"Transference"
Technical Review & Recap!
Written
by Tigress35
We open
with Clark playing football. Is it a game, you ask? No! Clark
is playing with the cows. They're lined up on the defensive
line. Quite frankly, the cows are not enjoying themselves. They
moo at Clark and don't make a move, so Clark dodges... nothing.
Poor Clark. No
wonder he wanted a little brother. The cows are no fun. Clark
throws the ball and hits a water bucket, splashing cool, refreshing
water. A particularly offended cow moos, "Hey! That was my
waterbucket you just broke, dumbass!"
Clark,
however, pays no mind, and is deliriously happy with his false
championship. Of course, you're never alone when you embarrass
yourself on a TV show, so Jonathan and Jason show up behind
him. It's probably a good thing they did-- those cows looked
about to turn on Clark at any moment and kick him out of their
pasture.
Jason lets
Clark know that he could be up for a scholarship to Met U. Are
you planning on taking the SATs at all Clark? Have you filled
out any applications? You were supposed to do that last year.
Anyway,
my friend reminds me that this is Smallville. I slap myself
across the cheek to snap out of this 'logic mode' I was momentarily
in.
How much
you wanna bet that since it doesn't seem likely Clark will get
the scholarship, thanks to Lionel, Lex is gonna set up a special
scholarship just for him?
Clark hears
that ringing sound again, that same one that called Clark to
his boyfriend's plane twenty thousand feet in the air. Jonathan
dismisses Jason, and Jason's all whatever and I assume that
he makes it out of the pasture, and past the angry cows.
I think
that sound is like the Dark Mark in Harry Potter. One day it
just lights up n stuff and you apparate and you automatically
know where to go. This must work the same way--Clark ends up
knowing to run to the Kansas State Penitentiary.
And yay! This
is a new sign, actually with a fairly specific name. So much
better than that other lame establishing shot of Generic Prison
Could Be Anywhere Sign. And this one is steel grey and creepy
and much more mood setting appropriate than the other.
We also
have a new jail interior-- and this one is sweet. I love the
lighting and the colors here. We can read a lot into the master
shot.
The objects
in the set create lines to draw our attention to the center
of the frame. The pole, the staircase, and the division between
the rug and the floor all point toward the table where Lex and
Lionel are sitting.
Aside from
the prison suits, all the colors here are very cold-- mostly
shades of grays and blues. There's also high contrast-- the
light colors are very bright, and the dark colors are very dark. There
are also light beams everywhere, and all of those have to be
individually placed and manipulated. The blue line to the left
of the frame and the beams of white light on the behind right
wall are no accident. The table is also lit uniquely-- the frame
of the table is dark, but the middle flat surface appears to
have a spotlight hitting it. It looks damn cool.
Note that
Lex is wearing the darkest clothes and is in the most shadow,
which signals to us that-- at least around Lionel for now--
Lex is being pretty bad. We later learn that he's drained Lionel's
bank account-- it's good to turn in your parent for murder,
even if they are family, but you could at least leave him money
so he can buy his way out of beatings each week (as we later
learn Lionel has to do).
The other
thing worth noting about Lex is his placement in the shot. Because
of the angle and direction the camera is shooting Lex from,
Lex is bigger in the frame than Lionel, which subtlety shows
us that Lex is in a higher position of power than Lionel is
right now. And indeed, at first Lex has all the power in the
scene, and lets Lionel know it. I also believe that the staircase
behind Lex adds a sort of optical illusion-- the way it is above
Lex and then slopes down to Lionel seems to make Lionel appear
even smaller in the frame than he actually is.
Needless
to say, I adore this shot. I love this next one too:
I'm not
entirely certain what is behind Lex (the door?) but the dark
frame and the light interior makes it look awesome. If we were
to look at Lex straight on, Lex would be perfectly centered
in the light box. However, since we're not looking at him straight
on, it looks off balance, which perfectly represents Lex's motives
in Season 4 so far. We're not really sure where Lex stands. Additionally,
Lex is set up as a villain figure in this scene, because the
angle is ever so slightly canted. If
you look at the box, the right side is lower than the left side,
so the camera isn't entirely level. This type of shot angle
is usually used with villains, among other things.
What's
also nice is that Lex's body sort of splits the box-- on the
left side, you can see bits of blue, but on the right side,
it's all blown out into white. And of course, we can still see
the spotlight on the table.
Having
Lionel's shoulder so close to the camera also adds such depth
to the shot-- we know that Lex is seated only two feet away,
but it looks much farther than that. It enhances the feeling
and idea of separation-- they're father and son, but so at war
that they're incredibly distanced from each other, and the shot
reflects this. This is all the same for the reverse shot, when
the camera is on Lionel.
I can't
really draw any profound meaning from it, but how cool is it
that the two beams of light on the back wall form a shadow that
hits the security guards shoulder? Perfect.
Lionel
pretends to apologize to Lex and says he loves him, and holds
out his hand. Now, having seen the extreme close up of Lionel's
hand extended toward Lex, the spotlight over the table does
more than just make the table look cool-- it lights up Lionel's
hand (of course, they could have always lit his hand like that
whether they had the light over the table or not). I like to
think the light across the top of his fingers symbolizes hope. You
could disagree, it's all subjective, but that's what I take
away from it.
Lex hesitates,
building some tension and giving Clark time to burst in, still
holding his ear. The guard let's him in-- no, that's not a security
issue, not at all. Clark runs over and knocks the table over
(and Lex with it) just in time to prevent Lionel from shaking
his hand with the thingy. And we get a bright slow motion lightshow
to demonstrate their souls or whatever switching bodies. Conveniently,
all the light in the jail is suddenly dimmed so we can see this
better, but is back to normal when they break apart. I love
'Lionel's' poor pathetic cries for Lex. Oh, Clark. Your boyfriend
can't help you now.
In the
car at the Kent farm, Lex thinks Clark seems different. 'Clark'
says the prison upset him. Awww. You poor thing. I know that's
not really Clark talking, but I can't help but make fun of him
anyway. Lex agrees with me, because he's all, duh, "It's not
the happiest place on earth."
The next
scene is highly amusing, in which 'Clark' has no idea he can
lift the Forever Broken Tractor, and then discovers he can. All
in front of a painfully obvious greenscreen, may I add. 'Clark'
looks especially orgasmic, as he discovers this new power. I'm
not surprised that Lionel would sexualize power.
What I
find especially amusing is Jonathan's treatment of him-- slave
labor much? Finally, I don't care how strong you are-- you can't
balance a tractor perfectly horizontal by holding one end.
Cut to
jail with 'Lionel' and many cave/mythology related drawings. We
also meet his crazy roommate. We learn Lana's tattoo means water,
and that Almost!Superman 8 symbol means air. So, Clark can fly. Does
this mean Lana is supposed to be an exceptional swimmer? Is
her death going be by drowning? Did she somehow cheat death
when Emily II pushed her off that bridge? Will she melt into
a puddle? Will she cry herself to death if someone abandons
her again like her pancaked parents? Oh, the
possibilities are endless!
Clark in
Lionel, rather smartly, deduces that Framed!Cellmate was probably
put in jail by Lionel so that the dude could help Lionel figure
out all the symbols and math and whatnots. Unfortunately, Clark
doesn't emphasize this to him, and Cellmate doesn't put two
and two together either. Some mathematician you are. Cellmate
also reveals that Lionel is dying. D'oh. Sucks to be you, Clark.
On a more
serious note, this is a big deal for Clark. Clark never thought
he would die, in fact, his worries were just the opposite, evidenced
by the vision he had in Hourglass. Clark feared that everyone
he loved would leave him, because he doesn't know if he could
die or not. Not to mention the only thing that makes him sick
or can kill him is kryptonite. So, this is the first time Clark
has had to face mortality, and it's an additional motivation
for him to have the urgency of switching back to his own body,
aside from the horrors of jail and not knowing what damage Lionel
could do with his superpowers.
Next scene: 'Clark'
speaks French, shirtless, and checks out his own package, and
likes what he sees. This scene is so disturbing. Mama Kent comes
up the steps and 'Clark' calls her Martha, so she says that
she knows he's a grown man but he still has to call her mom. This
really creeped me out, because he's standing there half naked
while she's talking about how he's almost a man. So creepy! And
then he wants a hug and sniffs her hair, which turns him on
so much that he eyejaculates out the window. I just... it's
so disturbing. *shudders*
Then, we
assume that 'Clark' figures out how to put out the fire, and
completely ruins Clark's possible football career, refusing
to go to practice when Jason stops by. Various moments of hilarity
include 'Clark' slapping Jonathan's back when Jonathan did it
to him, and using his quick wit to read Jason's coach nametag
to figure out who he is.
Cut to
'Lionel' having to try and reason with Cellmate. The shape of
the main prison room here is reminiscent of the set of Oz, except
much more blue, since this is Smallville. Then 'Lionel' gets
beat up. Poor Clark. He thought he could take them, but he couldn't.
Meanwhile,
'Clark' tries to access the LuthorCorp website. Lex changed
the password, so he breaks off a corner of the desk. Duh, Lex
changed it. That's not surprising. High security passwords should
be changed regularly anyhow, so it wouldn't even have to be
out of spite, although it is still smart. Chloe comes in and
wonders about the desk, and 'Lionel' is a much better liar than
Clark (not that that is any news) and says it was like that
when he got there. The line delivery is so funny.
This scene,
by the way, killed me. Absolutely killed me. I really thought
that Lionel was just so horny that he'd go after any living
thing he saw, but then, to seduce Chloe and deny her out of
revenge... it really puts the magnificent in the bastard. I
think Lionel was telling the truth about finding her fascinating
and sexy, possibly even the bit about wanting her for a long
time, and I was watching the scene going, "OMG, will they just
kiss already, why are their lips not touching yet!" And then
'Clark' says, "Don't you wish." And that line delivery is utterly
perfect and Chloe's subsequent reaction shot... those things
combined just killed me and I really think my heart dropped
into my stomach. I loved the scene because it was so evil and
so good and I hated it because it was so evil and too good. Poor
Chloe.
Cut to
Lana, talking about her research paper, and they didn't ADR
Kristen Kreuk's Canadian accent this time. Apparently this countess
lady was a martyr but burned as a witch. Gah. Please do not
equate Lana with a martyr. I don't want to see any storyline
where she gives up her life for some greater good in the universe. Blech.
And, 'Clark'
uses his superhearing to hear Jason and Lana talking. Which
is a prime example of why they shouldn't be getting together
in school if they don't want to be found out. Dumbasses. 'Clark'
barges in on them kissing and talks about Lana being young and
having needs. While thinking of Lana having needs is icky enough,
it's even ickier knowing that this is being thought of by the
brain of Lionel. Icky! Lana is understandably horrified.
'Clark'
then goes to visit 'Lionel' in jail. I'm not a huge fan of this
scene, because there are too many things to nitpick. First,
'Clark' x-rays 'Lionel's' hand to see the Magic Body Switching
Stone. It took Clark a good bit to learn how to do that... one
could argue that maybe it comes so easily to him now that Lionel
could have no trouble using it, but I want to know how Lionel
knew that he should focus on something to make the x-ray
switch. This would have been okay if we had had a brief scene
where Lionel accidentally discovered the x-ray vision. I understand
that we're under time constraints in a 42 minute show, but it
would have been cool to see that worked in-- I'm sure it could
have been used for some creepy humor that would fit right in
with the rest of the episode. The second reason why I wasn't
a big fan of this scene is the cliche dialogue. "You won't get
away with this!" "Oh, but I have!" Please.
Unfortunately,
'Clark' discovers that there's only $2.57 left. He crushes the
cell phone in anger. Umm, Lionel? If $2.57 won't buy you another
cell phone. Just sayin'.
Then Lana
walks in, and the rest of the this scene is such gold. 'Clark'
mutters, "This one." It may just be one of the best lines ever
uttered on Smallville and I love the acknowledgement that not
everyone finds Lana so enchanting and wonderful. No, clearly
Lionel knows that she's hella annoying. He starts rolling his
eyes as soon as she starts talking, obviously thinking that
he has no time or interest in her drama. He tells her she'll
"get over it."
But Lana
keeps talking and 'Clark' paces with his hand on the back of
his neck like he's incredibly annoyed and has an intense headache. Lana--
and this is the good part-- gets increasingly irritated that
'Clark' looks so distracted and isn't paying attention to her. Her
tone gets angrier and her facial expressions get crosser. And
all the while, she keeps talking about herself, until she actually
tries to hurt Clark by telling him it's serious.
See, this
is the reason that I despise Lana. She seems very sweet and
wonderful, as long as you actually play into her need to have
her ego stroked and have everyone think her problems are the
worst in the world. And when you don't, she gets viscous. Her
comment about it being serious with Jason wouldn't have been
said if she was apologizing, like she came over with the pretense
of doing. No, her apology turned into a rub when she saw that
'Clark' didn't care. So really, the only reason Lana came over
was not because she felt truly apologetic, but because she wanted
to just keep the drama alive and if Clark didn't react and reassure
her guilty conscience the way she wanted him to, she became
hurtful.
Fortunately,
she's actually talking to Lionel, and so he says a sexual-like
comment to her, and her virgin ears are deeply offended. Thank
goodness Lionel was there to respond back in a way just as hurtful
(to her).
Then Lana
gets extremely pissed off because 'Clark' makes a move on her,
and that I can understand her being upset about, because that
was obviously non-consensual. But, you know, the irony of this
is that 'Clark' really did tell her the truth-- that he was
attracted to her and thought she was dumb for being with the
high school football coach. And Lana still got pissed off at
the truth, and she would have gotten pissed off if he had kept
it from her. So, either way, Clark is screwed. He's definitely
the one better off without her.
Next scene: Martha
visits 'Lionel' in jail. At first she doesn't believe him, but
'Lionel' yells out a story about accidentally running into the
woods. Martha then believes him, and that was just a little
too easy, but yeah, gotta move the story along. Anyhow, 'Lionel'
keeps talking loudly about the stone and the ringing. Clark,
seriously, you're in a room with dozens of other people. They
can hear you. Whisper or something.
Meanwhile,
'Clark' barges into Lex's study, wearing a purple shirt and
black slacks. I don't know where Lionel would have gotten those--
not from Clark's closet, and not with $2.57. So, I can only
conclude that, again, Lex accidentally left them over there
one night.
Just as
an aside, why is Lex still living in Smallville? I doubt he
has to run the plant, I imagine that he can find someone else
to do it. If I'm not mistaken, Lex is the head of LuthorCorp
now. I would think that it would be easier for him to live in
Metropolis. Considering that he's never seemed very fond of
the castle in Smallville, I can only conclude that he's staying
there because of Clark. Whether you want to see this as a Clexy
thing or not, I think Lex is sticking close so that he can investigate
Clark. Oh, Lex. You are so evil.
'Clark'
then totally lets all pretenses go, because he needs the money
that badly, and ends up threatening Lex and pinning him against
the desk. Martha suddenly shows up with the kryptonite making
the Spyro the Dragon sound effect yet again. But she's an idiot,
because instead of keeping the rock on him, she goes over to
help Lex and 'Clark' runs away. People in Smallville are so
dumb.
'Clark'
is already back at the Kent farm, and a warning call from Martha
isn't enough to prevent Jonathan from getting tossed around
the kitchen. Ouch. And again, the person under 'Clark's' wrath is
saved when Cellmate calls and tells him he needs to see him.
Back to
the jail! The Easter bunny line cracks me up, although I have
to say, I really can't imagine Lionel saying that. I'm sure
he'd thrown in some Greek mythology reference instead. The Easter
bunny is much too pedestrian. Ah well.
Cellmate
says the switch isn't permanent. Personally, I think he was
lying, and that Clark got through to him. This would make sense,
because then that would give a reason for 'Clark' to come into
physical contact with 'Lionel' and 'Lionel' could have a chance
at making the switch, and he's probably lying about the guards
taking the rock.
'Clark'
gets the idea of murder in his head just in time, because then
the prison starts to gang up on 'Lionel' again. 'Lionel' actually
does a halfway decent job of defending himself, considering
he's weak with liver problems, and takes down the dude that's
trying to stab him.
And just
like in Oz, whenever a fight breaks out, "Lockdown!" echoes
over the PA system. Nobody however, goes back to their cell. A
few guards come in and the prisoners all beat them up. Some
LAME rock music starts playing as a prisoner throws a guard
over the railing. This just a seriously bad prison fight
scene. Seriously bad. One prisoner dies elaborately, and there's
suddenly a ton of paper and stuff all over the floor and everyone
is fighting, even prisoners with other prisoners, to this bad
rock music. This probably isn't supposed to be diegetic
sound, but it sure adds to the cheese. The aforementioned
two prisoners roll on the ground with each other, not even really
fighting. And then 'Lionel' just wanders back into the scene,
and isn't fought with or knocked down or anything. It's ridiculous.
I do, however,
love the shot where 'Lionel' watches 'Clark' approach, and it
cuts to a shot where we can only see 'Clark's' eyes pass through
a space created. It's really cool. Then, 'Clark' walks past
in slow motion, which makes him look like he's stalking. And
it's hot.
'Lionel'
holds out his hands to show he's not holding the rock, but turns
out he was hiding it under his arm, and then lets it go into
his hand. I find this very unlikely, even if when we saw him
come back into the central room part of the prison, it was because
he was going to get the Magic Body Switching Stone.
More colorful
magic switching occurs. Sometimes, I wonder what Smallville
would do if the Matrix had never been made. Their visual effects
would not be the same, I think. Lionel's makeup is ghastly.
The SWAT
team dudes come in, and throw in gas, and someone steps on the
Magic Switching Stone, so it is lost for now. Surprise!
There's
a weird shot where Lionel looks up at Clark, and he's all glowing
in the gas clouds. Weird. I think I know what this is supposed
to mean, but it's spoilery, I think.
Next scene: Clark
is back in flannel. Boo! Clark learns that Lionel destroyed
his life. Aww. And he wants the stone, because it fits in the
Magic Puzzle in the cave. But, of course, Jonathan discourages
it.
And oh,
now Lionel is healed. The doctor looks like an aged Martin Sheen.
Lionel says he's a changed man. It fits with the previous shot
I described where Clark kinda looked angelic. Lionel looked
like he was having an epiphany of some sort. In any case, boo
on Lionel being healed.
Clark then
catches up to Chloe in the hallway and starts a rambling apology.
Chloe tells him he's used up his lifetime allotment and is tired
of the convenient amnesia. I seem to recall that Chloe has had
that once or twice herself, so that's a bit hypocritical, but
yeah, Clark... I think you've apologized to Chloe enough. Chloe
tells him he needs psychological help. Clark is all, 'nooo I
don't'. Clark... if you're trying to make your friend forgive
you, say, "Yes, Chloe, you're absolutely right. I'll look into
some therapy." Don't argue with her about how she's wrong, okay?
Then Chloe
tells him he's a crackhead, and Clark says, "Chloe, I don't
do drugs!" I totally burst out laughing. Clark takes everything
so literally or has no idea about slang. Or both. It's hilarious. And
really, I loved the "This one" line, but this line is my favorite
line of the episode. Forget about all the Lionel impersonations
Tom Welling did in this episode, this is the best line delivery
he's ever done. It's simply perfect. I love it to death. It
also reminds me of one of the other great lines of Smallville,
where Chloe previously said, "Clark Kent would have to be on
drugs to do drugs." Hee. So much love.
Then, Lana
is still pissy and insists on knowing if Clark has told anyone
about her and Jason yet. But Clark doesn't know what the hell
she's talking about, so Lana pulls him aside and talks about
it in a normal tone of voice. Anyone can hear you! You're in
the school! *sigh*
Next, Clark
barges in on Lex, yelling for him. Dude, Clark, knock or something. Also,
Lex is always in that room. It's not like you have to go shouting
and looking for him. Honestly. Lex pulls a gun, and I'm sorta
glad to see that. I'd get pissed if someone barged in on me
like that. Clark proves it's really him and Lex hugs him. Clark
is all, whatever. I think Tom Welling got his teeth whitened
again. His fangs stand out even more! Just in time for Halloween.
Lex thanks
Clark for intercepting the body switch. Clark says it's not
anything Lex wouldn't have done. Lex just slaps his arm and
smirks. Yeah, Lex totally wouldn't have. But he's gonna
let Clark think he would. Clark begs for Lex to help Cellmate
get released. Lex eventually acquiesces, and gives Clark a longing
look.
Cellmate
leaves and is picked up by Not!Swann Kidder. He gives her the
Magic Body Switching Stone. Oh, the plot thickens.
Note:
The views of Tigress35 don't necessarily represent the thoughts
and feelings of everyone at KryptonSite.
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