daibhidc | Smallville

Returning guest-star watch: Well, obviously, great to see Senator Ma again. And even better to see the people of Metropolis rally round her and Lois and not supporting the VRA. After the gloom and doom of the Registration Act and heroes being criminals, it's nice to see Metropolis as a city of hope again.

(I'm not totally convinced the Blur has done anything to earn being a symbol of said hope. A great crimefighter, sure, but a symbol of Truth, Justice and the American Way? That requires a bit more Supermanesque activities than we've seen so far. Clark even comments that he should be more public to earn their trust.)

Chloe and Ollie both believe that the way to stay under the radar is to wear an outfit that screams "I'm trying to look undercover". I mean seriously, black coat, broad-brimmed black hat and heavy dark glasses? That's something Malicia Grim would wear!

Lionel (well, Earth2!Lionel) back in charge of Luthorcorp[1]! And his parenting skills are as good as ever! Also, he still has that creepy infatuation with Martha.

(Nitpick: I can't recall if it's been established in Smallville, but it's standard Superman lore that Clark is Martha's maiden name. So if Lionel never met Martha in his universe, as his dialogue suggests, why is Clark Luthor named Clark Luthor?)

And Clark thinks Alex isn't going to grow up like Lex, because he has Tess ... who abandoned him, and at the end of the episode tries to kill him. (Yes, it's because he's deteorating, but it only counts as assisted suicide if you ask the person whose "suicide" you're assisting.)

The obvious assuption was that Alex, with or without Lionel, was going to be "the new Lex", probably being played by Michael Rosenbaum just in time for the finale. (This would be, broadly speaking, similar to the Lex Luthor II/They Saved Luthor's Brain storyline in the comics.) But the fact he's apparently invunerable suggests that something altogether weirder is going on.

Also, Alex's hair seems to have darkened with age. Of course, we don't know what Lex's hair would have looked like at tha age 8-).

[1]To quote the Joker: "Rumours of my death? That bit was old when Twain said it!"