Smallville "Mortal" Talkback (Spoilers)

[The Penguin]

Fresh new Smallville tonight at 8 p.m. ET. Last week's season premiere was Arrival.

"Everything you wanted to see will happen!" Here is the official preview from TheWB.com.

Smallville #5-2 "Mortal"
Jor-El strips Clark (Tom Welling) of his powers, making him human. Delighted to finally be "normal," Clark pursues a relationship with Lana (Kristin Kreuk) sans secrets. However, after Lana, Jonathan (John Schneider) and Martha (Annette O'Toole) are taken hostage by three thugs, Clark must figure out how to save his family without his super powers.

Michael Rosenbaum, Allison Mack, John Glover and Erica Durance also star. Steven S. DeKnight wrote the episode directed by Terrence O'Hara.

[NinjaJack]

"How Clark Kent got laid:The story of how WB turned a boyscout in to babe magnet

[Zuric]

ehh, would have been cooler if he beat on him with the mallet,

just my answer whenever i see a mallet

[Wounded_Dragon]

Except for the last few minutes, where they used the cliched method to get Clark and Lana to "do the deed" this was a surprisingly good episode. Actually liked it better than last week's episode.

[Damien]

Just when I had decided that this episode really had nothing new, Clark walked into the mansion and dealt out some swift justice to Lex. Awesome. I rewound that scene. The second punch was the best.

Still...I think we're all fairly certain that Superman just had premarital sex.
Granted, the morals of today seem to be a bit more loose than they used to be back when Clark would say "Swell", the Kents attended church every Sunday, and there was always a pie on the windowsill. I guess in the average world of today, it's logical that Clark and Lana would give it up to each other.

Coming weeks...hhmm..not too creative with Brainiac's look. It's as if Spike just dyed his hair. Interested to see what he has to say to Clark, though.
When's he getting those powers back, anyway? And why did Jor-El take them, besides Clark not being back by sunset? What happened at sunset? Why did Clark leave in the first place?

[Azrael24]

what happened to lois!?!?!

there are a few things that cannot be changed about superman:

• his powers
• hes an alien from krypton
• found by the kents in kansas
• he falls in love with and marries lois lane

apperantly smallville has changed the last thing! arg! besides this relationship seems so forced and not there

anywayz, i agree with you guys, clark beating up lex was soooo cool, but he said some pretty stupid stuff like"ive changed" which will lead into lex asking was there something before?? and just questions like that...

as for the plot, the story was okay but not really that great kinda boring, and the superhuman thing is getting old and BORING!!

overall disappointed *** 1/2, *** without the last scene

[Azrael24]

ps. chloe seems like a sidekick or something but i liked it, she reminded me of oracle sorta. afterall shes my fav character on the show.

[True Noir]

I give this episode five stars for Clark going in at the end to Lex's mansion and knocking the daylights of him. Good job, Smallville. I really enjoyed this episode because it proved that Clark was actually capable of accomplishing something without powers. I also really happy that Chloe isn't annoying anymore! I was amazed by how supportive she was with Clark and Lana. Most of all, she did an excellent job using her very valuable hacking skills to help out Clark. Chloe has proved to really be something. Lana,...I'm starting to get used to her again. I want to like her right away, but it will take time.

[Peter Paltridge]

When was Chloe ever annoying? Lana is the annoying one, because she contributes nothing.

I still think Superman should save himself for Lois. Are people going to throw a fit because he DOESN'T have premarital sex on this show? And what's with Lana's candle fetish?

Hah, I always knew that without his powers, Superman would be whiny.

The Lex beatdown was awesome, but it wasn't very convincing. Clark should take acting lessons. The way he did it all but said "I changed myself to have no powers so you would get off my back, now I'm going to shove it in your face so you think I've always been like this."

When I saw Chloe in the cave, I realized something: there is no such thing as a solitary scene on this show. EVERY SINGLE TIME you see a character walking around one of the sets by him/herself, someone else ALWAYS walks up from behind and says hello, or just suddenly appears and asks questions. Once you notice this, it makes the writing look canned.

[Beyond Batman]

It was sweet how Clark and Lana ran up to the barn for nails. Suddenly Lana was undoing Clark's shirt. I was hoping Clark would do the same to Lana, but he didn't. Then in the end, Lana took off his shirt again (whoa! big surprise!) and he finally took the initiative to do the same. Low and behold... she was wearing another shirt underneath. GOSH!!!!

[Russkafin]

"Pete saw your spaceship??" Loved it! We miss ya, Pete!

I have to agree that the Clark-beats-up-Lex scene was very bad-ass (Damien, I rewound that one too). They needed a stronger sound effect for when Lex punched Clark, though... Clark's punches sounded very strong, and Lex's sounded kind of wimpy. Oh well, I hate when people nit-pick, and yet, I do it too...

Clark and Lana having sex... hmmm... wow. Looks like this Clark Kent isn't a "vir... uh, very patient man" (to quote 'Lois & Clark').

Oh yes, and was that a little bit of political commentary at the beginning? "If Lex hadn't pulled some strings with FEMA, we'd still be waiting for the relief money!" Indeed, Clark!

[Dogbert]

First, let me say once again how much I enjoy Chloe. Every scene seems better when she's around. Only problem I have is my constant question: If they're going to change everything else about Superman, why not let him fall in love with Chloe instead of Lana? Just about everyone hates/dislikes Lana or at the very least likes Chloe more. Give the poor girl a break...

As for Clark & Lana doing the deed... We all knew it would happen; it is The WB after all. With all the other differences between Smallville and other Superman stories, I have simply stopped calling Smallville a Superman show. In my mind, they are loosely basing the show on Superman to draw in a bigger crowd than they could get without the character. Therefore, this Clark Kent, in my mind, is a very different person from the Clark Kent that is Superman. This type of a character change is mild in contrast to the other changes they've made. I simply don't want to waste any more time comparing apples to oranges.

[adoptedBatpuppy]

I missed last weeks episode, so I'm not completely sure how Clark lost his powers, but what is up with the villan? Did Lex asked him specificly to go after Clark's family, to find out if Clark has any superpowers or not? I liked the fact that Chloe came of very smart in this episode. I wonder what happenned to Lois? It was nice to see Clark and Lana interacting with each other. I can't wait until the next episode!

[Fone Bone]

Pre-marital Supersex? And with Lana? No no no no no no no.

Other than that, this was a great episode. Chloe is SO friggin adorable and if the writers REALLY feel the need to shake up the Superman mythos so much they should just put the two of them together. I absolutely LOVED the umbridge she took at the fact that Pete knew.

And despite being superwhiney (did I mention how much I love Chloe?) Clark was so SMART this episode. The beat-down he gave Lex didn't strike me as bad-ass so much as frelling brilliant. Watch it again carefully. Clark very specifically hits Lex only to goad him into punching him and making him bleed. Once he sees the look on Lex's face he leaves immediately. Clark is usually so stupid on this show. If him not having powers means he uses his brains more, then I'm all for this storyline.

And the FOTWs were actually COOL this week. I could take or leave Electro-Guy but those twins were creepy beyond belief. Loving it.

Other than Clark losing it (and to LANA of all people) I loved the episode. Still, that is a big enough problem to knock a star off of the episode. ****.

[bigddan11]

Lois is overseas on a mission for her father looking for her sister. They said that in not just last week's episode, but the last 2. Do people not actually listen? The actress playing Lois is on the same contract she was for last season, but she appears in the beginning credits this time around (I think it's WB's way to give her the credit back for the episodes she didn't get credited for last year).

Regarding the episode, it was great seeing Clark go in there and punch Lex in the face. Clark's punches also would have more of an impact than Lex's because Clark works on a farm, Lex works in a multi-million dollar corporation but is often times on his jet, in his mansion, or in his office. Chloe also showed just why she can make a great companion for Clark, and I couldn't help but laugh as Lana once again ot taken hostage (last week's was Zod's men, this week was meteor rock powered men). This seasons episodes look like they're going to be better than last season, but I wish they'd show previews for the next Smallville instead of "In the coming weeks."

[bat313]

what happened to lois!?!?!

there are a few things that cannot be changed about superman:

• his powers
• hes an alien from krypton
• found by the kents in kansas
• he falls in love with and marries lois lane

apperantly smallville has changed the last thing! arg! besides this relationship seems so forced and not there

anywayz, i agree with you guys, clark beating up lex was soooo cool, but he said some pretty stupid stuff like"ive changed" which will lead into lex asking was there something before?? and just questions like that...

as for the plot, the story was okay but not really that great kinda boring, and the superhuman thing is getting old and BORING!!

overall disappointed *** 1/2, *** without the last scene

Didn't he have premaritual sex with Lois in Superman 2 when he lost his powers???? And he's allowed to have Lana as a first love and still fall in love with and marry Lois in the end.

[90'sCartoonMan]

Okay, quick review of this episode before I get down to it - Lex is sneaky, Chloe is smart (although her computer hacking skills are brilliant sometimes and average other times), Wonder Twins was funny, Clark's got a reputation at Belle Reve (which sucks because even if Superman does have a secret identity, I'm sure freaks will be going after Clark Kent in the future), Lionel's being possessed by Brainiac (oops...maybe Zod), the Pete/Alicia/Jason continuity was nice, and the Kent/Luthor friendship is finally over as Lex is genuinely distrustful and sneaky.

Onto the affairs! First of all, I like the Clark/Lana relationship. It's sweet the way Clark has pined for her for years and shows concern for her in a way he doesn't show for others. Lana is his teenage crush, and it's good they finally become romantically linked (Clark has graduated high school, he needs to go out and see the world, Smallville is too...well, small...for him). But we all know that when Clark becomes a man, he'll move on to other women (well, yeah, Lois, but he'll be moving past Lana).

Lana has been in pretty awful relationships. Her past two boyfriends were killed (three if you count Adam), and I don't buy her "We've waited four years for this". She's dated other guys and was thinking seriously about Jason (as she told Chloe). I know Lana has feelings for Clark, but shouldn't she take some time to consider that MAYBE moving on to another boyfriend so fast isn't such a good idea. Heck, Clark's last girlfriend was killed too! Was this survivor sex?!

The whole theme of this episode doesn't sit well with me. It's not just about rebuilding, it's forgetting the past, burning the bridges in some respects (like with Lex), and having a clean slate (like the Clark/Chloe team-up). But the supervillains serve as a reminder to Clark that even though he lost his powers, he still lives in that world. He may be an alien with the exact same characteristics as a normal Earthling, but an alien none the less. And Clark doesn't tell this to Lana because he thinks he can just move on. Just because he lost his powers doesn't make it okay. The past is going to come back to him. Lex is still going to bother him. Forgetting all that and losing himself in Lana is stupid.

On top of that, this is Superman having pre-marital sex. He's supposed to be the boy scout, and now he's making me look like a prude! I know it's the WB and we can't have any teen virgins, but sheesh. Chloe lost hers to Jimmy Olsen and look what happened! I feel like it serves nothing except to make it all the more heart-breaking when Clark gets his powers back and is dragged back into the life and has to lie to Lana and ultimately leave her. That's a nice way to show you're committed to her, blockhead. Here's hoping you treat Lois better because aparently you can no longer save yourself for her. You're damaged goods. The only comfort I have from this is, like Dogbert said, this is an Elseworlds Clark Kent, and not the Superman we all know and love. All right, I've said my piece...until there's more drama for Clark and Lana because they rushed into things...

When I saw Chloe in the cave, I realized something: there is no such thing as a solitary scene on this show. EVERY SINGLE TIME you see a character walking around one of the sets by him/herself, someone else ALWAYS walks up from behind and says hello, or just suddenly appears and asks questions. Once you notice this, it makes the writing look canned.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Smallville drinking game.

[Casey Mack]

Didn't he have premaritual sex with Lois in Superman 2 when he lost his powers???? And he's allowed to have Lana as a first love and still fall in love with and marry Lois in the end.

yes agreed, the no sex before marriage thing worked in the 1940s and 50s,but is ratherstupid now. Even in superman 2 they got rid of it, because no one wants to see superman be a virgin in his 30s..thats not so super. Heck Lois has a kid in the new Superman movie, and she didn't get married to the father [perry whites son]. sex is about love it has nothing ot do with marriage, its only about love man.

[Dogbert]

yes agreed, the no sex before marriage thing worked in the 1940s and 50s,but is ratherstupid now. Even in superman 2 they got rid of it, because no one wants to see superman be a virgin in his 30s..thats not so super. Heck Lois has a kid in the new Superman movie, and she didn't get married to the father [perry whites son]. sex is about love it has nothing ot do with marriage, its only about love man.

There are plenty of people who save themselves for marriage, not necessarily because they think premarital sex is wrong, but because to some people it means much more to save it for the (theoretically) one person they'll love for the rest of their life. Clark Kent, at least the CK we all know and love, is one of those people. It doesn't mean he's a loser that can't "get the girl," it doesn't mean he's scared to go all the way, it's just what he wants to do. It may have been something they got rid of for Superman 2, but even the adult targeted Lois & Clark, a series specifically about Clark's personal life, kept Clark a virgin until marriage. And I doubt anyone would say that hurt the show.

Even if you don't buy my argument, just look at how many people here didn't like this direction. I wouldn't say TZ users represent the entire Smallville audience, but I doubt their opinion is the polar opposite of everyone else. Who exactly are you agreeing with anyway? No one here has said that Clark saving himself would have been "stupid." In fact, I only count two posts that reference the sex thing in a non-negative way.

[Casey Mack]

There are plenty of people who save themselves for marriage, not necessarily because they think premarital sex is wrong, but because to some people it means much more to save it for the (theoretically) one person they'll love for the rest of their life. Clark Kent, at least the CK we all know and love, is one of those people. It doesn't mean he's a loser that can't "get the girl," it doesn't mean he's scared to go all the way, it's just what he wants to do. It may have been something they got rid of for Superman 2, but even the adult targeted Lois & Clark, a series specifically about Clark's personal life, kept Clark a virgin until marriage. And I doubt anyone would say that hurt the show.

actually up until "Lois and Clark" Clark kent could not get the girl period. if you have not noticed in most media Clark is basically dulls ville. He does not go on dates with girls [which some peoplemight see as him being gay] he acts to geekish..what girl would want that. I try not to count "Lois and Clark" sometimes, because after season 2 when Lois and Clark got married all the imagination chemistry was gones. Im just glad this Clark kent won't be the 30 year old virgin.