Season 4, Episode 18: Spirit

"Spirit"

Episode 18

Air Date: April 20th, 2005

Well, if there is something this season has doing right is making the last year of Smallville High a splendidly fun one by incorporating more high school centered stories to impact the characters that would genuinely progress them as teenagers.  This year has explored classic high school tropes from football to cheerleading and considering it's great ole senior year, of course senior prom gets a major focus.  Luckily, the writers treat it with the same self aware charm and confidence like earlier episodes such as Devoted by taking their usual meteor freak formula and treating more as a comedy than a straight up dramatic dilemma.  Dawn Stiles is.....GENIUS!!! The most popular, superficial girl in school who is treating the prom like the highlight of their lives while the rest of the senior class are probably freaking out and desperately just want to graduate high school.  I think the funniest thing about the story is seeing Dawn's "spirit" possess the characters we've come to know aka allowing the cast to act super out of character and it's comedy gold! From Annette O' Toole playing Dawn in Martha's body by acting like young girl rocking out to Ashley Simpson to Kristin Kreuk playing Dawn in Lana's body as some shrieking, over confident vamp drama queen, the cast really got this was just a fun time and really go for it in ways that really pay off. Of course, there are some dark moments, like Dawn shocking her boyfriend Billy with an electrical wire which is just beyond disturbing.  Gotta mix in some seriousness to make Dawn a legit threat and it works.

Tho I find it kind of odd that Clark didn't realize that Lois was possessed by Dawn when she forces him to go to prom...hmmmm....maybe because Clark is secretly attracted to Lois already.....hmmmmmm. ;) Also, the climax is GENIUS when Dawn possesses Clark's body and delivers the ultimate teen queen line of "The crown's mine, b!tch!" HA! Oh, Tom, we love that moment! :) Also, smart of Clark to know Dawn would take his body so he got his dad to use kryptonite to expel her from his body.  This was also a nice episode for Chloe who is forced into being a prom queen candidate but more importantly getting closer to Clark and finding out more about his secret.  I really do love the moments that reference their relationship like the spring formal from Season 1 but Chloe realizing more and more why she thought Clark was always so special.  Of course, the showrunners have to shoehorn Clark's lovesick Lana storyline in here as he doesn't want to go to prom initially cause he always pictured going with Lana his senior year.  As much as I want to hurl, that slow dance between them as the prom to Lifehouse really solidifies their high school sweetheart love affair.  I just wish they gave these two closer now that the high school seasons are coming to an end.  Instead, they drag out the infamously named Clana love affair post-Smallville High and into his young adulthood....ewwwww!!! -_-

Once again, the stone search storyline is bore and becoming incredibly contrived.  So now Jason is as evil as his mother and helped kills Bridgette Crosby???  Now they have the other stone!??? How??? When??? No wonder this plot has been taking more of a backseat this season than being a prominent overarching story because my goodness, the plot holes are becoming too big and visible to the point where I feel the writers should have dropped it in exchange for just focusing more on Clark and his final year in high school but whatever! What done is done! -_-  Luckily, Spirit is a colossal great time overall with priceless performances, funny dialogue in the vain of the best teen comedies and some real genuine reflective moments on how far the characters have come in 4 years.  Once again...GENIUS!!! :) ;)

Final Kryptonite: A-