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Despite the humor of Lana getting Clark’s powers and the resulting booty call causing tremors all over Kansas, this was another dark episode. Normally I love dark shows—X-Files is one of my all-time favorite series, and I’m always saying how the new Battlestar Galactica is the best show on television—but I’m having a difficult time adjusting to the attempt to change this show’s tone. I just haven’t decided if they’re not doing it right, or if it’s because it’s so different from what this show used to be.

Overall, this episode wasn’t as good as “Action” a couple of weeks ago, but it was better than most this season. I admit I’m hooked on the Lana storyline, and I really think that when Lex and Lionel tell Clark that Lana isn’t who she appears to be, there’s more to it than the fact that Lana is hiding things from him and capable of things he never dreamed of. There’s something else going on there, and I can’t wait to find out what it is.

I keep saying I’m not going to point out every plot hole I see, but I can’t help this one because it bothered me more than normal: Why the HELL was Lois moved to Smallville Medical Center after being attacked by Lana at the Daily Planet offices in Metropolis? Are you kidding me? Are we supposed to believe that the medical care is better than anything they have in Metropolis? Then again, maybe they’ve treated so many patients (especially Lana) for injuries related to super-powered beings, they’re world-renowned experts in the field.

And on the subject of Lois, is she ever going to get a clue? Why is she such an airhead all the time, and when is she going to start actually becoming the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist? Okay, maybe the Smallville writers are trying to point out how ridiculous it was all those years in previous Superman incarnations for an investigative reporter not to be able to figure out that the mild-mannered guy she worked next to and dated off and on was also the Man of Steel. I’d love to give them the benefit of the doubt, but somehow I don’t think so.

It’ll be nice to have Brainiac back, which is obviously where they’re going with the “sentient oil” thing (although, in my opinion, it’s a blatant rip-off of what they did on X-Files…maybe it’s a “homage”). It’s rare that Clark actually has a foe who can actually take him down, and that kind of danger is necessary to keep the show interesting. I’m not really sure I get why the Kryptonite prevented it from escaping, though—I thought they made it pretty clear that Fine/Brainiac wasn’t affected by Kryptonite the way actual Kryptonians are.

My biggest worry isn’t that this show won’t get completely back on its feet anymore. Now I’m more worried that it won’t even get a chance to do that, with the writer’s strike. As much as I support the writers in what they’re doing, the 1988 strike did permanent harm to some shows that were floundering back then, and I can see it happening here.

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