Void

Season 5, Episode 17, Aired
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Episode Summary

Distraught over her break-up with Clark, Lana goes to a rogue medical student who experiments with a dangerous kryptonite-based serum that allows people to flat-line but see their dead loved ones. Lana attempts to see her dead parents using the serum and when Clark returns from Honduras to help her, the doctor injects him with the serum and Clark speaks with his dead father...who warns him that Lionel knows his secret. Meanwhile, Lionel continues working to get closer to Martha, and Lex has a near-death vision of his mother.moreless
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Fan Episode Reviews (57)

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  • Didn\\\'t watch it

    7.1
    "Good"
    By smallville_1, Apr 10, 2010 Report Abuse
    Never seen it yet, and don\\\\\\\'t really plan to. Since Lana and Clark broke up, really pointless to watch this series. They actually had chemistry. I don\\\\\\\'t even frckin get why Lois is going to be Clark\\\\\\\'s love interest. If they wanted to do that, they should have showed Lois more and made her a bit more important.. and this is just my opinion, c\\\\\\\'mon! Lex and Lana..... uhh, not my fave couple. sorry to fans, they just don\\\\\\\'t look that compatible with each other, and on top of it all, Lex is evil, so he totally doesn\\\\\\\'t deserve Lana, even though he does like her. If he could just be a bit less selfish with his researches and what so ever...moreless

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    0 1

  • Afterlife Addicts

    5.0
    "Mediocre"
    By lenzinoH20, Jan 04, 2009 Report Abuse
    Void-Distraught over her break-up with Clark, Lana goes to a rogue medical student who experiments with a dangerous kryptonite-based serum that allows people to flat-line but see their dead loved ones. Lana attempts to see her dead parents using the serum and when Clark returns from Honduras to help her, the doctor injects him with the serum and Clark speaks with his dead father...who warns him that Lionel knows his secret. Meanwhile, Lionel continues working to get closer to Martha, and Lex has a near-death vision of his mother.

    Even after a somewhat disturbing teaser, Flatli...I mean "Void" is just a cardboard copy of the 1990 thriller with more Clana crap thrown in. Did the writers really think it would be interesting to see Lana becoming a drug addict for an episode? Even if Clark broke her heart, isn't a little bit out of character for her to turn to drugs? Once again, instead of feeling sorry for the character, you just roll your eyes every time she's on screen. Another thing that got on my nerves is how Clark, for the first time, is reduced into a secondary character on his own series for one episode. Just like next season's "Static", "Void" suffers from the lack of Clark's presence. While it's nice to see Clark trying to track down Fine, it's a beyond boring subplot that sees Clark walking around another country for nearly 30 minutes. But there is a stunning SFX sequence of Clark racing across the world from Metropolis to Honduras.

    The only 2 scenes worth watching are Lex and Clark's afterlife reunions with their parents. Lex and Lillian encounter was chilling, especially how Lillian reminds him of the journey her took in "Lexmas" to which he chose the wrong path. Then, there's the touching moment where Jonathan returns and gives a powerful final speech to Clark. It's great to see John Schneider back as his presence as some class to an otherwise sub-par episode. Besides some nice afterlife scenes and some cool special effects, "Void" is still de-"void" of any real decent storyline and makes Lana look more pathetic as a character.moreless

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  • Lana's loneliness leads her to extreme measures to be with her deceased parents in another state of consciousness. Both Clark and Lex are endangered by Lana's reckless experiment.

    7.3
    "Good"
    By cxtasy, Sep 16, 2008 Report Abuse
    At her dorm room in Metropolis, Lana is doing some serious thinking, and acts on her impulse to head to the biochem lab with a wad of cash. Another student, Lance, has bottles of green fluid, no doubt some sort of meteor rock solution. She gives him the $2000, all her savings, and he's ready to inject her. She wants to "stay down" longer this time, so it's clear she's flat-lining in order to visualize her parents in some other state of consciousness. She almost found her parents last time. They inject her, and she's into the "Void," seeing her parents, an experience which brings her great joy. She is distraught over her loss of Clark, but when she tries to embrace her ethereal parents, she suffers a seizure back at the lab. Waking up, she begs Lance to let her go back.

    Chloe is looking into an epidemic in Honduras and discovers a photo of the jungle with the face of Professor Fine in the background. That sets off alarm bells. Clark comes quickly to her dorm, still believing that Fine is dead, but she shows him the news article about death and destruction in Honduras, and they realize Fine has returned. Lana returns to the dorm, dissipated. Clark is worried but won't stay while Lana's there, but he can get to Honduras right quickly. Zip! He asks the villagers about the photo of Fine, but no one has seen him.

    Martha is ending a press conference at the Talon, where Lionel has brought her something for use at the upcoming Governor's Ball. It's a copy of his research about their dinner companions. She knows their political positions, while Lionel knows their personalities and likes/dislikes. She says the two will never be anything more than friends, so she has recognized Lionel's efforts to curry her favor.

    Back to the subplot, Lana is hanging out in the biology lab; she pleads to flatline again, but this time Lance wants $5k. Where will Lana get that kind of money? Lex, of course; he's loaded. When he returns home, there she is, rifling his desk, in the dark, but he stops her, gun drawn. She looks like she's in trouble. She looks strung out. She explains how she gets killed and is brought back. She "went to the other side" and saw her parents, but even that can be addictive. Lex is pretty sympathetic, but warns her about the dangers, suggesting she turn to the ones they still have in their lives. Uh, that would be him. While he's out for a moment, she's gone again.

    Meanwhile, back in the jungle, Clark spots a child playing with the same toy spacecraft that Fine and Lex saw last week. The young boy leads Clark into the jungle, but he finds only a burned area outlining the location of the ship, it's long gone.

    Chloe gets a call from Lex about Lana disappearing, while she spots Lana's books with titles like "Beyond Death," so she visits Lance's freaky friend Ally, who "looks like the poster child for the Betty Ford clinic." Too many near-death experiences has brought Ally near death. Before she can tell Chloe anything, she's dead. Chloe realizes this may be Lana's fate if they don't find her soon.

    Lance is going to leave the school, but Lana wants another trip to the Other Side. Lex has followed her to the lab, and Lance is furious that she has led him there. Lex and Lance fight, giving Lana the chance to grab a vial of green juice and escape, while Lex gets a syringe in the back from Lance. Where is he going? In time and space, that is.

    We're in a head trip with Lex, where he sees a woman playing concert piano under the candelabras...it's his mother, Lillian. But he thinks it's a delusion. She castigates him for ignoring her advice (which she provided in "Lexmas"), and warns him again of the suffering he will bring through all the people he's going to murder. He awakens; Chloe has revived him. Lex is loaded in the ambulance.

    Lana's "about to take a nonstop trip down the River Styx," as Chloe explains to Clark. They track her use of her student i.d., to the lab. Lana, even more strung out, injects herself with the green solution again, but Lance is there, knocking her out and grabbing the last of the potion. Clark puts a stop to that, but Lance gets the upper hand long enough to inject and disable Clark. Somehow Lance has injected himself, and he falls on his own weapon. Where is Clark going mentally?

    In Clark's vision, he's back at the barn, but it all has a ghostly appearance, and the spirit of Jonathan appears. Has John Schneider returned to the cast? No. He tells Clark he must be go back to his life, while Clark expresses regret for causing the loss of Jonathan's life through defiance of Jor-El. But Jonathan warns Clark of a greater concern; Lionel Luthor, who he says knows Clark's secret. Jonathan further explains Clark's destiny as a symbol of peace and justice, and he pushes Clark back into the third dimension, back with Lana.

    Back home, Clark looks for Martha, who's ready to go to the Governor's Ball, and Ms. O'Toole is pretty stunning in her red gown. Before he can talk to her, Lionel is there, her escort. Clark is very wary, but she leaves with Lionel. Clark tells Chloe about his encounter with Jonathan, and about Lionel's knowledge of his secret. But Chloe responds by telling him that Lionel was the source that led to Fine. Is Lionel playing everyone? Of all the characters in Smallville, Lionel is the most enigmatic, leaving us always to wonder at his motives. Lex is at home with Lana, who looks a whole lot better. She asks him what he saw during his NDE; Lex replies that he saw his mother. But he lies about the words Lillian spoke, asserting falsely to Lana that Lillian was very proud of the man he's becoming.

    At Crawford Hall on campus, Lana looks at photos of her parents, and Clark stops by. They're talking again. She felt alone for a long time, even with Clark. She wanted to feel her parents again. "All I want is for you to be happy," he tells her. "I will be," she replies.

    A fairly routine episode with some character development, but the Lana side story is not essential to the Smallville legend. The reappearance of Milton Fine, however, is a major continuing story element. Re-run rating C+.moreless

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  • Lana takes drugs. High-Point for Lana in the season. YEAH RIGHT!

    9.8
    "Superb"
    By Canogaparkcindy, Mar 20, 2008 Report Abuse
    After Lana & Clark break up. Lana is distraught ovr it. Chloe realizes how depressed she has been. Meanwhile Clark finds pictures of Professer Fine in another country so he searches it. Turns out Lana is taking drugs to see her parents. Her dead parents. To fill the void she has in her life. Chloe visits another girl who's taking them. she turns up dead. Now it's up to Chloe & Lex to save her. But Lana will do anything to get the drugs. even steal. As Clark comes back & sees Lex dead on the floor, he revives him. He had a dream about his mother on how he missed a great oppurtunity. They save Lana. The End.moreless

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    0 0

  • Great Episode

    10
    "Perfect"
    By Beer75, Aug 22, 2007 Report Abuse
    The lonely Lana gets addicted in a meteor rock cocktail developed by her new acquaintance student of medicine Lance, which allows the user to have a near-death experience and visit the dead loved relatives and friends. Meanwhile, Clark goes to Honduras, where there is a massive destruction, trying to find Milton Fine and the spacecraft, following a lead of Chloe. When Lana gets in trouble, Clark returns but is injected with the serum. In his trip, he meets Jonathan, who tells him that Lionel Luthor knows his secret, while Martha gets close to Lionel. "Void" is another great episode of the Fifth Season of "Smallville". The experiences of Clark, Lex and Lana with their parents discloses revelations to each character: Clark is informed about Lionel; Lex talks to his mother, who advises him about his fate; and Lana is feeling an emptiness in her life after breaking-up with Clark.moreless

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    2 0
 

Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

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    • Clark is surprised when Chloe informs him that Lionel Luthor was the source that led her to Milton Fine. However, she told him that Lionel was her lead in "Solitude." Edit
    • While trying to get to the kryptonite-based serum, Lana punches the glass out of a shelf covering, with her bare hands. However, there's not so much as a scratch on her hand. Edit
    • During the last scene between Lana and Lex, Lana is wearing a single earring which suddenly disappears and then reappears between shots. Edit

  • Notes

    ADD NOTES
    • This episode officially marks Smallville as the longest running Superman series. The record was previously 104 episodes for the original series Adventures of Superman. Edit
    • Michaela Mann previously appeared as a different character in "Forever." Brenda Crichlow previously appeared in the first season "Shimmer" as a guidance counselor. Edit
    • Erica Durance doesn't appear in this episode. Edit

  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES
    • Lance: You stole a Porsche? Lana: No, I borrowed it from a friend. Lex: And he wants it back! Edit
    • Lillian: Don't let the blood wash away what is left of your soul. Lex: What are you talking about? What blood? Lillian: For all the people you are going to murder. Edit
    • Chloe: (to Clark) Fast but oddly formal. Usually when I say it's urgent you whip in here without the least regard for my privacy. Edit

  • Allusions

    ADD ALLUSIONS
    • Posters When Chloe visits Ally in her dormroom, posters on the walls are for movies such as The Corpse Bride and House of Wax. The latter movie stars Jared Padalecki who is one of the stars of WB show Supernatural co-starring Jensen Ackles, who played Jason Teague in Smallville in season four. Edit
    • Chloe: But he said Lana's about to take a one-way cruise down the river Styx… Referencing the Greek mythological river that separates Hades and Earth, circling the underworld nine times. Commonly Charon is believed to be the ferryman who brings dead souls across, although that is a relatively recent addition - originally Charon piloted the River Acheron. Edit
    • Ally: So, you're going to go all Mrs. Brady on me...? Referencing the mother in The Brady Bunch, as played by Florence Henderson, and considered by many the archetypical mother figure. Edit

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