Season 2, Episode 12: Insurgence

 

"Insurgence"

Episode 12

Air Date: January 21st, 2003

Well this was certainly a jolt of story progression and stellar suspenseful storytelling. Honestly, this episode is the near perfect example of the best of Smallville when they leave the unnecessary drivel like the Lana/Clark will they or won't they as well as Chloe in general for an episode in favor of the Kents and especially the Luthors sharing an hour of family espionage, unforeseen hostages in peril and even Clark taking his first leap in a single bound!  I just love it when the show decides to take us on   "first" milestones in the Superman mythology and watching Clark on top the Daily Planet and superspeeding to toward Luthorcorp to save his mom is certainly a moment that still works well even til this day.  You can really tell the writers adored the character so much during the early years before losing sight of Clark and what to do with him during the middle of the show's run.  *Groan*  But back to this episode as this some of the best Luthor family conflict so far this season as Lex discovers may have had his mansion bugged without his knowledge when Lexcorp is bought out by Luthorcorp for 150 million dollars; setting into motion that terrifying events of this episode.  Lex, trying to beat his father at his own game, has a group of buggers himself try to infiltrate Luthorcorp...but unfortunately, most of the crew turn out to be a group of opportunist ready to take whatever they can get out of Lionel's safe in his office; leading to him and Martha being held captive until they can get it open. But if that wasn't bad enough, Martha and Jonathan finally are at odds when it comes to her job interfering with her farm and family life.  It's hard to see the two so honest yet cold at each other, tho I still wonder why Martha would still work for a man like Lionel given how cruel he's been to Smallville, not to mention blackmailing Jonathan about Clark's adoption. Seriously, I'm on Jonathan's side here. 

But the main plot isn't also the intense and rewarding as Lana goes on an outing with Henry Small and his wife.  I really enjoyed the tension in this scene and how Henry's wife pleads with Lana to keep her distance from Henry as his priorities may come between him and getting to know his daughter as it has in the past with his other children.  It's really a heartbreaking and surreal scene that feels so unforeseen yet relatable.  You really do feel bad for Lana and being put in such a situation when it finally looks like she may get the family she's always wanted. :( Also, I thoroughly enjoyed her scene with Clark in the barn, finally once again, the two being sweet and supportive of one another instead of the teen romance propaganda this show seems to adamant about shoving down our throats when it comes to her and Clark's secrecy.  It feels so much more natural and comforting when they are acting like people instead of teens with angst drowning the scene of its interest. Ewwww! Back to the plot at hand, the tension between Lex and Jonathan finally erupts and it's nice to see Lex put Jonathan in his place for once when he antagonizes Lex as usual.  It's about time and Jonathan deserved that moment, I mean wasn't it that Clark said last season that pushes Lex away so harshly is only gonna turn him to the very thing he hates about Lex???  Not to mention, it was great seeing him come to Lex for help when needing to get to Metropolis to get to Martha faster. Of course, Lex can't catch a break for too long as Jonathan realizes Lex may have involvement with what happened to Lionel and Martha inside.  Ewwwww, poor Lex! No wonder this guys goes full villain by the time Superman takes to the skies. Always being made to look like the villain when he's only trying take down the real evil in his father. 

Speaking of Lionel, turns out what he has in vault is more shocking than just money as Martha is horrified to see blocks of meteor rock as well as confidential files of Clark and the missing disc from the spaceship. WOW!!! How Lionel acquired this is left a mystery but clearly he's been investigating Clark like Lex did but go a lot further than his son did.  I also like how smart Martha is here is protecting Clark when he finally arrives to save the day; first getting rid of the meteor rock by putting it back in the vault and telling Clark to burn all the files that Lionel has since the opportunity presented itself.  It really shows how resourceful Martha has become in a crisis and the lengths she's willing to go to protect her son.  Also, she even manages to get her hands on the octagonal disc but seems to be hiding it from Jonathan and Clark....for the moment...hmmmm. But the episode's climax truly is dramatic gut puncher as after Lionel surprisingly shots one of the thugs, the Kents gets a heartfelt reunion as Lionel vows to leave the mansion and Lex tells him he'll help him pack....then the camera pans to Lex looking at the joyous Kents with such envy and tragic eyes...ehhhhh, Jesus, Lex's story to villainy is seriously one of the most rewarding stories of the show that the writers never seemed to fail in and moments like this are hard to watch when he is always just trying to do the right thing.  Also, this episode introduces a new face from the Superman comics in Maggie Sawyer, here the leader in the conflict at Luthorcorp and in charge of the Metropolis PD.  It was hilarious seeing her first confront Clark and threatening to arrest him.  If only she knew of the future she will have with Clark and seeing him in that red and blue more often! ;) "Insurgence" is an electrifying hour of tension, dread and smarts as our character are put in a situation that has a race against time feel while also having some mini-comic book inspired moments like Clark's first superleap and introducing us more to more aspects of Metropolis which will become the future home of our Man of Steel to be.

Final Kryptonite: A