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"Void" is the seventeenth episode in the fifth season of Smallville, and the one hundred-fifth episode overall. It aired on April 6, 2006.

Summary[]

Still distraught over her break-up with Clark, Lana experiments with a dangerous serum that allows her to flat-line and see her deceased parents again. A worried Clark rushes to save Lana from hurting herself, but ends up being injected with the kryptonite-laced serum by a rogue doctor. When Clark flat-lines, he is able to talk to his recently deceased father, who warns him that Lionel knows his secret. Meanwhile, Lionel continues to get closer to Martha

Recap[]

→ see also Category:Screencaps from episode 5x17

Void 018

Lana is injected with a kryptonite-based serum.

In her dorm room, Lana is lying in bed and taps her feet against the wall nervously as she waits for her roommate Chloe to leave. Finally, she gets up, takes out some money, and goes to the college cafeteria. She meets with a young med student Lance and his girlfriend Ally, who prepare a kryptonite-based serum to inject her with in return for payment. She tells Lance that she needs to be down longer to "find them" and Lance finally agrees. They strap her down on a table and inject her with the serum. She opens her eyes... and her mom and dad are there. They tell her they love her and they're there for her. Just as she goes to embrace them, she is hauled away. When she he wakes up in convulsions, Lance tells her they almost lost her. Ally tells Lana that she's back among "the living". Lana says she needs to go back now.

Chloe is checking news stories and spots Professor Fine in a photo from Honduras. She calls Clark, who instantly arrives, but is hesitant to come in until he knows Lana is out. Chloe reveals she's been out regularly with two med students, then brings Clark up to speed on her suspicion that Fine is still alive. They're interrupted when Lana and Ally arrive. Clark awkwardly slips out and Lana tells Chloe she's fine – Chloe is skeptical. Clark superspeeds to Honduras and starts asking around and spots a boy with a carved wooden toy – the spaceship that Fine arrived in.

At the Talon, Martha holds a press conference, and all goes well. Lionel meets with her afterward and gives her some information.

Void 106

Martha and Lionel's relationship takes a new turn.

Martha wants to know why he's helping her, and he demurs and offers to go with her to help her schmooze with the other senators. Martha warns him not to expect anything other than friendship and he seemingly accepts that.

Lana goes to see Lance in the middle of anatomy class and demands another "treatment" to see her parents. He demands even more money, and she says no problem. Later, Lex is at his manor and hears someone breaking in – he goes to investigate and finds Lana going through his stuff. He confronts her and she admits that Lance has created a drug that kills the user and brings them back, and on the other side she gets to see her parents. Lex tells her they both need to let it go and Lana agrees. When he goes to get her a blanket, she leaves with his car.

Clark goes into the jungle with the boy who leads him to a large black charred mark where the spaceship was.

Void 204

Clark with his guide in the Honduran jungle.

Lex calls Chloe and wants to know where Lana is and, as she prepares to leave, she finds some books on near-death experiences and a piece of paper. She goes to the address and finds Lance's friend, Ally, who is in bad shape and clearly into the near-death experience. Chloe threatens to go to the college authorities, but Ally starts gasping for breath and says, "near death experience... It's a compound... meteor rock", she starts to cough up blood. She tells Chloe she doesn't want to die but dies anyway.

Lana visits Lance, who is getting rid of the evidence since he's heard that Ally is dead. He has the remainder of the drug and Lana demands another injection and gives Lex's Porsche as payment. Lex arrives and he and Lance get into a fight, while Lana grabs a vial of the drug and runs. Lex goes after her, but Lance stabs him in the back with a syringe and injects the drug. Lex collapses and Lance flees. Lex rolls over at the manor in front of the fireplace and hears his mother Lillian playing the piano. When he walks over to the piano, she fumbles over the piece she's playing. Lex states he must be dreaming but she points out how he was dying the last time they "met". She's upset that he ignored her advice back then. He argues that it wasn't a choice, because of what happened. She asks him if he thinks the path he's chosen isn't going to hurt, then harshly tells him it will more than he can even imagine. However, he's not the only one who will suffer now. She asks him to stay and avoiding killing so many... and then he is yanked back. Chloe is there and gave him the second injection to revive him. However, he has no idea where Lana is.

Void 358

Clark sees his dead father.

Clark arrives and Chloe brings him up to speed, pointing out that Lana was seeking love from the only two people who would do so unconditionally – her parents. Chloe uses the computer to track Lana's ID card where she is breaking into the campus infirmary. She gets a syringe and prepares to inject herself when Lance arrives and tosses her into a cart of glassware. He prepares to inject her and finish her off, but Clark knocks him away. She begs him for an injection and Lance gets close enough with the green-k syringe to inject a weakened Clark. Clark collapses and Lance prepares to take an electric bone saw to Lana. She grabs a beaker and smashes it into his face – he drops the saw, then falls on it.

Void 432

Clark and Chloe discuss Lionel's knowledge of Clark's secret.

Lana goes to Clark, who is back in the Kent barn uninjured. He opens the door to a bright light and in steps... Jonathan Kent. Jonathan tells him he must go back, and Clark tells he's sorry. He knows Jonathan only died because Jor-El brought him to back to life. Jonathan assures him he's not to blame and he's proud of protecting Clark... from Lionel Luthor. Jonathan reveals Lionel knows everything and that Clark must go back to keep his mother and the whole world safe. Jonathan tells him to go and find his destiny to help others, then shoves him back to where Clark wakes up with Lana over him.

Clark returns home and calls for Martha. She comes down the stairs in a bright red dress ready to leave for dinner. She senses something wrong with Clark. He tries to explain and tell her what he just went through but is interrupted by a knock. It's Lionel, with whom Martha will go out with, leaving Clark more worried. Martha tells him goodnight and she and Lionel leave.

Void 454

Lana apologizes to Lex.

At the Daily Planet, Clark reveals to Chloe that he didn't find anything on Fine, but he saw Jonathan who warned him about Lionel's knowledge of his secret. Chloe reveals that Lionel was her source on the Honduras photos and Clark wonders if he's playing them all.

Lex is playing the same song had been on the piano when Lana arrives to apologize, which Lex accepts. He reveals to her that he saw his mother but lies about what she said. He said she was very proud of the man he was becoming. Lana replied that she should be. Later, Lana is at her dorm going through her family photos when Clark arrives and she gives him an explanation of sorts about how she's always felt alone, but now she won't allow herself to be so dependent. They part on good terms as Clark assures her, he just wants her to be happy... she replies she will be.

Cast[]

Starring[]

Guest Starring[]

Co-Starring[]

Mentioned[]

Title[]

  • Void is defined as "containing no matter; empty" or as a "feeling or state of emptiness, loneliness, or loss".
  • In this episode, Lana seeks to fill the void in her life after her breakup with Clark by using the Limbo drug to talk to her dead parents.
  • There are many literary references that describe the afterlife as the great "Void."

Music[]

  • The piano piece that Lillian Luthor is playing in the afterlife when Lex is dead and then Lex plays later on at the mansion is Schubert's Impromptu in G-flat Major D899 No. 3.

Notes[]

  • Antagonist: Lance
  • Clark uses the following abilities in this episode: super strength and super speed.
  • Lois Lane does not appear in this episode.
  • Clark's phone number is listed as 555-0128.
  • Ally had an Ankh on her door. The ankh was the Egyptian hieroglyphic character that read "eternal life".

In Other Media[]

  • While in the afterlife, Lex notes that his right hand is covered with a black glove, a reference to the storyline in the comics where he wore a kryptonite ring as a deterrent to Superman and ended up needing to have his hand amputated and replaced with an artificial one when he began to suffer from radiation sickness due to prolonged exposure.
  • This episode bears a strong resemblance to the film "Flatliners".
  • The limbo drug in this episode shares resemblance to "Black Mercy," an alien organism in classic Superman lore. The plant-like organism is a parastite that is addictive to the victim once in the dream-like state in order to keep them there, whereas the drug is addictive over multiple uses. The simulated reality shown by the Black Mercy is definitely false, but it is unclear whether the hallucinations from the drug does really connect the user to the afterlife or are based on the user's deepest personal desires and knowledge.

Trivia[]

  • Wendy Chmelauskas and Ben Odberg reprise their roles as Lewis and Laura Lang for Lana's drug-induced trip.
  • Michaela Mann also plays Lisa Mason in Season Four's Forever.
  • Chloe mentions Lana will be taking a one-way trip down the River Styx which is a reference to the mythological river of the Underworld. It ferries the recently departed to the Underworld.

Continuity[]

  • Lillian references her last appearance before Lex in Lexmas.
  • Chloe and Clark learn that Milton Fine may be alive after they thought he had been killed in Solitude.
  • Jonathan returns (for the first time since Reckoning) for Clark's drug-induced trip and reveals that Lionel knows Clark's secret, which Lionel found proof of from the events in Lockdown but was revealed onscreen in Cyborg.
  • Lana's parents were last seen in Scare.
  • This episode marks the 33rd appearance of Clark's red jacket & blue shirt outfit, which he wears frequently throughout the series.
  • The black glove Lex wears foreshadows the scarred hand he will receive in Finale when he is revived. It is also a symbolic reminder of his destiny.

Quotes[]

Lance: You stole a Porsche?
Lana: No, I borrowed it from a friend.
Lex: And he wants it back!

Lillian: Don't let the blood wash away what is left of your soul.
Lex: What are you talking about? What blood?
Lillian: From all the people you are going to murder.

Lillian: What was it then that brought you to me? Oh yes, you were shot coming out of a meeting with the man you hired to destroy Jonathan Kent's reputation, so you could become Senator. How'd that turn out, by the way?
Lex: If you really are my dead mother, wouldn't you know?
Lillian: It was a rhetorical question, Alexander – of course, I know.

Jonathan: This is your destiny, son. You are going to touch the lives of so many people. Not just as a man but as a symbol. You're a symbol of peace. You're a symbol of justice. And now it's time for you to go.

Jonathan: I'll always be with you, son! Always...

Clark: Lana, all I want for you is to be happy.
Lana: I will be.

External links[]


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CategoriesMain Characters · Relationships · Villains

ComicsThe Comic · Season 11 · Miniseries


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