"Smallville" Luthor (TV Episode 2010) Poster

(TV Series)

(2010)

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10/10
The Return of Lionel Luthor
sean-bardgett21 April 2012
Over the years, Clark has developed hard feelings for the Luthor's with all of the trouble that they have caused him prying into his personal life. With the revelation of Lex Luthor's clones in Cadmus Labs and Tess Mercer being Lionel Luthor's daughter, it seems that the Luthor name is slowly crawling back into Clark's life.

As Lionel Luthor's only living heir, Tess is given a relic from Krypton that transports Clark to another world where he comes face to face with a shadow. One that he never expected to lay his eyes on and up until now puts Darkseid to shame. That being Lionel Luthor himself, who is anything but dead. Clark finds himself backed into a corner when dealing with Lionel, while also learning about his alternate half Clark Luthor,a relentless murderer who was raised by Lionel and transported to his world.

While previous episodes of this season mention Clark's dark side, this is the episode where we finally see a manifestation of it. While Clark has shown to be ruthless in the past (due to Red K) he has never been evil. Through Clark Luthor, allegations of Clark's darkness become facts that his loved one's can no longer simply ignore.

And who better to bring that side out of him then the same man that drove Lex to the Darkside. While Darkseid himself may be the embodiment of evil, his overall effect on Clark doesn't hold a candle to Lionel Luthor's. Through Lionel, Clark learns about his life and choices that he made in this world and even gains insight as to why Lex Luthor, once his best friend turned to evil. He also faces his worst fear of Lois Lane truly hating him. Most importantly, Clark finally understands just how easy it can be for someone to be corrupted when there is no light to guide them.

I think this is the best episode of this season, and definitely one of the best episode's in the entire series. The best part being of course the return of Lionel Luthor. John Glover proves that despite being gone for 3 years, he has not lost a step which makes his return all the more exciting. The biggest surprise for me was how impressed I was with Tom Welling's acting. His portrayal of Clark Luthor was creepy and vile, something I would have never expected him to pull off, and so expertly too. I love what they did with the alternative world too. The colder colour tones made it look like your were seeing into the negative side of a film or photograph.

I won't give the ending away with this one, but I will personally give it a 10 out of 10.
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10/10
Luthor
Colcatron9 May 2011
Warning: Spoilers
Alternate universes, alternate timelines or glimpses at the future are nothing new to Smallville. Some of my favourite episodes follow this formula. What works with alternate realities is that it gives the viewer a chance to look at the show and all of the characters from a completely different point of view. Of the many episodes to use this formula, "Luthor" is one of my very favourites.

The show opens with Tess coming into possession of a Kryptonian mirror box, which Clark later comes by and activates. When the mirror box is activated, Clark Kent switches places with his counterpart in the alternate universe (Smallville's take on Earth-Two) named Clark Luthor. Of course the twist is that in that universe, Clark was found and adopted by Lionel Luthor instead of the Kent's, and he's grown into a super villain by the name of Ultra Man, whose shield in an upside down Omega symbol, which viewers of this season will recognize as the mark of Darkseid. Unlike past episodes like "Lexmas" or "Apocalypse", this isn't just a hypothetical view of what could be, but an actual swap of realities, so while Clark Kent is stuck in a world where Lionel is his father and Lois hates him, the same villain Clark Luthor is transported to the world of Smallville, where Tess and Lois discover that there's something different about him. We get to see both sides of the story. Thanks to some great editing, there's tons of suspense leading into the climax.

Of course the biggest treat in "Luthor" is the return of former cast member John Glover as Lionel Luthor. This marks the first appearance of Lionel since he was killed off in season 7. In my opinion, Lionel is hands down the most interesting character on the show. Here we get to see him more villainous than ever before. Nobody can steal a scene like Glover, and no character is as interesting to watch as Lionel Luthor. To make it even better, this is only the beginning of what we see from Lionel.

At the same time, we see Clark in a villainous role as well. Tom Welling has played evil Clark before, like the many episodes where he was exposed to Red Kryptonite, or the series of episodes where he played Bizarro, this is totally different. Tom Welling rarely gets the kind of credit he deserves as an actor. There are so many variations to Clark's personality that he has to play every week. Bumbling Clark, hero Clark, Clark opposite someone who knows of his powers, Clark opposite someone he has to hide his powers from. His performance needs to change literally for every character he interacts with. It would be very easy to play Clark Luthor the same as Red K infected or Bizarro Clark, but Welling has managed to create totally separate characters for each of these evil personas.

After a string of weaker episodes revolving around the VRA, "Luthor" finally hits the high point that season 10 was striving for.
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9/10
The 10th season Pandora
igoatabase4 December 2010
With such a title it didn't take long before I felt a cold chill in the air. Lionel, Lex and now Tess. Coining "Tex" in my Harvest review was probably my way to express a wish. Cassidy Freeman, would you read me ? I'm sure most fans still miss Allison Mack as Chloe Sullivan but we have to admit that Freeman has become an irresistible figure on the show. Her wicked story has become captivating but Luthor should make you realize how much The Actress and the Character are a match. With the beast within fading in the beauty's shadow an inevitable question was asked. What if ? Season 9 had its Pandora, season 10 has Luthor. They could only have opened the mythological box but instead they decided to weave it like the most deadly and meticulous spider.

Lazarus was sensational when it came to Lois & Clark. Of course this time it wasn't about them nevertheless the writer still managed to develop their supernatural tale. I see you. me too !

Shield had its cons but somehow they turned into pros. Confusing story ? Two exciting arcs intertwined in a creative fashion and their dazzling dance was served by an immersive production. Visual effects were bloody good and a transition should even make you feel a little dizzy.

Supergirl intrigued us because of its black and white portrayal of Clark. Tom Welling's acting was impressive and I think his talent works like magic when it comes to duality. It's obvious he enjoys his darker scenes considering how much Clark Kent is a lot about being good. Cl mirrors D after all !

Isis was staged for the male audience. Erica Durance and Freeman were gorgeous in their respective roles. In this installment the first had a minor part but her scene with Oliver was touching and others were the occasion to see Lois like we never did before. As for the second she was a goddess among men. If you thought the actress was a libido magnet, well it's time to shake your body and soul because you'll be at the mercy of her drooling tex appeal. Sister Tess, we love you.

Harvest, angels and demons. Well balanced its writing should have been a model for Luthor. Indeed as much as I enjoyed it I think one arc overshadowed the other. Of course life is a shade of greys but you should be disappointed by the Watch Tower's incident ending. I was puzzled and starving for more. I thought I missed something but I didn't. A question of duration ? Obviously. Still the action was intense so maybe doubling it wasn't the solution. In fact it could even have a higher impact on you !

Ambush was anecdotic in my opinion and this tenth episode revealed its flaws even more. Indeed the identity handling was lazy because of Clark's careless excuses. Season 8 made us more careful about that specific element and in Luthor the Superman curse took a whole new meaning. It's not character development, it's persona quake. In the early beginning you should be as puzzled as some characters. I noticed a few glitches in the performances but overall they did a convincing job. But of course subjectively speaking Freeman and Welling's one was by far the most… dare I say it ? Non coco !

Abandoned and Patriot were lucky to have Granny Goodness, Aquaman & Mera as guests. But even their performers couldn't have prepared anyone to who appeared in Luthor. Harvest convinced me that anything can happen on the show, even the most inaccessible dreams. How can you resist the finale season of one of the most cult science-fiction TV production ? Nobody ! And like if it wasn't already enough the cliffhanger took things to a whole new level. The filming technique used was bold, modern and shattering. Uncle Sam wants you, and he's definitely not recruiting for the good of mankind !
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