Conflict and reconciliation are featured in this episode highlighting Lois and Oliver; he is on a crimebusting spree but relying on a drug with nasty side effects to protect him from injury. Lana get some shattering news.moreless
8.5
"Great"
Just as Lois and Oliver almost get very close at his penthouse, he is sidetracked by a street-level assault below, and off he goes (but how can he see wearing dark glasses at night?) Arrow loosed, one more Chrysler K-car bites the dust - no great loss - but the bad guy gets one more shot, and Oliver is down.
Back at the Kent's, Lois reports Oliver's disappearing act - Clark reassures her, "Lois, I'm sure you'll find someone who's better suited for you." So it is foretold. The news is reporting the Green Arrow shot but not found.
Lana shows interest in a charity serving a second-chance halfway house, but Lex warns her against the charity, and quashes her desires. Hmmm, does he know something he's not telling?
Clark visits Oliver, who seems to be unharmed. They engage in some interesting debate about hidden identities and helping serve justice, then Oliver belligerently kicks out Clark, who spots Oliver injecting some type of medication, which instantly heals his glass cut. Clark informs Lois of his suspicion that Oliver is using drugs. We learn that Oliver is taking RL-65 injections, and his homegirl scientist, Dr. Pamela Black, warns him that lab animals taking the stuff are having loss of control.
Lionel visits Martha to offer regrets that he won't be coming for Thanksgiving dinner - and we're on the verge of the first romantic encounter between the two - but Lionel bails pre-contact.
Lana suddenly faints while visiting Chloe; she gets a medical exam about her pain, but the writers let the tension build. When Lois next stops at Oliver's lair, she sees the Green Arrow and clobbers him, but he floors her and runs, she's hospital-bound. Doesn't she begin to wonder why the G. A. is in Oliver's loft?
Martha later visits Lionel again, affirms there's something between them, and he agrees to come for Thanksgiving.
Oliver finds street thug number 2, who leaps off a building and splatters below, but somehow he's unharmed. Roughed up by Oliver, thug says his halfway house is being visited by a female Doctor. Looks like Lex is paying Dr. Black, too. She announces she's quitting the experimentation on RL-65, but we know how hard it is to say "no" to Lex. When Chloe and Clark go to the the lab, they find Dr. Black dead, and a green arrow nearby. More planted evidence?
Clark finds Lana at the Luthor mansion debilitated and weak, but she won't let Clark help. Oliver ambushes Lex and tells him the Doctor is dead. In a standoff, bullet versus arrow, they're both hit. Oliver injects himself, leaving it to Clark to find more RL-65 to save Lex, who awakens to find himself alone. More superhero confrontations follow, but Oliver finally drops the chemical supplements.
The major development in this episode is finally revealed as Lana comes to see Chloe with the heavy news - she's pregnant.
Clark persuades Oliver to come for Thanksgiving, which is a heartwarming cast party full of good food and a nice recitation by Clark on family traditions and faith. It's a good family time, but without Jimmy and Lana. By contrast, Lana and Lex have a stiff and formal dinner separated at a twenty-foot long table, as Lana continues going through the motions of her increasingly unhappy life.
"Rage" is a high-quality episode, with good dialog, fun-to-watch Lois and Oliver bantering, and life-changing news for Lana. Re-run rating B.moreless