- Title: Smallville – Rogue
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Smallville Saturday takes us back to another kind of threat for Clark (Tom Welling) when a dirty Metropolis cop (Cameron Dye) discovers his secret and blackmails Clark into helping him. There’s quite a bit happening in the episode, not all of which can actually be resolved before the end including both Martha (Annette O’Toole) and Jonathan (John Schneider) being taken in for questions in a murder investigation based on Phelan‘s frame job that wouldn’t necessarily just immediately work itself out after his complicity in other crimes came to light. Despite that oversight, the episode is a standout of the First Season with Clark facing an entirely different kind of challenge with his powers, and his adoptive parents, being used against him.
“Rogue” is also notable for events in the lives of other characters. Lana (Kristin Kreuk) steps in to help save The Torch, momentarily stepping on Chloe‘s (Allison Mack) toes but in the end bringing her closer into the circle of Clark’s friends and continuing to build on the Chole/Lana friendship. We also see Chloe’s crush on Clark is easier for Lana to see the the character with X-Ray Vision. The episode is the first episode to feature Lex‘s (Michael Rosenbaum) old friend Victoria Hardwick (Kelly Brook) who arrives in town to stir up old feelings and present a proposal to help Lex take down his father. Mention of Phelan’s past with Lex also foreshadows the show delving into more of Lex’s own past later in the season.
Speaking of Lex, Clark’s actions at the end of the episode, which help bring the truth of the dirty cop to justice (and conveniently get another who has learned of his abilities killed), provide another clue for Lex into secrets Clark is hiding from the world. His obsession with uncovering the truth will last for much of Rosenbaum’s run on the show. And last of note are the bookend moments of Clark’s powers in stopping the runaway bus at the beginning of the episode, providing one of the most prominent hero effects of the season, and moving fast enough to dodge a speeding bullet near the end of the episode while not yet realizing he doesn’t need to.
