Escape

Summary

Clark and Lois head out of town for a quiet, romantic, Easter getaway, but their plans are thwarted when they run into Chloe and Oliver at their bed and breakfast inn. Then the couples' stay is upset by the appearance of the Silver Banshee, who sets her sights on Clark and Oliver. Meanwhile, Tess faces off with Zod with a surprising result.

Recap

Smallville.s09e15.hdtv — Chloe and Oliver escape from the city.

On a dark and deserted road, Chloe in her car gives Clark information via cell phone about crimes going on in Metropolis. She is impressed by the speed with which Clark attends to the problems. Clark tells her that he is handing the job of the Blur over to John Jones while he goes away with Lois but he will be carrying his cell in case something happens. Chloe tells him that the city can survive a weekend without the Blur and tells him to enjoy his trip. Clark mentions to her that Bart is in town and recommends she meet up with him, but Chloe demurs, implying that she has other plans, and hangs up.

Clark arrives at the Daily Planet and discovers that Lois has prepared several travel bags for a range of possible scenarios for their mysterious romantic getaway. She asks Clark where they are going and Clark tells her that they're going to a country inn.

Maggie McDougal at the McDougal Inn welcomes a couple signing in as Mr. and Mrs. Green and asks them what kind of bed they will need. The woman says that a "Queen" would be fine. Maggie gives the room key to Chloe and Oliver Queen.

In Metropolis, Zod flies onto the roof of the Daily Planet, where he tests his new super hearing and listens to the citizens of Metropolis talking about the Blur. Then he receives a text message from someone saying they need to meet.

Clark and Lois arrive at the Inn in the dark and in the middle of a storm, arguing over how long it took them to arrive. Clark tells her that it would not have been so long if they hadn't stopped to see the world's largest ball of yarn, but she suggests that he will thank her later. Maggie eventually appears and Clark apologizes for being late. Maggie says that she's sorry but the room they booked has developed a water leak because of the storm and they cannot stay there. Clark asks if she has another room available and Maggie informs him that she has rented the last room to a couple who had arrived without a reservation.

Lois inspects the guests book and finds that this was the Greens and she threatens to drive them out. Clark stops her, saying maybe he can fix the leak. Clark goes up to the room and uses his heat vision to weld the pipe, but notes that the furniture has been moved away from the leak and the room is a mess.

As Lois carries her luggage through the lobby, she accidentally brushes up against and rips a portrait of a man on the wall. The rip momentarily shines and Lois apologizes to Maggie for what she did. Maggie tells her that her great-great-uncle had it coming, because he usurped his sister Siohban's throne, took her castle and her crown and then killed her. According to the legend, the dead Siohban felt so betrayed that she made a deal with the underworld and was allowed to walk among the living again but at a price: to kill any man who crosses her path. Lois is intrigued by the legend and Maggie offers her a cup of tea while they wait for Clark. Lois refuses but takes the opportunity to ask after the room of a couple who are making out on a sofa nearby. The innkeeper does not answer, so Lois tells her that she was joking and leaves to help Clark.

From the tear on the painting, an ethereal mist emerges and possesses the woman who is with her boyfriend on the couch. A lock of his hair turns white and then the girl takes the boy out of the room.

Lois enters their room and is surprised to find Clark just finishing up and everything perfect. Clark says he fixed the pipe, and Lois tells him that he is her hero. She goes to undress and looks out to see him trying to make the bed perfect for them both. Clark says she is perfect when he sees Lois in her nightgown, and then both appear a little uncomfortable at the prospect of getting into bed together. Then they do so, but as they settle down to spend their first night in bed together, they are interrupted by a terrifying scream.

In the forest, the girl possessed by the spirit of Siohban is dragging the lifeless body of her boyfriend.

Clark and Lois go out into the corridor with the other guests to try to find out what has happened, but the innkeeper says that the sound they heard might have been one of the wolves in the forest. She asks everyone to return to their beds, but before they can, Clark and Lois get a big surprise when they meet Oliver and Chloe in bathrobes in the middle of the lobby.

The next morning, Lois cannot stop talking about the fact that Oliver and Chloe are a couple and apologizes to Clark for having fallen asleep after talking endlessly about it. She suggests that perhaps the four should sit down to breakfast together, but Clark tells her that maybe it would be best to give Chloe and Oliver their space. Oliver and Chloe come out of their room to find Lois and Clark sitting in the dining room, and Oliver suggests that they act as if they did not see them, but Lois cheerfully waves them over. With the four sitting at the same table, the situation becomes uncomfortable for all when Lois tries to prove she consents to the relationship between her cousin and her ex-boyfriend, saying that destiny gathered them all there. Chloe says that more than destiny was at work, because they deliberately chose an inn that was far removed, so that the newspapers wouldn't find Metropolis's most eligible bachelor. Lois replies that she meant 'former bachelor' but Chloe quickly changes the subject and asks Clark how they found the place. Clark replies that he found Lois's copy of the brochure in the Talon apartment and thought that she would like to visit the place. Lois tells him that she doesn't know anything about a brochure and then Chloe says that the brochure was hers. Clark apologizes to Chloe for the misunderstanding. Lois then drags her cousin off to talk more about her new relationship with Oliver.

Lois tells Chloe of her happiness about Oliver and her, much to Chloe's surprise, but Chloe says that she and Oliver are not in any kind of relationship and are just having fun and not forming an attachment. She asks her cousin to not make any more comments and Lois agrees.

Meanwhile, Clark and Oliver find themselves in an embarrassing situation, trying to talk about everything that has happened. Clark tells Oliver that Chloe has suffered a lot and he doesn't want to see her hurt more and then asks Oliver to be very careful with her.

At the Kent Farm, Tess is waiting in the loft when Zod arrives. Zod questions Tess's motives for the reunion site and she replies that Clark Kent is the only thing that keeps them together. She says that, although Zod denies it, both of them want the same thing, a better world, but Zod tells her that she wants very much to have someone who could be her equal. He says that everyone she has loved never trusted her and always betrayed her and he then offers her an escape to a tropical island. Tess strokes his chest, apparently trying to seduce him, and questions his drastic change of mind. He says that he still has ideals and she counters that he has secrets. She walks away a few steps and then draws a gun and shoots him. Zod is surprised by this and shows her that he caught the bullet in his hand, but Tess does not seem at all surprised. Zod asks her how she knows about him and Tess replies that no general leaves his war unless he knows he has won it. Zod points out that had she been wrong, her experiment could have killed him, and she replies that some risks have to be taken. Zod grabs her by the neck and threatens to kill her for knowing his secret, but then Tess opens a small box, hidden behind her back, which contains kryptonite, and it weakens Zod, who falls in pain to the ground. She tells him that she never will kneel before anyone and Zod says that he wouldn't want that, and then Tess takes the lead as the two passionately kiss.

Oliver decides to follow Clark's advice and he buys a present for Chloe, but she feels pressured by the act to formalize their relationship and ends up arguing with Oliver about it. She leaves the room to clear her mind and heads for the forest. She takes a lantern with her and sees a ghostly figure in the woods. She pursues the figure and then spots the partially hidden body of the guy killed by Siobhan. She turns to go back to the inn, but the girl possessed by the spirit appears and touches her, transferring the spirit of Siobhan into Chloe's body.

At the Inn, Lois and Clark are preparing for a romantic encounter. 'Chloe' sees Clark and Banshee fixes on him as her new target.

Later, when Clark is in the shower singing about Lois, 'Chloe' enters the room wrapped only in a towel. Clark, rather surprised to see Chloe nearly naked close to him, covers up quickly and asks what she is doing. 'Chloe' then drops her towel and says she wants to be with him, but Clark quickly covers her, thinking that she is drunk. Now Lois enters the room, dressed in a risque Scottish outfit and with liquid soap in her hands, and is shocked and angered by what she finds. Clark tries to explain, but Lois furiously gives the soap to 'Chloe', inadvertently transferring Siohban's spirit from Chloe's to her body, and 'Lois' leaves. Chloe momentarily faints into Clark's arms, and when she wakes up and sees Clark's naked torso, she asks what he is doing. She then realizes that she is also completely naked under her towel and, very distressed, runs out of the room.

Meanwhile, 'Lois' encounters Oliver, who thinks she is about to scold him for what happened with Chloe, but she in fact offers to take him to see Chloe and the two leave the Inn.

Clark and Chloe meet outside the inn and try to figure what possessed Chloe and where Lois and Oliver have gone. Chloe tells Clark that she doesn't remember anything after her fight with Oliver, and then asks if he saw her naked. When Clark doesn't answer, Chloe assumes the worst but changes the subject to express her concern for her cousin in that he might injure a human during sex. Clark, uncomfortably, tells her that Jor-El's training has given him better control of every part of his body. Then they find the lifeless body of the boy in the forest and Chloe starts to remember everything.

On the other side of the woods, 'Lois' and Oliver are walking through the woods when 'Lois' suddenly strikes him and throws him to one side. In a flash, Oliver sees the spectral face of Siohban.

Clark and Chloe talk with Maggie to learn more about the legend of Siobhan and she tells them that, according to the legend, Siobhan returned from the underworld with great powers and that any man who heard her wail died instantly, so the villagers renamed her Silver Banshee. She says that there was a portal in a relic that belonged to Siobhan, through which she could return to this world, but that her uncle was so afraid of his sister that he performed a ritual to seal the portal with Siohban's own blood. Clark uses his X-ray vision and finds Siohban's portrait underneath the portrait that Lois scratched. They realize that Lois accidentally opened the portal, and Clark asks Chloe to find a way to close it while he goes to look for Oliver and Lois.

In the woods, the spirit of Siobhan emerges from Lois's body and prepares to take her revenge on Oliver. She screams her banshee cry at him, forcing Oliver to his knees before her, but Clark arrives and Siobhan stops. Clark tries to reason with her, but Silver Banshee attacks him. Clark defends himself with his heat vision, but the interaction of her cry and his heat vision causes an explosion which throws him backwards through the air.

Chloe tries to figure out how to close the portal with the help of the innkeeper. They find the diary of Bevan McDougal, but it is in Gaelic. Maggie says she can read it and discovers that fire can close the portal. Chloe cuts the portrait out of the frame, and places it into the fire which is burning in the fireplace. This closes the portal just as Siohban is about to attack Clark, and the Silver Banshee is exiled back to the underworld.

The next morning at the Luthor Mansion, Tess is in bed with Zod and he asks her how she weakened him at the barn. Tess only tells him that she has her secrets, and Zod reminds her that he is willing to do anything to protect his secret. Tess tells him that only a few people know how to stop him and Zod replies that that's why the information she has is so valuable. Tess tells him that they are on the same side and then asks if he is jealous of Clark. Zod lets her know that he is jealous and says that he wants to know what can take his powers and how he can get them back. Tess kisses him and gets out of bed, saying that information is also power.

Chloe is sitting outside the inn looking at the unopened gift that Oliver gave her, and Oliver appears and tells her that it is a spoon. Chloe looks at him and then starts talking about what happened. She makes him promise not to take more relationship advice from Clark Kent and then lets him know that the relationship they already had was fine for her. Oliver takes the opportunity to ask her about her feelings for Clark and Chloe says that although she loved Clark a lot in the past, she waited a long time for him to notice her, but it didn't happen. She tells Oliver that she only wants somebody who wants her, and although Clark is a very good friend, he's not the man for her and she discovered that many super saves ago. Then Chloe asks him about Lois and Oliver says he has already moved on. Chloe smiles and kisses him.

Back at the Talon, Lois is telling Clark how horrible their trip was, but Clark tells her that it was not so bad, especially the ball of yarn. Clark lifts Lois onto the table and starts to kiss her passionately, when her cellphone starts to ring. Clark says it could be important and insists she take it. Lois asks for some privacy and Clark, still holding her, tells her to pretend he is not even there. She tells him that she can't do that, so he lets go of her. She answers her phone and it is Zod pretending to be the Blur, although Lois seems not to have noticed that his voice is different. 'The Blur' says he needs her help to get information about Tess Mercer and Lois says that he can count on her support. He tells her that this time she cannot tell anyone that he is talking with her. Lois promises and Zod tells her that he knew that he could count on her.

Guest Stars

Maggie McDougal/Silver Banshee - Odessa Rae
Female Inn Guest - Elysia Rotaru
Male Inn Guest - Shafim Karim

Featured Music

Chris Lind - What Is Not Yours

Title

To Escape means to slip or get away, usually from a pursuit or confining enclosure.
The title refers to the Silver Banshee escaping from the underworld.
The title could also refer to the fact that both Clark, Lois, Chloe and Oliver are taking a break from their lives in Metropolis.

Notes

Antagonist: Silver Banshee
Portions of this episode were shot on location.
This is the sixth (and second consecutive) episode this season to feature all main cast members. The others are; Savior, Rabid, Crossfire, Pandora, and Conspiracy.
This is the first time Clark has worn a plaid shirt this season.
This is the only episode this season in which the Watchtower does not make an appearance.
This is the second time a spirit villain has been introduced which can inhabit a human body and transfer between people by the act of touching. The first was in Spirit.
This is the second time Clark is shown in the shower (last time was in Gone) and the first time ever he is singing in any episode of the series.
This episode marks Clark's sexual maturity for the first time on the show. Over the years, Clark has feared harming his partner during sexual congress and this was the main reason why he broke up with Lana the first time. This episode explains that, after his training with Jor-El to control his abilities, he can now control himself while making love.
Jor-El knows from experience how to control his powers while having sexual relations. As 'Joe', he slept with Lana's Great-Aunt Louise McCallum in Relic.
This is the first appearance of the DC comics character Silver Banshee in live action.
John, Bart and Randall are mentioned in this episode.
This episode shows the closure of Chloe's feelings toward Clark. She claims that she loved Clark in "a Smallville far, far away", [referring to the time in the first few seasons of the show] and that, although Clark has X-ray vision, he was not able to see what she felt for him. She made a similar statement in the letter that she wrote when he was sick in Fever. This shows that Chloe still has feelings for Clark but has resigned herself to them, knowing that they will never be reciprocated.
Before the episode, some preview images of Silver Banshee were posted on the internet. In the pictures, Banshee is seen with orange hair with white streaks. In the episode, she is never seen with orange hair. This is because the filter of the preview images was lighted, and in the episode it was very dark and the crew used a different filter.
This is the first time Zod has posed as the Blur, masking his voice to fool Lois.
The six regular characters of this season get paired in three couples in this episode: Clark and Lois, Chloe and Oliver and Tess and Zod.
As of this episode, Oliver has slept with all the current female leads.

Continuity

This is the fifth time Chloe has been possessed by another being; the first was Madelyn Hibbins in Spell, second was Dawn Stiles in Spirit, third was Gretchen Winters in Tomb, fourth was Brainiac in Bride and Legion, and now Silver Banshee.
This is the fourth time Lois has been possessed by another being; the first was Brianna Withridge in Spell, second was Dawn Stiles in Spirit, third was Faora in Bloodline, and now Silver Banshee.
Tess mentions the time Zod was shot and revealed to have his powers back which happened in the previous episode: Conspiracy.
Chloe talks to Clark again about his policy to not have sex with un-powered humans, for fear of hurting them. The last time she emphasized this was in Wrath.
Chloe talks about her old feelings for Clark for the first time since Instinct, and how she has moved on with her life.
The fact that Clark and Lois have not consummated their relationship was first mentioned by Lois in Warrior.
Tess and Zod have been seen flirting since Savior.
Zod mentions his partnership with Tess which started in Kandor.
The last time that Chloe attempted a sexual escapade with Clark was in the Season Four episode Devoted, while she was under the influence of green kryptonite.
This is the third episode this season in which Clark isn't seen wearing his "black" Blur outfit. The previous two were Kandor and Absolute Justice, Part 1.
The Silver Banshee is the 70th DC Comics character adapted into the series.
This is the very last episode in the entire series that has no recurring characters in it. Ironically, this episode and the first one with no recurring characters, Cool, both have a great deal to do with Chloe's love life, and in that regard can be seen as polar opposites to each other and as signs of Chloe's growing maturity. In Cool, Chloe was hopelessly pining for Clark and as she herself put it at the end of that episode, she was so desperate for company she was willing to go out with a guy she barely knew just because he showed interest in her (and it turned out that guy was only interested in absorbing her heat and killing her). Here, Lois and Clark find out about her relationship with Oliver and at the end, she explicitly comes to terms with her unrequited feelings for Clark while moving on with her relationship with Oliver, the man who'll be with her to the end of the series.

Locations

Other

McDougal Inn

Quotes

Chloe: Don't worry. I think Metropolis can handle one weekend without the Blur. Now the real question is, can the Blur handle two nights with Lois?

Clark: I think I'm up to the challenge. But I'll have my cell, so if anything comes up —

Chloe: Clark, it's one weekend. Enjoy it.

Clark: I heard Bart's in town. You two should hang out.

Chloe: Thank you, for the not-so-subtle contribution to the Chloe Sullivan charity case, but Lois already made a kind donation in your name. I'm hanging up now.

Maggie: I have your room all ready, Mrs. Green, except you didn't say what size bed you'd prefer.

Chloe: Make it a Queen.

Clark: Lois, we wouldn't be late if we hadn't driven 40 miles out of our way to see the world's largest ball of yarn.

Lois: You'll thank me later.

Clark: We'll take any room that you have available.

Maggie: (sighs) There isn't one. Before I realized the pipe had burst, I gave the last room away.

Lois: Okay, well, um, let's ah, hope that Mr. and Mrs. Green didn't quite finish unpacking, because the only inn they're going to be staying at is called "Holiday"!

Lois: Oh. Murder, misogyny and mayhem. I can see why you left that out of the brochure.

(upon running into Chloe & Oliver at the inn)

Lois: Twist.

Lois: (to Clark) How can you be so "ehhh" about this? This is Chloe and Oliver together, here!

Clark: I waited for you to get ready for three hours. If it means being with you, I can wait forever.

Lois: (smiles) Forever's a long time.

(at the prospect of encountering Lois & Clark downstairs)

Oliver: You know what we could do? We could pretend not to see them.

Chloe: Oh, come on, Ollie. Throw up the white flag, it's Lois. She makes Susan B. Anthony look like a quitter.

Clark: Quiet weekend at home, huh?

Chloe: Trust me, we had no idea the two of you would be there.

Lois: And we had no idea there was even a "you two," which I think is perfect. I think fate has brought us together.

Oliver: Well, it's a... it's... it's a little less fate, actually.

Chloe: (cuts in) More fame.

Oliver: (mumbles) Like fame.

Chloe: This inn is so far off the beaten path that even the society pages couldn't find Star City's most eligible bachelor here.

Lois: You mean ex-bachelor.

Chloe: How did you guys manage to find the road less traveled?

Clark: I found the brochure for the inn at the apartment. I figured Lois wanted to come here.

Lois: What brochure?

Chloe: That wasn't Lois' brochure, Clark. That was mine.

(awkward silence)

Clark: How was I supposed to know that Oliver —

Chloe: (shortly) You weren't. That's the point.

(Clark looks to Oliver)

Oliver: Oh, don't look at me. I learned long time ago not to assume what belongs to who in that apartment. You gotta use context clues.

Lois: Let's talk about Mr. Green in the bedroom... with my cousin!

Oliver: There it is.

Clark: (pointedly) Lois, I think they came here for brunch.

Lois: Good point. (just as pointedly) Look, Chloe, there's food.

(Lois yanks Chloe away from the table, leaving Clark & Oliver alone)

Oliver: (lamely, to Clark) There's... there's little jellies.

(awkwardly, while waiting for Chloe & Lois to return)

Oliver: So. You ah... save any orphans... recently? Old ladies, maybe? Anything like that?

Clark: (brightly) I did stop a bank robbery.

Oliver: Yeah! That's nice, that's fun stuff.

Clark: Thanks! How about you, anything new?

Oliver: No! No, no. Just a... oh, well, there's a new compound bow I'm trying out. Yeah, seems pretty good. (trails off) See how that works.

Clark: Look, I know it's not my place to say anything, but —

Oliver: Yeah, then don't. Say anything.

Chloe: Before you book us up for the next two months, Oliver and I are not a couple.

Lois: Okay, sure. Then what are you?

Chloe: We're... having fun. And we're not complicating things by using labels and definitions.

Lois: This is a relationship, Chloe. Not a spelling bee.

Chloe: Look, I'm glad that you have found someone that makes you happy, but we're not all cut out for coupledom. And with Ollie, I don't have to worry about that, okay? We're no flowers, we're no presents, no pressure, no strings. And with you, we're no comment!

Chloe: Okay, so not that I haven't seen enough of Clark Kent's private... life tonight...

Clark: I don't like where this is going.

Chloe: You took Lois on a romantic getaway to some sort of a bed-and-breakfast. And while I doubt that the whole breakfast part poses any problem, I seem to recall you having some concern about the beds — and non-powered people — and what would happen in the beds with the non-powered people...

Clark: Okay, stop!

Chloe: Thank you.

Clark: My training with Jor-El has helped me to manage my powers better. Let's just say that I'm in control. Of everything.

Zod: And if you were wrong... your experiment would have killed me.

Tess: Some risks are worth taking.

Tess: (to Zod) In every relationship, one person stands while the other one kneels.

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