Lois decides maybe she needs to take a little break from Clark after he turns down a chance to work on a story with her that will earn them their jobs back at the Daily Planet. She's still pining for the Blur and her higher purpose, but Clark's got his hands full with that whole alien apocalypse mess. Before he can reconcile with Lois or chase after Kandorians, though, his long-absent mother Martha Kent returns from the U.S. Senate for a visit. She's all verklempt seeing the farm again, but she's brought her new boyfriend to cheer her up. It's none other than Perry White, played by Annette O'Toole's real-life hubby Michael McKean. Lois and Clark at first lie about being together and still working at the paper, but they come clean over an awkward family dinner. Lois and Perry also decide to work together on a story to expose the Red Queen, which Martha discovers for the first time when Perry accidentally drops his notes in front of her. Since the promos totally spoiled the reveal, it's no surprise at all when it turns out Martha is the Red Queen. She sets up a fake meeting with Perry and Lois to put them on a false trail.
Meanwhile, she's got Maxwell Lord working his mind mojo on a kidnapped Tess, trying to get her to reveal the location of the Book of Rao. She overcomes his mental influence and escapes, or so she thinks, but in facts ends up leading Martha right to the Book of Rao's hiding place. Martha comes away with the Book and a sassy pair of red stilettos. During a conversation with Chloe about using Watchtower to protect him, Clark puts 2 + 2 together and figures out his mommy dearest has actually been working behind the scenes as the Queen. He confronts his mother about it, and she confesses. She's been trying to protect him all along and gives him the powerful Book of Rao to help him defeat the Kandorians. The only problem is that if he uses it to exile them from Earth, he'll end up exiled himself. Oops.
In the week's subplot, Chloe uses a mostly defunct Watchtower to help Clark track down the Kandorians. When he gets impatient about the computers still being out of service, Chloe confesses that they're actually working fine. It's Chloe who's having a bit of a breakdown. Now that she has Ollie, she wants to start living a real life instead of playing "big brother/sister" to the heroes. Clark talks her into staying by pointing out he needs her and her work is important and that she's a hero, too. Plus, the show's been renewed for a 10th season, so she's sort of stuck.
Discuss this episode in our forums, then see what other superbeings have crossed Clark in our guide to the Heroes and Villains of Smallville! Check back soon for the full recap.
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