Bid Time Return: Relic
Written by Hope

Brian Peterson & Kelly Souders' speciality is "the outsider makes waves in Smallville," usually revealing a major slice of the mythology, and "Relic" brings together those two elements with their usual fantastic ear for dialogue, and major growth in their ability to plot. This is one of their finest outings to date, and a killer reveal of the many ways that Smallville is a world unto itself.

The interesting thing about the stories Peterson & Souders tell is that they are all, essentially, the same story. Looking at their previous episodes ("Nocturne," "Skinwalker," "Prodigal," "Phoenix,") the audience can see their progression as writers for this show. Byron was their least compelling creation, because we didn't know a thing about him, and he didn't make any lasting impression on the regular characters. Compare that to Joe- his story is not only compelling because he's Clark's father, but he is compelling in his own right. Sent to Smallville against his will, as a test, it sounds an awful lot like a Luthor we know, doesn't it?

Sometimes I forget- and I don't think I'm the only one- that though we know where Smallville is going, there are still plenty of surprises hidden in where it's been. Their storyline has diverged from the DC continuity since the first episode, and the longer the show runs, the more they carve out their own, unique history for the boy who will become Superman. So not only has Numan visited the place that would, one day, become Smallville, Jor-El had his own stint there, as well. It makes one wonder what he did to deserve an exile of that magnitude.

This episode blended the past and present seamlessly, with a lovely organic flow. While there was still some linearity, the twists that did exist worked well- unlike Sheriff Ethan's surprise turn to the darkside, the hints of Mayor Tate's less than savory past worked in their favor for a strong conclusion to the tragic love affair of Louise and Joe. It was a surprise for the right reason: the clues were there, and came together at the perfect moment. And the greater storyarc lesson here- beyond all the information we gleaned about Lex and Clark's family histories, was the elegant forwarding of Lana's storyline into being able to let go. That's a huge step for her, and rather than rushing it in a single glut, they're gently easing her toward her destiny in careful inches.

"Relic" can be considered a sequel to "Skinwalker." It's a return to the past, and to the caves- the repository of Clark's history. Cleverly, instead of rehashing the information we learned in "Skinwalker," we get a new glyph and a new meaning for it, and ones we've already seen. We know from Kyla that there's a girl in Clark's destiny; with a nice twice and nod to the ubercanon (that Lois is that girl,) they present a subtextual reason why Clark might have been so attracted to Lana in the first place (dad's memories implanted into him,) and the realization that no matter how much Clark cares about her, she's not his destiny. That, coupled with Lana's slow realization that she *has* to let go, blended beautifully to reflect that first, impossible love most people experience. (It makes me feel a little bad for Lara- Kal-El's real mother- though. Ah, Kryptonian mommy, we still love you, even if Jor-El's heart was in Kansas.)

Though the driving impetus behind Clark and Lex's storyline was essentially the same, once again, we see that information lead in different directions. Instead of pondering deeply where he was from, Lex uses the introduction of Lachlan Luthor to put the screws to his father. Again, the subtlety of storytelling in this season is slowly coming to a head. There have been hints since "Exile" that Lionel has a murder in his past; now Lex comes one step closer to knowing just where his father has been, and what he's done. (As an aside, I think it's a lovely nod to comics canon, and further proof that Lionel in the show is analogous to Lex in the comics- in DC continuity, Lex killed his parents.)

What was an especially nice touch was that while KK and TW played their past counterparts, a new actor was cast to play Lachlan Luthor. TPTB have been making the point for three seasons now that Lex Luthor neither wants, nor actually is, like his father. To double Michael Rosenbaum's role here would have muddied that point, and Peterson & Souders have always been extremely clear when it comes to defining Lex's role in Smallville. He is Clark's counterpart, his balance- and he may commit acts of evil, but not for the sake of senseless pleasure.

Lex's crimes are well-considered acts, just as Clark's heroics are. Peterson & Souders maintained that balance here, and emphasized their friendship as well, even without them sharing screentime. That Clark, who is so glad to have his friend back and alive, would foist Chloe off on him to ask the pointed questions rather than open the wound himself- sure, it's a little self-serving, but it's a little selfless at the same time.

The only thing about this episode that gave me fits- and it may well have been an editing decision rather than a script decision- was the fact that the flying scene came *after* the shooting scene. Though the present day storyline flowed in that direction, the climax of the past storyline (Louise's death,) lost some impact because it was shown out of order
Seeing Joe and Louise fly, realizing that she knew he was not of this world before she begged to go away with him, would have had more impact if the time shuffling hadn't occurred. I can't tell, from a screenwriting or a plain ol' viewing perspective, why they chose to do it that way, but it was really the only misstep in an otherwise fantastic episode.

While I normally don't talk about anything but the screenwriting and the story, I do want to take a moment to commend Kristin Kreuk. She seems to be at her most appealing when she gets to play anyone *but* regular old Lana Lang, and she did a beautiful job playing the need and desperation necessary to create Louise. And wow, Tom Welling has come a long, long way since the first season- he played two characters here, and managed to delineate them beautifully. Much like his instant Kal-El to Clark conversion in "Phoenix," Tom Welling is showing every sign of becoming a truly gifted actor. (Oh, and in reference to my belief last week that MR had to wear a wig... my many apologies. The hat threw me!)

Peterson & Souders are among my favorite writers on this show, and they really came into their own tonight. This was a great hour of Smallville.

Screenwriting: A-
To Watch: A

Next Week: Clark stalks Lana! And this is different from Metamorphosis how?

Note: The views of Hope don't necessarily represent the thoughts and feelings of everyone at KryptonSite.

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