Once again, Clark’s vehicle insurance rates spike
before the opening credits roll. No wonder the Kents
are having such financial problems.
Cast
Tom
Welling as
Clark Kent
Kristen Kreuk as
Lana Lang
Michael
Rosenbaum as Lex Luthor
John
Glover
as Lionel Luthor
Annette
O’Toole as Martha Kent
John
Schneider as Jonathan Kent
Erica Durance as
Lois Lane
Allison Mack as
Chloe Sullivan.
Written by Steven S. DeKnight.
Directed by Greg Beeman.
Original Airdate
Splinter
originally aired on Thursday,
November 10, 2005.
Synopsis
Clark receives a splinter from silver kryptonite, and
becomes
exceedingly paranoid.
High Point
The ambiguity of what Clark actually saw. How many of
those elements
can turn out to be real?
Low Point
Would people quit resting parts of their body on a
frictionless
surface? This may seem nit-picky, but after picking
up a couple of
physics degrees, breaking the laws of physics without
an “it’s my
superpower” exception really bugs me.
The Review
The Milton Fine character is driving this season is
new and
original directions compared to previous
years. There’s a
lot of good stuff here that’s keeping me interested in
what’s coming
up. I also like the “temporary” bit instead of the
amnesia for once.
I give it 5 out of 6.
The effects were nicely done, with a pretty
decent battle at
the end as well. I give it 5 out of 6.
The story was well written, avoiding the
common cliches on
the show, and leaving what exactly Clark saw vague.
(Spoilery
questions I’ve been stewing on: As
these appear to
have been hallucinations controlled by Fine himself,
we have to wonder
if he really had the superpowers, or if he just made
Clark think he
did. I also wonder how he learned Clark was Kal-El:
did he know
before landing on Earth, or did he just know Kal-El
was here and
figured the rest out from the information in
LuthorCorp’s databases?
Did he know about Kal-El at all, and found all the
records in some
database here? When Chloe said “I’d rather die than
reveal your
secret,” was that foreshadowing that connects Jor-El’s
threat to
Chloe’s absense from the comics?) The excuses
this time were
plausible, and not some overused fallback. This
week’s really worked
for me. I give it 6 out of 6.
The acting had some good work from a paranoid
Welling.
Rosenbaum and Glover always do excellent work, and
Marsters is playing
a being who feels superior quite effectively. I give
it 5 out of 6.
The emotional response was strong. This
episode got me going
thinking about future implications and the
immediate
plotline, which is a rare combination. I give it 6
out of 6.
The production really shone this week, with
some excellent
elements of lighting, sound, and camera perspectives
that they don’t
normally get a chance to use. (The Luthor mansion
looks great in the
dark.) My only complaint was the use of unmodified
musical cues from
The X-Files. Maybe I just watched that show
too much, but
they always feel out of place here because I associate
them so
strongly with that series. I give it 5 out of 6.
Overall, it’s back to the better episodes the
season launched
with. I give it 5 out of 6.
In total,
Splinter
receives
37
out of 42.
Inconsistent powers
I had one major nitpick with this episode…
Why was Clark able to superspeed away while Chloe was holding green kryptonite in his face? In past episodes, green kryptonite has always left him almost too weak to move at all.
Beyond that though, I enjoyed this episode. We got to see some excellent interactions between Clark and Fine, and as usual the last conversation between Lex and Lionel was eyebrow-raising.
Silver kryptonite?
Is this canon? Was it really silver kryptonite or something of Fine’s invention that he made look like a meteorite?
SO very spoilerish!
I think you missed the final moments of the show, when brainiac reabsorbs the silver slivers of his nanotech shape-shifting kryptonian T-1000 body.
As far as “how did he know”, he knows everything, he’s brainiac fer crying out loud! Not to mention that the disciples of Zod had found Kal El in the ep where this stowaway first appeared.
Re: SO very spoilerish!
That was my point. Is there silver kryptonite in the canon that his faux meteor rock was mimicking, or did he disguise his nanotech like that to make Clark think that it was a new kind of kryptonite instead of digging deeper into its source?
Re: SO very spoilerish!
There was no silver K.
It was a trick!
motive
Why did Fine do all this? Was it just an ice-breaker so he could introduce himself, or was he trying to seed distrust between Clark & his friends? Obviously having part of himself embedded in CK was a great way to control the hallucinations, but to what end?
Also, what was that rock after the silver was taken out? Was it actually kryptonite (black?) or just some rock?
Re: motive
I’d say definitely to seed distrust. Fine seems to have a very negative view of humanity, and wants to drive Clark away from them – Caesar/Brutus and Jesus/Judas at the beginning were big hints at this. I hadn’t connected the part of him=part of meteor bit, but that does make sense, if only to be able to control the direction Clark’s hallucinations took him.
I am starting to wonder if Jor-El may be more trustworthy, and how much of him is left in Lionel?
Re: motive
I would say that the episode name “Splinter” was meant to have duel meaning. Not just a reference to the opject in Clark, but also to the effect on Clark and his freinds. Braniac is attempting to isolate Kal-el, to splinter him from his human support.