Insurgence

Season 2, Episode 12, Aired
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Episode Summary

Lex hires some thugs to bug Lionel's office but things get out of control when Lionel and Martha are taken hostage, and Clark must rescue them without revealing his secrets.
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Fan Episode Reviews (15)

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  • this was a good ep

    9.0
    "Superb"
    By cube2k8, May 10, 2010 Report Abuse
    in this ep of smallville lex get beat by his father on a deal. and lex thinks his office was being buged. so he starts to tear apart his office . clark goes over to see lex and lex is talking to him and clark exrays his sterio and sees there something in there and he tells lex they can be put into anyting what about your sterio he finds it . and realizes thats how his dad beat him to the punch. except lex wants to do the same thing and pretends to be a guy called mr green. but the guys he hires want to steal the money they think is in the valult. clarks mother and lionel are there . and they become hostages. and clark and his father get there . and clark decideds no one is watching the daily planet so he speeds from the daily planet into one of the offices of the luthor building. except when he gets there they got the safe open and martha sees the green krptonigt blocks and sees a file on clark and others. and also sees the metalic disk from the ship. clark gets in there saves everyone but clarks dad finds out that lex may have been the cause of this and martha keeps the metalic disk to her self . with out telling them.moreless

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  • Lex discovers his office is bugged, and his belief that Lionel is the culprit leads him into a web of subterfuge, theft, kidnapping, and murder. Martha and Lionel are taken hostage, but she's the heroine, discovering the depth of Lionel's secret files.moreless

    9.0
    "Superb"
    By cxtasy, Oct 28, 2008 Report Abuse
    Lex berates a staffer for losing a large contract to Lionel, and when he smashes his computer to the floor, he finds among the debris a bug in his office. Rather than a methodical sweep of his office, he destroys the place on his own, making a big mess for the set decoration team to clean up. Clark pops in; Lex tells him that Lionel undercut his contract bid through electronic surveillance of his activities. That's not much of a setup scene, so there must be more subplots coming.

    Jonathan prepares an anniversary picnic for Martha and him; she bows out to attend a meeting at Lionel's Metropolis headquarters, probably about the same contract lost by Lex. Jonathan plays the unsympathetic, sarcastic boob that he's becoming in the scripts, making life even harder for Martha.

    Lionel is called in to see Lex, who confronts him about the surveillance; of course Lionel denies everything. Then Lex uses a scrambler to take a cell call about an alleged real estate deal, but it's really about bugging Lionel's office at Luthorcorp.

    Lana stops to see Clark just before going to meet Jennifer Small, Henry's wife. Lana is hopeful for a family of her own. "Some people are just meant to be together," she says, a reference to the Kents, but maybe about her own relationship with Clark.

    When Clark tells Lex about Martha working on a Sunday in Metropolis with Lionel, Lex realizes his surveillance team, installing bugs in Lionel's office, may be discovered, so he calls to order them to pull out. But one of the team members finds Lionel's vault and the plan changes to grand theft, at the cost of their leader, as he's clubbed to the floor. Meanwhile, in another office, Lionel offers a promotion for Martha, a new office, and more time in Metropolis. But she refuses, just as one of the thieves bursts in with a pistol. They're hostages. At this point, "Insurgence" has departed from the usual Smallville plot-and-multiple-subplot structure, focusing on one story for most of the episode. That's somewhat refreshing - the Lana-meets-her-family subplot does not detract, since family issues are affecting Clark, too.

    Lex has brought a helo to the farm to transport Jonathan to Metropolis for dinner with Martha; but Jonathan is still in a minor rage, driving Lex to say he's done trying to be a friend. At Lionel's office, the thieves find that the police have been alerted by Lionel. Team lead gets shot dead, forcing a standoff between the thugs.

    Scene shift to the Lana - Jennifer meeting at the Talon, where Mrs. Small asks her to avoid getting too close to Henry. Henry has two children already; he ignores them, and his priorities change suddenly. Jennifer does not want Lana to be hurt by unrealistic expectations.

    Jonathan and Clark hear tv news about the hostage-taking; Clark urges him to talk to Lex to get use of the helicopter to get to Metropolis faster. Lex is now doing damage control, when Jonathan appears, apologetic, and Lex offers the ride. On Pender Street in downtown Vancouver - make that Metropolis - Clark has already arrived to try a rescue, but his attempt to use a sidewalk vent is stopped by a fast-talking police commander.

    As the thieves break into the vault, all they find is green bars - meteor rock? But two more items from the vault interest Martha - a confidential file on Clark, and the spaceship key. Now she knows a lot more about Lionel. Down below, Clark sees an opportunity to use the DP building to enter Luthorcorp, while the thieves threaten Martha's life. Lex is in direct communication with the kidnappers, and hears about Lionel's files and key. Desperate to obtain these, Lex offers the thieves a way out of the building.

    Clark leaps across the rooftops, despite his uncharacteristic fear of heights, and crashes through a Luthorcorp window. Ok, it's almost like flying. Lex and Lionel get in a bidding war over the hostages and their escape path, while Jonathan overhears Lex talking to the kidnappers. Lex is now in real trouble trying to manage the crisis he created.

    Clark enters the office, but the meteor rocks puts him down. Thinking fast, Martha rolls the rock-cart back into the vault, Clark recovers, and disarms the thief, while Lionel shoots the head bad guy. Martha has Clark ignite the file pile, and has just enough time to retrieve the disc, when the SWAT team enters, and it's over.

    It's a happy reunion between Martha and Jonathan, while Lionel deflects Lex's questions about how Clark got into the building, so there's a hint of Lionel actually protecting Clark's identity. Lex has created nothing but crisis; the Kents are reunited. Lex has nothing but negative consequences, he's now estranged even more from Lionel and the Kents.

    At home, Martha announces she intends to resign from Luthorcorp; she can't work for Lionel knowing that he had secret files on Clark, and refined meteor rock...but Jonathan now sees that she should continue working there, taking a page from the Luthor playbook. If she hadn't been there, they would not have known about the file. Finally, we see that Martha has the spaceship key, but doesn't reveal that to Jonathan, instead hiding it in a flour tin beneath the sink. That leaves an interesting story thread as we wonder what Martha has in mind.

    "Insurgence" is a remarkable episode for Annette O'Toole, as she plays every scene with class, wisdom, and courage. The use of only one major plot reduces the frequent and sometimes annoying scene-switching seen in so many Smallville episodes. The tension builds throughout as Lex gets in deeper and deeper, his desperation growing, and his relationship with Jonathan going from antagonism, to reconciliation, to hostility again. You can't ask much more from a script, the director, or the producers. A Smallville classic - re-run rating B+.moreless

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  • Mission Improbable

    9.2
    "Superb"
    By lenzinoH20, Apr 14, 2008 Report Abuse
    Insurgence-Lex hires some thugs to bug Lionel's office but things get out of control when Lionel and Martha are taken hostage, and Clark must rescue them without revealing his secrets. What is it with Smallville and hostage situations? They always seem to better episodes of the series as they combine the elements that make Smallville great: tension and unbeatable odds. "Insurgnce" sees a pissed off Lex trying to get back at his father for bugging his mansion, so he returns the favor when he sends buggers of his own to bug his father's office in Metropolis. Unknowingly, the buggers have plans of their own when they take Lionel and Martha hostage in his own office. The hostage situation is handled very well as well as the fear that Jothnathan and Clark feel as they watch Martha's life in jeopardy. The Buggers made for some good villains and I loved how they would betray each other as the situation got more intense. I love how Lex handles the situation, especially with his cloaking his voice as the mysterious Mr. Green. Also, the situation brings up some shocking developments like Lionel having the key from the ship and having a file on Clark. It's a revelation that forces Martha to rethink her position as Lionel's assitant and it's just cruel how he was uses her all this time to get closer to Clark's secret. Then there's Jothnathan's confrontation with Lex which John Schiender conveys such great anger. The special effects are a hightlight once again as Clark's superjump into Luthorcorp was amazing. It's a great development as Clark faces his fear of heights to save his mother. All and All, "Insurgence" is a tension filled episode that builds and builds to a satisfying end.moreless

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  • Great Episode

    10
    "Perfect"
    By Beer75, Aug 22, 2007 Report Abuse
    After Lex is defeated in a takeover bid by Lionel, he discovers that his mansion is full of listening devices. Lex starts a plan to bug LuthorCorp's headquarters, but aborts when he finds out that Martha and Lionel are headed there. The abort is botched when the workers want to steal from the LuthorCorp vault. While held hostage, Martha learns that Lionel has files on Clark, and bars of refined meteor rock. "Insurgence" is one of the best episodes of "Smallville". The secret disclosed in the safe of Lionel Luthor is amazing, and Clark Kent practically flies for the first time. The behavior of Jonathan Kent with Lex Luthor is excessively rude, and I do not understand why Lex continues to be so gentle with him.moreless

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  • Lex finds spyware in the mansion, blames Lionel, since he outbid Lex in a huge deal. Lex's hires spies on Dad, but the spy team turns into murderous thieves, taking Martha and Lionel hostage on the evening of her anniversary with Jonathan.moreless

    9.6
    "Superb"
    By ecinajx19, Aug 02, 2007 Report Abuse
    Another intensely emotional episode. Many reviewers have already mentioned salient points, including Clark's leap from the roof of the Daily Planet into a window of Luthor Corp, how Martha actually does a better job of saving Clark than he does of saving her, Lionel's stockpiling of a cart full of green kryptonite bars, the worsening rift between Lionel and Lex as a result of all the espionage they do to each other, the destruction of Lionel's files on Clark. My only question is how did Lionel manage to acquire the spaceship key, when the last we saw of it, it was sucked out of the spaceship during the tornado?moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

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    • The officer who caught Clark ends up being the negotiator? Even if she was a captain, would she have been doing perimeter watch to catch Clark? A hostage negotiator has authority over the entire situation from a law enforcement standpoint. she is never seen communicating with the other departments, like SWAT or the local police. It doesn't seem like she would be the one talking to the hostage takers, with no other authority figures present, considering how big of a name the Luthors are. Edit
    • When Clarks mom shoves the green kryptonite into the vault, Pine shoves his hand in the way of the closing door, which seems to bounce off his hand, which he then falls to the ground in pain. A vault door with that much weight would have sheared his hand without even slowing down, due to its mass. Edit
    • Clark pulls a small conduit cable from a small breaker box, and it shuts down power to the entire building? Even the entire floor wouldn't be affected by one small conduit, and they show no evidence of him even being on the same floor. Edit

  • Notes

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    • The visual effects team was recognized by the Visual Effects Society with a 2004 VES Award for Outstanding Matte Painting in a Televised Program, Music Video, or Commercial award for this episode. Edit
    • Music: "Bittersweetheart" by Ed Harcourt, "Tomorrow" by SR-71, and "Invisible Man" by Theory Of A Deadman. Edit
    • Samuel L. Jones and Allison Mack do not appear in this episode Edit

  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES
    • Jonathan: Clark! Clark! I suppose you know why there's a helicopter on our front yard? Edit
    • Lex: Big Brother is listening. Or should I say 'Big Daddy'? Edit
    • Lex: I want you to know I was doing everything I could to secure your release. Lionel: Oh I'm sure you did a great deal. Edit

  • Allusions

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    • Lana: What if she votes me off the island?
      Of course, a reference to that most famous of reality shows, Survivor. Edit

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