Not that I think there is ever going to be an episode of Smallville where Clark doesn't have to save somebody or something from complete death and destruction, but when the opening of the show is coming straight from Belle Reve, you know there is going to be trouble. Belle Reve is the Arkham Asylum of Smallville, Kansas. For those of you who are completely lost with that Batman reference, it means that it is a mental institution where almost all of the most dangerous criminals reside. Lex Luthor once spent time in Belle Reve, having been put there by his father after he came back to civilization when his plane crashed. Now it was Lionel's turn to spend some time in the loony bin. I was wondering what had happened to Lionel after he was possessed and his eyes became glazed over like a reptile's and he started spouting off about the Disciples of Zod. Contrary to what we were led to believe last episode, he didn't just leave and go about his business. His son must have found him, found it quite odd that he was alive, and placed him in his own wing at Belle Reve.

But Lionel is not really a threat to anybody these days. He can't see, and nobody is taking him seriously. He doesn't have any money, and has no role in Luthorcorp. That's not to say that there aren't other dangerous people in Belle Reve, and as Lex is walking out of the facility, he bumps into such a character. He doesn't know it at the time, but it probably wasn't a good idea. As Lex walked away, the inmate, Lee, who had been cuffed with an electronic device and was being transported somewhere, was released, and knocked out a bunch of the guards, because as it turns out, Lee can create electricity and shoot it with his bare hands. OK, check that, Lee can only take electricity from another source, but that's still pretty dangerous, no? If you were transporting this type of guy, wouldn't it be wise to put him in a straightjacket or something? And imagine that at the same time you were transporting these two brothers who could put their hands together and make a force field strong enough to stop bullets. Wouldn't you try to keep the force field boys apart so they couldn't do any shit? Who has that kind of pull to make that happen?

Lee gets out of his handcuffs and breaks his friends' shackles as well. They break out of Belle Reve, and where do you think they are headed? Smallville, of course! You do have to wonder if they are going to get what they are expecting. The only real reason for them to go to Smallville would be to get at Clark Kent. He's responsible for putting half of the "guests" of Belle Reve there in the first place, so it makes sense that Lee and the twins want to exact some revenge. When they get to Smallville, they might be shocked to see that Clark Kent is human and that he now needs the help of others if he is going to do little things like raise a barn.

I don't want to give away any spoilers, but I hope that you are intelligent enough to realize that this no-abilities phase is just that - a phase. Clark will get his powers back, we just don't know why. But in the meantime, he seems to be enjoying the manual labor. Think about it - he gets to experience the sensation of being sore, and he can finally understand what his dad meant by "no pain, no gain." Clark has come to terms with everything, but Chloe is still a little shocked, maybe not because Clark lost his powers, but because he seems like he could care less if he got them back. Getting his powers back is more than a selfish pursuit on his part: with his abilities he has the power to change the world and the course of history. It's a great responsibility, and to the outside observer, it seems Clark is more scared of that responsibility than anything else.

Posted by J-Unit on October 12, 2005 1:32 PM