SMALLVILLE Minicaps / Season 8, Eps. 1-4

Smallville season 8 minicaps: now with 80% less Lex and Lana.

Stewart here…

The big deal-y-o last season is Lex became all out evil by killing his dad, and now his search for the Traveler from another world leading him to the Fortress and Clark. So Lex hooked up some krpytonian trinket to control Clark and it brought the entire Fortress down on both of them. Meantime, Chloe is unable to accept Jimmy’s marriage proposal on account of some government agents arresting her, and Lana has decided to leave Clark and get out of Smallville (and considering she survived being turned into some zombie, maybe that’s not a bad idea). So, let’s go…

“Odyssey”

It’s been a month since the Fortress went under with Clark and Lex in it, so what happened? Well, Oliver and his super-friends (Aquaman, Black Canary) have been trying to find Clark and they do, but depowered in a Russian prison camp. Then there’s Chloe, who seems to not be in government hands, but in one of Lex’s experiments to find Oliver’s super-team. And Lex? Well, he’s still missing by the end of this episode, but his company’s new CEO, Tess Mercer, seems to be filling that evil hole nicely. Oh, and Clark manages to get his powers back and decides to become a reporter for the Daily Planet. Whew. Lot to cover there.

Green Arrow: “Man, Clark’s going to be really happy to know if we ever find him, we managed to get his jacket back.”

–I haven’t even discussed John Jones reappearing to repower up Clark and losing his powers in the process by flying to the sun, which really doesn’t make any sense based on what we know about John in this series. The sun’s supposed to heal John, yet he loses his powers? Um, okay…

–So Chloe can’t heal things anymore, but thanks to her run-in with Brainiac, has super brain-power? Yeah, sure. Oh, and Chloe says “yes” to Jimmy’s marriage proposal.

–So all that kryptonian doo-hickey Lex used is to de-power Clark and drop the Fortress into the ice? Once again: Jor-El’s plans are absolute crap.

–Justin Hartley’s a regular now, so more Green Arrow from here on in.

–Oliver’s answer to Clark’s question about the Fortress disappearing? “I feel like there’s a punch line to that question.”

“Plastique”

Clark’s first day at the Daily Planet starts with a bang…as in a bus explosion that introduces him to Tess, EMT Davis Bloome, and a homeless teen named Bette. When there’s no bomb remains found, Bette seems to be connected to it and Tess wants to find her. Also, Clark finds out about Chloe’s engagement and Chloe gets to run the Isis Foundation on account of Lana disappearing and all. Also, why is Davis sleeping naked in an alley?

“Hey Lois, this is just like that show with those two reporters, and there’s a superhero who kinda looks like one of them in it. What’s it called again?” “Not listening to you, Clark.”

–Sam Witwer’s always a welcome presence for sci-fi geeks like me, and appearing here for the first time as Davis.

–Oh, Tess has some meteor freak team she’s putting together. That’s not good.

–Wait, there’s a phone booth in a newspaper office?

–“Boy, I always wanted my own stalker.”

–“Rule No. 2: Always make a good first impression and don’t screw up with the boss.” “I think that’s two rules.”

“Toxic”

Oliver Queen gets infected with a lethal poison, and one he knows about very well from his past. You see, he was stuck on an island for two years where he learned his archery skills, ran afoul of some mercenaries, and ran into a younger and imprisoned Tess Mercer. Yeah, she has a past with Oliver, and it also means she may be the next target of this mystery baddie. Good thing Clark’s around to help save his friend.

Just hanging out…hanging out…hanging out making arrows…having myself a party…

–Tess’s revenge against her former captor Marcos was especially sweet, knowing whatever the doctors do to save him, he’s dead.

–“Grisly murders” in town? Um, we should be paying attention to this throwaway piece of info, shouldn’t we?

–I’ve been asking myself if the guys running Arrow watched this episode and said, “You know, that montage of Oliver learning how to become Green Arrow on that island? I bet we could stretch that out for two seasons.”

–Chloe’s super brain power is a bit alarming to Clark, and for very good reason.

–Clark regarding Lois’s editing: “She doesn’t circle typos. She underlines them two or three times.”

“Instinct”

Tess sets off the kryptonian device and it brings a woman from another planet with the single-minded desire to meet her mate, the only person strong enough to survive her kiss. Too bad Jimmy is mistaken for the “lucky” man, Clark, and has to be saved from the kiss of death. Also, Clark and Jimmy discover that love letter from Chloe way, waaayyyy back in season two. Plus, that kryptonian device seems to have been stolen from Tess by…who exactly?

What is it with alien women and their clothing choices? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining, it’s just I’m sensing a pattern here.

–Jimmy owns every ABBA album. Now that’s just weird. And he’s still got that annoying hang-up over Clark and Chloe.

–Chloe knows way more about the place Maxima’s from than Clark is comfortable in her seeming to know.

–Clark’s still nice enough to feed Shelby at the farm. Yep, he still lives there.

–Awww, Clark loves Lois more than an alien superwoman. And she’s pulling the “really, we’re just friends and I’m so not overreacting over watching some other woman make out with him” card.

–“Look, he’s about as attracted to me as a Red Sox fan to the Yankees.”

NEXT TIME: Clark and company deal with a lie-detector test against their will in “Committed”, Clark and Chloe butt heads on finding a serial killer in “Prey”, Jimmy takes a photo that could reveal Clark’s superheroics in “Identity”, and an accidental trip into the Phantom Zone leads to Lois being possessed by someone close to Zod in “Bloodline”.