SMALLVILLE: Turbulence

Was Smallville just like last week – a little mediocre? It pains me to say this but this ep was lackluster. I’ve been dying to see how Clark experiments with his identity but there seems to be some kind of delay. Instead this past episode was all Tess time with a whole lot of Jimmy and Chloe drama and an absent Lois Lane.

The episode titled Turbulence kicked off with Davis Bloom in confessional. Apparently Doomsday has been limiting his violent and deadly outbursts for those he feels deserves it, the street scum of Metropolis. During his confession he reveals that killing the bad guys is a way for him to feel human.

Meanwhile Clark has been busy showing off his less than human side with a little red-blue blur action around the city. Slowing down for traffic cams and making record saves, Clark has been practicing his lightening speed switch from office attire to his normal wear. Chloe doesn’t think this is a good idea with the chance that Clark could expose his true identity. Clark just wants Chloe to focus on Jimmy. And that she should. Jimmy is getting a little crazy with the morphine since he’s been stuck in a hospital bed. He’s also on edge with the thought that the beast could return. Chloe reassures him that the red eyed killer is most likely long gone.

Back at the Daily Planet Tess wants to show Clark how to dress the part of a reporter with out sporting the Boy Scout backpack. She also wants to bring Clark on a field trip with the ulterior motive of getting Clarks confession. I have to say I’m really not that fond of the Tess storyline. We’ve seen this storyline a thousand times, the villain of the season looking for Clark to show of his superpowers in a staged life and death situation. And just like Lex, Tess sinks low with her troubled childhood stories all to get closer to Clark. Her manipulating tricks and plan to make the plane go down on their trip fails when she passes out and Clark rescues her from the plane that explodes seconds later. Way too much talk and not enough action. Smallville, in my opinion, is at its best when we get to see Superman performing his superhero talents, maybe next week.

The chaos between Jimmy, Davis and Chloe seemed to help Turbulence tread water at least. After witnessing Davis kill a man in the elevator Jimmy confronts him in front of Chloe. Davis decides to make Jimmy look crazy and has Chloe feeding out of the palm of his hand with the idea that Jimmy could have some serious painkiller issues. Jimmy manages to escape the hospital and finds a body in Davis’ ambulance. In pure desperation Davis stabs Jimmy with a needle in the neck sending him to la la land. Jimmy begins to hallucinate freaking out in front of Chloe and confirming he just might have a dependency problem.

In the end Jimmy’s second trip out off of hospital grounds goes all wrong when Jimmy handcuffs Davis. About to turn into the beast Jimmy doesn’t back down until Chloe knocks him out. Her touch alone stops Davis’ transformation.

The next day Jimmy packs up to leave the hospital and Chloe. Explaining that she has sided with Clark and now Davis, Jimmy isn’t putting up with it anymore and wants out.

Did you see this coming? I didn’t! For me this was probably the most redeeming turn of events for what felt like a mundane episode. The thought that Chloe could be one of the two characters expected to be killed off crossed my mind as well.

Is this an indication? Will Chloe’s attraction to Davis suck her back into his violent future? Come on Smallville fans, if this wasn’t your favorite episode (or maybe it was) there’s still plenty to discuss.

Sarah is from Massachusetts and currently writes for several TV and music websites. She loves Smallville, Heroes, Everwood, and of course Californication.