Tuesday October 23, 2001
227601
Clark must deal with Greg, a nerdish bug collector with a crush on Lana who gains the ability of various insects and uses them to lash out at anyone who opposes him.
Read Full Recap » (warning: possible spoilers!)Not quite as good as the Pilot, but it was still a superb episode. (Spoilers) hide show
This episode of Smallville was pretty good, but I didn't really get hooked on it as much as I did with the Pilot episode. Although it did have it's good moments, I just didn't really like the whole bug bad guy thing. I mean, they did a good job with it, but for some reason it just didn't really draw me into the episode. The character interaction, although, is still excellent, just as it was in the first episode. I'm still really enjoying the friendship between Clark and Lex. I'm also hoping to see some sparks fly between Clark and Lana soon, and overall, I give this episode, Metamorphosis, a 9 out of 10.
More follow-out from Clark's meteoric arrival. A nerd is zapped by Kryptonite exposed bugs and takes Lana to be his mate, just as Lana learns the truth of Whitney making Clark the Scarecrow. It's Clark to the rescue! hide show
Another good installment. As Clark's friendship with Lex grows, so does Clark's feelings for lovely Lana. Unfortunately, Clark has some competition in the form of Lana's boyfriend, Whitney, and also from Greg, a nerdy bug collector who's been stalking Lana. Here, the ep nicely dealt with two related but divergent plotlines: 1) Clark vs. Bug Boy and 2) Clark/Lana/Whitney triangle. Re the 1) When Greg the bug collector becomes a super bug himself when he's bitten by radioactive bugs, Greg's newly emerging powers nicely contrast with Clark's discovery of the fact that he's able to fly - and also with his realization that he's vulnerable to Kryptonite, a fact he learns all too painfully when Lex gives him Lana's lost necklace - made of the dangerous rock (that killed her parents, no less). Meanwhile, the Clark/Lana relationship looks even more possible as Lana learns of Whitney's role in stringing Clark up as the Scarecrow, thanks to Clark's new buddy, Lex. But, in the end, heartbreak prevails for Clark, as it's Whitney, not Clark, who rescues Lana from Greg's cocoon and Lana takes him back. Who knew the Man of Steel's heart could break?
Clark continues to discover his powers and vulnerabilities, sacrificing his own desires for a relationship with Lana, but collaborating with Chloe and Pete to forestall an attack by a meteor-affected classmate. hide show
For those who missed the series premiere, this second episode first replays a number of scenes establishing the bigger story, before launching into a story of a meteor-mutant. A young man named Greg has a crush on Lana, and stalks her at her home. He drives an old green VW Beetle, obsessively collects insects, and makes videos of Lana, but his secret is found out by his mother. Some of his little insect buddies escape and end up attacking him, putting an end to the VW against a tree while he's screaming in green light, and acquiring some insect-like characteristics.
In an amusing scene, Clark floats above Lana's bed, but it's a dream, except the part about his floating. Whitney semi-apologizes for his stunt involving Clark last week, but he's desperate to get the necklace back for Lana. Meanwhile Greg is putting the moves on Lana, who agrees to help him on his homework, while Whitney plays jealous boyfriend. Much of this is geared to the high school generation, with maybe a slight appeal to twenty-somethings, but given the phase of development of the Superman legend - Clark's youth and maturing, that's understandable. When Greg zips up a tree and manages to overturn Whitney's car, the latter is found by the Kent family, just as the gas tank ignites. Clark does not hesitate to save Whitney while engulfed in a ball of fire. All this causes anxiety for Clark, who sees more manifestation of powers he does not yet control.
Meanwhile, Lex has the kryptonite necklace and decides to save it. Ms. Kreuk is shown to be an accomplished horse rider, and meets Lex at her barn. Seems they had a brief meeting in Metropolis when young, an event which left her with negative impressions of Lex. He, in turn, hears of yet another rescue by Clark, but does not tell Lana he has her necklace.
Insect-boy Greg is getting worse, molting into something ghastly, and killing his mother. Lex gives Clark some advice on dealing with Whitney, and shows him the necklace, but Clark is weakened by it, except when it's secured in a lead box. Lex urges Clark to return the necklace and score points with Lana, so we are given a glimpse of the character of Lex - his primary motivation is power. Lana confronts Whitney about the prank on Clark and the necklace, and we have the makings of a broken relationship. Lana follow that up by putting off Greg, who acts way too jealous for an acquaintance, and Lana tells him she's seeing Clark.
The necklace gives Clark a chance to explore his vulnerability to meteor rock, and it's immediate, but so is his recovery when shielded by lead, a familiar theme for the man of steel, but this is an interesting depiction of how he came to that knowledge.
Lana comes to the barn loft, or as Clark calls it, his "Fortress of Solitude," and she apologizes for his mistreatment at the hands of Whitney. We can already see her gain a new perspective on Clark - wronged by Whitney, but later saving him. But Clark slips up by avoiding returning the necklace - why? Gough and Millar write some pretty mature dialog for the pair, perhaps a bit uncharacteristic of high school freshmen, but refreshing in a sea of crude dramas and cheesy soap operas, with characters who demonstrate no virtue or morality whatever.
Greg molts, insect that he is. A quick attack on Clark reveals Greg hanging from the rafters like a bat, but he's no match for Clark's speed. Clark saves Jonathan from a lethal fall, with excellent special effects, as good as anything on tv these days. While Clark thinks he is to blame for all the meteor-related wierd things in Smallville, Jonathan thinks the source is the Luthorcorp's fertilizer plants.
School paper editor Chloe and Clark start to collaborate on the Greg problem, speculating that mutations have taken place. Ms. Mack and Mr. Welling show some pretty good chemistry in these scenes - more of these two together could work well. They and Pete check Greg's house, eventually breaking in to find Greg's videos of Lana, and his dead mother. Sensing Lana's danger, Clark leaves. Greg shows up at the barn, throwing Whitney aside, and running off with Lana. Clark helps Whitney get started looking for Greg, and Clark locates Lana in their childhood tree house, cocooned by Greg. A battle between the two starts in a nearby foundry, but it's laden with chunks of meteor rock, so Clark is weakened quickly. Failing to notice the danger, he's bashed around by Greg, until finding some handy lead shielding, but Greg falls victim to his own misdoings. It's a pretty fast morality play, but with only forty minutes of actual film time, things have to move along quickly.
This gives Whitney the chance to rescue Lana from her entombment, so he's the hero in her eyes, Clark losing out again. That night Clark determines to return the necklace to Lana, but he only leaves it on the door, taking no credit for the return. We're not sure why Clark lets this happen, but must assume it will set the pattern for the series - Clark always sacrificing himself for the good of others. At this point, his philosophy is not fully developed in this manner, but it's simply the way he innately acts.
This episode has good quality writing, photography, musical score, and acting. It's encouraging to see high standards set at the beginning of a new series, with the characters discussing important decisions about their lives, and actually deciding how to act, rather than simply responding to the latest whim or fashion. Smallville continues to look and sound like a winner. Re-run rating B.
A spiderman want-be. Go's crazy for Lana... hide show
Now that we know about Chloe's wall of wierd for the pilot. We start to see them coming out. They start off with the bug boy. Clark's not the only one keeping and eye on Lana. Greg is a pimpel face bug nerd. Who gets biten by meteor infected bug.(have we seen this already) Now he wants to feed then mate. And one guess who he wants. So it's up to Clark with the help of his friends to stop Greg and save Lana. Whats going to make this a little hard for Clark is all the meteor rocks. But, he will learn about lead. And the protection that it brings.
"I'm A Freak and Obsessed with Lana" Part 1 hide show
Metamorphosis-Clark must deal with Greg, a nerdish bug collector with a crush on Lana who gains the ability of various insects and uses them to lash out at anyone who opposes him.
One of the many running storylines that soon became a gimmic each week was how many times Lana had some kind of stlaker or meteor freak after her! Well, it all started her as "Metamorphosis" sees Lana getting attacked by her first meteor freak obsessed stalker. Chad E. Donella (Greg Arkin) is actually one of the few convincing meteor freaks and I liked bug ability despite seemly a little Spider-man-eqse. The scenes where threatens Lana and confronts his mother before he kills her are effectively creepy. I also loved the elaborate fight scene Clark and Greg have in the warehouse. While it's mostly a few throws and actually hits, the large setting really added to the fight.
This episode also features a stunning opening sequence of Clark flying over Smallville into Lana's room, only for Clark to wake up levitating over his bed. It's nice development that Clark's flying ability is already progresses and Clark's reaction about his growing power is played well by Tom Welling. Clark is also continues to develop as town hero when he saves Whitney from car. All and All, "Metamorphosis" progresses the series from the premiere nicely with solid plot and freak of the week.
Gislef
Editor
dju010
RCS_sportz
Parviainen
