What I'm Watching: Smallville

Smallville: Season 7, Episode 14 “Traveler” (D+)

For all its extraterrestrial notions, the “Smallville” universe seems much too small. If Clark is missing, it must be Lex – no one else could possibly be responsible. In that same sense, the Veritas group (the Teagues, Queens, Luthors, and Swanns) seems to be composed of rather usual suspects. It does all fit in well with all the “X-Files” I have been watching recently, where a council of shady men are responsible for orchestrating a massive conspiracy. As far as “Smallville” is concerned, this episode had a whole lot more potential than some of the recent installments. That said, I cannot quite comprehend why Chloe and Lana’s complex, sneaky entry into Lex’s mansion is completely sidestepped and pretty much altogether skipped. Lionel’s abduction of Clark seems misplaced and a little out of order, though I guess the letter at the beginning came from Dr. Swann’s daughter. Too bad he used Aaron Douglas from “Battlestar Galactica”, who had just a few too many anger issues to sort out. Kara’s memory is back, and all I can say is - like everything else in this episode – boy, that was easy. The most significant flaw of this episode is the introduction of a new, seemingly interesting character only to have her killed off before episode’s end to show that once again, the Luthors are evil. Michael Rosenbaum (Lex) isn’t even signed on for the next season – isn’t it time to move on to other things?