Season 1, Episode 2: Metamorphosis

"Metamorphosis"
Episode 2
Air Date: October 23, 2001

Oh God, we are going to be seeing plots like this A LOT on this show throughout it's run unfortunately.  The "freak of the week is after Lana" plot and it gets old....fast!!! -_- But for the second episode, luckily, it's a tolerable plot that features a decent performance from Chad E. Donella as Greg Arkin. You actually feel bad for the guy, even though he is a pathetic teen stalker who leaves butterflies in teenage girl's bedroom. Yeah....that's just creepy, not romantic....sorry! I really like how this episode is a continuation of "Pilot" by having Clark immediately dealing with what Whitney did to him the next day when he confronts him at the Farmer's Market. I like seeing the characters interact from Greg being all creepy with Lana and Whitney threatening him to stay away from her to Lex discovering Clark's crush on Lana. Kinda sick though that you can clearly see Lex is interested as well even at this point in the series when Lana is suppose to be 15 and he's like 21, right?! Ewwwwww writers!!!

I think by favorite parts of the episode are Clark's evolution with his heroics by saving Whitney from a car explosion after Greg attacks him and how that moment leads to Clark confessing that he was floating above his bed that morning. I love the performance of John Schneider as Jonathan is at amiss of what to do in this situation but reassures Clark that things will be fine as long as he has faith. But like every other teenager in this insistence, Clark is genuinely freaked out and worried. I also like the growing development of Clark and Lex's friendship. Something that was only touched upon in the comics is fully explored here as Lex's manipulation of getting Clark to go after Lana is so hilarious and brilliant. I LOVE their scene in the mansion where he gives Clark the led box with Lana's necklace in it as a strategy to win her heart. A bit of the future Luthor coming out already I see. ;) We also get a nice scene of Lex and Lana being reintroduced to each other (I wish that "breast stroke" story could have been seen in a flashback or something, lol) So it seems Lex is also manipulating her as he gets her to begin asking questions about what Whitney did before the game/homecoming dance.

Meanwhile, our meteor freak of week, called "Bug Boy"  by everyone, begins turning his house into some kind of habitat for his body to begin transforming...or in case of the title of the episode metamorphosis. I have to say the moment when Greg kills his mother is frightening. Not because of the dodgy special effects of the attack but seeing the genuine horror on his mother's eyes. Gabrielle Rose did a nice job with the limited material she had. Another great scene is seeing Greg attack Clark in the barn and Clark having to save his father from near death. It leads to another touching scene of Clark coming to terms with his disastrous arrival on Earth and having to remind him that he had no control over what happened to Smallville as well as Lana's parents. What a beautiful scene as these moments between the Kents are the heart of the series so far and will continue to be until the end of the series.

So Lana finally confronts Whitney about Clark and her missing necklace; storming off because him being dishonest and cruel. She bumps into Greg, being all creepy and eventually heads over to Clark's farm. The scene between is nice, with more subtle Superman references and Clark and Lana building on their growing friendship as she apologizes for Whitney's irrational behavior. I also enjoy Clark investigating the effects the meteor rock have on him; showing that he doesn't know what is yet but knowing he has a weakness that makes him vulnerable. As the episode concludes, Clark, Chloe and Pete investigate Greg's home to find his mother dead and Lana as his bug mate. Clark goes to Lana's home where he finds Whitney waking up after being attacked by Greg and taking Lana. When Whitney tries to apologize, Clark super speeds off to where Greg use to hang out as a kid and finds Lana unconscious in some kind of web cocoon. Greg and Clark exchange words before they fight but my God, Tom's delivery of "you're not the only one who's changed" makes me cringe. every. time. The poor guy just can't act in these early episodes, I'm sorry. So the fight leads to an old factory, which makes for a nice set piece. The effects are still dodgy but we're talking about an early 2000s series on a rather small budget so I'll forgive them. The fight ends with Greg accidentally crushing himself and falling into a million bug pieces that crawl away. Ehwwwwww!!! O_o Too bad Whitney got to save Lana on top of that too, poor Clark! :( But the episode ends with Clark finding the strength both emotionally and physically to give Lana back her necklace. Clark walks off all emo....poor guy. You'll get over it.

As a follow-up to the series premiere, "Metamorphosis" is a nice unofficial part two to "Pilot". The meteor freak of the week plot, which will become a staple for the show's many one off plots was decent. Greg was a cool bad guy with interesting powers and motives. Also his pre-meteor effected make-up was really good; looking like a genuine creepy ass teenage boy with terrible acne. But I just enjoy loving the scenes between Clark and his parents; in particular him and Jonathan. The other character interactions between Clark and Lex as well as Lana and Lex were also nice. Then you have the wonferul direction of the dream sequence of Clark flying and floating over Lana's bed as she sleeps....okay, creepy much Clark!? I know I'm being harsh on Tom's acting, it's just his seems the weakest of cast....and the fact his sticks out more because he's the lead. But the guy would go on to improve from his jittery beginnings as an actor. Overall, a pretty solid episode if you ask me! :)

Final Score: B+