Smallville...the episodes

Hug

"You can learn a lot from someone you hate." -Lex

The Villain:

Bob Rickman - a salesman who, thanks to the meteor storm, now possesses the ability to control people's mind to the degree that they do anything he wants them to do once he shakes their hands.

The characters' plot-points:

Jonathan falls under the spell of Rickman (no, not like that!), and ends up selling the Kent farm to him. Clark turns to Lex for help in undoing the damage. Elsewhere, we learn that Whitney is working extra shifts at his father's store while the elder Fordman is still ill.

Lana, considering herself to be a victim of an attack by Kyle Tippet (which she wasn't), is miffed at Clark for sticking up for Kyle. Whitney isn't just miffed - he's downright hostile about it. Victoria makes a brief appearance at a social event, and we discover that Bob Rickman knows her - at least slightly. Not that anything comes from that detail, but it's there. Lex also already knew Rickman, and spends much of the episode scoring verbally off him. Oh, and Chloe rides a horse for the first time, kisses Clark while under Kyle's little "spell", and gets to play Nancy Drew with Clark and Lex for a very brief time.

What to watch for:

Lex under the influence of Rickman. Particularly his delivery of certain lines - "There you are" being the highlight. Actually, all of Lex's scenes with Rickman are great to watch. Notice in the beginning how Lex turns to take pick up a glass, smoothly snubbing Rickman's offer of a handshake.

Quote from the episode:

Lex: "Trust me, Clark. Our friendship is going to be the stuff of legend."

Superman references:

The entire episode plays the relationship between Kyle Tippet and Bob Rickman as a foreshadowing of the future relationship of Clark and Lex. But the most obvious Supes ref would be Clark's comment on what he does (or doesn't) want to be in the future..."As long as it doesn't involve putting on a suit and doing a lot of flying." Cheesy? Yes. But what of it?

CLexiness:

We get some nice Clark/Lex coffee time at the Beanery. Clark turns to Lex for help more than once in this ep - regarding the contract that Jonathan signed, and later to help hide (and obtain medical attention for) Kyle. It also appears that Clark may keep an extra shirt or two at the Luthor mansion (hmmmmm...), or that Lex keeps a couple around for him. And of course there's the whole "best friend" reference after Lex shoots Clark, and the final scene in the barn. Oh, and Clark wipes his mouth off after Chloe kisses him. This ep gets a 8 for CLexiness.

Overall rating:

9 out of 10. Decent writing, good use of parallel relationships, a bit of continuity, and some nice CLexy moments. Only real weakness in this ep is the use of the "eyeball to the mind" special effect.