Odyssey

From Smallville Wiki

Contents 1 Summary 2 Recap 3 Guest Cast 4 Recurring Roles 5 Episode Title 6 Notes 7 Continuity 8 Quotes 9 External Links

[edit] Summary

The Justice League, led by the Green Arrow, hits the Arctic in search of Clark, who disappeared after the Fortress collapsed. The team immediately has a confrontation with the new CEO of LuthorCorp, Tess Mercer. Meanwhile, Chloe is being held prisoner by a suspicious group who has discovered she has a new power, and Clark has been stripped of his powers by Jor-El.

[edit] Recap

Four weeks later, in the Arctic tundra, LuthorCorp's special teams search for signs of their missing CEO headed by Regan Matthews. A helicopter lands and a woman in black snow boots named Tess Mercer gets out, demanding answers. She is a trusted employee of Lex's, who he has left in charge in the event of his absence. Suddenly, one of the scientist finds some human remains in the snow. Little do they know that they are being ambushed by the Justice League - Green Arrow, Black Canary, and Aquaman. After a brief battle, the League finds Clark's jacket and decide to leave and head back to base. Back at Lex's mansion, Lois Lane, disguised as a maid, is searching for clues on her cousin Chloe Sullivan's whereabouts. Suddenly, she is interrupted by Tess, who tells her that she has known about her for a while and that if Lex had Chloe arrested, then Chloe must have been guilty. Lois is then escorted out by security.

Meanwhile, in Black Creek, Montana, Chloe is being subjected to tests by a guy with glasses named Ray. It seems that the government wants to use Chloe's talents in exchange for giving her a lighter sentence for hacking into NSA. Ray says that Chloe is smarter than the average human which Chloe responds happened recently, revealing that she has another power: super intelligence.

The Justice League regroups at the Isis Foundation, searching Chloe's computer for information on Clark's whereabouts. It is revealed that Clark is in Russia, powerless and working in a slave labor camp. He tries to escape by truck, but someone shoots at him and he crashes. The owner beats him up and threatens him with death if he tries to escape again.

LuthorCorp finds an encoded signal from the Justice League satellite and plans to use it to track them down. Once they can decipher three cell phone numbers (using Chloe's powers), they can take them down systematically. Ray asks Chloe to decipher the phone numbers. She believes it is another test until she deciphers the third and realizes it is Oliver's. They succeed in capturing all but Green Arrow. Chloe then realizes that he's not from the government but instead hired by LuthorCorp, and that he has been tricking her into helping him kidnap the Justice League. Chloe tries to escape but gets captured again.

Back in Russia, Clark is saved by Oliver who has tracked him down. Calling himself Roy Conner, Oliver pretends that he wants to buy black-market caviar. Oliver pretends not know Clark and they start to fight. Oliver then "buys" Clark from the Russians and they leave in Oliver's private jet. Clark tells Oliver that the Fortress of Solitude collapsed on him and Lex. He laments that he should have listened to Jor-El because Lex now knows his secret. Oliver doesn't think Lex survived the Fortress collapse but Clark points out that he did. Clark admits that he has made a huge mistake and that he feels responsible for what happened to Chloe, and that he will help Oliver find Chloe. Oliver says that Chloe is likely being held in Montana, but Clark is useless without his powers. However Clark insists they go rescue Chloe anyway. Back in Black Creek, Ray tries to get Chloe to tell him the last phone number but she refuses. He has strung up Arthur Curry (Aquaman) and Dinah Lance (Black Canary) from the ceiling. Regan then injects Chloe with a serum they extracted from her mother's DNA, explaining that it has the ability to make a person temporarily follow any order. Her eyes glow green. He then commands her to tell him the last phone number. She obeys and they are shocked to discover they trace the phone number to the base.

Meanwhile, Clark and Oliver arrive. Oliver is in his Green Arrow gear, and Clark is unarmed, but he insists they split up. Clark is shocked to discover Lois also at the facility. She is undercover as a guard. Lois goes off with Clark and he explains that he is trying to find Chloe. They team up and search for Chloe together. Regan injects Oliver with the serum and commands him to find out what happened to Lex Luthor at all costs.

Clark and Lois find Chloe but Lois gets tasered by a guard. Clark knocks out the guard frees Chloe and they embrace. Clark explains that Jor-El took his powers. When Clark runs downstairs to find Oliver, Oliver is waiting for him there and shoots Clark in the chest with an arrow. Under mind control, he demands that Clark tell him where Lex is, then shoots him again straight through his chest. Chloe runs down the stairs to find a dying Clark. She tries to heal him but it doesn't work. Oliver snaps out of it and Clark begins to die in Chloe's arms. As he lays dying, he begins having flashbacks of Lana, Martha and Jonathan, people who have left him in the past. The Martian Manhunter suddenly appears in Clark's dream. He materializes in front of Clark, Chloe, and Ollie and picks up Clark's body. He flies him off into space and into the heart of the sun.

Later at the Kent Farm, Clark wakes up to find himself perfectly healed. The Martian Manhunter tells him that the sun healed him but also says it stripped him (Martian Manhunter) of his powers as fire is his weakness. He says that that was the last time he could save Clark and that now he doesn't have anybody's guidance to help him. Clark responds saying it is time he stopped holding onto a life on the farm that was gone a long time ago, and begin to accept his destiny.

At the Luthor Mansion, Tess' assistant brings Tess a box containing something they found around the remains of the Fortress and a photo of a footprint, but it's not Lex's. She opens it and finds the Crystal of Knowledge glowing brightly.

Chloe is speed-reading the archives of the online version of the Daily Planet. She wonders aloud what has happened to her to give her this ability. She hears a noise and exits the apartment. It is Jimmy Olsen, who is glad to see that she is all right. Chloe wants to bring up his proposal but Jimmy avoids the subject, saying it might risk what they have between them. But Chloe disagrees. She tells him that she spent a lot of time in prison thinking about what she had, and that she was holding onto things from the past that she has decided to let go of. She tells him that she will marry him.

Clark is walking on the streets of Metropolis when he meets up with Oliver, Dinah, and AC again. They tell them that the League needs to disband because their identities have been compromised. Clark tells them that he wants to help. The League surmises that finding Lex is its top priority. They part ways and Clark arrives at the Daily Planet. Lois is surprised to notice that Clark has appeared in the chair in front of her. He tells her that he took her advice and filled out the application. Clark Kent is now the Daily Planet's newest reporter. Lois looks shocked, but happy.

[edit] Guest Cast

• Ray - Patrick Gilmore
• Sonar Technician - Derek Lowe

[edit] Recurring Roles

• Dinah Lance - Alaina Huffman
• Arthur Curry - Alan Ritchson
• Martian Manhunter - Phil Morris
• Regan Matthews - Ari Cohen
• Tess' assistant - Sara Canning

[edit] Episode Title

• In mythology, the Odyssey is a ten-year journey that Odysseus took in his attempt to return home to Ithaca after the Trojan war. It has come to be defined as "a long series of wanderings or adventures, esp. when filled with notable experiences, hardships, etc."
• Clark spends this episode trying to return home from Russia, without his powers. He has a long series of adventures filled with notable experiences (being imprisoned and beaten in a Russian camp, assaulting a LuthorCorp facility in Montana without his powers) and hardships (being almost killed by a mind-controlled Oliver Queen). Finally, Oliver flies Clark home in his jet.
• The Martian Manhunter says to Clark that, "Jor-El knew he was sending you on an impossible odyssey. To be given the power of a god, yet exist among humans." In a larger sense, Clark has spent his life on a literal and metaphorical odyssey from Krypton to Earth.

[edit] Notes

• The Season 8 premiere features a new set of opening credits with footage from the episode. It features Allison Mack moving up to second-billing. Erica Durance and Aaron Ashmore move up to third and fourth, respectively.
• This episode is the first set of credits to include Cassidy Freeman, Sam Witwer, and Justin Hartley (although Sam Witwer doesn't appear in the episode).
• This episode is the first set of opening credits without Michael Rosenbaum and Kristin Kreuk. Despite this, both actors' characters appear in the episode: Lex appears in the opening recap, while Lana appears in a flashback.
• This is the first episode in which the creators of the show, Miles Millar and Alfred Gough, who have been part of Smallville since the beginning, won't be part of the project.
• This is the first episode without an appearance by Lex Luthor during the episode (although he does appear in the opening recap).
• Oliver Queen's alias Roy Connor is a name made from the first name of two of his sidekicks; the original Speedy (Roy Harper Jr.) and the second Green Arrow (Connor Hawke). Roy Harper is Green Arrow's adopted son and Connor Hawke is his biological son.
• Tess says that Lex "stands for truth and justice." This is ironic because Superman is usually described as standing for "truth, justice and the American way."
• It is unclear if Clark actually dies in this episode. After he is healed by the yellow sun, Clark says that "I was dying", suggesting that he wasn't dead. The Martian Manhunter replies that "the healing effect of the sun brought you back from death", which is suggestive (but not conclusive) that Clark did die. But the Martian Manhunter soon after continues and says that, "I could not stand by and let you die", which suggests again that Clark did not die. Overall, the direct quotes regarding Clark's death are inconclusive. But given that he was mortal, that he was shot through the heart, and that he stopped breathing, it seems likely that he was briefly dead.

[edit] Continuity

• This episode marks the first appearance of Cassidy Freeman as Tess Mercer, Lex's protegé.
• Chloe's new powers are most likely the result of her attack by Brainiac, which occured in Arctic.
• Moira Sullivan's power to control meteor freaks (referenced in Progeny) is manufactured into a serum to briefly mind-control anyone. Previously, it was hinted that Moira's power were what was used to mind-control Wes Keenan as part of Project Ares.
• The Crystal of Knowledge, which is last seen in Arrival, reappears in Tess Mercer's possession, revealing that the Fortress was not destroyed but has reverted back to its original state.
• Martian Manhunter makes his first appearance since the Season 7 episode Cure.
• This is Dinah Lance's second appearance. She was considering joining Oliver's hero team last year in Siren. This is Arthur Curry's third appearance. He also appeared in Aqua and Justice. Victor Stone and Bart Allen are also mentioned as "covering the entire Southern hemisphere" looking for Clark.
• Clark dying as a mortal and coming back to life with his powers restored was last seen in the Season 5 episode, Hidden. If Clark did die in this episode, it would mark the third time Clark has died on the show, the others being in Hidden, and Void - both in Season Five.
• Even though Clark is dying, he refuses to let Chloe risk her life by using her healing powers to save him. This is consistent with his position in Fracture, where he warned her to be careful with her healing powers, since she almost died twice after using them.
• Clark tells the Martian Manhunter, "I've written eulogies, I've seen people walk away from me." The eulogies may have been for his biological parents (Jor-El and Lara-El), his adoptive father (Jonathan Kent), and his protector (Lionel Luthor). The people who have walked away may include Pete Ross, his best friend from childhood who moved away to Wichita, Lana Lang, his first love who moved away from Smallville, and Lex Luthor, his former best friend who became his worst enemy. In fact, of the eight main characters in Seasons 1 and 2, three have died, three have moved away from Smallville, and one became his enemy (and is missing). Chloe is the only person from Season 1 and 2 who is still part of Clark's life on a day to day basis.

[edit] Quotes

Lois: What the hell are you doing here?

Clark: I heard they had good espresso.

Lois: You disappear for a month and come back with a sense of humor?

Clark: I've been tracking Chloe down. The question is, how did you get here?

Lois: Feminine charm.

Clark: Huh.

Lois: Yes, I do have some.

Clark: Great job of protecting your short supply of it.

Lois: Why don't you give your stand-up a rest and do exactly what I tell you? That way we can find Chloe and stay alive at the same time.

---

Oliver: Stay behind me.

Clark: No, we'll cover more ground if we split up.

Oliver: And what are you going to do if you get caught, bite someone?

---

Clark: How does an ice fortress disappear into thin air?

Oliver: I feel like there's a punch line to that question.

Clark: It all must be apart of my father's plan. As it turns around, his idea of controlling me was taking away my powers.

---

Martian Manhunter: How does it feel to be whole again? (throws football to Clark)

Clark: (Clark smashes the football with his super-strength) I was dying. You saved me. You brought me to some white light.

Martian Manhunter: The healing effect of the sun brought you back from death. I promised Jor-El that I would only be a watchful guardian. But I could not stand by and let you die.

Clark: You shouldn't have had to.

Martian Manhunter: Jor-El knew he was sending you on an impossible odyssey. To be given the power of a god, yet exist among humans.

Clark: Sometimes I feel like I need to be two separate people. Either way, I can't keep expecting you to keep saving me.

Martian Manhunter: Well that was the last time. The burning sun may strengthen you, but it has the opposite effect on me. It stripped me of my powers. We both know, that yours is a greater destiny. But with the fortress destroyed, you'll have to do it without Jor-El's guidance.

Clark: Or anyone else's. When I was dying, I saw my dad, he was right there in front of me. I saw my mom and Lana, they were there too. So close, it was like I could reach out and feel them. I've written eulogies, I've seen people walk away from me. But I've never really said goodbye, I've been holding onto a life on this farm that hasn't existed for years.

Martian Manhunter: So what are you going to do?

Clark: Let it go. It's the only chance I have of finding a new one.

---

Clark: We need to split up.

Oliver: We? Gotta be careful, Clark. Pretty soon you'll be sporting a homemade costume and leading a double-identity just like the rest of us.

Dinah: You might want to try something a little more form fitting.

[edit] External Links

• KryptonSite

• tvmegasite.net Smallville episode transcript "Odyssey"

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