually, I don't know if the Earth's bedrock would be badly damaged but considering the atmosphere would keep right on going at 1000 mph at the equator I'm guessing you would not want to be outside flying a kite.

Re: Bill Mulligans post about MILF
First laugh of the morning. Thanks.

"Well, there are plenty of cars that aren't moving either but if one of them goes from 1,000 mph to zero in 10 seconds it doesn't look very pretty...it looks like something somebody might have driven in Smallville."

Oh, y'all were talking about how if the planet SUDDENLTY stopped rotating. Yes, in that case, things would be pretty disastrous. On the other hand, we'd all get to experience what space was REALLY like.

I'm just amazed that somebody else has seen "Humanoids From The Deep".

Not especially surprised that it's Bill, though.

And to add my physics voice to the chorus, rotation's got nothing to do with us remaining on Earth. In fact, if the Earth spun up sufficiently fast you wouldn't be able to stay standing at the equator -- you'd float off on a tangential path. I've always thought that there's a good story hiding in the idea of a planet where you can stay on the ground at the poles, but feel lighter as you head towards the equator until you just lift off at some point.

TWL

The part that gets me is everyone thinking that Jor-El is going to kill anyone... The only character that said Jor-El was going to kill was Clark, which is certainly not what Jor-El said, and would be another in a long line of things Jor-El has said that have been misintrepreted.

The statement made was that someone has to die in order for Clark to live again. It's a simple matter of keeping the balance. Jor-El was simply giving a warning that the balance will be kept, not that he's going to have any part in it's keeping. Jor-El won't have a hand in it, he gets to watch and see who it will be just like everyone else does.

That being said, I think everyone may just be right about the fact that the commercials leading up to this are pushing Lana dying just a bit too hard. That really is the only detail that would lead me to think that it won't be her though... Her death would push Lex farther over the edge, Clark always needs more things to come to terms with apparently, and a good death of someone currently vital to the storyline always tends to bring more story ideas to the table.

In the comics Lana didn't serve as all that important a future role. She ends up marrying Pete when he serves as Lex's vice president. Which is all outside the scope of the timeline the series is supposed to cover. No real reason for them to keep to original stories.

I do hesitate to mention this last point, because a lot of people don't like to read the spoiler sites, so if you don't want to know for sure, don't read any farther into this post. It's pretty sure that Chloe is safe though, since she's definately scheduled to be in episodes following this one. Which of course could just be rumor to throw us off the trail, but enough of the spoiler sites seem to back that up, that it seems reliable.

Man, Kypto would rule. He gets Kryptonian Rabbies, goes on a mass rampage, forcing Clark to take him down. Cue lots of sad music and longing looks. Like the end of, uh, that movie. In which the dog has rabbies.

"Good Lord, someone actually realizes how "appalling" this concept is. Bless you for that. What kind of superhero lets someone die for him -- worse, lets his biological father/supposed-to-be mentor KILL someone for him?"

I'm going to have to go with one of the previous posts, and predict that this won't be a punitive act of Jor-El's, but a consequence of Clark's actions...I guess we'll see tomorrow.

As for the physics, and the earth suddenly stopping short - Depends how it happened, but if any mechanism existed for that sort of thing, I'd have to imagine the everything on the surface of the earth would be simultaneously decelerated too, so we might not even notice, except for lack of the night/day cycle.

Re: the Cellophane Shield - "Wow, that was a minor inconvenience." "That's the idea, slowed you down, didn't it?" "Sure did."

Well, up until recently I was convinced that it would be Chloe, but now I have a sinking feeling it's going to be Jonathan Kent. Which really sucks!

I'm probably waaaay off base, but what if it's Kal-El? That is, not Clark but Clark's Red-K self? Is it any different than when they said Clark would never fly (but Kal-El did)? Another idea. Not trying to be morbid (for lack of a better word) but was it established what happened to Christopher Reeve's character? Had he died, or was he just 'listed as MIA'? One final idea? What about Jor-El? Maybe he dies (again)? I'm still guessing Chloe, then Jonathan or Martha, then Lionel and finally Lana. Hey, maybe they'll do a radical departure and kill off the whole cast and just do stories about Smallville Kansas. Say, the mailman or the convenience store clerk or the guy who works at the farm store, or the town drunk, or... Oh heck, I don't know!!

I predict it will be Tom Wellings body double Nathane Jackson! I admit I don't have cable, and thus have only seen season 1-4 and the season 5 opener.

JAC

LANA LANG--10-1. Yes, she's in current continuity, but that doesn't mean anything. Plus if Clark proposes and she accepts, she's toast. Which leads us to conclude that either she accepts and dies, or she says no and lives. Bottom line, I suspect the latter.

--PAD, I kinda disagree with you here. I think it should be Lana, for the reasons you state it should be Ma and Pa. I think Lana is the primary reason Clark remains in Smallville. His life is thoroughly entwined with hers (and through her, Smallville). As long as they're together, I don't see him moving forward. Also, despite his love for the Kents, he's an adult who's gonna be ready to leave the nest soon, so I don't think killing them off is necessary to take him out of the small town.
Killing Lana, however, would remove his romantic link to the town and set the stage for his future relationship with Lois, as well as sever some of his personal ties enough that he may start to focus on the world, instead of just one or two people.

>>About that time-travel trick from the first Superman film: just how was that supposed to work again? How exactly does making the earth spin 'backwards' reverse the flow of time, and making it go forward make time flow 'correctly' agian? If Supes had some sort of magical item/spell he used in conjunction withe the reverse spin, or some time-travel doo-dad on hand, this would have gone down better with me. As it is it was never spelled out how it was supposed to work that I recall. Even comic-book science needs SOME sort of explanation for it to work right.

--very true.
Something I thought of the other day when watching it again was "How in the world did Clark know he had that specific power?" I mean super strength is one thing. So is super speed. But super "Turn back Time" power. He'd have to have flown *that* fast before and seen the effects. Yet Jor-El's voiceover about it being forbidden to interfere in human destiny was used to underscore the desperation Clark faced in the wake of Lois' death. It's rather undermined if he's turned time back before.
Some say Superman: The Movie stands the test of time. As I get older, I disagree more and more; and the turning back time segment is one of my biggest gripes (along with Otis and Ms. Teschmaucher).

>>What's come to bug me most about the end of that Superman movie isn't how Superman travelled back in time. It's that once he goes back in time, he doesn't really do anything--at least, not anything useful, exciting, or interesting--to change history. So what's the point?

--y'mean like stopping the other bomb *before* it goes off? Or stopping Lex before he even takes control over the rockets?
I think it would have been better for there to have been *no* time travel. Period. There are a multitude of other ways to convey how he feels about Lois and any necessary desperation to save her.

Tony

RIP Chloe....

Unless there's an as-yet undiscovered Krytonite out there. Black Krytonite...Blue Kryptonite....
....Plaid Krytonite...Fat-Free Kryptonite....Black Cherry-Vanilla Kryptonite...
Children's Chewable Krytonite...

You know, I was nine years old when I first saw the movie and even then it was obvious to me that the Earth spinning backwards was just their way of illustrating Superman travelling back in time, not reversing time. And I was able to figure out that he stopped the bomb from hitting the fautline off camera. Jeez, people. Talk about beating a dead horse.

And time travelling is a power that Superman had since at least the late 40s up until after the Crisis (Screw you, Byrne!).

And am I the only person who thinks Lois dying and Chloe taking over her identity is just about the cheesiest idea ever?

"You know, I was nine years old when I first saw the movie and even then it was obvious to me that the Earth spinning backwards was just their way of illustrating Superman travelling back in time, not reversing time. And I was able to figure out that he stopped the bomb from hitting the fautline off camera. Jeez, people. Talk about beating a dead horse."

Well, color me dumb. Not sure there's really a functional difference between Supes going back in time, and Supes physically reversing time, but I feel like I've had some great epiphany here. I'm not all that up on pre-Crisis Supes, so I don't know about him jumping around in time on his own. But now that you mention it, I do recall a few LoSH stories where Superboy manages to break the time barrier on his own, so I guess I had that knowledge inside me all the time.

Still, to one not well versed in the Superman mythos, all you get from the movie is that he flies backward around the planet, it spins backwards, and time reverses. No direct causal link. But then again, we see him pull Lois' lifeless body from the car, don't we? Which creates the whole time conundrum a lot of time-travel stories fall into. Bah, now I'm all confused again....

Bobb, you think you feel silly.... I'm still trying to figure out how Supe's "Fix-the-Great-Wall-of-China Vision" worked. ;)

Fred

1 "Huh? You mean it's when the playground spinner stops that the kids start feeling the centrifugal force?

I've reread that several times and it still sounds like you're serious, but I have to assume you're kidding."

are you completely retarded? i mean seriously? do you have brain problems? how old are you? holy crap...lol...did u ever take ANY physics classes or anything? if the earth stopped spinning, we would still be traveling at the speed the earth was previously rotating. we would all fly off of the earth and die! unless you jumped into the air right when it stopped spinning...you wouldn't fly off of the earth. you'd just land somewhere else. and the latest spoilers reveal that TWO characters will die...one will come back. it shows lana dead, it shows jonathan unconcious (or dead) with clark at the fortress...so one will be gone for good. the other one will just be gone for awhile. clark gets to save one of them. which will it be?

"are you completely retarded? i mean seriously? do you have brain problems? how old are you? holy crap...lol...did u ever take ANY physics classes or anything? if the earth stopped spinning, we would still be traveling at the speed the earth was previously rotating. we would all fly off of the earth and die! unless you jumped into the air right when it stopped spinning...you wouldn't fly off of the earth. you'd just land somewhere else."

First...no need to be mean about things. It undermines the point you're trying to make.

If the Earth *suddenly* stopped spinning, you are correct that we'd all be dead, unless you were really, really close to the axis of rotation (Earth wobbles, so that would be difficult in itself). At the equator, the place of fastest rotational speed, you'd suddenly find yourself moving at over 1,040 mph relative to the now-rotationless Earth. Lucky for you, escape velocity is over 25,000 mph. Unfortunately, the sudden acceleration and friction you'd feel would kill you. Which is good, because otherwise the sudden stop when you finally hit something would have otherwise done you in.

However, if the Earth were to gradually slow down, we'd barely notice.

"You know, I was nine years old when I first saw the movie and even then it was obvious to me that the Earth spinning backwards was just their way of illustrating Superman travelling back in time, not reversing time."

I actually thought this was a great explanation. So great, I told it to my roommate last night.

He then pointed out that after Superman spun around the Earth and it rotated backwards, Superman then did several rotations in the *opposite* direction and the Earth started going in the proper direction again.

I told my roommate to shut up. :)

I rather hope it’s Lana. I mean, realistically, if Clark ‘fesses up to her and they get engaged, what real reason would they have to break up later (which they would have to do of Clark’s gonna hook up with Lois)? Their long-established emotional bond is too strong. And that wouldn’t prevent Lana from showing up in the inevitable dream, hallucination, or flashback. Basically, Lana’s mostly played out and the character doesn’t look like it’ll be improving soon.

(And as a related aside from last week’s episode, am I the only one who knew as soon as Clark said “I can’t imagine loving anyone else like I do Lana” that the car that we immediately hear pulling up was driven by Lois?)

Interestingly, allowing Lana to die would be a curious parallel to the entire Gwen Stacy-MJ storyline, where Lana/Gwen, the hero’s precious first “true love”, dies tragically and clears the way for the hero’s more extroverted later “true love”, Lois/MJ.

But then again if that happened, later we’d have the eventual episode where it’s learned that Lionel Luthor showed Lana his “oh-face” and discover that the real reason she went to Paris was to hide her pregnancy and give birth to their child(ren) overseas.

:)

Chloe is daisy-fertilizer, but not just yet I think. Her death will probably be the one that cements Clark and Lex’s estrangement and Lex’s villainous turn. Something for the last season, I guess. And she has to die because otherwise, when she discovers that she and Clark don’t hook up after he splits with Lana, she’ll go postal.

My predictions? We’ll have at least one fake out featuring Chloe, Lana, Johnathan, and/or Lionel (and possibly Pete) and in the last minutes of the show, Martha will tragically snuff it. (Really fucking up everyone in Smallville.) Consequently, Clark and Lana split up and Lana takes up with Lex (who wants to show his “oh-face” to her, thereby one-upping his dad), creating yet another wedge between Clark and Lex.

Oh, and whomever dies will die as some kind of directly traceable result of Lex entering the state senate race. (Which would make the death of Lana even that more tragic and epically ironic. DIE, LANA! DIE!)

PS: I saw HUMANOIDS OF THE DEEP too and I always considered the cellophane S-shield to simply be a nifty example of Kryptonian technology. Now that WTF! telekinesis/heat vision that Zod and Co. shoot out of their fingertips . . . [shakes head]

Here's my 25 minutes before the show final guess.

What if Lana "dies", but Chloe takes the ride to the Fortress through the cave and offers herself as a sacrifice in place of Lana?

KIP

Lana just accepted his wedding proposal... she is so dead.

I'm going to take a wild guess and say that Lana will at least be in a horrfic car accident and be very bloody, leaving Clark in Pa's arms to.... aw, damn.... the posting time is up by my name. :p

.... at half way over, this episode has me interested enough to see if I can get my hands on at least the last several epsiodes to see what has been leading up to this.

Fred

Okay, at almost halfway through, this is reminding me of the Angel season 4 episode "Awakening" - everything a little too perfect .... Ooops, a couple things have changed since I started this ....

Well they just amde a joke about spinning the Earth backwards so I guess that won't happen...I'm feeling very nervous for Chloe...but I still say it's Pa Kent.

This is more exciting than an election...wow, that's sad.

Ok, now this is starting to give me FINAL DESTINATION vibes...

"What? You spin the world around backwards?"

Are the writers reading this blog?

If they are...DON'T KILL CHLOE!

You did see the (BELIEVE it was on WB - don't think I channel surfed) "Final Destination 3" commercial about ten minutes ago, too? Corporate synergy?

Hey Clark, how about some super speed to the Emergency room??? I'm just saying...

Looks like Chloe is safe. Now I feel bad about Pa Kent.

Well, I guess that answers the question. Whether or not you were "right" depends on which part of the episode you're looking at!

(Though Jonathan is my second guess after Chloe -- she survives the car crash and he dies of "natural causes.)

Talk about a lucky guess. I ended up being right for the wrong reasons.

Must say, it lived up to its hype. I am sure writers like PAD might see the flaws, but I would not change a thing. There are so many things they did right (for once).

Now to see where they go from here.

Iowa Jim

"What? You spin the world around backwards?"

Are the writers reading this blog?

Yes, they read it, grabbed the crystal and went back and corrected what would have other been a bad episode.

Best lines in the thread go to Bill Mulligan for such hits as:

*In reference to writers of the episode reading this thread* "If they are...DON'T KILL CHLOE!"

"Hey Clark, how about some super speed to the Emergency room??? I'm just saying..."

Thanks for adding a laugh to my night.

Fred

SPOILERS (which there kind of have been for a dozen or more posts now - if ya haven't watched it, don't read any post from 9 PM eastern time on the 26th on)

******************************************************************************************************************************************************

Today's Smallville ALSO featured music by Peter Gabriel, "I Grieve" (you can figure out where), featured on the "City of Angels" soundtrack (and probably elsewhere).

Well, I don't regularly catch this show - last I knew, Lionel was in jail (I said "You son of a bitch" out loud when I saw that he actually WAS at the funeral, btw - though I suppose he didn't intentionally or even quite directly cause the death; still ...) - but, thanks to this thread, I was aware of this ep, happened to see it in the listings, and checked it out. And, it was a pretty interesting watch (thank you, PAD).

To be honest, I was beginning to wonder if Lana's death at the first half was going to be the only death in the ep; then, I thought Jonathan was going to beat Lionel to death. (And that was before he actually started swinging.) Poor, doomed freakin' Clark. Although, with those shots of all the women looking at him at the burial, the thought occurred that he may need to look into some kind of polygamy .... Hey, if he had a Heinlein family, he and Lex could BOTH have Lana ;)

I also noticed the "spinning Earth backwards" remark - very funny/uncanny. If they were taking their cues from this thread - you guys have obviously been watching the Superman movies. Superman II - fun movie, but there's some stuff you definitely don't want to borrow from that thing. (When I was in college, some cable station showed it several times over the course of a weekend. I ended up getting my note pad and starting a list of the logic flaws and other problems with that movie ....) For instance, the abovementioned "finger rays", heroes dropping people down "bottomless" chasms ... Don't make me dig up my notebook!

D'oh - that should say EIGHT PM eastern time. Spoilers from like 8:15 on ... which anybody who's read this far has already found ...

He then pointed out that after Superman spun around the Earth and it rotated backwards, Superman then did several rotations in the *opposite* direction and the Earth started going in the proper direction again.

Tell you roomate that was just to get his personal timeline going in the right direction again.

Well...on the one hand, I sort of liked it the way it was at 8:30. It turns Lana into Clark's Gwen Stacy, the One True Love who died tragically. (Which, by the way, I think is a fascinating thing about Spider-Man's continuity, the way that Gwen's memory keeps surfacing and coloring Peter and MJ's relationship. There isn't anything like it in mainstream comics, I don't think.)

But as matters finally stand...you know, fine. This may be a minority opinion, but I have always found Jonathan Kent, as written and acted in Smallville, to a small-minded, judgemental jerk. I know what he's supposed to be, but all I see is a man who spends his whole life insisting that Clark never tell anyone the big secret - meaning he has obvious trouble forming normal relationships outside the family -- and demanding that he live up to his own sense of what someone with superpowers should be. One of my favorite bits from the whole series is when Clark tells him, paraphrased, "These are my powers, and eventually I'll have to decide how to use them." RIP, Mr. Kent, and don't let the coffin cover hit you in the nose on the way down.

OK, this has nothing to do with who dies or doesn't die.

Lana says she "needs a break"; and I have a Friends Flashback.

"But Lana, WE WERE ON A BREAK!!!" :-D

Kip

That first half was really good. Gave us a lot of things we've been wanting for a long time. A confident, albeit nervous, Clark, some tall leaping in single bounds, liberal/casual use of super powers, Lana not freaking out over knowing everything, followed by Lana lying in a pool of blood.

Then the second half happened, and it still wasn't totally bad. My wife was upset because she HATES Lana, and didn't want her to come back, especially not at the expense of someone she really DOES like.

Anyone else think, when Clark grabbed to Crystal to save one person, that just maybe Clark should have waited for something really disatrous....nuclear accident, massive tidal wave, something? I dunno, maybe that's just me.

Yeah, I had a Friends flashback when Lana said she needed a break, too. Overall, it wasn't a bad episode. I'm sorry to see Jonathan go. Yeah, he could be a moralistic pain in the butt a lot of the time, but he was also a good influence.

Can I ask the Lana haters what it is about the character that you dislike so much? I don't really have any strong opinion about her one way or another, although Kristin Kreuk is smokin' hot! I just want to know what there are so many people who dislike her.

Well, that was depressing. I would rather they'd stuck with the first part. It was much more dramatic. It opened as many doors as it closed, and it had the advantage that at least we didn't have to watch Clark lie to Lana. That's gotten realy old. I been shouting at the TV whenever Chloe's on to tell HER to spill the beans to Lana. It was obvious that Clark was going to do it.

On a side note, has anyone else noticed that besides Clark, the only major male characters left are the "bad guy" Luthors? Every other "good guy" in the show is a woman. I don't know if it means anything, but it is interesting...

That should have read "It was obvious that Clark WASN'T going to do it."

I'm going to miss John Schneider. When the show first started coming on, I knew I would dig their take because he so fit Pa Kent in my mind.

I thought the episode was one of the better ones of the season. I loved the beginning because the "Oh, I can't tell Lana" thing has been so played out already.

I will just wait patiently now for him to ask Jor el if he wants him to take over the world or not.

So let's see what I got right from my initial post:

Pa Kent was the second most obvious,right behind Chloe.

Just because someone dies, there's nothing to say they won't come back. Which is what happened. "Here, my son: Turn back time with the magic crystal dildo."

They made reference to turning Earth back on its axis.

Ma Kent has been hanging out with Lionel Luthor and that never ends well. I'd certainly say getting blackmailed and having a heart attack over it isn't ending well.

This, unfortunately, is what I don't quite get:

Okay, so we suddenly find ourself in an episode of "Tru Kal-ling" as Clark's day rewinds. Lana didn't die because Clark told her his identity. Lana died because Clark wasn't there when the car crash occurred (a car crash in Smallville? Oh my God, what were the odds of THAT?)

If he'd done everything he'd done the first time around, he could easily have said to her, "Listen, take my word for this: You're going to want to go see Lex tonight. Don't. If you do that, you'll die." Considering all the other stuff she took in stride, I can't see her saying, "I don't believe you. Off to my death I go." Basically he put her MORE at risk by creating a new set of circumstances, out of his control, than repeating the old set and staying in complete control thanks to his foreknowledge.

So I don't get that. At all.

PAD

> Lana didn't die because Clark told her his identity. Lana died because Clark wasn't there when the car crash occurred [...] So I don't get that. At all.

I think Clark figured that Lana was killed less by the car crash, and more as the result of Jor-El's prediction that in exchange for saving Clark's life, someone else close to him must die. And proposing seemed to put a big target on her. Of course, I don't really get that prediction. At all.

So, the Fortress of Solitude has a reset button? But you can only use it once! (Er, "magic crystal dildo," PAD? Were you in the gift shop of the NYC Museum of Sex recently?)

The opening seemed so perfect -- Clark tells Lana, proposes to her -- that I was expecting him to sit up quickly in bed as he woke up. When Lana accepted the proposal, I thought she was targeted for death. For better or worse, the SMALLVILLE writers would rather have Clark and Lana break up, date, break up, ad nauseum. So she was targeted, but then we get the "it never happened, but you remember it" ending. (I guessed something like that was going to happen when Lex saw Clark suddenly materialize in front of him. If Lex ever found out (and remembered) Clark's secret, it's Game Over for the show.)

Is everyone on the show used to how Clark is pessimistically taking responsibility for every bad thing that happens? Chloe points out (correctly, I think) that Lana didn't automatically die because Clark told her secret; later, Martha Kent had to reassure Clark that he wasn't responsible for his father's death.

If Jonathan Kent had lived, I would've guessed that the photo Lionel showed him would *not* have been of Clark's powers -- too obvious. Imagine if Clark suddenly learned his father had a dark secret... maybe an affair?

And for next week's episode, wouldn't it be cool if the masked athlete turned out to be Barbara Wayne, someone who's parents' death focused her on becoming a costumed crimefighter, and her training brought her to Smallville? Considering all the liberties they've taken with comic-book continuity (not sure, but I think Byrne's limited series is now considered the "official" Superman origin), nothing says they can't swap genders of characters who aren't introduced in the SMALLVILLE universe yet.

The reason Clark won't tell her now isn't that he's afraid Jor-El will inact some kind of life for a life deal. It's because Lana is a bad liar and can't keep a secret. If he were to tell her again and even tell her to stay away from Lex they both live in Smallville and chances are she'd run into him eventually and Lex would know that Lana knew something. Lame reason really but that's the only thing I can think of.

I just hope they don't go through the motions of "I've lost her again if only I could tell her my secret but I can't" routine for the rest of the season.

So, they killed Pa Kent, eh? Damn, I was hoping it would be that Chloe girl you're all so enamored of. Hopefully the WB-UPN merger will take care of this show, but I'm afraid it's going to survive.

And James Lynch, if you haven't figured out already that the makers of this show don't give a damn about continuity, much less the Superman legend, pay attention! ;) They been doing damage to Superman from day one with no regard for the comic book continuity.

Anyone else think, when Clark grabbed to Crystal to save one person, that just maybe Clark should have waited for something really disastrous....nuclear accident, massive tidal wave, something? I dunno, maybe that's just me.

I had the same thought...if Jor-El had said something to that effect, something like "The day may come when you could save the life of countless thousands with this crystal"...well, he would have used it anyway. But how many times in his life will Supes remember what he threw away that day?

(Note--I'm not saying what he did was wrong or in any way different from what I'd do.)

Can I ask the Lana haters what it is about the character that you dislike so much? I don't really have any strong opinion about her one way or another, although Kristin Kreuk is smokin' hot! I just want to know what there are so many people who dislike her.

She IS smokin' hot, no argument. It's probably not the fault of the actress. Lana just holds an unfortunate role in the story--the endless source of the hero's angst, and in a passive way that isn't interesting. I mean, we LOVE Lex, but he actually DOES stuff. Lana just pouts. Plus, we know how this will all end up. Lois can be annoying at times but we know that ultimately the two will hook up so her antics now are amusing. Chloe, of course, is the one with the most mystery since we have no idea where she ends up in the mythos.

As others have mentioned, the "I can't tell Lana my secret! That would make me HAPPY!" bit has gone stale. We can't hate Superman--he's Superman!-so we take it out on Lana.

JWD pointed out a great point too--Lanna is a TERRIBLE liar! I'd love to play poker with this woman--I'd have all of her money and most of her clothes withing 15 minutes. I'm surprised Lex didn't figure out the whole story from her evasive, eye darting fibs. "You're lying...Clark's...an alien! From Krypton! All all makes sense now!"

This may be a minority opinion, but I have always found Jonathan Kent, as written and acted in Smallville, to a small-minded, judgmental jerk. I know what he's supposed to be, but all I see is a man who spends his whole life insisting that Clark never tell anyone the big secret - meaning he has obvious trouble forming normal relationships outside the family -- and demanding that he live up to his own sense of what someone with superpowers should be.

I think you're being harsh. Pa Kent is the only reason Clark doesn't grow up to be Guy Gardner. Which is what would happen to most of us if WE found a power ring or discovered we had more powers than a Greek deity. Ma is great but she's love Clark even if he turned out to be Lex with superpowers. Pa loved his kid, his wife, he willingly sacrificed himself when need be. he avoided anything that could possibly be corrupting--how much of that was pure integrity and how much was to impress on his God-like son the danger of taking shortcuts we can't know. He deserves honor.

(An aside--is it a coincidence that Pa seems to occupy the same role as Joseph? Honorable but his role vanishes at the point where his son assumes his position of greatness. It's never actually mentioned in the Bible what happened to Joseph but the implication has always been that he died before Jesus began his ministry. Has there ever been a movie about Joseph?)

Smallville started out with cheesy villain of the week and I didn't get into it until the 2nd season when they changed the writing and focused on his "mythos" coming of age more.
Then I stopped about a season and a half ago because it just seemed like the neverending snap back to status quo.

I heard about the 100th episode and the "Someone will die!" and figured it's worth a try. Not to hard to jump back aboard when this show's stoy unfolds at a snail's pace of one step forward-two steps back.

I generally enjoyed the episode but do agree with PAD thinking that Clark could've done it all over again and TOLD Lana and just been more careful.

Her'es my question:

Since he seemed to nonchaulantly display his SUperman Movie power of crushing a coal into a diamond - why doesn't he do that more often? . . . like just make diamonds and save the farm - set your parents up financially .. . .don't need to take Lionel money for campaign etc. . .

Is that unethical? One could get coal pretty easily - He can crush it pretty easily . . .you've got Bling!

This isn't breaking some superhero commandment? It's not origin SPider-man being selfish.

It's just like, I don't know "Before I go to bed each night I'll crush one coal and make one diamond . . .and I'll be able to help family and friends a WHOLE lot."

Is there some code of honor not to screw with the diamond commodity market oir something?

I don't know - think a little here Clark!

Maybe I'm just greedy.

Can I ask the Lana haters what it is about the character that you dislike so much?
She's whiny. Very whiny.

Basically he put her MORE at risk by creating a new set of circumstances, out of his control, than repeating the old set and staying in complete control thanks to his foreknowledge.
I too would have told Lana everything and simply saved her, but his rationale (as told to Chloe) is that her knowledge of him puts her at risk EVERY DAY of her life since those who want to know his secret will hound and follow her every second. Sort of like if Bush were Lex... HI-OOOOO! Just turned this non-poli thread into one. ;D

One thing I don't remember is that the first time around, Pa Kent got the same phone call he got the second time. We just didn't see enough of that timeline to know that he would die by a heart attack when confronting Lionel, right? They could have really made things tough for Clark by having him see all that, going to the Fortress and being given the choice - who do you save?

Like PAD said, Clark could have just told Lana to be more careful. For that matter, he could have just done everything that happened the first time around, except be there on the scene to slow down the bus like he did the second time. On the other hand, since Lana is such a terrible liar, like others said, he felt that telling her the truth put her in too much danger. So, now both Lex and Clark have messed up their lives because they have seen Lana die and don't want to go through that again.

They pulled a fast one on us this time when it looked like Lois was electrocuted. Was anything that Clark did this time around change things so that happened? Or was that just Jor-El laughing?

It was an interesting episode, but I would have rather seen Lana die and see Clark move on from that.

Neil

The diamond thing is one of those that you aren't supposed to think about too hard. It wouldn't work, for starters. You can make artic=fiical diamonds but it's not as simple as pressing and heating coal. Also, you have to admire how he was able to make the diamond and cut it as well as an experienced diamond cutter--is there nothing Superman can't do???

But you have to ignore all that and just go with it and man, was that not a romantic scene or what? Even my wife, no great Smallville fan, was looking kind of swooney. Demonstrate your powers by turning a lump of coal into a diamond ring and proposing... the man's got style!

Is that unethical? One could get coal pretty easily - He can crush it pretty easily . . .you've got Bling!

I think the main problem is that, if the Kents suddenly become the DeBeers of Kansas, people are going to wonder if Clark has become a jewel thief. High quality diamonds aren't that easy to sell as most of the good stuff is registered and traceable. If they sell them openly, people will wonder where this Kansas farm boy is getting all of them. If they they try to sell them underground, that means getting inolved with people just as unsavory as Lionel Luthor.

And for next week's episode, wouldn't it be cool if the masked athlete turned out to be Barbara Wayne, someone who's parents' death focused her on becoming a costumed crimefighter, and her training brought her to Smallville?

I would doubt that. So far, they haven't played the gender switching game like Battlestar Galactica does. I wouldn't be surprised though, if her name was Helena.

Considering all the liberties they've taken with comic-book continuity (not sure, but I think Byrne's limited series is now considered the "official" Superman origin), nothing says they can't swap genders of characters who aren't introduced in the SMALLVILLE universe yet.

I'm not sure. There's been talk at DC that Waid's Birthright mini supercedes Byrne's Man of Steel. I hope that's the case, if only to see Mr. I'll-throw-everyone-else's-continuity-out-the-window-just-to-put-my-stamp-on-the-title gets a taste of his own medicine.

I'm curious to know what was on the picture that Lionel showed Johnathan. Was it Martha accepting money from Lionel for the campaign? From their dialog I seemed to understand that Johnathan was aware of that. I missed the previous chapter so I don't know if Martha came clear to Johnathan and had already confessed she accepted money from Lionel for Johnatan's campaign.

Can I ask the Lana haters what it is about the character that you dislike so much? I don't really have any strong opinion about her one way or another, although Kristin Kreuk is smokin' hot! I just want to know what there are so many people who dislike her.

I have no problem with Lana, although I've noticed recently that she looks exactly like a CGI character.

What does bother me is that the show is really badly written. One symptom of that is Lana and Clark's relationship, which has always been very Ross-and-Rachel. And I liked Ross and Rachel, but occasionally I wished they'd kill each other just to get it over with.

Another symptom was last night's episode, which was actually more entertaining than most, but made no sense. The death(s) had nothing to do with Clark's secret identity, and everything to do with the writers' decision to make Jor-El into an unpredictable tyrant. I'm hoping that decision will pay off down the line, or at least be explained, but I'm not counting on either.

But the episode does reflect the increasing Marvel-ization of Clark, where every choice he makes leads to suffering, no matter what.

Some thoughts.

Ironically, if the first timeline had remained extant, Jonathan Kent very likely would still have died. Not that night, because he wouldn’t have met with Lionel, but sooner or later they would have had a confrontation. It very probably would have led to blows, as it did in the revised timeline. And Jonathan’s knocking Lionel’s block off seems to be what precipitated the heart attack (possibly helped by whatever was in the photo).

It also would have been interesting to see what would have happened as a result of Lex’s now knowing at least one aspect of Clark’s secret, had the first timeline remained in place. At this point in the Lex/Clark relationship, would it have restored their friendship, as Lex realized just how big a weight Clark had been carrying; or would it have firmly set them on opposing sides?

As I’ve said before, if Clark had told Lex everything early on (say about the time Pete learned, or even earlier), Lex would’ve been a supportive friend like both Pete and Chloe have been.

Regarding Jonathan as a “small-minded, judgmental jerk”, I think that pretty much applies to his attitude toward Lex, not to the world at large. And that is somewhat counterbalanced by the fact that Jonathan was _aware_ of that shortcoming and tried to overcome it. In the second season, when Lex was kicked out of the mansion (and out of Luthorcorp), he came to stay with the Kents for a time. Jonathan gave him all the crappy farm jobs, but was impressed that Lex did them without complaint. He admitted he may have been wrong about Lex, and told him he was always welcome.

Later that season, when Martha went to work with Lionel, and both were held hostage in Metropolis, he initially angrily turned down Lex’s offer of use of the Luthorcorp jet to rush he and Clark to Metropolis. But then he returned, admitted that he’d let his pride get the better of him, and accepted Lex’s offer.

In the season finale, at Lex’s wedding, he gave Lex a compass that had been passed down from Jonathan’s father when Jonathan and Martha had wed. Another indication that he was trying to overcome his tendency to paint all Luthors with the same brush.

One of the great ironies of the _Smallville_ mythos is that as the series progressed and Jonathan began taking a more consistent anti-Lex stance, it pushed Lex closer to Lionel’s view of the world. Lex respected Jonathan, but if the man you respect throws it in your face, and you’re being tempted with various trappings of power....

Of course the more Lex leaned Lionelization, the more Jonathan was convinced he was right all along, and the more he pushes Lex towards Lionelization; and so a self-fulfilling prophecy results.

As to Jonathan’s death, there’s one thing I would have done, had I written the episode. Earlier in the season, I would have introduced a character who could let people see the future. Who and how they do this, I don’t know, but this person would have been present with Martha and Clark as Jonathan is dying. He or she would have touched Jonathan (or done whatever he or she does to let someone see the future), and here’s what would have happened:

(Jonathan’s POV): Clark running towards camera, opening his shirt to reveal the S.

Cut to the camera looking at Jonathan: He’s looking past camera at something only he can see. And one of three things happens: Either he whispers the word “Superman” (ironically naming Clark’s future other identity); or, as we’re looking at Jonathan, we hear faint voices saying, “look, up in the sky”, etc.; or, we hear the familiar phrase, with Jonathan repeating the word “Superman” aloud. After we either hear the phrase, or Jonathan just says “Superman”, or both, Jonathan closes his eyes... and is gone.

I mean, c’mon, the universe owes Jonathan Kent at least a glimpse at Clark’s destiny.

One other thing. Was it just me or did Martha suddenly look so much _older_ in the scene at the farm where she and Clark are getting ready to leave for the funeral? Annette O’Toole is, what? late 40s? Early 50s? Whichever, she’s always still looked young. Not “pass for 19” young, but she never seemed “old” to me (or even “middle aged”). Then we have this scene, and you’d think a decade or more had gone by. I’m wondering if this was deliberately done with lighting and/or make up to show how much of an effect Jonathan’s death has had on her.

Rick

Actually, I've noticed a few more lines on Martha's face in earlier episodes this season. Maybe the years are simply catching up with Ms. O'Toole.

Anyone notice that Jor-El told Clark that they can't undo time, that they're not gods -- and about a minute later he demonstrates that they *can* alter time?

And wouldn't it have made more sense if the "life for a life" exchange had happened immediately ("I saved your life, Jor-El, but with the life essence of someone you loved") rather than this delayed-reaction stuff?

I know I'm supposed to just go with the coal thing - and I never nitpick superhero conventions - it was just one of those times I said:
"Waitaminute here - this is an ethical way to raise some cash - so I can't really fall for the "save the farm" episodes anymore!"
I'm thinking Peter Parker would pay the rent with that coal crushing bit in a heartbeat - it's really no different than the photo taking. Sure you can stretch the unethical by saying he has an unfair advantage against other photographers - but really - think about it.
Clark - skip to Metroplois onece a month with diamonds - and just use it to save the farm and contribute to the campaing - OR - to build something to hide your damn ship in!

But something else is bothering me more and maybe it's because I tuned out for a season or two - but - Since when is Jor-El like a God?
I'm not well versed in Superman mythos - but I thought he was . . .dead . . .maybe left some crystals that served like futruistic home movies to fill Clark in on who he is.
Since when is he a sentient being able to carry on a dialogue and allow Clark to go back in time - make decisions on a life for a life.

It just seems that they are really amping up the Savior and Messiah undertones that Superman always had. It's just that with Smallville they really are hammering home Jor-EL as God and SUperman as a Jesus figure.

I'm not looking to offend with these statements - just an observation - am I missing something from teh comics here or are they really just spinning this wildly different from the comics.

I know they are not "in continuity" but it almost seems as bizarre as if they did a show about early SPidey called "Forest Hills" and Uncle Ben is like Uncle Ben Konobi appearing and talking to Peter like God a jedi or some spider totem God if JMS was involved in the series.

As far as next week's episode goes, given the villain's costume and superpower (bring out your rage), it's.... PSYCHO PIRATE!

Clark - skip to Metroplois onece a month with diamonds - and just use it to save the farm and contribute to the campaing - OR - to build something to hide your damn ship in!

The ship that brought him to earth blew up a few seasons ago. And as I said earlier, selling diamonds is easier said then done. Any legitimate jewelry is going to ask to see paperwork detailing where the stones came from. The other alternative is selling them to people who make Lionel Luthor look like Mother Theresa.

But something else is bothering me more and maybe it's because I tuned out for a season or two - but - Since when is Jor-El like a God?

The exact nature of Jor-El in Smallville has yet to be fully revealed, but he's likely some kind of interactive computer program based on the real Jor-El's personality. The idea first popped up in the movie, but was recycled numerous times before, in Byrne's Man of Steel mini, Lois and Clark, and the animated series. So it's pretty firmly entranced in the mythos now.

I'm not looking to offend with these statements - just an observation - am I missing something from teh comics here or are they really just spinning this wildly different from the comics.

Yes and no. There have been numerous points of departure from the comics. Smallville does take many of it's cues from the movie (Jonathan dying of a heart attack when Clark is a teen, a rock from Krypton building the fortress, crystalline architecture) then the comics.

But the idea of the voice of Jor-El coming to Clark and even trying to remake him into more of a kryptonian personality is also found in Byrne's Man of Steel.

Someone had a question about why Lois nearly electrocuted herself, and what caused that. I'm not entirely clear on the events that led up to that, but basically, Lana wasn't around earlier in the day to pour her heart out to Lois. Something that occured while Lana was there earlier in the day, didn't happen in this version of the timeline, thus things changed.

You know what would have been cool? If, during the Brainiac/Clark battle a few weeks back, Brainy had pulled out the Cellophane S of Doom. I would have marked out like a madman.

As soon as I recognized Terrence "Kneel before Zod" Stamp's voice as the voice of Jor-El I've kept expecting them to reveal that it's actually been Zod all this time. But that looks unlikely now.

If they ever do bring in Zod he should be played by...Terrence Stamp. Anyone seen THE LIMEY? He's only about 1000 times scarier now than he was in 1980...if the character from THE LIMEY tells you to bow before him you'll bow and you'll bow fast.

"Someone had a question about why Lois nearly electrocuted herself, and what caused that. I'm not entirely clear on the events that led up to that, but basically, Lana wasn't around earlier in the day to pour her heart out to Lois. Something that occured while Lana was there earlier in the day, didn't happen in this version of the timeline, thus things changed."

This comment makes me think of one thing I did like about this episode: The writers used the whole time-travel mechanic VERY well. I think the Lois thing had something to do with Lana catching her on the step ladder, and in the second time-line, she wasn't there. Although that occurred much earlier in the day, so I'm guessing there's more to it than that.

But also many other little things...the three events at the Planet that Clark uses to demonstrate to Chloe that he's travelled back in time. And when Pa Kent arrived at the scene of the accident, I thought "wait, Clark just got there with Superspeed...how'd Pa get there so fast? Did they put Krypto under the hood?" Which the writers later showed us that Pa had actually left the party early to meet with Lionel.

For a Smallville Ep, this one had very tight writing.

Well, one thing I'm glad they did was show that Jor-El wasn't the bloodthirsty, vengeful dick that demanded life-for-life for Kal. The reason apparently for the "exchange" was stated as destiny's need to preserve paths.

Also worth while:

This site (http://www.smallvilleph.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=59) actually has pictures from what I assume is a deleted scene from "Reckoning", namely of Clark taking Johnathan to the Fortress and what happens there.

I really hope there's a flashback in in future episode.

The photo that Lionel showed Pa Kent was proof that this is/was NOT the real Jonathan Kent.

A question I have is... now that Jonathan is dead - less than 1 hour after becoming the new Senator - does this mean that Lex is now the Senator? Not that the writers have to follow any real world logic, but what would happen if this occured in real life?

Also - I agree with those who said the 1st half of the show was much better than the second - I think they could've done so much more with the show in the future the way it ended after the first 30 minutes....

Garrett

In real life it is likely that the Governor would ask Martha to take his place. Which is interesting...

Cool Peter owes me 50 gaz