Episode 1.3: Hothead

Hot Head quickly puts the series back on track after the mild disappointment of Metamorphosis. The motivations of the villain are much more realistic and believable and make the character a more appealing prospect than 'Bug Boy'. Everyone has probably experienced some form of bullying from the teachers at school and this episode adequately deals with that theme along with the overpowering desire to win at all costs.

There are some really nice character moments here too. The opposition between Lex and his father is brought to the fore as they go head to head over certain business strategies. The relationship between Clark and Lana really shines too and they have a nice little moment at the end where they both scream their lungs out just for the fun of it. I couldn't help but have a smile on my face after this.

In fact, there are a lot of humorous moments throughout, particularly the reaction from Clark and Lex in The Talon after Lana has served them their drinks.

Clark: Is that what you ordered?

Lex: Not even close!

Good stuff. 8/10

Episode 1.2: Metamorphosis

After the cracking pilot episode Metamorphosis comes as something of a disappointment. However, it is far from being a bad episode. It's main problems lie solely on the villain of the piece. The actor playing the 'Bug Boy' does a fine job and there's certainly nothing wrong with his performance. But he is given awful pieces of dialogue to spout off about how he has become something of a superior being. It feels very clichéd.

On the plus point there are quite a few standout moments. We start to see the manipulative side of Lex, portrayed excellently by Rosenbaum, who pretty much charms the pants off all but Jonathan Kent. There is also a rather amusing scene at the beginning of the episode in which Clark appears to be flying.

What is certainly clear from this episode and the pilot is the x-files inspired direction in which the show seems to be heading with its 'freak of the week' formula. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. The reason for why there would be so many of these freaks in Smallville is established quite nicely. But that also means that the quality of each episode could hinge entirely on the quality of the freak. Applying that theory to this episode it is clear that the writers will have to do better than 'Bug Boy'.

Great character moments but flat and clichéd villain. 6/10