Smallville 7×14: Traveler

Original U.S. Air Date: March 20, 2008

In this episode

- Kara regains her memory and powers, with no real explanation as to whether Jor-El was responsible or why
- Clark and Lionel’s relationship falls apart after Clark learns that Lionel had him imprisoned in a kryptonite cage for his own “safety” – Lionel’s motivations don’t make a heckuva lot of sense, unless you accept Clark’s conclusion that Lionel has been evil too long to know how to do things right
- Lex discovers his father was involved in a secrety society with his rich friends, who planned for the eventual day that “The Traveler” would arrive – something he had “forgotten” due to the meteor shower
- Dr. Swann’s daughter, Patricia Swann, is introduced and appears to have something of import to tell Clark, but only succeeds in giving him a journal of her father’s before being killed by Lex

A lot of plot points were covered in this episode, too many really to do them all justice. Lionel’s machinations don’t make any sense at all. The Patricia Swann/Lex/Lionel “Veritas” plotline seems interesting at first but is actually quite weak. It’s built on a series of too-perfect coincidences and retcons (the “V” symbol was *not* there before this season, Lex just happened to be in the right place at the right time to hear all those crucial bits of information that he’s just now remembering as he needs to), and Patricia herself doesn’t prove very effective in doing anything but getting Lex interested enough to kill her. I sure hope that journal proves to be more than another Smallville McGuffin, because she sure didn’t. Patricia had a lot of potential, so I was surprised and disappointed that they killed her off right away. Pissed me off because she’s yet another throwaway female character who could have been so much more (anyone remember Bridgette Crosby?) I adore Gina Holden and thought she did a good job with a character who was pretty much there for exposition dump (although no one could save that painfully lame conversation with Clark at the farm – “I’ve just met you and I already know you’re a force for good” – GAG). I wish they had the budget to introduce her as a recurring character, because her presence would freshen up the conflict between the shrinking circle of characters. The Lex ‘n’ Lionel’s conspiracy thing is beyond stale at this point; I just can’t get interested in that at all.

I very much enjoyed the scenes between the three girls. Seeing Chloe and Lana working together to find out where Clark was, break Kara out, and badger Jor-El into restoring her memory made me so happy. Lana was good in her scenes, and Chloe’s impassioned plea to Jor-El was just wonderful to watch. Of course I adored the special effects of Kara being “re-Supergirlized”, because I’m a complete sucker for that magical, mythical Superman stuff. Chloe’s “We have to save Clark” made me love her even more. And Kara got to be all cool and heroic, with that awesome Superman music playing underneath. Watching her toss that cage made me squee something fierce. Laura Vandervoort’s acting doesn’t have a whole lot of depth, but she’s great in “super” mode.

This episode felt so incredibly rushed that I had to wonder if it was originally intended to be a two-parter that had to be condensed due to the shortened season, because the plotting and pacing seemed way off in certain places. [Edit: I just read that the following episode would have been the season finale if the writers' strike hadn't been resolved when it was, so clearly both of these episodes were rewritten, and not entirely successfully.] The scene when Kara leaves the mansion felt severely truncated. How Chloe and Lana convinced Kara to come with them was completely glossed over, and there was no explanation for why Lana wasn’t at the fortress with them. Instead of cutting those scenes, I wish they’d cut down on Clark’s interminable torture scenes in the kryptonite cage. But that’s all he had.

Speaking of which, Clark’s capture in the barn was shocking and kind of cool, but that whole being tortured with kryptonite by the sadistic guard was just nasty for the sake of nasty and made Lionel look like a complete moron for hiring the guy in the first place. Ooh, 50% is bad, I bet 100% will kill you! Ya think? It’s kryptonite! Any amount will kill him given enough time! He should have been dead before the episode was half over. What exactly did Lionel think Patricia Swann was going to do to Clark, anyway – fangirl him to death? Yeah, that’s so much worse than brutally capturing him, imprisoning him in a deadly cage, and exposing him to *lethal doses of radiation* for an extended period of time. I can’t find any way to justify/understand Lionel’s choices in this episode; the writers just flubbed it completely.

The look on Clark’s face when he realized Lionel was behind his imprisonment was delicious. I loved how terrified Lionel was when Clark showed up in his office channeling angry Superman. Clark was genuinely scary there, and I couldn’t help empathizing with Lionel as he desperately, hopelessly tried to defend himself and explain his actions. I felt as exasperated as Clark when he described what Lionel had done – it doesn’t make any sense. The shift in the balance of power between the two was palpable. Watching Clark stare him down made me all tingly, and I cheered when he told tell Lionel to stop calling him his “son”. ‘Bout time! At the same time I felt sorry for Lionel.

Only two episodes ago, Clark told Lex that he would always be his friend, that he would keep looking for the good in him. By the end of this episode he’s concluded that Lex and Lionel are both lost causes. Lex began the season thinking he’d been redeemed by his angel, but very quickly began killing and hurting everyone who stood in his way. As we saw in this episode, that even extends to his “angel”. I don’t think he realizes that she’s in fact Kara, but what he was willing to do to her is brutal either way.

For such a supposed force for good, Clark sure does inspire people to do some terrible things.