Season 1, Episode 14: Zero

"Zero"

Episode 14

Air Date: March 12th, 2002

One thing about this show we haven't seen much of yet is Lex's dark past pre-Smallville as it will be something further explored down the line for the series.  Since moving to Smallville, we've had hints of Lex's past from characters like Phelan, Victoria, Rickman, etc. who have eluded to Lex's not having the cleanest and most honest guy record.....and yet we really haven't had a whole episode decided to Superman's greatest nemesis to be yet until now.  "Zero" is an intense and suspenseful ride that just builds more interest and intrigue as Lex's past for the first time on the show comes back to haunt...not to mention, seek revenge! What I thoroughly enjoyed about episode was the set during the teaser: Lex hanging surprising upside  as they camera goes right side up and shows a mysterious man holding him hostage before revealing a terrifying flashback of a man named Jude being murdered after Lex sets up his fiancee finding him cheating on her at the titular Club Zero and him getting shot to death.  Turns out the man holding Lex hostage....is Jude himself, alive and well, despite being dead! *Gasp* O_O How could this be??? Well, from there, the episode doesn't let up by excellently building toward our suspenseful opener with the opening of the Talon around the corner but Jude making an appearance one week earlier to set up his machinations at getting back at our country bound rich boy.  I gotta say, Rosebaum is a real gifted actor, already showing even at this point he can pull of a complex and morally divisive character but showing Lex Luthor as a far more 3 dimensional pre-tagonist I'll call him ;) as we see the first bits of Lex's dark side visually on screen through his past.

I really love how this episode is set up a bit differently than usual episodes, with the growing mystery and tension of Lex's long dead old friend paying him a visit and leaving such things as a severed hand in a gift box as well as that horrifying sight of the Kent Farm cattle being poison by Luthorcorp waste.  It just drives the episode's creep factor through the roof as you really don't know what to expect next, especially the actor playing Judd gives off that menacing presence with that smug, gleeful smile everytime he encounters Lex.  Tho, I have to say, the twist with the contractor from the Talon being the mastermind behind this as he kills Judd and reveals himself to Lex is a bit too soap opera-y for me.  So Amanda's, Judd's fiancee, ex-convict brother stages his revenge a year after she kills herself and luckily finds a guy who looks exactly like Judd to play off like he's the real Judd to lore Lex into a confession of what really happened the night Judd was killed??? I just don't understand that kind plot development that feels a little too convenient and elaborate for it's own good. Also, the resolution is pretty abrupt with Clark coming in for a last minute, if not visually entertaining, superspeed save when we find out the truth about Club Zero.  I guess what I did enjoy from the truth was the building of Lex's past with Phelan, as he returns to cover up what happened that night as Amanda was the true murder that night who killed her fiancee.  I love how it reveals instead of Lex's being apart of some corrupt cover up to save his own a$$, he was doing it to protect a friend, once again, showing the good nature in Lex way before his destiny would take hold and his villainous performance would take shape.

In other subplots, Lana and Lex finally open the Talon, which will be a mainstay set piece of the show until the last season and it's nice seeing the beginning of that iconic location in the series. Chloe crosses the line when trying to get info on Clark for a school project and unfortunately reveals more about his adoption than he would have liked....not to mention, investigating his past like it's some headlining news story that needs to be told. While it causes some friction between them, it does lead to a nice scene of Chloe asking about his biological parents as well as setting up more story to be told about Clark's said adoption next season. Hmm! :) Either way, "Zero" is a charismatic little thriller of an episode showing us Lex is a darker light for once but still showing he's far going to that dark side anytime soon. :)

Final Kryptonite: A-