Who committed murder at Club Zero? Several flashbacks of Lex show he may be the culprit, but he's pursued by the dead man. Chloe's class project requires deep background on Clark, endangering his secret.moreless
7.5
"Good"
The opening scene features Mr. Rosenbaum hanging upside down in a straitjacket, so we know something is wrong. His captor demands the truth, which is illustrated by a three-year flashback to a Club Zero scene with Lex and his date Amanda, and matchbooks labeled "Zero Consequences," an appropriate slogan for Lex and his desires. His date finds her fiance with other women, and he angrily accuses Lex of setting up this relationship break. A fight breaks out between the two, set to loud music, strobes, and overly-kinetic camera work. When the fiance pulls a knife, a bouncer, Max Kasich, saves Lex by shooting the man dead, to Amanda's horror.
The truth sought by Lex's captor is about this killing, but he's the allegedly-dead fiance, thus the lead story line in "Zero," will be about Lex, while Clark and company will be handling the subplot. That starts at Smallville High, a week-ago flashback, with journalism interviews on tap, and Chloe gets assigned to get six pages of info on Clark. He's reluctant, giving Chloe the fun quote of the episode - "It's not like you have anything to hide." Clark's assignment is Lana, who's readying the Talon for opening as a coffee bar.
The dead fiance, Jude Royce, comes to the Talon to apply for a position, but already disqualifying himself by bad-mouthing co-owner Lex, warning Lana to stay away from him. This week, Lex is driving a black Porsche Carrera cabriolet, tagged "LEX 1," and he gets an unpleasant surprise when the bouncer from Club Zero shows up, claiming that he's seen Jude everywhere. Lex sends him to a secure apartment in Metropolis, then meets Clark and Lana in the Talon, where she, too, reveals she has seen Royce.
Chloe starts her interview without Clark, at the farm, probing for details on Clark's adoption, a subject of anxiety for Jonathan and Martha, so something happened there that even Clark does not know. "Has your son always been this strange?" she asks. This may not be the last journalistic probe of Clark's origins. Clark ducks out before having to answer any questions.
Back at the Talon, Lex joins Clark and Lana, finding their contractor the victim of a mugging. A wrapped box for Lex has a tag from Club Zero - it contains a human hand, with a ring having a "K" logo. Lex identifies the hand as belonging to Max Kasich, the bouncer, and "someone he knew in Metropolis," he tells Clark, claiming that Royce has been dead three years and can't be the perpetrator.
Chloe is relentless in her pursuit of details about Clark's early life, drawing out an anecdote from Pete about a youthful rescue from bullies by Clark. Clark finally reacts when Chloe reveals she discovered that his adoption was handled by Metropolis United Charities, a company in business only 6 months and which handled only one adoption. We can guess that even Clark never heard this from his parents, and he's visibly angry at Chloe for background digging.
Lex hears from his head of security more about Royce and Amanda, sending him to find Amanda to warn her she may be in danger. The Club Zero flashback this time is a script surprise - Lex is the shooter, and Metropolis detective Sam Phelan is on the scene, a conspirator in assuring there will be "zero consequences." Phelan tells Lex he was never there, to never see Amanda again, and how to avoid an emergency room visit for his stab wound - all for a payoff from Lionel. Bouncer Kasich likewise will "come into some serious money," says Phelan. Lex suddenly finds himself at gunpoint by Royce, looking very alive and demanding to know about the coverup. Phelan is dead, he claims. Clark approaches the building, overhears part of this conversation, and calls out for Lex, allowing Royce to escape. Clark has dug up news stories about the Club Zero killing, but Lex wants him to stay out of it - "Some secrets are better left alone," he says, a phrase that certainly should resonate with Clark.
Back home, Jonathan is joined by Clark, who lets him know of what he's learned about the adoption process - Jonathan will not reveal any more details. They then find the entire herd of cattle...dead, but the carcasses are evenly spaced in the pasture, so at least we know it's dummy cows. It's a Luthorcorp chemical spill in the adjacent field - and on one side of the fence, everyone is in full hazmat suits, while just across the fence the Kents and Chloe have no protection. The toxic gas that killed the cows is still there - so why didn't the director set up a plausible emergency response? Lex shows up in a Luthorcorp Humvee, embarrassed and apologetic, offering to pay for the damages. Jonathan is negative as usual. Clark suspects that the sabotage related to Club Zero, and advises Lex he should tell the authorities. As Lex approaches the environmental van, the driver turns out to be Royce, who Tasers Lex.
Later, Clark cannot reach Lex, while Martha wants him to stay clear of Lex for awhile. Chloe drops by, apologetic, planning to drop the story of Clark's life. She asks if he wonders about his biological parents. "Every day of my life," he replies. They discover Chloe's photos at the cow killing includes one of the environmental investigator, who is identical to the murder victim at Club Zero.
Lex is confined in a straitjacket upside down in a dark building, so we're back to the opening scene. Royce wants the Truth from Lex. The police show at the apartment address in Metropolis, but discover only a body, and Clark's x-ray vision shows it's missing the right hand, so it's Kasich. Clark hears from the police about Club Zero being closed months ago.
Back to the Lex scene - as Royce is about to shoot him, he's shot instead, by who? The contractor for the Talon work, Roy Rothman. They're in the abandoned Club Zero, Lex a prisoner of Amanda's brother - Rothman. Royce was taken from her; she had nothing to live for, so Amanda committed suicide, and Rothman's out for revenge. Rothman simply found a dead ringer for Royce, and hired him to play the role in harassing Lex. But Lex now claims that Amanda fired the shot which killed Royce, and flashback #3 at Club Zero shows Amanda as the shooter of her own fiance. We viewers will never know which of the three is the Truth, but the final version has more credibility.
As Rothman prepares to shoot, Lex dives over a parapet just as Clark arrives, superspeeding in to cushion the fall. Fine special effects here as someone falls through a slow-motion waterfall of broken glass onto the floor below, Clark flings Rothman aside, and then re-sets the scene by pretending to enter the building again after everything is over. As often happens in Smallville scripts, the criminal's fate is not shown. If logic prevailed, Rothman would be arrested, investigated for a couple murders and sabotage, and the Club Zero case would be re-opened, implicating Lex again. All that would complicate this story, which has to come to an end in a couple minutes of screen time.
Epilog One. The Talon finally opens for business, with Clark and Lana together when he offers he an old family photo of the Talon theater in it's heyday. Lex claims he was trying to protect Amanda...is it the truth? And he, like Clark, would do anything to protect his friends.
Epilog Two. Chloe checks again on Metropolis United Charities, hesitating on following up on her promise to Clark to drop the story of his life. A decision must be made - Delete or Save. She clicks on "Save" - a nice ending for this episode. Chloe is still curious about Clark and will be learning more about him in the future.
The multiple flashbacks are effective in this story, keeping us guessing about which version is the Truth, and showing Lex as a decent person, but constantly embroiled in intrigue. His character keeps him on the side of evil, even when he tries to be a friend and protect others. In this respect, he is surprisingly like Clark, but it just never works out for him. It's sometimes a slight difference between the two, but the outcomes are always drastically different. Chloe's development as a journalist continues, and Ms. Mack grows in importance in the series, edging closer to learning more about Clark than he would like. "Zero" is a good mystery - and worth a repeat or two. Re-run rating C+.moreless
