In a hurry? Read the recaplet for a nutshell description! Finished? Click here to close.
While on a stakeout at night in Metropolis, Martian Manhunter (now a Metropolis P.D. detective) is shot by a sniper. We learn early on that the shooter carries a badge, and not one of those fruity interstellar ones with a crystal embedded in it. We've got crooked cops in the big city. Instead of investigating using his powers like he does every other week, Clark unwisely goes undercover as a police officer from Coast City. He gets partnered up with the stereotypical cop with an adoring wife and kid (his name's "Danny" and the other cops call him "Danny Boy" fer cryin' out loud). If he was 20 years older and black, he'd be three days from retirement. Danny is running with some rule-bending cops who like to beat up the off-on-a-technicality murderer killed Danny's old partner. Seems fair enough, but Clark has enough qualms for both himself and for Danny. It's a moot point, though, because just as the cops are about to murder the cop-killer, Green Arrow steps in and immobilizes everyone but Clark with tranquilizer darts. Danny sees this, so the undercover jig is up. Clark convinces Danny to look into his own heart and find the Good Cop within, not the Bad Cop who would make for much better TV drama. Later, when he's in the middle of a set-up to kill Green Arrow (one of those meddling "Capes," as the cops call them) Danny decides not to shoot. The real bad cops are busted and Danny goes back to being a hero, but not before more sanctimonious lecturing from Clark. Martian Manhunter recovers from his injuries and says he got shot because of his damned foolish pride. Clark and Oliver resolve not to be so solo in their heroics because peeps gotta stick together like marshmallows. Dig?
Meanwhile, Lana pays a visit to Tess (oh yeah, Tess! I'd forgotten all about her) and says she knows that Lex is alive and that Tess is helping him. They get into a big, ridiculous martial arts fight and no one wins, especially not the viewer. Lana reveals to Tess that Lex has been watching her every move. So much so that he had cameras implanted into Tess's eyes after an accident so he could literally see everything she sees. Tess, disgusted by this betrayal of trust, finds a way to jam the signal, but not before getting all emotional and crying about how much she loved Lex. Then she immediately goes out with Oliver, with dirty promises of a "Merger" of his choosing. Good luck navigating that emotional minefield, Ollie.
Chloe pays a special visit for the sole purpose of warning Clark about getting it on with Lana again. She warns Clark that there's one person in the triangle who might get hurt: Lois. Clark thinks about that for about .4 seconds and then gets all up in Lana's grill again, especially after being inspired by Danny to do the hero thing for someone he loves. Despite not knowing how long Lana will be around or what she's up to, he kisses her. Yep, just like the good old, bad old days.
Discuss this episode in our forums, then get the origins of the heroes and villains that keep popping up on this show.
Want more? The full recap starts right below!We open on an adorable plastic alien toy hanging from the rearview mirror of a police squad car in Metropolis. It's nighttime. The alien is a little green Martian with ear-horns sitting in a tiny spaceship, hanging from a keychain. How cute is that? To add to the joy, we find out that we're in the squad car of Officer John Jones, better known as Martian Manhunter (now without powers). He's calling dispatch, asking for a "20" (or, "Two tens." I would always be asking for one "40.") on a suspect. The suspect is driving north on Riverside with "Black and White" in pursuit. Harmonious! Manhunter does a drifty turn and speeds in pursuit. His siren and lights are on. The SUV he's chasing plows through some boxes and swerves to just miss an 18-wheeler. Jones has to stop his cop car to avoid a crash. The suspect, a puffy Asian dude with long, sleek hair, grins at having gotten away. Jones smartly circles back around and heads straight for the suspect. Have you ever played Martian Chicken? It's like regular chicken, but green. Manhunter keeps his cool, but the criminal loses it. He swerves to the right and hits a fence, then a parked car. The suspect unwisely runs out of the car and right into Manhunter's arms. Dammit! Passenger side time!
Jones throws him against the fence. He gets punched, but still manages to get the long-haired dude on the ground. "You're under arrest for three counts of murder!" Manhunter tells him. Caught! Guess that's why they call him "Manhunter." Three weird, unnecessary cuts of the city are shown before we cut right back to the exact same location, minutes later. Another squad car has arrived to carry Longhair off. Jones thanks the officers for their assistance. Officer Obviously Corrupt gives him a slightly dirty look and says, "Just doing our job, Detective." Uh-oh. Trouble. He gives Jones one more unfriendly look before getting in the car. Jones grimaces. Mmm, those guys don't like me. Is it because I'm... a Martian? The police car drives off, leaving Manhunter alone. Suddenly, there's a gunshot. It pierces a Dumpster to him. He ducks into the car, but the windshield is blown out. He tries to get out through the passenger side, but a bullet pierces the car door. A second bullet goes through the door and hits him right in the chest. Manhunter is knocked back and lands lying on his back. He's got a nasty, bloody wound on his upper-left chest. We cut to a sniper putting away the weapon. We don't see the person's face, but they're wearing a Metropolis police badge.
Metropolis General. Clark, wearing a suit and striped tie, is inside looking through coroner reports. Lana, wearing a black business suit jacket, has brought two cups of coffee. She says, not in a complaining tone, that this isn't exactly what she had in mind when she suggested coffee after work. Clark lost track of time. Lana isn't mad at all. Clark sounds like he's going to apologize, but Lana says this gives her a chance to see Clark in his new element. [The morgue? - Zach] She likes the suit and tie; she thinks he must be turning lots of heads. And breaking necks, surely. Clark says he's been too busy with work and everything else going on to notice. Did you forget your friend almost died last week, Lana? Lana forgets her playful manner and asks if Clark has any leads on the creature that kidnapped Chloe. He says a night watchman and two ambulance drivers were killed that night. But no one at the wedding itself? Clark promises to find the creature. "I know you will," Lana assures him. Fluffing time: Lana says, "You've become the man I always knew you could be." Damn, girl, calm down. His transformation's not over yet! Lana goes back to being cheerful. She offers to let Clark get back to work. She wants him to buy the round of coffee. Even though she's probably worth billions. Then she takes all the coffee. Hey, come back with that! Just then, Manhunter is brought in on a stretcher. He's alive, but not in great shape. The doctors try to keep him alive and get the bullet out. "We're losing him... clear!" the doctor says. Clark watches in horror.
Opening credits. Commercials. Axe Body Spray continues to make me feel sexually inadequate. And unsexy-smelling.
Metropolis General Hospital. For when you've had enough of Podunk, small-town bullshit hospitals. Someone takes an oxygen mask off of Martian Manhunter's face and he looks quite dead. The camera loses focus on him and focuses on Clark, standing in the background, behind blinds and a window. Oliver shows up. Clark asks what he's doing there. Ollie says he was out on patrol and heard the call on his scanner. Clark expresses concern about someone operating on Manhunter. "Why, 'cause he's a Martian?" Oliver asks. Yes, but also because he might not be wearing clean underwear. It could have been a very long stakeout. Oliver assures Clark that they're in good hands with Emil. Apparently, Oliver hired his own specialist at the hospital after he was poisoned. He says guys like them could use a doctor like that. You're welcome, Clark. "Since when did Jones become one of us?" Clark says angrily. Hey, buddy, chill. Who put a matchstick up your sandpaper ass? Oliver says that Manhunter has gotten him out of a few scrapes with the police. Clark, really pitching a fit, says he was supposed to meet Manhunter after his shift. He whines that if Jones hadn't given up his abilities to save Clark, the bullet wouldn't have made a scratch. Oliver calls bullshit on Clark's constant moping: "And now you feel guilty, and that's your thing, and I get it -- that's great." Ha! Preach it, white boy. Oliver says that standing here doing nothing isn't going to solve a thing. Oliver acts like he's already bored by this episode. Oh, if he only knew. Clark, still pissed, asks if Oliver knows what their injured friend was up to. He doesn't. Oliver, not wanting to hang around with Gloomy Space Gus a moment longer, says Clark should follow his leads, and he'll follow his own. It's a nice way of saying Oliver would rather be alone than be around Clark's moody ass. "Teamwork's never really been our strong suit," Ollie adds. Wow, even a duck, a turtle and a hamster are smarter than these two. Clark grimaces, then goes back to staring fruitlessly at Martian Manhunter. This hospital is not known for its privacy. Oliver leaves Clark alone.
Lair of Tess. She's doing martial arts with a Spandex-clad instructor who is beating her ass down. He pins her arm behind her back and forces her onto the ground. "What is your focus?" he asks. The tiles on the floor? "True victory," she says. She gets up with no problem and spins around, trying to push down the instructor. He easily turns her wrist around and makes her gasp. She's got on a strange red and black workout suit. It's like a sports bra with a black tube attached below. It makes her look like a paint job on an '82 Trans Am. "And what is true victory?" Sensei asks. Syndication and a cut of the money from the DVDs? We hear, "Victory over one's self." But it's not Tess saying the words. She turns. Lana is standing in the doorway, wearing black pants and a sleeveless purple top. No more pink for this girl. "First principle of Aikido," Lana says. The instructor looks to Tess for instruction on whether this lawn rodent should be destroyed. "That'll be all, Terrence," Tess tells him. He exits the room without another word. Second principle of Aikido is not to feed the trolls. "The enigmatic Lana Lang. In the flesh," Tess says, wiping herself down with a purple towel. Purple, see? With the towel and Lana's top? It's EEEEVIL. Lana says she came to thank Tess. The Daily Planet has been quiet about Lana's return to town. It's a pretty shit newspaper these days, anyway. Tess says she keeps her reporters on a short leash. "Most of the time," she adds quietly. Lana just stands there. Tess lies right to her face, looking her up and down and saying, "You have just as much... presence as Lex said you did." Oh, fucking please. Presence? Are you kidding me? Lana stands there woodenly, letting her presence speak for her. It's dead silent. Tess says that Lana would have to have it to tame a Luthor. Wow, is this getting uncomfortable for everyone else? Tess really needs to calm down. Drink some Gatorade maybe. Her endorphins are short-circuiting her brain functions.
Lana says that's high praise from the woman in charge of the Luthor legacy. "He must have had a lot of faith in you," Lana tells her. Tess says it wasn't easy to earn. Lana steps forward and loses her friendly demeanor. She wonders how much faith Lex would have in Tess if he knew she was funneling company money into a project called "Prometheus." Tess flinches. Lana, still smiling, says that's true unless someone higher than Tess is calling the shots. Tess says nothing. "Lex is alive," Lana adds. She thinks Tess knows where he is. Tess scoffs and shakes her head a bit. She walks behind the desk and tries to play it cool, suggesting that Lana might be interested in a fiction section The Planet prints on Sundays. Yet another reason why the paper is failing. Lana says she used to be like Tess, protecting Lex and saying anything to defend him. "He has a way of turning that kind of devotion against you," Lana says. Tess goes to cliché-ville: "You don't know Lex like I do!" He likes tapioca and Bazooka Joe gum! But not at the same time. You wouldn't understand! Lana hopes she's right. She walks out of the room. As she rounds the corner, she opens her bag. There's a clunky device in there with a bright green light flashing, presumably recording major Luthor secrets electronically. Did Lana forget there are surveillance cameras all over the place in this castle? Lana keeps walking.
Isis Foundation. Chloe is inside, putting some books into her bag. We hear a whoosh and Clark enters through the front office door. He's glad he caught Chloe before she went back to Star City. Chloe says she wants to be back before Jimmy wakes up. Chloe has been helping Clark dig into the Martian Manhunter case. She found out he's been poking around in files for officers from the 44th Precinct. Even though she's standing at Lana's advanced workstation, Chloe says that being at the mercy of modern technology really sucks. She's glad to be rid of Brainiac but, she says, the evil brain implant was very convenient. Clark is just glad things are back to normal. He's wearing a red T-shirt and blue jacket just to make the point. Chloe brings up Lana's reappearance. She asks how things are going. "It's not like that... I think," Clark says. Chloe mentions the old Clark/Lana triangle and says that being the third point always hurts. Clark doesn't get it. "How about Lois?" Chloe asks. Clark looks surprised. "Yeah. It's that obvious," Chloe tells him. "Lois," Clark says, gazing at the wall, "Lois is so... " "Lois?" Chloe finishes. "Yeah!" Clark agrees. Even when she's not around, Lois finds ways to annoy me. Clark says that it's like Lana never left. He says you can't just stop loving someone just like that. "Right?" he asks Chloe. Not a good thing to ask. Chloe looks wistful. She says she understands the need for closure, but asks that Clark not slam her cousin in the door. Chloe finds something on the computer. An armor-piercing bullet that disappeared from the evidence room. Clark thinks that points to an inside job. Clark thinks it was a cop and that someone high-ranking in the force needs to know about it. Chloe doubts they'll just open up to a reporter like Clark. Clark won't let the person who did this hide behind a badge. Chloe starts typing. She says that if Clark plans to go past the thin, blue line, he needs something more than a press pass.
A sign on a chain-link fence announces the 44th Precinct Fleet Yard. A young, handsome police officer with thick blonde hair is greeted by two older, thuggish cops, who call him "Danny Boy" and ask if he's ready for his new sidekick. They tease each other about their looks, which is a little weird and vain. Yep, you can already tell these are the bad guys. Danny greets a new officer on transfer from Coast City. His name is Joe. Danny asks Joe is he's ready to save the world. He turns and we see that it's Clark, in a police uniform. Undercover! Oh, brother.
Commercials. Most of the cast besides Tom Welling and Kristin Kreuk does a spot for saving energy in front of the stairs of the Talon set. It's cute and short and everybody looks great. They invite you to visit the CW's Free2BeGreen Web site.
The hard, gray, shitty streets of Metropolis. A dark police cruiser rounds a corner where a red miniskirt and thigh-high boots stands to a big "SALE!" sign. Hey, that looks a bit like Lana. Is this her secret? Clark, riding shotgun, looks grimly out at the dirty, Hellbound city. Danny Boy has an ashtray full of candies. He picks out of its wrapper and eats it. "That's quite a sweet tooth you got there," Clark says. Hey, man. I'm straight. But thanks. Danny says, in much too tough a manner, that his kid got him these candies last Halloween and now he can't stop eating them. "He loves the banana ones, I think root beer is the only one worth the effort. Help yourself." A serious discussion about candy flavors? I think I quite like Danny Boy. Danny asks his new fictional partner "Fordman" (or perhaps he said, "Foreman" but I'd like to think Clark is keeping Jocko Whitney's spirit alive) if he's never been in a squad car before. Clark ad-libs that he's never been in one this nice. Danny gets a chuckle out of that. He thinks Clark has a great sense of humor. Boy, does Clark have him fooled. Danny warns Clark about staying alive long enough to go surfing again. Clark uses that as a cue to inquire about the detective who was recently shot. "What's his name? Jones?" Clark asks. So sneaky! Danny says that a detective getting plugged is just another day in Metropolis. You'd think Clark would have heard about this before, working at the newspaper and all. Clark stares at Danny intensely. Danny looks back. Two hot dudes just driving around in the rain, trying to survive. It's the Gayest Look of the Episode. Clark tries to sound like a cop and fails miserably: "Blood on a badge is blood on a badge, right? No matter what city you're in." Clark watched one episode of Law & Order and suddenly he's Jesse L. Martin.
Danny says that putting a badge on is like wearing a target. He also brings up the "costumed idiots" running around getting in their way and taking all the credit. Ha! "The Green Arrow? Red-Blue Blur?" Danny asks, incredulously. "Great Pumpkin," Clark sputters. Oh, man. Clark really needs to take a few improv classes. Based on some of the exterior shots in this episode, Clark can join the bustling Chicago comedy scene. Clark asks if Danny thinks the costumed dudes cause more harm than good. Danny says that cops have rules and "Capes" don't. Dispatch alerts Danny to a Code 3 in progress. Danny says junkies are hitting the pharmacy again. Maybe they just need condoms. He pulls down his driver's side visor, kisses his fingers and puts his fingers to a very cute photo of himself kissing his wife's cheek. He's wearing a tux. Another photo slides out from behind it and falls. Clark picks it up. It's a sleazy-looking criminal's police mugshot. Danny is not kissing the guy in that photo. Danny grabs the picture out of Clark's hand and says, "Someone I'm lookin' for." Wow. Does your wife know? That's dangerous, you know. Didn't you ever see Looking for Mr. Goodbar? Danny turns on the siren and prepares to show Clark how they roll in the big city.
We see a shifty-looking guy exiting a pharmacy carrying a big paper bag. As soon as he sees the police cruiser pulling up, he runs. Clark slowly gets out of the passenger side like he's an old man, and the weather's making his knees creaky. Danny runs after the guy, telling Clark to make sure the people inside are all right. We see Danny huffing and puffing down the street, yelling, "Stop right there!" The robber, of course, does nothing of the sort. He tips over a Dumpster of plastic recyclables, instead. Danny, hand on his sidearm, loses the guy after that environmental disaster. He breathes heavily. The criminal, who looks like a young John Turturro with his hair standing up, draws a gun and sneaks up behind Danny. Danny doesn't seem very aware of his surroundings. We hear a gunshot. Danny turns. The robber falls back and lands on some trash. Clark is standing right there. Danny sees the smoking gun lying on the ground. "You run track, Fordman?" he asks. Clark says, lamely, "A little here and there." Danny grabs the robber and cuffs him. He says he owes Clark one. As Danny takes the guy away, reading his Miranda rights, Clark opens his palm. He's holding a tiny bullet. [So cute! - Z]
Isis. Lana loads in a flash drive to a very cool desk USB hub. It glows! This scratches my geek itch and is relevant to my interests! Lana is wearing a Bluetooth headset. She says she's uploading files taken from Tess's Wi-Fi network. On this show, the worst security threat is bad wireless Internet. On Lana's screen are pictures of bulky male bodies. They're like schematics to build big humanoid robots. [Please say Lex is building a battlesuit please say Lex is building a battlesuit. - Z] "I'm transmitting data to you now," she tells the person on the other end of the line. A message appears on the screen: "Data stream recorded from unknown WIFI device." Yeeks. Lana's got a crap network, too. Lana types furiously. Her nostrils flare in frustration. Unless you are prepared to rumble or call pest control, do not anger Formerly Pink Squirrel. If Formerly Pink Squirrel becomes enraged, back away slowly and watch for karate kicks.
Backyard barbecue. Danny Boy is cooking up some steaks, wieners and burgers. He's wearing a civilian hoodie. Clark is there and he's toned down his usual colors, instead wearing a gray T-shirt and dark jacket. Danny's little boy comes up to him and hugs him. The kid has on a blue shirt, red caps and a mask over his eyes. Clark kneels and asks if he's supposed to be Warrior Angel. "No, I'm Red-Blue Blur," the kid says. It's not very catchy a name, is it? Poor kid. He runs off. Danny shakes his head in disgust. He says it's a losing battle. "Don't worry Dad, he'll grow out of it." Whoah, hot Mama. Danny's wife is very, very pretty. She introduces herself to our "Joe." Clark says it's nice to meet her in person. And how! She figures out that Clark must be talking about the photo in the car. Danny's busted. She's surprised he's still carrying that thing around. She says it was from their senior year. Danny kisses her right on the lips. Aw. Danny's kid calls for his dad. He fell and hurt his knee. As Danny goes to help, the wife, Suzie, thanks Clark for looking out for her husband. She says Danny was really torn up over losing his last partner. He lost WHAT!? This is dangerous!
Clark goes into investigative mode. It hurts. He asks how long they rode together. She says they graduated from the academy at the same time. One day they went out, she says, and only Danny came home. Mike, she says, thought he was bulletproof. She says she holds her breath every night waiting for Danny to walk through the door. Clark watches Danny play with his kid. Ow. Heart. Hurts. Make. Stop. The Closed Captioning says that Suzie's line is about the world needing Danny. It's oddly absent from the actual audio. Instead, she just says, "We just need him more." Strange edit there, show. The elder veteran cop from earlier calls out Clark. "Fordman!" he bellows, "the rookie really earned his keep today." He toasts Clark, along with his partner, who looks like a thinner, younger clone. The cops all hope they're as lucky tomorrow. Clark walks up to Officer Obviously Corrupt and brings up what happened to Martian Manhunter. He wisely doesn't use the word "Martian" or "Manhunter." Corrupt half-heartedly agrees. He says it's a shame nobody really knew Jones. He says a lone wolf like Jones stands out from the pack, and that's not a good thing. "Safety in numbers?" Clark asks. Corrupt says they're all like brothers. He says it's hard to stick your neck out for a guy you barely know. "Isn't that what police officers are supposed to do?" Clark asks. Oh, just go home, rookie. Corrupt chuckles. So does his younger counterpart, Officer Obviously Corrupt Jr. "You believe the stones on this guy?" Corrupt asks. He thinks Clark is just awesome. Naïve and stupid, but awesome. He advises Clark keep his eyes on the streets and leave the detective work to the desk jockeys. "And don't be stupid like Jones," he adds, "Always wear your vest." Clark frowns. Corrupt's cell phone vibrates. Corrupt Jr. gets a beep. Danny's phone goes off, too. He tells Clark they have to go. Suzie looks worried. The potato salad's just not gonna keep. Clark looks at her with concern as they walk to the car.
Isis at night. Lana finds Tess coming in through the front door. Would somebody please turn on a light? Tess says she's not as good a judge of character as she thought. She accuses Lana of stealing her data. Well, if your Wi-FI network wasn't called "MERCY'S AWESOME MP3S," maybe she wouldn't have found it. "And I thought we were bonding," Tess adds. Lana glibly shoots back, "Rain check on girls' night?" Tess circles around Lana, saying she finally sees what Lex saw in this squirrel. "You're stunning," Tess says, creepily. Uh... thanks? Lesbian? I think she used the wrong word; instead of "Stunning," she probably meant, "Stupefying." "And devious," Tess adds. "What Lex saw in me... was an equal," Lana tells her. Eh, not quite. Lex wouldn't have tried so hard to control her if he really thought she was as sneaky as him. Lana says Lex couldn't control her. "Reeeally?" Tess purrs. She says maybe she shouldn't send her condolences about the miscarriage, then. Yeeks. Low-blow, lady. Lana, disgusted, says it gave her perspective on who Lex really was. Lana tries to walk past Tess, but Tess pulls a gun. She says that Lex may have thought it was the only way to keep Lana, but he really did love her. Tess says that when Lana stole that data, she corrupted their files and they lost everything. Always have a backup! They never learn! Tess says that Prometheus is the one chance Lex has at survival. Tough tittie, Tessie. Lana turns on her Squirrel Fu. She pulls at Tess's arm, making the gun go off. She pushes Tess against the door, breaking the glass on it. Tess punches and Lana karate-blocks the blows. Lana swings Tess and throws her against the lavender file cabinets. Kicking! Karate! Lana rolls on the floor. Tess tackles her and they both sail through a door. More glass breaks. More punching. Tess lands a few blows, but Lana connects on more punches and kicks. Lana is thrown against a lamp. She makes a mean face. Bitch, this is my BEST LAMP! Tess slides Lana along the top of a table. Lana rolls with it and finds the gun on the floor. She aims it at Tess. Tess, her lip bloodied, stops. Don't mess with the fists of flying squirrel, lady.
Commercials. Oh, how my kid loves Kraft cheese. We have to hide our slices deep in the fridge.
The coast of Metropolis, Kansas. That great coastal city. Right. Danny, his two corrupt buddies and Clark open the sliding door of a big, scary warehouse. Officer Obviously Corrupt says he got Danny a little present. We see the suspect from Danny's photo stand up suddenly. Other cops are there guarding him. Danny, really pissed off, goes at the guy. The guy raises his hands and says that he was acquitted, no strings attached. Danny punches him right in the gut and, even worse, points at him as he says, "You got off on a technicality, you piece of trash cop-killer!" Piece of trash. Indeed. Go all out, dude. There's no censors around. Danny punches the dude in the face twice. "Do you have any idea what you did to my partner's family!?" Danny yells, "What you did to me!?" As the punches continue, Clark steps forward slightly, calling Danny's name. Corrupt puts a hand out to keep Clark back. He says they may not control the system, but they sure do control the streets. More like the insides of torture warehouses. More smacking. The oily not-so-criminal guy has a mouth full of blood. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry," he says, pathetically. Danny hesitates. Corrupt calls out, "Danny, he killed your partner. Don't hold back. Justice must be served." Danny gulps. He's not sure what to do. The guy falls to the ground. Corrupt Jr. asks Clark if he's going to man up and help his partner. He hands Clark a tire iron. Before Clark can beat a guy, the cops are shot with electric tranquilizer darks, right in the chest. Hey, what about their vests? They fall and shake, even Danny. Green Arrow appears, costumed up. He's holding his crossbow. A cop tries to stop him, but Green Arrow kicks him, then spins and shoots two more darts. One of them is caught in mid-air by Clark. In his deep, murky voice, Oliver says, "Clark, what the Hell are you doing here?" Getting shot by a dart, you dick. Clark tells him to get out. Green Arrow shoots his grappling thingy straight up and sails away. It would be hilarious if he was just hanging from the ceiling, unable to swing anywhere. "Little help? Please?" Danny, though convulsing, could still see Clark and Green Arrow's little pow-wow. He doesn't look too happy about it. That dart looks like it really hurts, too.
Isis. Lana, still holding Tess at gunpoint, leads her into the command center. She asks if Tess was this devoted before or after her accident. Tess is impressed by Lana's not-very-impressive research. Lana says that three years ago, Tess was in South America collecting disease samples for LuthorCorp. All right, that's a bit more impressive. She says Tess's camp was destroyed by an explosion and she was left for dead. Not Left4Dead? Because Tess would be an awesome super-zombie. Lamely, Tess says Lex saved her life. She owes him everything. Didn't Oliver save your life, too? Lana intends to show Tess how Lex repays that kind of loyalty. She types something and offers to open her eyes. On the screens behind Tess, a live image of Lana appears. Tess turns around and the camera POV shifts. When Lana speaks, there's an echo. Lana says that a nanotransmitter was wired to Tess's optic nerve. Tess moves her head and watches the camera move on multiple screens. It's creating a video-echo effect. Video screens inside of video screens. Lana says that Tess has been Lex's eyes and ears for quite some time. What about when she was having sex with Oliver? Oh mah goodness! That's hot! Lana says that Lex is watching them right now. Way to tip him off, Lana. Tess, meanwhile, is horrified. She holds up her own hand and moves it around in front of her face. In front of the screen, the video echo makes it look like a strange sea creature. Tess's eyes fill with tears. Lana stands in front of her. She says that Lex may have saved Tess, but he never trusted her. The screens fill with multiple Lana's. NO! It's too much! I can't take five more Lanas! I WILL DIE! Lana says she's sorry. So am I! OH GOD, SO AM I! What a world, what a world! Tess's expression goes from horror to a tiny bit of anger. The strings of doom and scary things amp up and goose us all.
Metropolis General. A doctor is telling Clark he'll let him know when Jones wakes up. The doctor says he's strong, but not out of the woods yet. Clark thanks him and they shake hands. Danny shows up. "Fordman!" he yells. He pulls Clark aside to give him a stern talking-to. He's mad that Clark was talking to his "buddy" Green Arrow and let him escape. Clark does the lame, "I don't know what you think you saw, but..." Danny has already pieced it together with Clark's weird questions about Jones and, well, his appearance at this hospital. He asks if Clark is a fed or with I.A.B. The Internet Advertising Board? You know, Clark has always seemed a bit spammy to me. Clark says he wants to take down the guy who shot Jones and that he knows it was someone on Danny's squad. Way to tip your hand, Clark. Did Lana teach you that? Clark says it's not the first time this has happened. "What about John Jones?" Clark bellows. "He was onto your little lynch mob, wasn't he?" Danny averts his eyes. Clark asks who Danny is protecting. "You don't roll over on a badge, not ever," he says. Isn't Jones a badge? They didn't just roll over on him, they shot the guy. Clark brings up that point. Danny gets defensive. He says these guys have his back. Clark says he's really got Danny's back for real and might be the only one. "This is not justice," Clark says. Danny shakes his head. He asks what one man can do. A one-man show? Off-off-Broadway? A musical about a sexy cop from a poor upbringing trying to do the right thing. Call it, David Cop-a-Feel? Clark has to think about that. He tells Danny to remember why he put on that uniform in the first place. The one he's not wearing now. Don't ask yourself why you're wearing a hoodie, Danny. No one can know the answer to that, except that it's very Boston Townie. Clark walks away, disgusted with this weak man.
Kent Farm, morning. Over a steaming cup of coffee, Clark sits with a legal pad and some police files. Let's see... To-Do List: Comb hair (again). Re-heat coffee with eyeballs. Solve John Jones shooting. Wow, that's a full day already. Without knocking, Oliver enters the house. Did Clark not hear him coming? Oliver blabs about the cops going gangland. He throws one of his bent darts on the table, over Clark's files. Oliver says that "thug" is a really good look for Clark and his crew. Clark says they're not all bad. So far they are, it seems like. Clark says they're out there doing the same thing they are and risking their lives and families. Oliver fake-agrees, then asks how many parolees he and Clark roughed up last month. Clark says it's not a black-or-white issue. Oliver says they've gone too far. "And you never have?" Clark shoots back, raising his voice. Clark, again with the yelling, tells him that Danny watched that guy kill his partner. He asks if Oliver hasn't been tempted to kill someone for causing so much pain. Oliver turns it around and asks if Clark believes that killing is all right for the greater good. They both know that's not true. Clark says that saving someone isn't just knocking them out and throwing them in a dark room, it's helping them find their way back to the right side. Oliver says some people are too far gone for that. He hands Clark a folded-up piece of paper. The guy Jones was chasing down ended up dead. It's an autopsy photo. He ended up in the river. Oliver asks how many people have to die before Clark does something. Well, how high can Clark count? Clark says he's narrowed it down to two guys. Oliver barks at Clark, telling him to keep playing detective while he goes and makes sure they don't hurt anyone else. You don't have to yell, Ollie.
Metropolis at night. Officer Obviously Corrupt gets into a squad car with Danny, who looks despondent. Danny says he made some calls about "Joe." He's not who he says he is.
Clark is at one of the cops' houses, looking for clues. He does his X-ray vision on a nearby parked car. Inside the trunk is a sniper rifle. A clue! Clark opens the trunk. As soon as Clark picks up the gun (stupid!), a swarm of cops surrounds him. They say Clark's under arrest for the attempted murder of Jones. How in the world did they figure he was going to find the sniper rifle? Clark is cuffed. He asks Danny if he set him up. "You're better than this," Clark tells him. Nah, not really. Well, maybe, we'll see. Clark is shoved into the police car and driven off. Corrupt and Danny stay behind. Corrupt tells Danny he did the right thing. And also that Danny's hands have been clean for too long. To cheer him up, he tells Danny that he'll be the guy who killed the Green Arrow. Thanks? You shouldn't have?
Commercials. Push, the movie. As in, "You couldn't push me hard enough to get me into a theater to see Push."
Metropolis skyline. Danny is driving a squad car to an abandoned urban area. In the back of the car is the guy from the pharmacy robbery. "This is messed up!" the guy says. He thought he was being transferred. Danny assures him that he won't kill him, since he's just bait. Good? Officer Obviously Corrupt is up on a nearby rooftop, aiming his sniper rifle. Danny yells out asking how they know Green Arrow will show. Because of yelling it out loud like that? Another cop is already roughing up the robber. Corrupt is sure that Green Arrow is watching and won't be able to resist this tasty bit of police brutality. The robber yells for help while the other cop mocks him and keeps punching. Officer Obviously Corrupt Jr. draws his gun on the robber. The robber, scared, raises his hands. The cop shoots right above the guy. Then he smacks him. The cop picks up a big piece of pipe. Suddenly, Green Arrow comes down via a wire. Nobody saw where that came from? There's an invisible building? Oliver tries for levity: "We gotta stop meeting like this," he says. Cop swings pipe. Green Arrow dodges. Then punches. The robber runs away. "You're welcome!" Oliver calls after him. Corrupt is still aiming his sniper rifle. Danny has his gun drawn behind him and tells Green Arrow to turn around. Green Arrow says it's not every day someone gets the drop on him. "Is this all a joke to you?" Danny asks. Oliver asks if he was gonna put the robber in the ground just for taking a shot at him. Danny is again conflicted. Corrupt tells Danny, via radio, to hurry up and take the shot. Danny can't do it. Making conversation, Green Arrow asks if he's Joe's partner. "His name is Clark Kent," Danny says. Corrupt tells Danny to just take the shot, already. Green Arrow says it's not too late. Danny asks why the Capes don't just mind their own business. He says he has a family at home. Oliver throws down: He says that when Danny's little boy asks who he saved today, he can say he killed a man in cold blood. Danny says it ain't like that. Oliver says that Clark trusted Danny and thinks he just lost his way. Corrupt warns Danny again to take the shot. Or else! Oliver gives up. He puts down his hands and says that if Danny needs to do this to find himself, to just do it. He says Danny can prove Clark wrong. Oliver would rather get shot than let Clark win an argument. Danny tries one more time to take the shot. He can't. He lowers his pistol. Corrupt aims his laser sight on Danny instead. Oliver dives to save him. The both scramble to avoid the sniper rifle. Corrupt whispers that Danny should have taken that shot. All right, shit, we get it! The shot! Corrupt calls dispatch and requests assistance. He says he's spotted Green Arrow and an officer is down. He takes aim again. TAKE THE SHOT!
The two cops who busted Clark take him out of the police cruiser. Just then, a call comes in from dispatch about the Green Arrow situation. One of the cops tells the other that he knew Danny wouldn't seal the deal. They even had a bet going. Clark watches with disdain from just outside the car as they exchange gambling cash. Clark whooshes out of there, but not before giving them a granny grimace.
Corrupt is still trying to take out Green Arrow and Danny. OH MY GOD YOU HAVE TO TAKE THE SHOT RIGHT NOW TAKE THE SHOT SHOOT SHOOT SHOOT THE SHOT! Green Arrow stupidly has his head sticking out where it could easily be taken out. Did he not hear about The Shot? Corrupt fires and misses that giant, green target. Danny also exposes his face to the sniper sight. He slowly tries to get up and go somewhere else and is shot in the shoulder. Message for you, sir! Oliver helps pull him back to safety. More sniper shots. Suddenly the rifle view is blocked by something red and blue. Clark knocks the rifle aside. Corrupt pulls out his sidearm and points at Clark. He fires. The bullet ricochets off Clark's chest, and the gun goes flying back. Corrupt's hand is hurt. Clark tries to explain: "It's like you said. Always wear a vest." Corrupt curls into a ball and moans. YOU SHOULD HAVE TAKEN THE SHOT! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU DIDN'T TAKE THE SHOT, WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU, YOU SHOT-LESS MOTHERFUCKER! We hear a siren approach. Down below, Danny grabs Officer Obviously Corrupt Jr. and arrests him. As a police cruiser pulls up, Danny says, "Don't shoot! I'm one of the good guys." Aw, Danny Boy. Clark watches, a smile on his face.
Commercials. Ever notice how chewing gum commercials just try so much harder? Maybe it's because they're trying to sell you some stupid gum.
Metropolis General. Martian Manhunter is doing much better. He's sitting on the side of his hospital bed, fully dressed, looking at his Metropolis PD badge. Being careful not to make himself bleed, he eases his arm over to put the badge in his pocket. Just then, Clark and Oliver walk in. Manhunter says it's good to be back on his feet. He suddenly gasps a bit and touches his chest. Easy there, big fella. Clark thanks him for using his pull to get him out of trouble with the police, and points out that Jones could have used some backup sooner. Clark asks why he didn't call. Jones says it's the same reason he's had to save Clark from the brink of death and why Oliver let his guard down: pride. Jones looks out the blinds and really chews up the dialogue as he says that it's tough to admit you can't do it alone after you've truly felt so powerful. Oliver says that going solo has really caught up with all of them. Let's get together and be Wham! Clark says that even though the cops were wrong, having that kind of brotherhood can make you feel like you can do anything. They all throw admiring glances at each other. Oh, just get a room. I mean, a room other than one in a hospital.
Lair of Tess. We see her speaking at us on a computer screen on the desk. She's addressing Lex when she says that when she thought her life was over, he gave her a reason to keep going. We pan over to see that she's speaking into a mirror. "I trusted you," she says. As a fire roars in the fireplace in the background, Tess says she's done everything that Lex has asked. He's seen it with his own eyes. "And, apparently, with mine," she says ruefully. "Not anymore," she tells him. She hopes Lex watches with rapt attention as his bank accounts close and as he loses all contact with the outside world. "As your life disappears before your eyes," she says. She opens up a locket on a chain around her neck. This is seriously where I thought she was going to take something out and stab her own eyes out. Instead, she pushes a button inside the locket and jams the signal. It buzzes. "Goodbye, Lex," she says. She's crying. "SIGNAL JAMMED," a message says on the computer screen. "I loved you," she says, "you son of a bitch." Oliver enters the room and sees her in this emotional state. "Mercy!" he says. She turns away from him and wipes away her tears. Oliver sees the fireplace. He says he hopes her S'mores are worth the drive. Ooh, I'd watch it right now, Oliver. Tess says they're going to dinner. She wants to discuss a merger. Oliver, surprised, chuckles and asks what kind of merger. "Anything you want," she says, giving him a sexy look. "Don't keep me waiting," she tells him. He follows her out the door. The camera pulls back to reveal a newspaper on the desk. The A1 headline of The Daily Planet reads, "LEX LUTHOR DECLARED DEAD."
The front of Danny Boy's house, nighttime. His kid is dressed in a green hood and has a toy bow and arrow set. Danny has his arm in a sling. Suzie watches them from the porch. Clark has stopped by. "Green Arrow?" he asks. Danny says his kid is dressed as Robin Hood. His kid explained to him that people think he's a bad guy, but he's not. "Go figure," Danny says. "Must be all those bright colors," Clark tells him. Huh? What the fuck are you talking about, Clark? Clark apologizes for not telling Danny he's a reporter. Danny wants to be mad at Clark, but can't. He says Clark did what he thought was right, which is more than he can say for himself. He says he got all turned around. Clark is glad he found his way. Danny still has to go through an inquest. But he feels he's doing something his family can be proud of. Danny walks back to the porch. Clark stops him. He asks if it's hard to put his wife and kid through that every day. Danny says you can't lose sight of the people you're trying to protect. "It'd be harder not doing it," Danny says, "I do what I do... to keep them safe," he says. Clark has to really think about that. Ow. It hurts. Danny asks if Clark has somebody who makes it all worth it. Clark frowns, hard. More thinking. Dammit. Should have taken aspirin first.
The Talon. The lights are all on. Clark walks in as Lana is making a coffee behind the counter. She's frothing the milk. "If I squint just right it's like we're 14 again," Clark says. Ew. That's a little creepy. Lana turns and smiles. "You say that like it's a good thing," he says. She asks what's up. Clark says he couldn't sleep. "So... you came to... a coffee shop?" she asks. "Not your best plan, Mr. Kent." As much as I hate all the Lana worship, she's been more charming in these scenes than I remember her being in the past. Clark steps up to her. He says he knows she had reasons for coming back but asks why she's staying. Lana, serious, says leaving is harder than she thought. She doesn't know how long she'll be around, though. Clark says that whether she's gone tomorrow or in 10 years, the most important thing is that she's here today. That's one way to look at it, I guess. Can she leave tomorrow, though, seriously? Lana shuffles her feet nervously, she goes back behind the counter. She says they're not 14, and the world will always be bigger than the both of them. Clark says that maybe it doesn't have to be all-or-nothing. He says that for the last year, he's sacrificed everything he loves for the greater good. "What if the rest of the world didn't have to come first?" he asks. Lana says the world needs him. "What about what we need?" he asks. They gaze into each other's eyes. Clark kisses Lana. She kisses back. Sloppily. Tinkly music plays. Okay. Cut! Come on! Cut! Wow, that went on for way too long. Clark pulls back. They stare at each other some more. The music continues to blackout. That was... not very hot at all. I totally don't need a cigarette. Ever again, maybe.
week: Who knows. They play the same teaser from last week. Boo!
Discuss this episode in our forums, then see what vlogger Sean Crespo thinks of Smallville when he has No Prior Knowledge! And check back week for the full recap!
Omar G. is a journalist and writer living in New Braunfels, Texas. Check out the new Web show he does with his brother, Pablo, "Trailers Without Pity." You can find him on Terribly Happy, Space Monkeys! and at Videogamey.com and hear him on NPR's "All Tech Considered," Mondays as part of All Things Considered.