Summary
Clark is approached by Metropolis University for recruitment and meets Geoff Johns, a former Smallville resident. It soon becomes apparent that he is using his powers to paralyze anybody who gets in his way... including Lois.
Recap
→ see also Category:Screencaps from episode 4x13
At Metropolis University, Lois is at a frat party competing in a drinking contest against football player, Coop. When another football player, Geoff Johns, tries to break it up due to upcoming physicals Coop continues and loses against Lois. After the party a drunken Coop attempts to make his move on Lois. Once he grabs a hold of her shoulder, Lois kicks him to ground and walks away. The following morning a hungover Lois, in her dorm, is woken up to the knocking of police officers at her door. Lois confirms the fact she knocked down Coop and is under arrest due to his paralysis.
Geoff Johns arrives to give Clark the Met U tour.
At the Kent barn, Clark is preparing for his visit to Metropolis University. Jonathan does not feel Clark will be able to resist using his abilities in the pressured atmosphere of college football at Metropolis University. Geoff shows up to escort Clark to Metropolis University, after they stop by Smallville High, and encourage him that he will be a great football player there. Lois, out on bail, arrives at Smallville High to talk to Chloe about the incident. Lois plans to go back to Met U and Chloe decides to join too so she could visit the financial aid office. When Clark meets up with them, Chloe is surprised that Clark decides to take the football scholarship to Metropolis University having an unfair advantage. Clark, not knowing that Chloe knows about his abilities, tells her that being a great football player is what is bringing him to Metropolis University. Chloe doesn't want to let Clark know she knows his secret, so she glosses it over by saying that she doesn't understand football. Before the conversation can go any further, Geoff returns to bring Clark to Metropolis University.
Jason enters the Luthor Mansion and questions Lex Luthor's job offer. Jason does not like the fact that Lex was trying to break up his relation with Lana. Lex tells Jason that his true threat is his mother, Genevieve Teague. She has been researching about her ancestry which ties in with Lana and her being possessed by a former ancestor, Countess Margaret Isobel Thoreaux. Lex is trying to convince Jason that Genevieve may be the cause for the Countess's possession of Lana. Jason's assignment is to learn how much Genevieve and Lana know about the Countess. Jason, convinced, does not like the fact that he would have to spy on both his mother and his girlfriend about their ancestrally intimate bonds.
At the Hospital, Lois attempts to speak with a paralyzed Coop. Wanting to learn more about Coop, Chloe and Lois decide to look through his bouquets of flowers and get well cards. They figure they should meet his girlfriend, Monique, a sorority girl of Tri-Alpha.
Geoff kills Coop.
Clark and Geoff enter the sorority house of the Tri-Alpha where a party has been thrown just for him. All the Sorority sisters run to the door to greet him and are willing to do anything to make him commit to Met U. Two of the girls bring Clark into a bedroom where they attempt to seduce Clark. An uneasy Clark tries to stall and hears a noise in the closet. He uses his X-ray vision on the closet and sees a person. He convinces the girls that he is both hungry and thirsty as he finds Lois in the closet. Clark questions Lois on why she is there, to learn that she is reading the diary of Coop's girlfriend Monique for clues. She discovers that Monique had suspicions that the football team has a secret. This resulted in Coop meeting with a reporter about it.
At the hospital, Coop is visited by Geoff as he sees Coop's paralysis is wearing off. Geoff suspects that when Coop regains consciousness, he will tell the world about his secret. So Geoff induces more paralysis and then smothers him.
At Met U, Lois and Clark are looking for Geoff at his dormitory. Geoff, teary eyed, informs them that the coach just called to inform them that Coop is dead. Lois, fearing that she will be locked up for sure, tells Geoff she knows that Coop wanted to go to the newspaper to reveal something. After some tension between Geoff and Lois, Geoff tells Clark that Lois has done enough damage already.
At the Talon apartment, Lana is furious that Jason accepted Lex's job offer. Jason tells her he would use this to get to know more about Lex, as well as for his and Lana's research on the Countess. Lana fears that taking this job would be Lex and Genevieve's way of breaking them up. Jason tells Lana to trust him and she decides to see Lex for herself.
At Met U, a wake is being held for Coop with Geoff giving a speech. Geoff begins drinking and tells Clark that being a Metropolis bulldog is a dream come true, but it also brings much pressure from everyone. Clark uses his super hearing when Geoff meets with a student, Marcus, outside of the room. He learns that Marcus has been paid to provide urine samples for physicals and witnesses Geoff momentarily paralyzing Marcus with his hands.
Chloe is filling out her financial aid form with Lois in the dorm as Clark comes in. He tells them that Geoff paralyzed Coop and that he passes his physicals using Marcus' urine sample. Clark realizes that Geoff must have the ability to paralyze other people with the touch of his hand. Concluding that he must be meteor-infected, Lois tells Clark that no one beyond the Smallville city limits would believe that the Metropolis football star has superhuman powers. Lois finds Marcus and obliquely asks him where she can find a clean urine sample. Marcus denies this and Geoff comes from behind. Lois attempts to leave, but is completely paralyzed by Geoff. He tells her that in high school, he played football fairly, but once he entered college, there was too much pressure to win. Now that Lois knows too much, Geoff decides to take matters into his own hands. He drags her into his truck as her sunglasses fall from her pocket and he drives away.
Chloe looks for Lois in the parking lot and sees Geoff's truck drive by. She finds Lois' shades now broken in her hands. Chloe races to find Clark and tells him what happened. Clark knows that if Geoff is in his truck there is a way to track him down due to the TripStar system. But in order to hack into the system from a computer, they need Geoff's pin. Clark impersonates Geoff on the phone and after discovering the truck's location, he super-speeds away, leaving Chloe alone in the room.
Down in the sewers, Geoff is carrying the paralyzed Lois in his hands and places her on the ground. He apologizes, saying he never meant to hurt anyone, and turns on the valve, slowly flooding the floor as he leaves Lois. Geoff heads towards his truck until Clark gets a hold of him. Geoff's paralysis ability is ineffective against Clark and Geoff confesses that his ambition to win is what led him to use his abilities out in the field. He lightly paralyzes any football players that come in his way. He had to resort to killing those that would expose him, beginning with Coop. He confesses where Lois is and Clark heads down the sewers. Lois is still fully paralyzed on the ground submerged in water losing consciousness. Clark incinerates the gate using his heat vision and lifts Lois from the water.
Clark saves Lois from drowning.
At the Kent Farm, Jonathan and Martha are speechless after discovering what Geoff the football star did. Clark reconsiders his football scholarship, not wanting to have to lie on every physical, and ultimately resort to using his abilities on the field like Geoff, where the stakes are much higher than in high school. Clark decides to give up football and with it, his full scholarship to Met U.
Lex meets Lana at the Talon apartment and tells her how Jason was brought up knowing about the Countess. This causes Lana to reevaluate how well she knows Jason.
Clark says goodbye to his football aspirations.
Lois visits Clark at the Kent Farm to thank Clark for saving her. Lois ends up being cleared of all charges, but has been kicked out of Met U for drinking underage (and not for the first time). Lois guilts Clark into inviting her back to living with the Kents.
At the school, Chloe meets Clark and lets him know that she was admitted to Met U too, so he wouldn't go there alone. Clark says that he refused the university. Chloe is at first surprised, but then she feels respect for Clark. She says he is destined to do a lot more in this world. Clark is surprised at these words, but Chloe clears herself, saying that it's just a hunch.
At the Met U football stadium, Clark stands alone staring all around him at what could have been his... then slowly walks away.
Main Cast
- Tom Welling as Clark Kent
- Kristin Kreuk as Lana Lang
- Michael Rosenbaum as Lex Luthor
- Jensen Ackles as Jason Teague
- Allison Mack as Chloe Sullivan
- John Glover as Lionel Luthor (credit only)
- Annette O'Toole as Martha Kent
- John Schneider as Jonathan Kent
Recurring Roles
Guest Cast
- Geoff Johns - Chris Carmack
- Coop- Colby Johannson
- Met U Coach - Steve Makaj
- Gary Burgen - John Novak
- Sorority Girl - Kirsten Williamson
- Sorority Girl - Brandi Alexander
- Sorority Girl - Amanda Crew
- Marcus - Marcus Sim
Featured Music
- "Wonderful Night" - Fatboy Slim
- "It's All Behind" - Anthony Michaelanglo
- "The Thunderer" - APM Music.
- "Finding Out True Love Is Blind" - Louis XIV
- "Wild West Show" - Big & Rich
- "How Could This Happen To Me" - Simple Plan
Title
- A recruit is a newly enlisted member of an organization or group.
- The title refers to Clark being recruited as a new football player at Metropolis University.
- Lana berates Lex for "recruiting my boyfriend... to conduct some covert investigation. "
Notes
- Antagonist: Geoff Johns
- Clark uses the following abilities in this episode: super strength, super speed, heat vision, X-ray vision, and super hearing.
- The jacket that Clark wears has a red-and-yellow "S", hinting his future as being Superman.
- Geoff mentions that he wants to see his former coach, Wayne Quigley, with Clark. However, Walt Arnold would have been coaching when Geoff attended Smallville High. This was either an error or Quigley was the assistant coach under Arnold at one point.
- The navigation device on Geoff's dashboard is labeled TripStar, a parody of OnStar.
- Lionel Luthor does not appear in this episode.
- The filming location for the Metropolis University football statium was likely BC Place Stadium.
- This episode marks the 17th appearance of Clark's Red jacket/Blue shirt outfit, which he wears frequently throughout the series.
- Chloe says "I just have a feeling you're destined to do a lot more in this world then just score touchdowns", which is similar to a line said by Jonathan Kent in the films.
- Geoff refers to Clark as "C.K." in this episode. In the Lois & Clark TV Series, Jimmy Olsen also refers to Clark as "C.K." on a regular basis.
- Strangely enough, Clark doesn't seem upset anymore about Alicia Baker's death, which happened in the previous episode Pariah. However, it is possible that this episode takes place weeks afterwards.
Trivia
- At the beginning of the episode, Geoff Johns is riding with Clark in the truck, at about the time he says, "You have to be better than good", a Canada Post truck can be seen driving by in the opposite direction through the window. Although Smallville takes place in Kansas, it is filmed in Vancouver.
- Similarly, several Canadian flags can be seen on the buildings outside Clark's passenger-side window.
- Actress Brandi Alexander (who plays one of the sorority girls in this episode) also plays one of the exotic dancers in the Season Five episode Exposed.
- The character of Geoff Johns is named for a popular writer for DC Comics. The real Johns was named Chief Creative Officer of DC Entertainment on February 18, 2010.[1] He is known for his work on The Flash, Hawkman, Teen Titans, JSA, 52, Green Lantern (including the Rebirth and Blackest Night storylines) and the company-wide event Infinite Crisis. Johns co-wrote Action Comics, one of the flagship Superman comics, with Superman: The Movie and Superman II director Richard Donner, for whom Johns had worked as an assistant for four years in the mid-to-late 1990s. He also wrote the mini-series Superman: Secret Origin, the current official origin story for Superman. For Smallville, Johns would go on to write the Season Eight episode Legion, featuring the Legion of Superheroes, and the Season Nine event Absolute Justice, introducing the JSA in live-action.
Allusions
- When Clark found Lois hiding in the room closet and asked what she was doing there, she replied, "I could ask you the same question, but it seems fairly obvious... Hef", referencing the adult magazine publisher and businessman, Hugh Hefner.
Locations
Quotes
Clark: (Confused) What just happened?
Clark: Lois. Whoever thought I'd be relieved to hear your voice?
Chloe: I just have a feeling you're destined to do a lot more in this world then just score touchdowns.
Clark: Chloe, you've been saying a lot of weird things to me lately. What makes you think I'm destined to do anything?
Chloe: Just a hunch...
Lana: Who the hell do you think you are?!
Lex: (says coolly) Something bothering you, Lana?
External links
References
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