Smallville Season 5, Episode 10 Review

I gave Jake the benefit of a few days head-start on the Smallville review - yet the Big Man didn't seem to feel inclined to post a review of the first new episode since the pre-Christmas break.

So, here we go instead:

Johnathon Kent is dusted off and dressed up from the corn fields of Kansas, pumped into a pinstriped suit, and well on his way in the race for State Senator. Somehow, the good ol' boy finds himself with a corrupt campaign manager (fired), a lack of funds (Lionel Luthor will fix that) and some major campaign security flaws (beaten in his barn and - look out - he's about to get shot).

Still, it takes a lot to keep Bo Duke down. And somehow, his campaign keeps on rolling.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch/mansion, Lex Luthor (likely well into his umpteenth glass of scotch) meets his Youth Brigade troops who are helping to pump up his campaign on university campuses. One of them is crazy, off-her-rocker, out-of-this-world, nutso.

Unfortunately, much of this episode focuses on the crazy woman. It's an alright plot. Nothing fancy, she's just nuts for Lex and ends up trying to kill Pa Kent. We've seen it before, I'm sure, we'll see it again.

Squished before and after the subpar subplot about Lex's crazy youth supporters, is some fascinating stuff involving Lana Lang. She wants to get freaky with the soon-to-be Man of Steel, but Clark's worried that he might end up hurting her (or, conceivably, being so fast that somehow he rotates the earth counterclockwise and turns back time). Their relationship is on the rocks now, partly because Lana has been examining old photos and has determined a spaceship landed in Smallville years ago, carrying some sort of lifeform. Now, why the world's greatest scientists couldn't figure this out, but Lana Lang could, well, that's left unsaid. Perhaps for the best.

The best parts of this episode, though, are reserved for Lionel Luthor (John Glover). Seems the multi-billionaire has nothing better to do than hide in alleys behind Smallville coffee shops, waiting for that 30 second brief conversation with Ma Kent before fading back into the night. Also, he's got lots of cash. And so we begin to see Martha Kent and Lionel Luthor pulled together... the outcome of which likely does not bode well for Jonathon Kent's future, no matter how the election plays out.

John Glover is so good in his role, his scenes are classic and almost always steal the show. Without him, I fear where Smallville would be. Great timed delivery, including a final sequence with Lex where he suggests Lex "dust off" the Art of War by Sun Tzu and give it another read-over because one of the dirty snitches Lex has hired to dig up dirt on Pa Kent has turned up dead. Lionel is smiling.

Overall, a fairly good episode. The weakest parts, with the crazy girl from Lex's campaign, unfortunately take up 90% of the running time. Still, we get another Smallville episode with glimpses of brilliance before and after the rather medicore main act. But what brilliance it is. And, you can just feel the series building to this massive, thunderous, climactic end where all hell is going to break loose in the senate race, Lana's spaceship quest, Clark's superpowers, Lex's evil ambition and Jonathon Kent's future health. Should make for some great TV.