Clark Kent (Tom Welling) with Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum) in "Smallville: Labyrinth."
© CW

Mania Grade: C+
Stars: Tom Welling

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"Smallville: Labyrinth"

Last week’s episode, while far from perfect, renewed just a bit of hope for me in this series.  While this episode wasn’t as good as “Justice” it was still fairly entertaining albeit unoriginal.  Someone mentioned in the comments for the review of “Justice” that the next episode “Labyrinth”, the one I’m reviewing now sounded like a rip off of a Buffy The Vampire Slayer episode.  Now after seeing the episode, I’m inclined to agree except that the Buffy episode was much more complex than this one and it carried much more emotional impact. 

Clark is attacked in the barn, and when he wakes up he finds himself in an insane asylum in the middle of a meeting with the doctor and several other patients.  Clark learns that he’s been in this asylum since his freshmen year in high school and that everything he believes to be true; his powers, being from another planet, and even his weakness to kryptonite, is all just a symptom of his mental disease but there’s good news, the doctor has a cure.  One man in the asylum believes everything that Clark is saying and tells Clark that he himself is from Mars.  Clark believing that he is the victim of some elaborate plan by Lex Luthor escapes the institution old school, no powers.  Back in Smallville, things are even more surreal, his mother has married Lionel Luthor, Lana is still in love with Clark and waiting for him to be cured, and Lex is in a wheelchair due to a car accident where he swerved to avoid Clark in the road. 

The only person familiar in Clark’s life that believes his story is Chloe, who arrives on the scene just in time to save Clark from being captured.  But it turns out that she too is insane and is an escapee of the mental institution.  When she and Clark are nearly captured, Chloe pulls out a gun and is shot and killed on the spot.  Back in the hospital the mysterious Martian tells Clark that an escapee from the Phantom zone has entered Clark’s mind and that unless he kills the doctor he will never get his life back and the escapee will use Clark to bring forth more escapees to take over Earth.  So, it’s pretty predictable what Clark does to save the day. 

In this battle within Clark’s mind, Chloe is Clark’s only supporter, the only one who stands by him and his story, just like in the real world.  So the entity inhabiting Clark’s body kills her off in his mind in an attempt to weaken his resolve.  When Clark is back in the real world the events make him stop and really appreciate what Chloe means to him and what she’s put herself through for him.  This leads to a great moment between the two characters in Clarks’ house.  Also, I have gone on record as saying that the Lana, Lex, Clark love triangle business is eating away at any potential this series has for true greatness and I still believe it to be true.  That said, the moment that Clark, Lana, and eventually Lex share in the coffee shop is the best scene the three of them have had together all season.  I was happy to see these scenes take place without any of it diving head first into soap opera melodrama, which has for the past couple of seasons been the Smallville M.O. 

Yes, we have seen this story many times in other series, not just Buffy, so it isn’t original, but it was fairly entertaining, and seeing the Martian Manhunter was fun.  The episode does lose a few points for me with its ham fisted and gratuitous Yoris product placement. Having the car in the episode, no big deal, but how many times when loaning out your car have you said something like “take my Yoris”?  Also, once we finally see the Martian Manhunter in the real world he’s a pretty slick looking dude but he doesn’t feel right.  The big difference for me between the DC and Marvel Universes is that Marvel comics were more gritty and realistic and DC comics always had a sort of sci-fi feel to them, especially the really old school Superman series.  There are exceptions to that rule such as Batman and Green Arrow, but overall it DC comics just have that retro science fiction identity and that’s lost on this series and its creators and that’s a real shame.  If they took that element and really ran with it instead of using it as a plot device, especially now with all the new heroes showing up, they could really do something fun and unique.  Let me step down from the soap box now.  Again, an entertaining episode but not innovative at all and it didn’t do anything to advance Clark’s story arc, just filler.  In the end, I’m just happy to be entertained by this series again…