Episode 6.9: Subterreanean

There's so many really great aspects to this episode that, in the end, are undone by some seriously lazy writing. When Javier tells Clark to stop the car, after finding out his friend is dead, the one place they just happen to stop right outside is the one place Javier has been trying to get away from. And then he's stupid enough to go running straight back onto the farmer's land.

Clark takes out the farmer but then what?! The next time we see him, Lex has him, but surely Clark would have handed the guy over to the sheriff? Are we to assume that the police handed him over to Lex? Or did Clark just leave him there to be found by Lex's men? It's a very untidy ending. I do love that final shot though, of Lex walking through Level 33.1, with all the imates stretching out their arms to try and grab him.

Another great Lex moment is when Clark goes to the mansion once more to throw a typically wild accusation at him and Lex retorts with, "what is it this time Clark, did I swat a fly with too much force?" That one made me laugh. It's not precisely clear what Lex was guilty of. From what I can gather, he knew of the farmer's abilities and was paying him to work the land, but he was unaware of the migrant workers and the murders that were being committed.

Lana has the realization that Lex's money doesn't just offer comfort but power. I struggle to believe that this is something she has only just considered. If so she is either very naive or very stupid. And while her statement made me roll my eyes I did enjoy the little twist in her thinking that circumvented Lex's expectations. To her, power means helping those who need it, so she has Lex put his resources towards helping all the migrant workers that were on the farm. It's a nice touch that shows us where her heart is at and how she looks at her responsibilities to the world differently than Lex. But Clark fails to see this because he's so blinded by his distrust of his former friend. As a result he disrespects Lana. Her reaction is quite justified.

The freak of the week in this one is a nice idea and I like that the writers are not afraid to tackle the issue of migrant workers. They get to put a human face to those who are considered "lawbreakers", whilst still commenting on the value of doing things properly, according to the law. Unfortunately, the freak in question is really poorly developed. It's not exactly clear how he moves under the ground in the way that he does. I could buy it if he was naked, so that his body was somehow propelling him through the earth, but the scene where he burrows under ground with his shoes and his dungeries on just looks ridiculous!

Last episode I mentioned that, for some reason, I found Jimmy annoying. That hasn't really changed here. I feel like they just make him a little too silly. I think his childlike enthusiasm is meant to be endearing or charming, but I just find it to be a little over the top.

A bit more time and effort spent on ironing out some of the narrative kinks in this one could have made it quite special. As it stands, it's a fairly disappointing episode, that has a few nice flourishes.

5/10