This was a lone new episode aired in the midst of reruns and writer strikes. I missed it the first time around, but my PVR didn’t. If you also missed it (as I’m guessing many did), you can catch it in rerun coming up this Thursday. New episodes start again on Jan. 31. (How? “Smallville” needs a lot of prep time for the special effects load they have, so they had 15 scripts finished when the strike began.)

Cast

Tom Welling as Clark Kent
Kristen Kreuk as Lana Lang
Allison Mack as Chloe Sullivan
Erica Durance as Lois Lane
Aaron Ashmore as Jimmy Olson
Laura Vandervoort as Kara
Michael Rosenbaum as Lex Luthor
John Glover as Lionel Luthor

Written by Caroline Dries
Directed by Whitney Ransick

Original Airdate

Gemini originally aired on Dec. 13, 2007. Yes, this review is late. I missed it the first time around, but thankfully my PVR didn’t. It’ll be rerun this Thursday if you missed it, too.

Synopsis

Clark makes a surprising return from the Fortress, while Lois is contacted by a clone made by Lex Luthor who wants his story told at all costs.

High Point

The “last second” rescue and all it implied.

Low Point

Taking what should have been a subtle implication from the start of the rescue, and turning it into a complete reveal with absolutely no subtlety.

The Review

This put a bit of an original twist on the Julian storyline, but not in any way that was inconsistent with what we’ve seen from these characters before. We’ve also got a nice twist coming on our lead character. I give it 5 out of 6.

The effects on this show haven’t let me down in a long, long time. I give it 5 out of 6.

The story was well paced and assembled this week. The storyline around Lois was well made, and the storyline around Clark would have been improved mainly by leaving out the “big reveal.” I give it 5 out of 6.

The acting was well done this week. Tom Welling initially seemed a bit “off” as Clark, but that was effectively explained by the end. I give it 5 out of 6.

The emotional response was strong. The revelations we had here, as well as the storylines themselves, have been among the best this season. I give it 5 out of 6.

The production was well done, with the parallel storylines well balanced and effectively shot. I give it 5 out of 6.

Overall, this is probably this season’s strongest episode to date. I give it 5 out of 6.

In total, Gemini receives 35 out of 42.