Smallville 5.6: "Exposed"

Written by Brian Peterson and Kelly Souders
Directed by Jeannot Szwarc

In which the murder of a young woman puts Chloe, Lois, and Clark on the case, but things are complicated when it is connected to a lifelong friend of the Kent family, a state senator…


This episode is a little better than the previous installment, mainly because it approaches the material with a bit more seriousness. Yet the same problems that plagued the past two episodes are present yet again: the self-aware camp that destroys the credibility of the entire enterprise. First there was the Aquaman debacle, followed by a terrible “Buffy” spoof, which was really unnecessary. Here we have a “Dukes of Hazzard” reunion, which perhaps five people wanted to see.

The main attraction, of course, was Lois in stripper gear. This is the third episode in a row to depend strongly on sexuality, and it probably works better this time around because it is completely unapologetic. The previous episode had Lana running around in tight leather, yet took pains to keep it off screen. Lois and her temporary stripper family were on constant display, and as usual, vinyl and leather work wonders with the male demographic!

Erika is just a little too good at the stripping thing, but I’m not going to complain. It’s long since been awkward to think that Clark and Lois will eventually be together in a major way, since they now know way too much about each other for the later events to proceed as previously depicted. In a way, that’s fine, since so many elements of the series have placed it in an “alternate universe”.

That said, I find the interplay between Clark and Lois to be somewhat distracting, because they try too hard to be funny and witty about it. This is mostly a problem with Tom Welling, who does befuddled very well, but he tends to come off as naïve during situations that ought to be a lot less lurid for him at this point. Sure, Clark is still strictly whitebread about nearly everything in the world, but it gets a little overdone.

I’m not sure what I think about a political race between Jonathan and Lex. For one thing, Jonathan wouldn’t have nearly as much political capital for even a state senate run. What possible experience in governing could he claim? Sure, Lex is in the same boat, but Lex is also a businessman who has the contacts to get things done. It would place Clark in another difficult position in terms of his old friend, but it smacks of a writing staff reaching for a purpose for characters past their prime.

I’m still confused about how the writers choose to portray Chloe. No, I wasn’t expecting her to go pole-dancing (despite personal thoughts on the subject), but she typically runs around with plenty of cleavage. Yet when they could play up her looks, they dial it back every time. Very weird. Whatever the case, her run-ins with the Metropolis Police do a lot to expose her shortcomings, and like the previous episode, it makes me wonder why she still has a job. They make a lot of her naïve approach to the job, but like Clark’s reaction to Lois, it’s overstated.

Anyway, I’m growing tired of the recent trend of campy episodes, so I hope that the promos don’t lie and the next episode is darker and more serious.

Writing: 1/2
Acting: 1/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 1/4

Final Rating: 5/10