Echo
From Smallville Wiki
| Echo | |
|---|---|
| |
| Series | 9x04 |
| Episode | 178 |
| Writer | Bryan Miller |
| Director | Wayne Rose |
| Broadcast Date | October 16, 2009 |
| Navigation | |
| Previous Episode: Rabid
Next Episode: Roulette | |
Contents |
[edit] Summary
Tess forces Oliver to come to a Queen Industries gala to put the Board at ease, but things go awry when the Toyman shows up with a bomb and a plan to take revenge on Oliver. The Toyman tells Oliver he must confess to murdering Lex or he will blow the place up. Meanwhile, as part of his training, Jor-El gives Clark the ability to hear other people's thoughts.
[edit] Recap
Clark gets to a nearby phone booth and changes into his clothing just as Lois arrives. She wonders how Clark got there so fast and wonders where the Blur is. As she trips, he grabs her and he hears her apparently say "Hello, sailor." As she walks away, Clark asks what she said but Lois says she didn't say anything… and he hears her think "hot stuff."
Clark meets with Chloe and explains that he can only hear Lois' thoughts so far. Relieved, she asks if his super hearing might be on the fritz but Clark doesn't believe it. Chloe wonders why he doesn't check with Jor-El but Clark ducks the question. However, as Chloe leaves, Clark starts to hear the mental voices of everyone else on the street. He goes to the Fortress and asks if telepathy is one of his trials. Jor-El explains that he planted the seed in Clark in case he needed it after making an error. When Clark insists he saved everyone at the factory, Jor-El explains that he is making human assumptions and needs to nurture his Kryptonian intuition. Jor-El says the ability is temporary and will help Clark to understand human motivations.
At the Talon apartment, Lois is preparing for her date when Chloe comes out and realizes something is going on. Lois admits that she's going out with Clark and is surprised that he picked the one thing to do that she wanted. Chloe realizes that Clark has been reading her mind and Lois says that recently she has felt like they've been more than just partners. She wonders if she doesn't have to go it alone any more and then tells Chloe not to wait up.
In a hidden lair filled with toys, Winslow Schott considers a headline of himself and giggles, announcing the games are going to begin.
At the bar, Tess asks Oliver what he was thinking and why he started a fight. She asks if he cares about the factory blowing up, or anything. Tess points out that the company is failing and she's done making excuses for him. Oliver advises her to tell the truth and become CEO like she always wanted once he's out of the way. Tess wonders why he's punishing himself and hesitantly takes his shoulder. Oliver doesn't say anything and Tess says that she'll understand no matter what. He rebuffs her efforts and asks what she wants from him. Tess admits she needs him to address the shareholders to reassure them and says he owes her. Once he's sure that's all she wants, he agrees.
At the Planet, Clark comes in to find Chloe waiting for him. She tells him that she doesn't want him to break Lois' heart but Clark insists it isn't a date. When Chloe wonders why he's not with Lois, Clark explains that the Toyman is on the loose and he doesn't want Lois in danger. Chloe tells Clark that Oliver is at a red carpet gala addressing his shareholders. Clark tells her to go to the Watchtower and be ready for anything.
After donning a suit, Clark goes to the gala and reads the mind of the doorman to get in. Before he can enter, Lois arrives in a monster truck and figures that Clark tried to scoop her on the story. She accompanies Clark in but regrets letting herself get attached insisting that guys always leave. She tells him that she's going off and leaves before Clark can stop her. Clark scans the crowd telepathically until Tess introduces Oliver. Oliver starts reading from the teleprompter and sees a message saying to use the earpiece. Once he puts it in, feedback blankets the room and Clark loses his telepathy.
Over the earpiece, Toyman tells Oliver that he was framed for Lex Luthor's murder and now he plans to play a game of "Toyman Says." He tells Oliver to read everything on the teleprompter and stay where he is, or the pressure plate he's on will detonate an explosion when he steps off of it. Oliver reads the speech telling the truth about the kind of person he is. Clark contacts Chloe and tells her that Jor-El wants him to use what he's learned. Clark uses his x-ray vision and sees the land mine beneath Oliver. Oliver hesitates before confessing to Lex's murder and Chloe hacks into the emergency alarms. Everyone leaves and Clark spots Toyman in the back of the room. He grabs the villain and asks how to disarm the bomb. Toyman refuses to change the rules and insists that it's a game with his rules. Clark insists that Oliver wouldn't let the people in the crowd die, and Toyman knows it. The pressure plate beneath Oliver is a fake and the explosives will go off in a matter of seconds.
On the podium, Oliver braces himself and prepares to step off the plate. Meanwhile, Clark realizes that Toyman wouldn't be there and let himself die along with Oliver. He burns off the "Toyman"'s face to reveal a robot. Oliver steps off the podium and nothing happens. When Clark asks Oliver how he realized the pressure plate was a fake, Oliver admits that he didn't and he waited until the last person was out, knowing the explosion wouldn't kill Clark.
Later, Oliver informs Clark that Chloe was able to follow the feed from the earpiece and tell the police where Toyman was. Clark admits he hasn't been paying enough attention and there was danger he hasn't seen. He says he didn't know how bad things were for Oliver and apologizes for not being there. Oliver admits that the speech he was reading was the truth. He never knew his parents when they died when he was 5, and he didn't earn anything that he had. Clark assures him that he's running from what he thinks he'll become, not what he is, and he won't give up on Oliver. The police arrive and Clark departs. As Oliver goes back inside, he sees a brief glimpse in a window reflection of what he imagines is Lex Luthor, and throws his glass at it in anger, only to find out that it was a reflection of himself.
En route to Strykers Prison, Toyman demands to see his lawyer. Tess comes in with a case and Toyman wonders if she's there for revenge. She tells him to leave Oliver and then shoots him in the knee. She explains she's paid off the guard to accuse Toyman of trying to escape. When he insists he'll be put in solitary, Tess says that's where he needs to be to work on his new toy. She opens the case and shows him the kryptonite heart taken from John Corben. Toyman remarks at its technological beauty and Tess agrees, ordering him to figure out how it works.
The next day at the Planet, Lois notices Clark watching her and waves. Lois wonders why Clark didn't write the story himself and he states that he may have bitten off more than he could choose. He gives her the article, with both their bylines on it, and asks for her help to finish it. She edits the article and Clark apologizes for letting her down. Lois accepts his apology and Clark admits it's a good thing he didn't ask her on a date. When he wonders how someone might get a second date after messing up, Lois tells him hypothetically to wait for a slower news day. Clark assures her that hypothetically speaking, someone would get it right the next time.
[edit] Recurring Roles
- Winslow Schott - Chris Gauthier
- Voice of Jor-El - Terence Stamp
[edit] Episode Title
- An echo is a reflection of sound. The title refers to Clark's new ability to hear other people thoughts.
[edit] Notes
- Major Zod does not appear in this episode.
- This is the first time that Jor-El has given Clark an ability, albeit a temporary one. Usually Clark has had to learn his powers and abilities on his own. (X-Ray, Heat, Whisper, and Sneeze)
- This is the first time that Clark has ever received a power that was not part of Superman's canon abilities from the comics.
- Though Clark was searching for Toyman in Requiem, this is the first time he confronts him.
- This is the second time Tess has sported straight hair, the first was in Turbulence.
- Lois says "Hello Sailor" in her mind referring to Clark, Clark said "Aye aye...sailor" to Lois at the end of Exposed
- Toyman using a robot duplicate is in manner of the comics version.
- Clark being able to hear Lois' thoughts may be a reference to the "can you read my mind" scene in Superman: The Movie.
[edit] Continuity
- Winslow Schott was last seen on the run in Requiem.
- Last time Clark learned a new ability was in Sneeze.
- Tess shows Winslow the kryptonite heart taken from John Corben. It was last seen in Metallo.
- There was a very brief image of Lex, who was last seen in Requiem.
- Tess and Oliver have been in business together since Bulletproof, although Oliver has not been doing his share of the work since he went missing in Doomsday. This is the first episode that Tess has criticized him for checking out of his work.
- This is the second time that Clark has stood Lois up. The first time was in Infamous.
- When Clark is in the Fortress, some of the crystals are still black, which is the direct result of Brainiac's infection in Abyss.
- Jor-El has given people abilities before. He gave Jonathan Kent the abilties of a Kryptonian in Exile and he gave Lindsey Harrison abilities in Covenant. He also restored Clark's and Kara's abiltites in Hidden and Traveler respectively.
[edit] Discontinuity
- Oliver (around age 29) tells Clark that his parents died when he was five years old. However, this is not consistent with the Smallville timeline saying that Robert and Laura Queen died in 1989, leaving Oliver orphaned at the age of nine. This was confirmed in the "Oliver Queen Chronicles" mini webisodes [1]. Additionally, Oliver was clearly in the same grade as Lex or older in Reunion.
[edit] Quotes
- Chloe: So the question is, how do we know that this isn't just your super-hearing on the fritz?
- Clark: As loud as Lois is, even she can't speak with her mouth closed.
- Chloe: Good point.
- Clark: What are you doing here? (hears Lois' thoughts)
- Lois: Standing in the shadow of six and a half foot of handsome. No, Lois, he doesn't get off that easy. Kick his ass!
- Oliver: Speak your mind, Clark.
- Clark: I haven't been paying enough attention to everything. There's been danger all around me that I haven't seen... warning signs I haven't noticed... and people in need that I've neglected. I didn't realize how bad things are. I haven't been here for you. I'm sorry.
- Oliver: Well, with all due respect, Clark, I'm not sure I'm worth your concern. You know, when I was reading that speech in there, when I decided to, uh... that speech wasn't just a laundry list of all my sins. It was... it was a fact sheet. Ever tell you how old I was when my parents died? Five. I never really knew them very well. Everything about my life is not really mine. It's theirs. I didn't earn it... and it's all a lie. You of all people know what it's like to wear a mask, right? That's all this is--the Queen name. Green Arrow. Masks. And I just realized there's nothing underneath them.
- Clark: There is something behind those masks. You're just afraid to face it. You're not running away from who you are. You're running away from who you think you're becoming. But you don't have to face it alone. Just because you've given up on Oliver Queen doesn't mean I have.
- Oliver: Thank you.
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[edit] References
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