Episode 5.4: Aqua

Arthur Currie arrives in town and, after saving Lois from drowning, attempts to hit on her multiple times. What he doesn't tell her is that he has the power to breathe and move super fast under water and that he's in Smallville to sabotage a piece of experimental equipment, owned by Luthorcorp, that is destroying ocean wildlife. Clark is very suspicious of him after witnessing his powers. He also has a new teacher, in the shape of Milton Fine, a man who looks remarkably like the entity that crawled out of the alien ship that landed during the last meteor shower.

This episode is incredibly sleazy at times. We get multiple shots of Lois in her bikini getting soaking wet and looking like she belongs in an American Pie movie. The camera fixes its gaze in slow-mo for far too long for it to be referred to as anything but titillation. And just so the ladies aren't left out they do something very similar with Arthur.

In fact, there are times when it gets down right homoerotic. At one point Clark asks Arthur if he's okay, when he refreshes himself under a sprinkler, after Lex kept him out of the water for too long. His response? "Wet and ready bro!" It's a line worthy of a 70's Carry On movie.

Alan Ritchson, while perfectly adequate in the role of Arthur, doesn't exactly do anything here to make me think he was the best actor for the role. I feel like he was mainly cast for his physique, which is probably why they milk it for all it's worth, rather than his ability to emote. He's not terrible, like I say, just a little bland. I hear he has made a decent impression on the more recent Teen Titans show but, having not seen that, I only have his performance here to go on.

The subplot between Lois and Arthur doesn't really strike much of a chord with me. It's amusing for a little while, but it's a bit light weight and feels pointless by the time we reach the end, as nothing really comes of it.

The standout in this episode is Rosenbaum as Lex. The scene where he torments Arthur with the glass of water is brilliantly played and Lex's meglomaniacal side really comes out. I also love the scenes between him and Clark, where he tells Clark that, "the days of [him] barging in to offer sage advice are over!" Though, given their physical altercation in "Mortal", it's surprising he even agreed to let him into the mansion.

It's also surprising to see Clark defending Lex in the classroom when Milton Fine goes into a full on tirade about the evils of Clark's former friend. Clearly Clark hasn't totally given up on him yet, but his forgiving nature is one of his most admirable traits. However, he does quickly backslide on that after seeing the way Lex conducts business with Arthur, agreeing to help Fine write an expose on the Luthor Corp billionaire.

Overall, a fun episode that gives us the first serious live-action take on the man who will become Aquaman.

7/10