Smallville 7.14 "Traveller"
Not on strike (obviously).
Lana disappearing = WTF!
Everything else = Yay!
(ETA: I immediately thought Lex was planning on subjecting Kara to the Summerholt procedure from "Memoria"?" I loved all the continuity nods this episode!)
LIONEL...Going beyond the CW's "Smallville Legends:Justice and Doom" promotion from last year, this episode officially retcons Lionel as having known the first meteor shower would bring an inter-galactic 'traveler' since the very beginning of the series. (The Queens disappearance was The Daily Planet headline on the day of the meteor shower in "Pilot". I wonder if they were looking for the FoS stones...) That's a HUGE change to Smallville's canon. Not only was Lionel aware the shower would happen before it did, apparently his interest in the town can be traced to that knowledge. He chose Smallville for it's connection to Kal-El, and he brought his son with him on his mission to recover him. Perhaps, he even connected the dots with Clark's shady adoption, and patiently bided his time until he sent Lex to Smallville. It makes his manipulation and ultimate betrayals even worse, IMO.
Since Smallville's so notoriously bad with continuity, I tried checking older episodes to see if this contradicts anything we've learned before about Lionel and his suspicions, and I can't find anything. It did immediately bring to mind Lionel's scene with Virgil Swann in "Legacy" that never seemed to make any sense in the rest of Smallville continuity. I think they may have just made some small sense of it:
Smallville 3.17 "Legacy" TWIZ transcript
Act 1 Scene 5
Outside shot of Virgil Swann's enormous building. Day. Inside, Lionel waits in a large room looking out the window. Dr. Swann enters the room in his wheelchair. Lionel turns to him.
Swann: Corporate titans don't often show up on my doorstep unannounced.
Lionel: (Laughs quietly. He seems respectful, even nervous.) I, uh, I apologize for surprising you like this, Dr. Swann, but, uh, it's a matter of some urgency.
Swann: I've been wondering how long it would take for you to finally walk through the door.
Lionel: Then you, uh, obviously know why I'm here.
Swann: (Calmly.) I think perhaps you've been reading my e-mails to Clark Kent. Am I correct?
Lionel: (Chuckles.) My transgression doesn't seem to upset you. I'm glad.
Swann: I'm a scientist. I find curiosity to be a most admirable trait.
Lionel: Dr. Swann, I am the conservator of the Kawatche caves. If you can tell me what is written on the cave walls, I would agree to hand over that conservancy to your foundation.
Swann: Well, thank you, but I'm afraid I can't help you. The language remains a mystery to me.
Lionel: Are you aware that, uh, at one time there was an octagonal keyhole on the wall of the cave? It was sealed for months. Then it reopened suddenly just after our young friend Clark had been down there.
Swann: (Jokingly.) Oh, then you don't need me. You need a locksmith.
Lionel: (Laughs.) All right, but, uh, the key to that lock was in my possession. But it was stolen from my safe. Again, Clark was present.
Swann: So now you believe that he has it.
Lionel: He trusts you. Would you be willing to talk to him? (Swann lowers his eyes.) Such a small price to pay in exchange for the answers you've been searching for.
Swann: Yes, well, I know what I'm after. But what do you expect to find?
Lionel hesitates. He can't bring himself to answer.
Swann: You're dying.
Lionel: (Startled.) How do you know that?
Swann: As I said, curiosity is an admirable trait.
Lionel walks closer to Dr. Swann. When he speaks, his voice is soft and earnest.
Lionel: Dr. Swann, I know that what can save my life is locked within the wall of that cave.
Swann: I believe in the extraordinary, in the possibilities it holds. But I prefer to follow my own path.
Lionel steps back, realizing he has just been refused.
Lionel: All right. Thank you for your time, Doctor.
Lionel starts to leave and stops when Dr. Swann speaks again. Dr. Swann doesn't turn around when he speaks and Lionel doesn't turn around either. Their backs are to each other.
Swann: Even if you had the key, you have no idea what would happen if you put it into the lock.
Lionel: I'd be willing to take that risk.
Swann: Mm-hmm. Then perhaps there is an arrangement we might make.
Lionel finally turns back to Dr. Swann, who looks thoughtful. He is obviously planning something.
Fade to black.
Apparently, he didn't know Virgil Swann could read Kryptonian, he couldn't prove definitively the 'traveler' was Clark, so its still unclear which season he realized that. At any rate, I found the changes interesting and I'm glad they're now 'official'. Plus, Clark's verbal smackdown of Lionel was incredibly satisfying.
Lana disappearing = WTF!
Everything else = Yay!
(ETA: I immediately thought Lex was planning on subjecting Kara to the Summerholt procedure from "Memoria"?" I loved all the continuity nods this episode!)
LIONEL...Going beyond the CW's "Smallville Legends:Justice and Doom" promotion from last year, this episode officially retcons Lionel as having known the first meteor shower would bring an inter-galactic 'traveler' since the very beginning of the series. (The Queens disappearance was The Daily Planet headline on the day of the meteor shower in "Pilot". I wonder if they were looking for the FoS stones...) That's a HUGE change to Smallville's canon. Not only was Lionel aware the shower would happen before it did, apparently his interest in the town can be traced to that knowledge. He chose Smallville for it's connection to Kal-El, and he brought his son with him on his mission to recover him. Perhaps, he even connected the dots with Clark's shady adoption, and patiently bided his time until he sent Lex to Smallville. It makes his manipulation and ultimate betrayals even worse, IMO.
Since Smallville's so notoriously bad with continuity, I tried checking older episodes to see if this contradicts anything we've learned before about Lionel and his suspicions, and I can't find anything. It did immediately bring to mind Lionel's scene with Virgil Swann in "Legacy" that never seemed to make any sense in the rest of Smallville continuity. I think they may have just made some small sense of it:
Smallville 3.17 "Legacy" TWIZ transcript
Act 1 Scene 5
Outside shot of Virgil Swann's enormous building. Day. Inside, Lionel waits in a large room looking out the window. Dr. Swann enters the room in his wheelchair. Lionel turns to him.
Swann: Corporate titans don't often show up on my doorstep unannounced.
Lionel: (Laughs quietly. He seems respectful, even nervous.) I, uh, I apologize for surprising you like this, Dr. Swann, but, uh, it's a matter of some urgency.
Swann: I've been wondering how long it would take for you to finally walk through the door.
Lionel: Then you, uh, obviously know why I'm here.
Swann: (Calmly.) I think perhaps you've been reading my e-mails to Clark Kent. Am I correct?
Lionel: (Chuckles.) My transgression doesn't seem to upset you. I'm glad.
Swann: I'm a scientist. I find curiosity to be a most admirable trait.
Lionel: Dr. Swann, I am the conservator of the Kawatche caves. If you can tell me what is written on the cave walls, I would agree to hand over that conservancy to your foundation.
Swann: Well, thank you, but I'm afraid I can't help you. The language remains a mystery to me.
Lionel: Are you aware that, uh, at one time there was an octagonal keyhole on the wall of the cave? It was sealed for months. Then it reopened suddenly just after our young friend Clark had been down there.
Swann: (Jokingly.) Oh, then you don't need me. You need a locksmith.
Lionel: (Laughs.) All right, but, uh, the key to that lock was in my possession. But it was stolen from my safe. Again, Clark was present.
Swann: So now you believe that he has it.
Lionel: He trusts you. Would you be willing to talk to him? (Swann lowers his eyes.) Such a small price to pay in exchange for the answers you've been searching for.
Swann: Yes, well, I know what I'm after. But what do you expect to find?
Lionel hesitates. He can't bring himself to answer.
Swann: You're dying.
Lionel: (Startled.) How do you know that?
Swann: As I said, curiosity is an admirable trait.
Lionel walks closer to Dr. Swann. When he speaks, his voice is soft and earnest.
Lionel: Dr. Swann, I know that what can save my life is locked within the wall of that cave.
Swann: I believe in the extraordinary, in the possibilities it holds. But I prefer to follow my own path.
Lionel steps back, realizing he has just been refused.
Lionel: All right. Thank you for your time, Doctor.
Lionel starts to leave and stops when Dr. Swann speaks again. Dr. Swann doesn't turn around when he speaks and Lionel doesn't turn around either. Their backs are to each other.
Swann: Even if you had the key, you have no idea what would happen if you put it into the lock.
Lionel: I'd be willing to take that risk.
Swann: Mm-hmm. Then perhaps there is an arrangement we might make.
Lionel finally turns back to Dr. Swann, who looks thoughtful. He is obviously planning something.
Fade to black.
Apparently, he didn't know Virgil Swann could read Kryptonian, he couldn't prove definitively the 'traveler' was Clark, so its still unclear which season he realized that. At any rate, I found the changes interesting and I'm glad they're now 'official'. Plus, Clark's verbal smackdown of Lionel was incredibly satisfying.