Episode 4.8: Spell

Lana comes into the posession of the diary belonging to the witch, Isabelle Theroux, dating back to the 1600's. When she touches a spot of blood dried into the page, Isabella's blood, Lana becomes posessed by the witch, who sets about reawakening her friends inside the bodies of Chloe and Lois, before going on a hunt for the same 3 stones that Clark has been looking for. They crash a party, intended for Chloe, and wreak all manner of Havok. Clark stops them in the caves, using the power stone and the 3 ladies wake up having no memory of what happened. Lex tells Lana that it was he who had Jason fired and she turns her back on him.

Oh dear Lord! This is not a good episode. Witches? Seriously?! Spell feels like an episode of Charmed. And I haven't even watched that show. In all fairness, I probably wouldn't have such strong feelings against this one if it weren't for the fact that it's so closely tied to the ongoing mythology. As a standalone episode it might have faired better. But mixing 17th century witches in with all the cave stuff and the Kryptonian symbols and stones is just a major mistep for me. They've got no business being together!

There are some scenes that are pretty entertaining. Seeing Clark dancing around in his boxers when a talent scout shows up did actually make me laugh out loud. And it's disturbing seeing Lex's fingers bleeding after being forced to play piano all night.

Kruek, Mack and Durance all seem to be having a good time, and there are moments when I really enjoy their performances. But would these three witches, who have waited 400 years to get their hands on the stones, really waste their time on a party with a bunch of fratboys and cheerleaders? The whole thing just seems silly in tone to me, which is why it should have been its own separate thing. It just doesn't sit well with the more serious thread of Clark trying to track down the kryptonian artefacts. It's a bizarre direction to go in.

5/10