Smallville: Crusade

"I guess I'm a sucker for stray dogs and naked guys."

What a marvelous and unexpected introduction to Lois Lane.

I just loved her instantly, because she was so Lois: sarcastic, reckless, inquisitive, clashing with Kal-El as well as Clark. She was even addicted to cigarettes. And what a new and interesting way for Lois to meet Clark for the first time: naked, in a cornfield, with no memory. I loved how she said to herself, "Look at his face." And then she didn't.

It's been a tough summer for poor Martha, what with Jonathan brain dead and Clark missing. It took the new and interesting black K to wipe out whatever Jor-El did and bring Clark back to himself (and Jonathan as well). But we still don't know what happened to Chloe. When Lois bearded Lionel in his prison den (a courageous thing for a teenager to do, she's not Chloe's cousin for nothing) Lionel said he was innocent of Chloe's murder. The only reason I believe him is that Allison Mack is still in the cast.

Lex was off playing Indiana Jones, looking for another new and exciting pyramid-shaped Kryptonian artifact. Last year, it was a desert island and a drug-induced psychotic break; this year, because of the poison he ingested in the season finale, his blood must be purified every seventy-two hours or his organs will shut down. Good thing he has his own jet and a private physician.

Lana was off having a ball in Paris with her cute new wardrobe and her cute new boyfriend. And a mysterious tattoo, given to her by the tomb of Countess Whatever. I can feel myself getting bored with this plot thread already, and it hasn't even started.

That flying scene with Kal-El overtaking Lex's jet was just spectacular. And what fun to finally see Clark fly.

Bits and pieces:

— Jensen Ackles has joined the cast as Lana's new boyfriend, Jason Teague. Sam Jones III is now out. Erica Durance (Lois Lane), listed as a guest star, is a tall, sassy breath of fresh air. She looks good with Tom Welling, who is very tall and tends to dwarf the women in the cast.

— How fitting that they brought in the previous Lois Lane, Margot Kidder, as Bridgette Crosby. And that Bridgette had loved Dr. Swann "in a different lifetime." What a lovely callback to Reeve and Kidder in the Superman movies.

— In Paris, Lex was on the cover of Forbes, with the caption, "Le sauveur de Luthorcorp?" (Lionel said sarcastically, "You know, they dubbed Mussolini a savior.")

— The little pyramid is supposed to be joined with two other artifacts. Plot point for the coming season, of course.

— Tom Welling did a couple of near nude scenes and so did Kristin Kreuk. And they both got to wear a lot of black for a change. Are the producers trying to make the series and its young stars a bit more grown up, perhaps?

— That wasn't just any Parisian church exterior they showed; it was Notre Dame. I've been there, and that was not the interior we saw. And I must mention that a Parisian apartment the size of Lana's would be exorbitantly expensive and way out of price range for a student on a scholarship.

— Lois' car ran off the road into the cornfield. How very Smallville that Lois Lane messed up her car in her very first scene. One point.

Quotes:

Lois: "It's funny. I never thought she'd fall for the farm boy type."
Martha: "Trust me. That can happen to the best of us."
Lois: "Not me. Give me a nerd with glasses any day of the week."
Martha: "Clark has many sides."
Lois: "Yeah, I've seen several of them already."

Pilot: "Check this out."
Co-Pilot: "What is it? A bird? A plane?"

Jonathan: "Clark, your mother tells me you can... fly?"

Lois: "You know, the only thing I like about you at the moment is your mom."

I watched most of this episode with a big smile on my face. Four stars,

Billie
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Billie Doux had a love-hate relationship with Smallville, which is why some of her reviews are briefer than they should be.

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