“Metamorphosis”

“Metamorphosis” did little to instill faith that this series could be more than 90210 with superpowers and the freak of the week appearances.  But on the other hand, the characters are likable.  It was enough to keep a viewer interested…for now.

Clark finds himself floating above his bed after dreaming of flying to see Lana in her bedroom, which is something he hasn’t done yet, due to the producers saying that there would be “no flights, no tights” throughout the series.

We learn quickly that the FOTW is Greg Arkin, a geeky old friend of Clark and Pete.  Greg has an obsession with two things.  Bugs and Lana.  He stalks both until his mother threatens to call a military academy and send him away.  This forces him to release his bugs to the wild, butwhat he doesn’t know is that the bugs are tinged with kryptonite.  They swarm him and soon enough he gets bitten.

Somewhat reminiscent of a comic book superhero from a different company…It’s SPIDER-BOY…

except he’s a villain.  He ends up being more of a mini Jeff Goldbloom from The Fly, as he becomes more like the bugs, killing his mother and molting a bit.   He tries to insert himself in between Lana, Whitney, and Clark and becomes more aggressive as time goes on.

Clark on the other hand is not so aggressive as he totally is prepared to pine away for Lana feeling that Whitney already won her over and that the game was over.

There are a few nice sequences where we see Clark learning more about himself, especially involving Lana’s kryptonite necklace and how lead can shield him from its effects.   There is also the attempt to create more of an empathy out of Whitney instead of the typical jock ass, which I appreciate.

Unfortunately it’s mostly for naught as Clark’s whining and pining are not fun tv after the first 2 minutes.

Luckily Chloe and Lex save the day.  The character of Chloe is very charsimatic and although it’s obvious she pines for Clark, it’s done in a far more subtle and satisfying way.   Even after two episodes, it’s clear that Chloe will be Clark’s main ally, and that Pete Ross is really just standing in for the Friend #2 role as he did almost nothing this episode.

More though and I sense a theme coming, Lex is the character that keeps it entertaining.  He subtly inserts himself into Clark’s affairs even helping him by talking to Lana and insinuating that Whitney isn’t quite the man she thinks he is.

I think that no matter what the episode, lLex will make it better.

Overall though this week is far too much 90210/FOTW for me.

C-

REFERENCES:

1. The aformentioned Spider-Man nod
2. When Lana asks Clark about his loft in the barn, Clark says his father called it his “Fortress of Solitude”, a nod to the Arctic Fortress Superman has in the comics.

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