Hey, I didn’t know Lois Lane showed up this early in Smallville! Quite the bizarre origin story they gave her, though, what with the terrible fat suit and the Kryptonite-laced protein shake turning her into a meteor freak. On top of all that, “Craving” has her going by a completely different name, probably hiding her true identity for a big reveal down the road. Oh, to have watched the show when it aired instead of years later with everything spoiled!
Alright, if that unnecessary and over-the-top intro didn’t drive you away, of course this episode didn’t feature the Smallville version of Lois Lane. However, meteor freak Jodi Melville has the distinction of being played by the biggest future star yet, Amy Adams, who of course has gone on to play Lois Lane in Man of Steel and Batman V Superman. The show benefits from Adams’ talents, as she brings a much-needed humanity to one of the more ridiculous villains the show has done.
In complete fairness, the idea of doing an episode about weight and body shaming is a good one, as it fits well with the show’s high school setting. However, this episode never goes that deep into the concept, barely establishing Jodi’s struggles before she’s begun magically shedding pounds. Again, it’s easier to connect because of Adams’ performance, but it would’ve been nice for the show to give her more than a single bully who everyone thinks is a jackass anyway. Also, her concerned father sort of just drops out of the plot, never contributing much.
Instead of depth, the show leans into the more monstrous, Jodi constantly losing weight and needing to suck the fat out of her students. It’s a similar concept to Sean Kelvin’s warmth-draining from “Cool,” but Jodi’s likability at least has us hoping she can be saved, even as her condition forces her to try and drain Pete.
Oh, poor Pete. He’s assumedly a member of the show’s core trio, but where Chloe’s begun to develop more of a presence, Pete’s still just sort of there. I was excited in the beginning to see this episode focus so much on Pete, but he ends up just being the object of Jodi’s affection instead of getting any real development of his own. Here’s hoping he can get some more to do down the road.
Meanwhile, Lex was busy continuing to investigate the strange happenings of Smallville, leading him to Dr. Steven Hamilton (Joe Morton), a meteorologist who’s spent the majority of his career looking into the meteor rocks from Cark’s arrival. Not a lot happens here, as Hamilton initially rejects Lex’s offer of funding, but it sets the stage for bigger steps forward in Lex’s investigation down the road.
Random Asides
-I mentioned it briefly above, but the effects this week were shoddy on both the practical and digital sides. The fat suit never sold the illusion, and I laughed for a solid minute at the stretched jaw effect used when Jodi feasted.
-Clark might be a bit too destructive in his efforts to save people sometimes. The property damage inflicted upon the school’s going to start to add up.
-We didn’t get a whole lot of Lana or Clark’s parents this week, but the scene of Martha smirking over Clark’s awkward interactions with Lana was pretty adorable.
Final Score: 7.5 out of 10