Episode 5.7: Splinter.

Lana receives a piece of silver kryptonite in the mail supposedly from Lex. But when Clark touches it, the rock cuts him, leaving a splinter inside his finger. From that point on Clark begins to experience extreme paranoia. He thinks Chloe is divulging his secrets to Lionel, his dad is going to sell him out to Luthor senior, and Lana is cheating on him with Lex. Eventually, as the situation escalates and Clark becomes violent, Milton Fine reveals himself to be a kryptonian and "cures" Clark by removing the splinter. But the closing moments reveal that it never was silver kryptonite and it wasn't Lex who sent it. It was Fine who sent the rock and the splinter that entered Clark was actually a piece of Fine himself. This was all a ploy to get Clark to trust him. Meanwhile, Lex shows Lana the space ship, which she then neglects to tell Clark. But did Lex allow Lana to see it for her piece of mind or because he is running out of ideas on how to open it?

This is a really great episode. When I originally watched this, back when it first aired, I missed the fact that the silver kryptonite was actually Fine himself, so the episode never made much sense to me, as Fine's plan hinged on Clark not only getting his hands on the rock, but coincidentally cutting himself on it as well. Obviously, knowing that the splinter is indeed Fine completely changes things, revealing him to be a truly devious little bugger and one of the more intriguing villains of the series, outside of the Luthors.

The various scenes of paranoia are really interesting to watch as they reveal deep rooted fears that Clark has; his best friend turning on him, his father not really thinking of him as his son, and the woman he loves going into the arms of the man he is slowly beginning to view as his enemy. Welling does a great job portraying a man dangerously close to tipping over the edge.

Chloe once again shows herself to be the most loyal of friends. When she tells Clark that she will die before revealing his secret I totally believe her.

Lex on the other hand, when he tells Lana that he just couldn't lie to her anymore, is about as convincing as the world's fattest man promising to give up Krispy Cremes. I think we've seen evidence in the past that Lex truly cares for Lana and he may even try to convince himself that this is still the case. But there is no conviction there any more. Only a desire to chase his obsession of learning all that he can about the ship.

One of the best scenes is when Lionel calls Lex out on why he is running for office. He needs to be seen as being a good man. He needs people to like him. But is that desire for recognition coming from a place of longing for people to see the good that is in him, or is it merely a cover that will protect him from being seen as the man he truly knows himself to be?

Great stuff!

10/10