Smallville: Visage

Clark: "I know this may sound crazy, but Whitney may not be Whitney."
Chloe: "Are you getting existential on us, or is this Wall of Weird material?"

Lana actually said yes to a date with Clark. And before it could happen, Whitney showed up in uniform, looking a lot like he was channeling the final scene in An Officer and a Gentleman. (I fully expected him to pick Lana up in his arms and put his hat on her head.) But poor Whitney never did come back. I was surprised when it turned out to be our favorite homicidal, Lana-obsessed shape-shifter, Tina Greer.

Like many bland characters, Whitney (as Tina) was a lot more interesting as a villain. Former regular Eric Johnson undoubtedly gave his best performance in the series. Ditto for Kristin Kreuk who also did well, especially in that final scene where she was crying. (Dan said that she brought out her big acting guns: all two of them. And then he said, as I was scribbling that down, "You're not going to quote me, are you?")

Most of the cast were Tina Greer at some point, and got a chance to act either outright evil or as if they were hiding their true evil nature. Of all of them, I have to say that Chloe/Tina was the most chilling. And the best fake-out was the one in the barn. I thought Tina was masquerading as Clark, but no, she was Jonathan instead.

In other news, Lex and Dr. Helen Bryce now have something fairly serious going on, so of course, Lex had her investigated. (Okay, he was having Lionel followed and stumbled over Helen. Or was Lex lying about that?) Was Helen's encounter with Lionel what she said it was? Did she truly refuse to give up Lex for a boatload of cash? If it's true, Lex should immediately propose. There aren't that many women out there who can say no to Lionel Luthor, and mean it. But then again, maybe she's holding out for a wedding ring, hoping to get her hands on all of Lex's money. I'm sure we'll find out.

Bits and pieces:

— Clark in a wet tee-shirt. And all those Clark/Lana romantic vibes. No, Clark, no! Read my lips. Chloe. Chloe. Chloe.

— The Necklace of Death came back. But thanks to the spaceship (now how exactly did that work?), the K has been neutralized. Now if only the spaceship could do that to the entire planet.

— Tina/Lana threw Pete across the hall and into a locker. And Clark and Tina threw each other around quite a bit, going through not one, but two large hothouse windows. I sort of lost track of the points, but it had to be at least five.

Quotes:

Whitney: "No one's gonna die. Promise." (boom)
It is sort of sad that Whitney is dead. I never hated him or anything; they just never found anything interesting to do with his character.

Helen: "I can't even begin to fathom the depths of the Luthor family."

Tina's last words were, "Take care of Lana." Creepy.

Three 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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