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Chloe is suddenly Lois.  And Clark thinks he’s a normal guy. Yes, it’s the introduction of Zatanna to the Smallville universe…

Chloe makes a birthday wish, which a magician named Zatanna grants: she wants to live the life of Lois. She wakes up the next day as Lois and, after seeing how differently Clark treats her, lets him know who she really is and gets him to help set things right. Instead, Clark ends up getting his wish of wanting to live a normal life and he no longer knows about his powers. Zatanna tells Chloe that as soon as she truly doesn’t want her wish any more, it will go away, so not only does she try to feel that way herself, but she tries to convince Clark he needs to be a hero. Oliver, meanwhile, retrieves Zatanna’s dad’s book of spells for her, and she tries to bring Zatara back. Fortunately, Clark remembers who he really is and jumps to the rooftop of the Daily Planet, where he convinces her it’s wrong to give up her own life for her father’s.

This wasn’t bad for a filler episode. It even had some comic relief. Not only was the episode mostly from Chloe’s point of view, but it was from Chloe’s p.o.v. as Lois. We got to see more of the usual grind at the Daily Planet than we normally do, and it had a very Lois & Clark feel to it, especially with the comedy added in.

Unfortunately, Erica Durance wasn’t quite up to the task of imitating Allison Mack, so the switch wasn’t as believable or enjoyable as it could have been. Whenever they do these kinds of shows, it’s always crucial that you actually believe the person we’re seeing is really the person we know them to be. It didn’t work this time. Lois came across as Lois acting weird, but I never felt like she was really Chloe.

Another problem I had was that Oliver gave up his identity way to easily when Zatanna called him on it. Considering the lengths he and Clark go to in order to prevent their real names from being discovered, I can’t believe he just caved in two seconds like that. He could have easily said that Oliver paid him or called in a favor. But I guess they needed to set up the fact that Zatanna is later a member of the Justice League (at least in the comics) and that was their convenient way of doing it.

The Clark/Lois relationship is already getting to the point where they need to move forward with it. Usually I’m all for the old “will they or won’t they” relationship continuing on a series, but the fact is we know they will (as long as they stick to normal Superman continuity in any way, shape, or form), so that tension is replaced by a simple waiting game that’s starting to get a bit long in the tooth.

As filler episodes go, it definitely could have been worse. With only a few left, I’m looking for a strong finish to this season.

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