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Running Time: 1:19:26;
Podcast Record Date: July 14th, 2008

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Running Time: 1:19:26;
Podcast Record Date: July 14th, 2008

The title for Episode 8-4 is not yet known but it looks as though Maxima is being cast for this episode. In the comics Maxima is a royal queen from the planet Almerac and has her sites set on marrying Superman. We’re not sure at this point that this story will have anything to do with the direction Smallville takes, but we do know she was a member of the Justice League at one point…

Keep checking back for more news and info, as we get closer to the Season 8 premire.

Update: Slight delay with our post-spoiler Comic-Con discussion with Jason; SHoE will be released on Tuesday. Thanks everyone!

Update: During last night’s repeat of “Gemini”, the CW ran a logo announcing that Smallville’s 8th season would premiere on Thursday, October 2nd. We have yet to determine who is right here, though chances are good that the CW has the more legit date. While this means 3 more weeks without Smallville, it’s still a step in the right direction for new season news, so we’ll keep you posted. Thanks to all who wrote in with this detail.

The season 8 premiere entitled “Odyssey” will feature not only Justin Hartley as Oliver Queen/Green Arrow, but also three returning special guests on a journey to find a lost friend.

The article goes into more detail on the overall theme of the season being about “dual-identities” and how Clark’s new occupation will lead to his overall profession.

Check out the article here!

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Running Time: 1:06:16;
Podcast Record Date: June 25th, 2008

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Running Time: 1:06:16;
Podcast Record Date: June 25th, 2008

Davis Bloome, will be played by Battlestar Galactica alum Sam Witwer, who played Alex “Crashdown” Quatraro on the series, will be a bar tender at the “Ace of Clubs”, struggling with the secrets of his past.

The role of Tess will be filled by Cassidy Freeman, who was in the CW pilot Austin Golden Hour, will be taking over in the absense of Lex Luthor. Tess has complete control over Lex’s estate. She claims to be forever in Lex’s debt for saving her life.

The San Diego Comic Con

The Smallville panel will be held Sunday, July 27th, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

And with that welcome news, we here at SHoE are breathing a collective sigh of relief. We were losing sleep wondering whether or not our Podcast panel would conflict with the Smallville panel, and thankfully we DO NOT conflict with any of the headlining panels at Comic Con this year, including panels for our other shows, Heroes and Terminator!

Our SHoE/10th Wonder/SkyNext Podcast Panel will be Saturday July 26th, from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.

The SDCC requested a description of our panel by today, so here’s what you should see on the official schedule:

1:00–2:00 Podcasting Superheroes: The 10th Wonder & House of El Podcasts — Join hosts Derek Russell and Graham Hancock of the popular Starkville House of El (Smallville) & 10th Wonder (Heroes) podcasts for a discussion and Q&A session about producing fan-created podcasts and managing online communities. Room 24A

Comic Con is July 23rd - 27th, and it’s so close we can hardly stand it. We can’t wait to see you guys out there. We will do our best to either live-stream our panel, or post it into the feeds at some point that weekend for those of you who won’t be going.

Get your own SHoE T-Shirt!

About The Shirts

Shirts are available in all sizes in both Regular and Ladies fits, and they’re made from 100% preshrunk cotton. On the front is our standard SHoE shield designed by Derek and Graham, and on the back is the new Fortress design created by Stuart Baldwyn.

We hope you guys like the new shirts! If these first shirts sell well there will definitely be more shirts with new designs down the road.

Thanks everyone!

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Running Time: 28:04;
Podcast Record Date: June 7th, 2008

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Running Time: 28:04;
Podcast Record Date: June 7th, 2008

It seems as though Oliver’s story arc will deal with his past rather than his identity as the Green Arrow. At any rate this is great news for Smallville fans.

• “Supergirl: The Last Daughter of Krypton” featurette - A history of Supergirl.
• “Jimmy on Jimmy” featurette - Aaron Ashmore meets Jack Larson, Marc Mclure, & Sam Huntington.
• “Kara & the Chronicles of Krypton” Sprint mobisodes
• Cast & Creator Commentaries - Featuring Al Gough, Miles Millar, John Glover, & Justin Hartley and more for the episode “Siren” and one other, presumably “Persona”.
• Comic Book - Presumably the interactive story from the Stride Gum “Hero” online comic.
• Unaired Scenes - Several deleted scenes from the twenty episodes of the seventh season.

Click the banner at the top of the site to pre-order your season 7 DVD’s on standard definition or BluRay and support SHoE!

Robert Picardo was a wonderful addition as Edward Teague, and I have to say that he achieved the appropriate amount of creepy. The whole very literal portrayal of “hero worship” was very disturbing, and I have to say the make-up department out did themselves with both Lex and Clark’s bloody carved chests. My favorite scene throughout the entire episode would have to be the scene where Lex sticks the cipher onto the grandfather clock. The look on his face as he listens to the song that it plays is just full of so many emotions that it makes the scene extremely memorable.

Now shall we discuss quite possibly the best Smallville finale ever? Yes? Good.

“Arctic” was handled beautifully by the cast and crew. The episode was written by Holly Henderson (another double H) and Don Whitehead and was directed by Todd Slavkin. I’ve already stated that in my opinion this was one of Smallville’s best finales to date, and Holly Henderson, Don Whitehead, and Todd Slavkin are all to thank for that. In this episode we got our now seemingly standard Jimmy Olsen B-plot, “Kara” causing Edward Teague’s death,”Kara” and Lex scenes, Chloe being attacked by Brainiac, Clark taking out Brainiac (for the time being), the long awaited Clana breakup, a very beautiful Clois scene, a Chlimmy proposal (where the heck did that come from?), Chloe being arrested, and a Clark and Lex show down. That’s a lot to take in forty-three minutes, and that doesn’t even touch some of Smallville’s previous finales.

But unlike some previous finales the pacing in this one was very near perfect.

It didn’t feel rushed or feel like I was watching it in slow motion. It was the perfect Goldilocks speed. My favorite scene from the entire finale would have to be the scene of Clark when he comes to visit Chloe in the hospital. The minute her eyes pop open with that glazed over catalytic look and he angrily sneered Brainiac’s name chills ran up and down my spine. I could tell that Clark Kent was gone and Superman had suddenly arrived.

Allison Mack was her usual brilliant self. I am very happy that Ms. Mack will be returning next season especially given the limbo Chloe was left in. Aaron Ashmore was even more likeable as Jimmy in the past two episodes, and I can’t help but wonder how Jimmy’s proposal will be handled next season. Erica Durance was one half of the absolute best on screen hug ever during the finale, and I cannot wait to see how they define the Clark and Lois relationship in season eight. The chemistry between Erica and Tom has been show cased a lot this season, and used expertly to expand Lois and Clark’s friendship.

I want to take a moment to praise Laura Vandervoort for being able to channel James Marsters so well. She really delivered the lines in Marsters’ style. James himself was wonderful in the episode as well. Brainiac is quite possibly the first computer that I have ever literally wanted to destroy. His portrayal makes the fact that it can’t be done even more frustrating. He is perfect in a role of pure villainy. Tom Welling impressed me very much. His range of emotions was extremely varied, and expertly demonstrated.

After the finale I realized just how greatly Michael Rosenbaum will be missed. The idea of a premiere without Lex Luthor is going to be a strange and new experience for Smallville viewers as well as cast and crew. Michael portrayed Lex Luthor more brilliantly than any actor before or even after him (yes I know that’s a big statement). I know that I wish his run on Smallville wasn’t over, but I totally support Mr. Rosenbaum in whatever he does in the future whether he resurfaces on Smallville or not. He is a wonderful talent in several areas of the entertainment business. I will say that whether Lex Luthor physically appears on Smallville or not his presence will always hover over the atmosphere of the show. The threat and large persona of Lex Luthor will haunt our main cast all the way through season eight, and that’s an accomplishment that should put a permanent smile on Mr. Rosenbaum’s face.

I give both of these episodes five Jimmy Olsen gumball engagement rings out of five.

One thing I’ve been watching over the past few weeks over at Flickr is the troopies365 project. Project365 is where you take an image, every day, for a year - and in this instance it’s LEGO Star Wars Stormtrooper figures in amazing situations. We enjoy keeping an eye on it, and hopefully you will too. Check it out here.

Kristin is playing the titular role in the film, which is set to release February 27th, 2009; based on a series of video games from the late 80’s and early 90’s. The film also stars Michael Clarke Duncan, Moon Bloodgood, and Chris Klein.

Filming of Street Fighter is taking place in Tibet, where Kristin has been the past four months, preparing for the role, explaining her departure from Smallville after “Veritas”.

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Running Time: 1:27:54;
Podcast Record Date: May 22nd, 2008

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Running Time: 1:27:54;
Podcast Record Date: May 22nd, 2008

Both sets will include 2 featurettes (Jimmy and Kara) and the “Chronicles of Kara” Sprint mobisodes. No mention has been made of deleted scenes or audio commentaries, but we’re holding out hope. Purchasing through SHoE supports this site so give it a whirl. Typically season 8 begins one to two weeks after the release of a previous season set, so look for season 8 to premiere on or around September 18th or 25th! Also, as of this posting, pre-orders have resumed on Amazon - so go support SHoE!

In the mean time, don’t forget you can pick up your season 7 DVD’s on standard definition and BluRay that will release just in time for the 8th season in mid-September, with 20 episodes, deleted scenes, documentaries, and episode commentary. Also, your order will help support this site so it’s win-win!

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Running Time: 1:34:18;
Podcast Record Date: May 15th, 2008

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Running Time: 1:34:18;
Podcast Record Date: May 15th, 2008

After the episode make sure to post your reactions on the finale in the forums. If you find that the site has become unavailable, please bare with us, as we are expecting a high volume of traffic, since the site usually crashes on finale night.

While we haven’t heard from our sources at Warner Bros or the CW yet, this appears to be pretty legit as the decision was made only hours ago, so it looks like Chloe will be returning in the fall! More on this story as it develops.

Take a look around, you’ll see a new streamlined look here at the main site, as well as our forums, our enhanced AAC cards, and even our new t-shirts which will be available for pre-order very soon.

We’d like to thank Evan Agee of Agee Design and Graham Hancock for putting together the new site! Also, a big thank you to Stuart (Narsil) for providing the sweet fortress logo you see up at the top.

All this means we’re looking ahead to a new year, a new eighth season of “Smallville”, and beyond. Thanks for sticking with us for two years, we’re here because of you guys and we’re staying put because of you too!

Returning for its eighth season, this new interpretation of the enduring Superman mythology and its classic characters blends realism and adventure into an exciting action series. Last season, Clark Kent and Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum) became the sworn enemies that comic book aficionados have always known and loved. The season also brought storylines of Krypton and the El family, including the arrival of Clark’s cousin Kara, a.k.a. Supergirl (Laura Vandervoort), and the return of Brainiac (James Marsters).

There were also exciting guest stars from the Superman mythology, including Dean Cain (”Lois & Clark”) and Helen Slater (”Supergirl”). Clark discovered more about his home planet, who his parents were, what his future holds and why he was sent to Earth. The series stars Tom Welling as Clark Kent, Kristin Kreuk as Lana Lang, Erica Durance as Lois Lane and Aaron Ashmore as Jimmy Olsen. Reinterpreting the Superman mythology from its roots, SMALLVILLE was developed for television by Alfred Gough & Miles Millar (”Shanghai Noon,” “Spiderman 2″), based on the DC Comics characters. The executive producers are Kelly Souders & Brian Peterson, Todd Slavkin & Darren Swimmer, James Marshall, Mike Tollin, Brian Robbins and Joe Davola. The series is produced by Tollin/Robbins Productions and Warner Bros. Television. Superman was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.

Right now the standard version is only about $2 less than the BluRay but rest assured that price will drop soon, and if you’ve already pre-ordered the set, your pre-order price will drop with it. While you’re at it check out the seventh season companion or the all new Justice League figures from the sixth season episode, “Justice”.

So why not go ahead and be one of the first to pre-order your seventh season set, and support SHoE and Smallville while you’re at it!?

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Here we are again with another review. I apologize if this one is slightly abbreviated. This week has been insane, but what this one lacks I will make up for with “Quest” and “Arctic”. First of all, SHoEligans I need to tell you that I am going out of town today (Thursday), and have decided (upon the suggestion of Derek) to make “Quest” and “Arctic” one giant monster review.

But back to this week…I cannot wait to talk about this episode. Let’s get right into it:What else is there to say about “Apocalypse”? It was outstanding. Tom Welling did a remarkable job of handling double duty. Neither of his performances suffered. The script for this week’s episode was excellent, and brilliantly brought to the small screen by Mr. Welling.

This is the closest to Superman Clark has been so far. Everything about it was aimed more toward classic Superman. Even Jimmy.

Every performance seemed to amaze me. Laura did a wonderful job. Her performance improves with every episode. Aaron Ashmore was quite amazing this week as well. This alternate Jimmy more closely resembled the Jimmy we’re all used to. Allison was outstanding even though her screen time was significantly less than what we’re used to.

The performances I want to talk the most about though are those of Erica, Tom, and Michael.

I was very impressed with Erica. I enjoyed seeing her play the Ace Reporter Lois. I was thrilled by every single one of the Clark and Lois scenes. The rate in which that relationship is growing only makes me more excited for season eight.

Michael Rosenbaum will be sorely missed next season. His portrayal of Lex Luthor is one of the deepest darkest portrayals to ever hit any screen (big or small). He’s allowed Lex slowly develop into the role of the villain, and yet still managed to keep him human. It takes an amazing actor and an awesome person to successfully pull of the bald head, white suit, and black glove. Michael managed to do that. And, by the way, how wickedly cool was that gun with the Kryptonite bullets?

I sincerely hope that James Marsters is brought back in a larger capacity next season. He adds so much to the show and the tone it takes. Brainiac has always been one of my favorite Superman villains. He’s just impossible to destroy, and he’s very manipulative. Not only did he deceive Lex in the normal Smallville continuity, but he deceived him in the alternate reality as well. It’s very important to see that Clark is the only one who can truly fight Brainiac. If Clark is not around Brainiac pretty much has the run of things. He would achieve whatever goal he deemed necessary with no trouble what so ever and in this case his goal is the revival of Zod. Marsters is a masterful actor who portrays Brainiac beautifully. He never fails to impress me whenever he is on screen.

Last but certainly not least, let’s talk about Krypton. I was personally surprised to see it so soon. I felt for sure they were going to explore that in “Quest”, but I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw on the screen. The visual effects and general look of Krypton was amazing! The fight between Kara, Clark, and Brainiac was phenomenal. I loved seeing Clarks’ ship again, and seeing it heading away from the exploding Krypton.

All in all, “Apocalypse” was a wonderful side step from the show’s building tension. It didn’t step too far though, and in the end was able to slightly resolve one conflict (although it more than likely caused another one for Clark and Kara). It was entertaining, and a wonderful breath of fresh air. Tom Welling should be extremely proud of himself. I give this episode five Kryptonian crystal daggers out of five.

This is the last episode before the season finale next week. Be sure not to miss it! After this episode, be sure to head to the forums to discuss tonight’s episode.

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Alan potrayed Arthur Curry (AKA Aquabro) in 2 episodes of “Smallville” including “Aqua” and “Justice”. Derek will be in attendance with the guys from the GeekLand podcast.

Needless to say this will put a time strain on getting this week’s epiosde out early; but don’t worry, we should have some goodies to go along with it. To find out more about Free Comic Book Day, you can visit this site.

Michael Rosenbaum will be bowing out as Lex Luthor at the end of this season of Smallville.

Click the jump to read a special message from Michael to his fans and co-workers, and a message from the studio regarding his departure care of the CW and Kryptonsite:

Dear Smallville Fans,

Well, it’s been seven wonderful years. Your support is what has made Smallville so successful, and I appreciate you all more than you know.
That being said, it is time for me to start the next chapter of my life and career. I hope that I gave you some enjoyment over the years, and that you found my portrayal of Lex Luthor to be satisfying. I am truly grateful, as Smallville fans are the best fans out there. I sincerely hope that you will continue to follow my career through my hair growth period and beyond.

I’m very excited about what the future holds, but certainly, Smallville will always be a part of me. I will definitely miss the greatest crew in the
world, and the wonderful cast that has been like a family to me. Thank you Al and Miles for creating the show. Thank you writers, producers, directors and editors. Thanks Tolin, Robbins and Davola for being there for the pilot. Thank you Peter Roth for employing me for ten years. Lisa Lewis, I Miss you already. John Glover, thanks for helping me feel more comfortable touching other actors, while acting. Bizarre, but helpful.

Mostly, I want to thank Greg Beeman for directing the “Oh Sherry” video, by Steve Perry, back in the 80’s.

Thanks crew. Thanks fans. Thanks Smallville.
I love you all,
Michael Rosenbaum

“It has been an honor and pleasure to work with Michael for the past six seasons. He is one of the best actors on television and has never failed to bring a new layer to the character of Lex Luthor in every episode. While Michael won’t be a series regular and we won’t have the pleasure of working with him on a weekly basis this fall, we like to think that we haven’t seen the last of Lex Luthor. Stay tuned.”

-Smallville Executive Producers

Tonight, Clark finds out first hand what Smallville would be like if he had never come to earth. Lex is President, Lana is married, Chloe and Lois are ace reporters at the Daily Planet, and Kara has been adopted by the Luthors!

After this only one more episode until the season 7 finale! After the episode, check out the forums for a discussion of tonight’s episode.

It’s unclear if they will release the entire series at once or just the first five seasons for viewing, but regardless; there will finally be a legal and acceptable way to view “Smallville” online if you’ve missed an episode! Look for it soon!

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Here we are again, SHoEligans. I once again get the privilege of sharing my thoughts with all of you. So let’s talk about “Sleeper”.

I really feel like jumping right in with this one. I loved this episode. I thought it was adorable, and one of the best post-epic episodes the Smallville crew has ever come up with. Jimmy Olsen really came off as lovable in this episode, and credit for that goes to not only Aaron Ashmore, but Caroline Dries as well. The minute I saw Jimmy fumbling around to cook Chloe a “Wholesome Olsen” breakfast I knew he was going to be extremely likeable in this episode.

Aaron Ashmore’s comedic timing was phenomenal as usual, but this time he really had a chance to show it off. Allison Mack had a chance to showcase her comedic skills as well. I was thrilled with seeing Allison and Aaron play off of each other and seeing their characters interact. Their chemistry is wonderful and refreshing when compared with the other super tense relationships on the show. The Chlimmy Dance (as I like to call it) was wonderfully hysterical and even a little bit romantic. Chloe’s reaction to Jimmy’s sudden Tango skills was priceless. She saw a whole new Jimmy, and you could tell she really enjoyed it.

One of the things that was masterful about the script for this episode is how they still managed to move this seasons continual plot. I felt like this episode was wonderfully paced and kept my interest. The scenes that dealt with the ongoing “Veritas” plot were well written and skillfully acted. Lex’s scene in Zurich felt very “Bourne Identity” to me, and Michael’s performance was outstanding as usual. Like I said last week Tom Welling knows his character so well that an excellent performance is almost a given when it comes to Clark’s scenes, and this week was no exception. His scene in the Fortress was not only acted wonderfully but written ingeniously as well. The visual effects in the Fortress impressed me as well especially with how much they intensified Kara’s transmission.

Let’s talk about Vanessa. Our lady spy definitely resembled a Charlie’s Angel gone mental. Anne Openshaw’s portrayal of the character was superb, and I loved the gadget briefcase she gave Jimmy. The prop department out did themselves with this episode. I also loved how amazed Jimmy was by all of those weapons, and how it still showed AS he was using them. I also loved that it was Jimmy who got to save Chloe, and that Clark didn’t come rushing in at the last minute. Jimmy got to save his girl, and that made the scene much more entertaining.

All in all, the episode was handled very well. I thought it would either go one way or the other especially when it concerned Jimmy. Jimmy was either going to come off as a jerk or as a truly and genuinely nice guy. In my opinion he successfully came off as a boy next door type, and credit for that achievement goes to Aaron Ashmore, Caroline Dries, and the director for this episode Whitney Ransick. The direction was beautiful and artful which seems to me would be difficult to do while making such a humorous episode. I think “Sleeper” was a nice break from the heavy storyline surrounding it.

I’m going to give it four covert cufflink darts out of a possible five.

If you’re not sure what Twitter is, it’s a status update service where users “follow” other users to see what they are up to. So if you are following our official SHoE account you’ll know in an instant when news updates or new episodes of the podcast are posted on our site. We’ll also use our twitter account to interact with our listeners from time to time. So join up and follow us!

After the episode be sure to head back to the forums to disscuss tonight’s episode.

I am not going to summarize the episode. If you’re reading this then I am going to assume you’ve seen the episode. The gist of the plot is explained by the title. This episode follows the “descent” of Lex Luthor, and allows us to witness Lex finally become the Luthor of the future. I knew the minute I saw the trailer that this was going to be a huge episode, and I wasn’t disappointed. This was one of those episodes that immediately took off (we’re talking zero to sixty in two seconds). I immediately knew I was in for a treat. This season has been a very solid season, and this episode was no exception.

First off I’m going to talk about the lighting and colors in the very first scene. Why this specific scene you ask? Well, because it just looked so perfect and fit so well with the context of the scene itself. The shadow and light in each shot seemed to contradict and struggle against each other. It illustrated the battle between good and evil that had gone on between and within both Lionel and Lex. There was one particular shot of Lionel that made the most significant impression on me. After Lex asks about the “Traveler” the elder Luthor’s face was shown half consumed by the darkness and the other half illuminated. I thought it was an excellent reflection of Lionel’s journey on Smallville. His path on the show was full of half-truths, betrayal and ultimately redemption. The contrast between the light and the dark just seemed to represent the change in Lionel Luthor.

I believe you should all know that I am a huge fan of dialogue. For me the dialogue is what I anticipate the most and we wouldn’t have story or dialogue without the writers. They were at the pinnacle of their game this week. It would have been very easy to let the teaser be the climax of the episode, but lucky for us the writing staff on Smallville is phenomenal. Everything in this episode was handled brilliantly. The struggle between Lex and Alexander, the confrontation between Lex and Chloe, The argument Clark and Lex have, and every scene in between was written brilliantly. Every scene seemed different than anything else we have ever seen on the show. I think Don Whitehead, Holly Henderson, and the rest of the writing staff deserve several standing ovations for the quality of this episode’s script.

The direction by Ken Horton was outstanding. What sticks out to me the most is the shot of Lionel’s eye while Lex was indentifying the body and the shot outside of Luthorcorp where we see Alexander speaking to Lex for the first time in this episode. Both of those particular shots stuck with me. The idea of looking any corpse in the eye disturbs me, but it effects me even more so when the person viewing the eye is the murderer. The shot with Alexander really felt like you were inside Lex’s head. It felt like time was standing still for him, and the reality of his crime finally came crashing down. There were several other brilliant points of direction in this, and Lionel’s funeral scene was one another one of those brilliant moments. There was no dialogue, but there also wasn’t a need for any. Everything could be said with glances and expressions. The initial visual of the scene automatically sold it for me. The layout of it with Clark and Lex standing on either end of Lionel’s grave was a moment that will not be forgotten any time soon nor will the look the two of them exchanged as Lex walked away. I half expected a shoulder bump to happen between the two characters. The entire scene had a “Lex Luthor versus Superman” vibe that could not be ignored.

Let’s talk about the performances in the episode.

I’ll begin with Aaron Ashmore and Erica Durance. I thought the two gave very good performances as Jimmy Olsen and Lois Lane. I enjoyed the team up, and was thrilled to see Jimmy get a moment in the spotlight (however brief it was). In this episode Lois was her usual sarcastic self, and had several of my favorite lines. I have to say my favorite line of hers from the episode had to be her line to Jimmy about readjusting his focus (“The school boy crush is sweet, Jimmy, but you need to readjust your focus in more ways than one.”). Both Erica and Aaron have great comic timing, and that seemed to be showcased in their scene with Gina (Mercy Prototype 1.0).

John Glover’s one scene was more than I could have ever hoped for. His expressions were believable and effective. Mr. Glover really pulled off the after effects of Lionel’s desperate attempts to talk to Clark. I will miss John Glover on the show as his performances always kept you guessing about a character. It really says something that there were still fans of the show who were unsure about where Lionel Luthor stood. There were people who still believed Lionel to be evil and selfish, and that were never sure of his loyalty to Clark. The fact that John Glover achieved that amount of mystery for his character says a lot about his talent.

Allison Mack did her thing as usual, and she was outstanding. I have decided that not only is she talented with carrying the technical babble, but she’s also the best at giving pep talks. So many great lines came from her pep talk to Clark toward the end of the episode. Her confrontation with Lex was also one of the highlights of the episode. Allison Mack is one of the best actresses (if not one of the best then she is the absolute best) on the show. While it was sad to see Chloe fired from the Daily Planet it now opens up a lot of different possibilities for the character, and I am excited to see how that is handled (by Allison and the writers).

At this point in his career Tom Welling knows his character inside and out, and it definitely shows in his performance. It is clear that Lex and Clark are far from the friends they used to be, and Tom did an excellent job of portraying that. Tom made it clear in this episode that Clark is very suspicious of Lex and will be from this point on. This episode brought Clark as close to being Superman as he’s ever been. Tom Welling has been doing an excellent job of showing Clark Kent’s transformation from small town farm boy to international hero. The highlight of his performance for me was his scene with Michael outside of Luthorcorp. The way Clark followed Lex across the police barricades just looked so perceptive and powerful at the same time.

Finally let’s talk about Michael Rosenbaum. We’ve always known he was a wonderful actor, and if you didn’t then I hope you do know. I’m going to miss Michael when he leaves the show because of his amazing portrayal of Lex Luthor. He’s made the character extremely accessible and easy to relate to. We’ve seen Lex fall from who he used to be. Michael has managed to make an evil mastermind seem human, and to make his transformation gradual. Michael’s performances as Lex have been and continue to be masterful. My favorite scenes of his in this episode were all of the scenes with Alexander. Michael did a wonderful job of interacting with the embodiment of his good side. It was a very complex scene and Michael pulled it off with flying colors.

All in all, this episode was Smallville at its best. The entire cast and crew was on top of their game, and garnered this episode a five out of five rating. Even Roger Ebert would have to agree with that.

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