Episode 6.12: Labyrinth

When Clark is attacked by something in the barn he's knocked unconscious. When he wakes he finds himself in the care of Fairview Psychiatric Hospital. The doctor there tells him that the past 5 years of his life have all been a delusion and that he does not have superpowers. Clark needs to figure out if he's dreaming or if someone is playing mind games with him.

The score in this episode is very unsettling. It's mostly just a low hum but it's very effective at keying us in to Clark's disorientation and possible fractured mind. It does start to really  get under the skin after a while though as it runs through almost the entire episode.

Of course, we know right away that Clark is not crazy, so the episode has an uphill battle when it comes to creating tension through doubt. It succeeds instead by presenting us with the question and mystery of what is actually going on. If Clark's not crazy then what is really happening?

I love how they introduce Martian Manhunter here. We saw him previously in shadows so when we first see him here, and he tells Clark why he believes his story ("I too am not from Earth. I'm from Mars"), he understandably comes off like a crazy person.

Tom Welling's performance is pretty great throughout, particularly the scene with the doctor, where he's looking around the room and seeing all the bits and pieces that he has apparently used to shape his "fantasy world". When he accepts that Chloe is really dead and falls to the floor he truly looks like a broken man.

Never one to be upstaged of course, Rosenbaum gets to chew up the scenery in one particular scene where Clark finds out that Lex is in a wheelchair, thanks to Clark causing the accident on the bridge 5 years ago. It must be hard for an actor to suddenly have to revise their character's entire history and convey it convincingly within just one scene. But Rosenbaum pulls it off with ease.

Clark tells Chloe that she means more to him than she'll ever know. This is because in his dream world she was, typically, the only one who believed in him. She also happened to be a crazy person so it's nice of Clark to shield her from that information as he knows what it would do to her. But does this also mean that, on some level, her future mental health is a genuine fear or concern for Clark? Either way, it's good to see his affection towards her, even if it is the kind of affection that is reserved only for those in the "friend zone".

Clark admitting that he still loves Lana is hardly breaking news but I do enjoy their final moment together.

10/10