Crusade

Season 4, Episode 1, Aired
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Episode Summary

Clark returns to Smallville as Kal-El - intent on fulfilling his destiny, he goes after a powerful Kryptonian crystal that Lex has obtained in Egypt. Meanwhile, newcomer Lois Lane arrives in Smallville to look into the death of her cousin Chloe, and Lana returns from Paris with a new boyfriend. Jonathan lies in a coma after the events of last year's season finale and Lionel must deal with his new life in prison.moreless
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Fan Episode Reviews (35)

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  • this was a good ep

    9.0
    "Superb"
    By cube2k8, Jun 06, 2011 Report Abuse
    in this ep of the season premair of season 4 of smallville clark is returning ot smallville to forfill his destny about the stones and he goe must find and get the one from lex luthor and thers is a new person in town losie lane and she is tring to figure out what happen to her cousin cloye and how she died clarks dad is in a comer from what happened in the season 3 final and lana comes back from paris and she brings back a new boyfriend that she met there . this was a good way to start off season 4 of the showmoreless

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    0 1

  • Season 4 is off to a very sexy start....

    10
    "Perfect"
    By Kadodian, Apr 25, 2011 Report Abuse
    The one thing that never changes about Smallville is it's hot cast. This episode shows Tom and Kristen naked which I deffinately loved and added two other hotties to the cast. Jensen Ackles and Lois Lane. Clark is found in the forest hit by lightning. Apparently he dosen't remember anything. Kal-el has taken his body. Mommy comes to the rescue with a black crystal and Clark is back. Lois visits Lionel to threaten him about Chloe's death. Lois wasn't the only person who visited Lionel in this episode. Lex also visited Lionel with alligations of a stolen crystal.Lana has a boyfriend and her art leads her to a sweaty break down. The episode ends with a funny but sweet conversation between Lois and Clark at Chloe's grave. Clark's x-ray vision shows that Chloe isn't dead. Interesting events in this episode. I liked how everything was set out. Smallville dosen't usually have this many events in one episode. Lana's mystery tattoo after the drawing's spirit went in her. Clark being Kal-el and getting saved by Martha. Kal-el stealing the crystal after flying to the plane. Excitement from the beggining of the episode to the end of it with a lot of skin shown by Clark,Lana and even Lex. The beggining of the season is off to a great start :D.moreless

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    4 2

  • With so many people dead, missing, moved, or just not what they used to be, the writers have really given themselves a story to resolve.

    6.0
    "Fair"
    By loppytaffy, Mar 06, 2011 Report Abuse
    As clever as the writers are, I dislike the time skippings and character diss/appearances. A lot can happen in three months, and so naturally, I feel left out in that I haven't followed the lives of the characters. Although I have been tapping my foot and flicking through comics wandering why Lois isn't around, the actress they chose to play her was dissapointing. It also seems the 'no tights, no flights' rule has gone out the window with Tom Welling's modesty, but that's not so bad...he does have an awesome take off, and looks better in flight than Reeves (RIP) ever did. However, the enigma is still bothering me; Smallville isn't simply 'there's a problem, we're gonna solve it in 42 minutes' any more. Lex is also getting too close to the truth, while Clark's secret is being passed around a society of people under Dr. Swann, how can his secret be consealed within 100's, maybe 1000's of scientists that are out to make profit?!moreless

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    0 8

  • Comas, kidnappings, bombings, poisonings, abductions to distant planets - all these must be resolved from last season. And the big surprises involving a new character and Clark's abilities are also in the complicated plot of "Crusade."moreless

    8.5
    "Great"
    By cxtasy, Dec 03, 2010 Report Abuse
    Season Four's premiere resolves some continuing crises, with others developing even further. Lana's departure for Paris last season appeared to be based on introducing Lois Lane to the cast, and giving room for her to develop relationships with the Smallville family. But Ms. Kreuk is featured again, with a new friend in the City of Lights, and a new mystery. His name is Jason, and they meet again on the streets, next to a SmartCar and a homely Audi TT. It does look like Paris, but that Eiffel Tower may be digital, transplanted to a Vancouver neighborhood.

    The scene is three months after the ending of "Covenant," in which Clark had disappeared into the ether, a virtual captive of Jor-El. The tragic death of Chloe has led her cousin Lois to Smallville to investigate, since the authorities have ended theirs. Chloe left a video for Clark, asking him to investigate - but Lois somehow gets into the Torch office to view it. In an incredible coincidence, Lois encounters lightning, a brilliant sphere, and and explosions, sending her GMC Envoy into a corn field - and there's Clark in the middle of the burn area, wearing very little. Still looks like a "Terminator" motif. Clark is a robot, remembering nothing of his life here or there, only that he can speak normal English. She's "Lois...Lois Lane," mimicking James Bond.

    Lois gamely wraps him in a red blanket (or cape?) and gets him to the hospital, but of course we can't really allow a medical exam to take place. Jonathan is confined there, too, in a three-month-long coma, Martha vowing never to pull the plug on him. Martha is stunned and overjoyed to see Clark, even if he doesn't recognize her, and Lois is only too willing to hand off responsibility for him to her - until Lois hears his name. Erica Durance plays Lois as perky and abrasive, taking no sass from anyone.

    Seeing Lex on an Egyptian archeological foray is somewhat shocking, given his near-death experience via poisoning last season. And what is the source of this story? He finds an ancient statuette of the god Horus, son of Isis, but it's back is festooned with kryptonian symbols. We'll need some backstory to understand this development. Lex is suffering from the heat, or residual poison, and he leaves in the Luthorcorp jet, which appears to be a CG Gulfstream incongruously parked on the desert sands - ignoring the fact that business jets aren't suited to unpaved runways. On board a different jet (not the Hawker-Siddley HS-125 in an aerial clip), we at least find he's getting blood purification treatment, so the poison wasn't pointless. The statuette breaks on Lex's flight, revealing a crystal, which illuminates, simultaneously sounding a head-splitting alarm to Kal-El at the farm. Martha is terrified of losing him to Jor-El, but she cannot stop him from fulfilling his destiny, and at last, Clark flies! He soars to the jet, with some pretty great special effects as he yanks open the door, depressurizing the plane, and causing the crystal to come to his grasp. He then flies off, leaving Lex peering through a hole in the bulkhead.

    In a cathedral in Paris, ostensibly Notre Dame, Jason and Lana work on her art history project - she's to make a rubbing of the crypt of Contessa Margaret Isabel Thoreau. As Lana begins, totally unsupervised, she notices some strange symbols being revealed - as she touches it, she's bathed in intense light.

    Lois barges in to see Clark, wound up tight, explaining to Martha that she wants to see Clark about Chloe's death. "Give me a nerd with glasses any day of the week," she says, an amusing reference to her future with the man of steel. Martha advises staying away from Lionel Luthor, and Lois leaves. Then Margot Kidder makes an special appearance as Bridget Crosby, a staffer sent by Dr. Swann, but Martha is shocked by her knowledge of Clark, including his alias, Kal-El. In a different lifetime, she says, she had a relationship with Swann, an inside joke and allusion to their partnership and starring roles in the Superman movies. She explains the symbol in the yard was for "Crusade" in kryptonian symbology...how did she know about this? It's nice to see her as a guest star, but it's a bit contrived - she has brought Martha a chunk of black kryptonite, saying it's Clark's only hope. Don't think about this too much, or you'll ask questions: How did she and Swann know about Clark's disappearance? How did they know he was transformed by Jor-El? What is the source of black kryptonite? Oh well, it's just a cameo.

    Lex managed to make a successful emergency landing, and is back to visit Lionel, and the usual accusations ensue. He suspects Lionel of breaking into his jet - and grills him about the missing crystal, elaborating (to us) that three relics were hidden around the world by ancient cultures, and if they come together they're a treasure of knowledge. Lex has found that Lionel funded six expeditions to find these artifacts. Lionel claims ignorance, and takes no responsibility for Chloe's death. So that's a standoff.

    Clark/Kal-El returns to the cave and activates a kryptonian power panel in the wall, and a platform appears - he knows already that the crystal fits onto the top. One part of the puzzle, two more to go. So far Mr. Welling has maintained only a poker face, but Martha comes to the cave with the black kryptonite, forcing a violent split betwen Kal-El's essence and his as Clark. The Clark entity banishes Kal-El's force, in a burst of light sending Martha across the cave, and Clark is back as his old self - as this occurs, Jonathan is suddenly revived at the hospital - a miraculous recovery. Later, Clark remembers nothing of his time on a distant world with Jor-El, but he says he's still Earthbound, and cannot fly. He stlll has misgivings about his powers, and sees Martha as the hero in this challenge to the Kent family.

    Lana awakens is her Paris apartment with Jason pounding on the door, but she looks a fright, remembers nothing from the previous day, and discovers a tattoo on her back - in the shape of the symbol on the crypt rubbing, so we have a new storyline and the expectation that Lana will be a key player for some time.

    Lionel has another visitor, Lois, whom he knows as Chloe's cousin. But Lois does not suspect him of the crime, which she calls thuggish and born of desperation. but she still believes he's the reason Chloe's gone. He claims to have nothing to do with her death, but Lois suggests he's being set up on the murder rap...he pauses. So the writers have created some doubt about who is behind all these crimes and thefts and plots, but have given no clues to the origin - we don't suspect Dr. Swann is capable of this conspiracy, so who is it? Lois visits Chloe's grave marker, Ms. Durance portraying grief with some skill and vowing to find out who did this to her. Clark comes by; she does not seem very surprised that he has regained his memory. He offers to help her investigation, and the Kent home for a place to stay. This sets up a way for Lois and Clark to become well acquainted, and maybe this will be fun to watch. As Lois gives Clark a few moments at the grave, he decides to check the coffin - x-ray vision reveals...no corpse! "Lois! Chloe's still alive!" Now that's a surprise - and a good one. Chloe has been such a key player in this series that no one wants to see her written out.

    "Crusade" has a number of interesting surprises in storylines, resolving some of last season's cliffhangers almost too easily and quickly, and introducing the crystal quest rather abruptly. It's adventurous, though, and the scene of Clark flying becomes part of the opening credits. Maybe the producers thought it's just too early for Clark to fly regularly - he has decisions on his true destiny to make - and he has in this episode stepped away from Jor-El's influence once more and returned to farm-boy Clark. A couple good conflicts are coming up, and the mystery of Chloe and the development of the crystal story and Lana's new love interest are a good start on the new season. Re-run rating B.moreless

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    1 0

  • And they're back.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By dmarex, Dec 03, 2010 Report Abuse
    I couldn't wait to watch this episode after the last five minutes in the previous episode, and this episode delivered just like I thought it would, maybe even better.

    I was confused as to what Kal-El was doing and what will happen next, but everything changed when Martha turned him back to Clark. I'm still confused with some of the things that happened, but it remains a mystery to see what Kal-El was really after and what Jor-El will do now. I can't wait to find out.

    Next, Lana found herself a new boyfriend, and I'm not too crazy about that storyline, but I guess they need to go somewhere with her. I do hope that Clark starts being enemies with either Lex or Lana because they're dragging the will-they-or-won't-they stuff way too much. Also, I can't wait to find out what happened to Chloe. Meanwhile, whatever is happening to Lana is very promising.

    The biggest surprise of the episode, of course, was the arrival of Lois Lane. Now, I never watched any Superman movies or cartoons or read the comics, but I understand that's she's quite important. The actress that plays the role is doing a great job, I already find myself liking this character more than half of the characters on the show, and I do enjoy every one of them. Erica Durance is a breath of fresh air, and the character of Lois is very entertaining.moreless

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    1 0
 

Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

    ADD TRIVIA
    • When Lana is in the French cathedral, she uses a pencil and a large sheet to make her drawing on the sculpture. It is highly unlikely for nuns or the curator of the place to allow such a thing, since it can badly deteriorate the piece of art. Edit
    • When Jason starts knocking on Lana's door, the clasp from the door chain is all the way to the left. The camera cuts to Lana in bed. When it cuts back to the door, the clasp is now all the way to the right. Edit
    • Chloe left the message for Clark on her computer in case she was murdered... in the middle of her high school, in the Torch office, where she is known to spend a great deal of time. If someone wanted her dead, the first thing they would do is get rid of any evidence, so wouldn't she try and be a bit more discreet, seeing how it doesn't seem she was in a hurry to record the message? Edit

  • Notes

    ADD NOTES
    • This episode was nominated for a 2005 VES Award for Outstanding Created Environment in a Live Action Broadcast Program. Edit
    • The exterior footage of church shown where Lana and Jason enter is the famous cathedral Notre Dame although it is not named and the internal scenes are filmed elsewhere. Edit
    • For those wondering if that is really Tom Welling's naked body during the opening "born from the lightning" scene. Erica Durance makes it fairly obvious that it really is him in the DVD commentary. Edit

  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES
    • Lana: (kissing Jason) Jason, stop it. We're in a church and I have an art history project to finish! Jason: Okay, when my girlfriend invites me to an old crypt for some brass rubbing, I thought it was code for something else. Edit
    • (Clark referring to a picture of Jonathan Kent) Kal-El: He's not my father. He tried to prevent me from being reborn. Martha: No, Clark. He loves you. He tried to save you from Jor-El. Kal-El: Either way he's dead. Edit
    • Bridgette Crosby: Now, where's your son? Martha: I don't know. He flew. He flew away. Edit

  • Allusions

    ADD ALLUSIONS
    • Lois: Give me a geek with glasses any day. This is an allusion to the role Lois has played in all of the previous incarnations of the Superman stories as Clark Kent's love interest after he arrives in Metropolis as "mild mannered Clark Kent," reporter for the Daily Planet. Edit
    • Lionel: You know they dubbed Mussolini a savior too, and look what happened to him. Mussolini was the dictator of Italy during WWII. His people eventually helped Allied forces to overthrow him. Edit
    • Kal-El: Arriving in lightning Clark-as-Kal-El arrives naked in a bolt(s) of lighting and talks and walks robotically. This is an reference to the first and third Terminator movies. Edit

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