Smallville 5.9: "Fanatic"

Written by Wendy Mericle
Directed by Michael Rohl

In which members of the Luthor campaign decide to take the political fight against Jonathan to the next level, while Clark and Lana try to deal with the rift growing in their relationship…


This episode had a lot of promise, because the idea of Lex going hardball on Jonathan was actually something to look forward to, since “Lexmas” indicated that most of Lex’s better qualities would be sacrificed for the goal of attaining power. In fact, that episode went to great lengths to demonstrate how Lex had turned the corner towards true self-centered evil. But instead of going that far, the writers dial back Lex’s lesson in ego.

Instead of having Lex be the mastermind behind the attacks on Jonathan, thus demonstrating and presaging his future political ruthlessness, he plays things in the middle again. He wants power, but he can’t bring himself to attack Clark’s father directly, beyond spending money to bash him on the issues. He can’t even step out of the way while underlings do his dirty work with nothing but implied consent; he’s adamantly against the physical attacks, despite being more than happy to dig up dirt and break Jonathan down in every other fashion.

I could have bought it more if Lex had an objection because of the natural bounce in the polls that Jonathan would get should he survive. Instead, he objected on moral grounds. Isn’t he supposed to be setting aside morals to achieve his goals? Whatever the case, this would have been an interesting direction for Lex to take in the future: a young man with near-infinite resources, learning to use those resources to distance himself from direct connections to the actions required to preserve and expand his own power base. Instead, he remains in something of a holding pattern, and one that has gotten a bit old.

It doesn’t help that Samantha Drake was incredibly annoying as a character, and the actress couldn’t seem to keep her line delivery from becoming childish. Once she shaved her head, it was creepy enough, but I just didn’t like the character or Lex’s response to her. A better version might have been a more serious and seductive character who could lure Lex, over more than one episode, into agreeing to act against Jonathan, and only then take it past what Lex would readily accept on practical grounds. (Oh, and those comments on his security go on the list of Least Observant Moments Ever.)

At least the writers addressed something that made sense to explore: how are Clark and Lana dealing with their sex life, now that Clark has those powers back? Clark has reason for concern; his hormones have set off the heat vision several times without his control, and Lana’s not the most sturdy individual. Still, one had to feel for Chloe. I’m beginning to agree with the people who want Chloe to evolve into the future Lois through some plot twist; she really does deserve to get the man in the end.

One subplot that did work was the interaction between Lionel and Martha. The writers often forget some of the early dynamics between the characters, but when they do, it’s a lot of fun. Was Lionel acting of his own accord, or was Jor-El ensuring that Jonathan would continue to push himself to a early grave? That’s one thing the writers haven’t explored at all: the connection between Lionel and Jor-El and what that means for Clark and Lex.

So Lana has all but worked out what happened during the meteor strike all those years ago, and Clark has to decide what to do about that. If the writers are going to take this up credibly, Lana must work it out and have serious issues with Clark, given her parents’ death. More than that, but she could be drawn to Lex in the process, which would feed his ego. Of course, it could be a lot more complex, but if they are going to start knocking people off, it should mean something, and that means the character development should get better attention.

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

Final Rating: 6/10