Is Clark really the last son of Krypton?

Cast

Tom Welling as
Clark Kent
Kristen Kreuk as
Lana Lang
Michael
Rosenbaum as Lex Luthor
John Glover
as Lionel Luthor
Sam Jones III as
Pete Ross
Allison Mack as
Chloe Sullivan
Annette
O’Toole as Martha Kent
John
Schneider as Jonathan Kent

Written by Philip
Levens.
Directed by Rick
Rosenthal.

Original Airdate

Visitor
originally aired on Tuesday,
April 15, 2003.

Synopsis

A classmate with unusual abilities claims to be from another planet.

High Point

Lex’s final scene. Woo hoo!

Low Point

Near the end of an episode, Clark asked a question that Jonathan
answered. As much as I like the answer, I can’t imagine Clark ever
asking that.

The Review

The power to heal is a fairly original superpower. (It’s not
terribly useful in combat. I’ve only read about one character with
that ability, and she had a bit role in early issues of
Wolverine.) I haven’t been watching the reruns, so although
this felt fresh, that may just have been because I haven’t seen any
episodes of this show since February. I give it 5 out of 6.

The effects were good through most of the episode. The human
injury that was healed was particularly well done, especially during
the actual healing sequence. (The sound effect there was a nice
touch.) The only effect that bothered me was the gargantuan size of
the shooting star, but that’s not a major problem. I give it 5 out of
6.

The story was an interesting way to deal with the character.
If I really had a sense that Clark felt alone most of the time, it
would have been much more effective. There were some moments, like
the “They can’t be, they’re not human!” line that didn’t quite make
sense, and the outcome and resolution was fairly predictable. I give
it 4 out of 6.

The acting was good, for what there was. Tom Welling was
still a little stiff, and nobody else had a chance to show a lot of
depth this week. Emmanuel Vaugier did an excellent job as Dr. Bryce.
This is a character I really like; I hope she sticks around for a
while. I give the acting 4 out of 6, hampered by Welling’s stiff
work.

The emotional response this produced was uneven. The first
few minutes (up to and including the conversation with Chloe outside
the barn) were very effective, as was the last scene with Lex. There
are now real questions about how much different people know about
Clark. Too bad the 40 minutes in the middle didn’t really do much. I
give it 4 out of 6.

The production was excellent, as we’ve come to expect. The
lighting was very well done. The composition of a few scenes seemed
cramped here, but I expect they’ll look great when we finally see them
in widescreen. I give it 5 out of 6.

Overall, it’s not the big post-rerun launch I was hoping for,
but it was an entertaining hour. I give it 4 out of 6.

In total,
Visitor
receives 31 out of 42.