Ryan

Season 2, Episode 8, Aired
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Episode Summary

Ryan (from "Stray") returns and Clark has to save him from Dr. Garner of the Summerholt Research Facility. Meanwhile, Aunt Nell leaves Smallville, and Lex wants to expand the plant but runs afoul of the mayor.
9.3
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Fan Episode Reviews (23)

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  • this was a really good ep

    9.0
    "Superb"
    By cube2k8, May 10, 2010 Report Abuse
    in this ep of smallville clark gets a call from a place called summer home and its ryan and clark tells his parents and goes there and breaks him out of ther. becasue they were doing tests on him to see the funtion of his abilty. thing is it caused him to have a brain toomer. and the summer home trys to get him back but its too late clark learns that he dieing. but clark does not want him to die soe he goes and gets a well know doctor but its too late it did work and clark takes him high above the cloudns in a hot air baloon.to enjoy his last moments togeater and he dies. it was very sad ep i thoguht. but a really good onemoreless

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  • Ryan- This is one of the most touching episodes of Smallville for me.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By TheDani82, Jun 21, 2009 Report Abuse
    Reindroducing Ryan just to let him die in the end was something I really did not reckon with when I first watched "Ryan".
    To me it seemed sure that the little boy had been saved by Clark as soon as he had the surgeon convinced to help- but it was not so.
    Clark did all he could to help but it was in vain. He was not willing to accept his helplessness until the end but when he finally did this step made him
    more grown-up.
    The cross-fading from the comic figure's mask to Clark's face is so nicely done, I really liked it.
    Angels or Devils from Dishwalla fits so perfectly and the whole end is so touching I could watch and listen to it all the time.
    The idea with the captive balloon is nice as it stands for the floating fortess Ryan always wanted to have. Then, Clark collects the comics, looks at the empty bed and just stands there in the way with everybody around him moving and going on or maybe not even noticing what just happened to him...
    His sad and mourning face and view says so much more than thousand words.
    By the way: Maybe it is too far interpreted, but the doctor that walks by Clark holds some kind of schedule in his hands and it throws a light red shadow at Clark which could remind one of the cape he has not yet gotten.
    I do not want to know how many so unbeliavably great songs I would have missed and never heard anywhere else if Smallville had never been there to show them to me.moreless

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  • Clark shows his humane side and his vulnerability to the natural force that is death.

    9.5
    "Superb"
    By Siddh96, Dec 23, 2008 Report Abuse
    This episodes is one of my favorites and it's the first one of Smallville i've ever seen. Ryan's acting was amazing and the dramatic build up was spectacular. I've seen this episode like 3 times and everytime i see it i always keep hoping that Ryan will survive even though i knew he'll die. Even though this never happened in real life, i think this episode actually shows examples of how one can believe in hope even if it is dim. I always hope that Ryan survives whenever i watch this and so do my friends. What's so great about this episode is that Clark learns he can't save everyone. Death is one force that he can't fight with brains or brawn, but he still tries and never gives in to it. He comes to term with the fact that he can't save everyone and still challenges it like a true hero should. He really grows up in this episode and you can see a Superman type of look in his eyes, a more clearer look than usual. I gave this episode a 9.5, but i was trying to be unbias while reviewing it. If i gave it what i feel it would be a 10/10 at min.moreless

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  • Ryan comes back to Smallville! He was left by his aunt to be experimented on. Clark saves him...but can he be saved?

    8.5
    "Great"
    By justbloem88, Dec 09, 2008 Report Abuse
    Ryan, who was previously seen on smallville is back. In the last episode he was taken by his aunt to live a nice life. But he ends op in an experimental institution where they search a explanation for his 'mind reading'.
    I loved the episode. The episode was slowly build to an awesome ending. The love of the people in smallvile for a boy that they barely know. Ryan, the boy who doesn't even want to be special and his whole life is being exploid. No miracles at the end, ryan is sick and dies. But in a way everyone would want. peacefull and with loved ones around him.moreless

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  • Young Ryan has telepathic abilities, and is exploited by the Summerholt Institute, but Clark is his biggest supporter. Lex goes up against corrupt Mayor Tate on a new plant permit, and Lana is faced with a move to Metropolis with Aunt Nell.moreless

    8.0
    "Great"
    By cxtasy, Oct 23, 2008 Report Abuse
    Ryan Kelley, playing Ryan James, returns to the cast after his first appearance in "Stray" in Season One, and he still has his telepathic abilities. The infamous Summerholt Institute has him virtually imprisoned for testing in another blue-filtered scene, a video tint which is supposed to be mysterious, or ominous, or just annoying. Once these film fads take hold, they are overused to the point you wish someone would turn on the lights. Apparently Ryan is reading the mind of the conductor, who sequences photos of various scenes on a monitor, and Ryan is correctly identifying most of them, as well as the fears of the experimenter. He also claims that a lab tech is stealing a powerful narcotic, but that's a ruse, allowing Ryan to make an urgent phone call to Clark, pleading for help.

    The Kents find no leads to the Institute or Ryan's Aunt; everyone's disappeared. Chloe and her hacker abilities to the rescue - she finds the Institute in Metropolis, but she's apparently unaware of Ryan's abilities. So why doesn't Clark cut class and head to the big city immediately?

    The second plot has Lex meeting Mayor Tate, played by William B. Davis, of "X-Files" fame. Lex wants preferred treatment for a zoning commission permit for a Lexcorp plant expansion; Mayor Tate is on the take to support his re-election campaign. Didn't the security cameras catch all that? But Lex would only retain any corruption evidence to support his own purposes, so on we go to plot Three.

    Lana and Aunt Nell are featured next, with the news that Nell and Dean plan to move to Metropolis, much to Lana's surprise. A family split seems inevitable.

    Clark wants to go to Summerholt to search for Ryan, but Jonathan has already sent the police there; they found nothing. Clark tries the direct approach at the Institute, but is rebuffed. How about some super-hearing and x-ray vision? Doctor Garner, the experimenter, meets Clark but is one big liar about Ryan being held there. Spotting a patient roster, Clark finds Ryan's room and busts the door right in, assaults an attendant, and carries Ryan off. We could ask why he doesn't use legal methods - notify the police, get some prosecution going, the usual. But he takes Ryan to the mansion instead, where Ryan explains why his Aunt left him with Summerholt. Lex doesn't know of his abilities either, but is concerned about Clark abducting a minor. He agrees to keep Ryan temporarily.

    Back home, the Sheriff and Dr. Garner have appeared with a search warrant for the farm. Next day, Clark is forced by circumstances to bring Ryan back, but the question is - who is Ryan's legal guardian? It's Dr. Garner, and the Sheriff must enforce the return of Ryan from the Kent's care, and Garner will drop charges. Lex is the next to join the controversy, arriving at the farm in a black Mercedes cabriolet, and a restraining order allowing Ryan to stay in the Kent's care until his case is reviewed. So Dr. Garner backs off.

    Chloe, Lana, Pete and a crowd of supporters welcome Ryan back with a surprise party at the Talon. Ryan can sense that, first, Pete knows Clark's secret and is under great stress with that knowledge, and second, that Lana plans to move to Metropolis. That night, Lana comes by the farm, where Clark gives her an opening to tell him the news, and she does. He asks her to stay in Smallville.

    Ryan hints at a secret Martha has - but we don't know what it is. Bet it's a baby. Ryan does some bonding with Lex, making us wonder why he doesn't sense more of the motivations of Lex. Suddenly another headache strikes Ryan, causing a nosebleed, fainting, and a trip to the hospital, with Clark watching over him. Ryan has sensed from Dr. Garner that he has a brain tumor - and he's dying. Clark goes straight into the anger stage, bypassing denial. Lana is researching child emancipation with Chloe, but she has no legal standing to claim the right to her own future. Chloe suggests one other option (wonder if that's marriage??).

    Lex has a medical suggestion for Clark - a doctor with an untested serum for treating tumors. Lex has some other good advice and insight for Clark about spending time with Ryan, rather than chasing down treatments. Clark has to superspeed 425 miles to Hub City; doesn't this wear out shoe soles pretty fast? Lex visits Ryan, sharing Warrior Angel comics, which have numerous story parallels to the story of Lex and Clark themselves - about joining forces to rule the world. Over at the Hub City Airport, Clark intercepts the doctor's U.S.-registered Cessna Citation, already taxiing for takeoff. The good doctor checks Ryan's brain scans; he will help. A little story inconsistency arises - the doctor supposedly had a serum, but Ryan gets brain surgery instead.

    Mayor Tate is confronted by Lex who plans an expose of his corruption - just a question of who has the upper hand. Lex will support Tate's opponent; Tate will deep-six the new plant.

    Lana greets Clark with the news that she will reside with Chloe until the end of high school. Good news. But Ryan is out of surgery - bad news, recovery is not expected. Clark sees to his last wish - a hot-air balloon flight over the green fields of Kansas.

    While "Ryan" ends on a sad note, it's a good episode, with some philosophy, a bit of corruption, and lingering questions about the direction Lex will take in life. Solid Smallville - re-run rating B.moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

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    • In the opening scene, when Ryan is strapped to the chair and begins to have a nosebleed, he wipes the blood away, making a smear across his top lip. Yet in the separate side shots of the same scene, there is still blood dripping and no smear. In fact the amount and distribution of blood differs from shot to shot throughout. Edit
    • Doesn't anybody wonder how how Clark got all the way to the brain specialist in such a short amount of time? Edit
    • Hub City's airport security is really lax. Apparently, anyone can just drive up the road and end up on the runway as there was no gate, barrier, or even a guard for that matter that would prevent anyone from doing so. Edit

  • Notes

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    • Music: Angels or Devils by Dishwalla, and Inside Out by VonRay. Edit
    • In this episode it explains that Warrior Angel has a bubble he goes to to be alone. When Clark explains it, it sounds a lot like his Fortress of Solitude he will have later in his life. Edit
    • Despite being billed in the opening credits, John Glover doesn't appear in this episode. Edit

  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES
    • Ryan: I don't want to be a problem.
      Martha.: Ryan. You are a gift. Like Clark. Edit

    • Lex: When Winston Churchill heard about the attack on Pearl Harbor, he broke out a bottle of champagne and said, "We've won the war." His generals looked at him like he'd lost his mind. America's Pacific fleet was wiped out, France was overrun and the Luftwaffe was bombing London. Churchill said "America is like a giant boiler. Light a fire under it and there's no limit to the amount of heat it can generate." If you start a fire, Mayor Tate, you'd better be prepared to deal with the flames. Edit

    • Ryan: Why do you think Devilicus went bad? Lex: I'm not sure. Probably wasn't aware of it. You see, Ryan, in life, the road to darkness is a journey, not a light switch. Ryan: You should remember that, Lex. Edit

  • Allusions

    ADD ALLUSIONS
    • Comic Books Warrior Angel #66 tells the story of how Devilicus and Warrior Angel used to be the closest of friends prior to becoming the greatest of enemies. A nice foreshadowing of things to come between Lex and Clark. Action Comics #66 (November 1943) was titled "The boy who came back..." The title is somewhat similar to what this story is about, the boy (Ryan) comes back into the Kent's life. And finally, Superman #66 v.2 (April 1992) dealt with Superman's nemesis "Brainiac" whose main power was...telepathy. Edit
    • Ryan: What's OxyContin? OxyContin is a sustained release form of the synthetic opiate Oxycodone. Oxycodone is a highly addictive narcotic. Edit
    • Chloe: That's very Erin Brockovich of you. Erin Brockovich helped organize 650 plaintiffs who sued Pacific Gas & Electric for damages resulting from a chemical in the drinking water in Hinkley, California. They were awarded the largest damage settlement in history. Edit

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