Latest Smallville Episode
Passing over the silly fun that was shirtless, poisoned, flash-backing Ollie...Again, I have to comment on what's going on with Chloe. Am I the only one thinking the idea behind it is inherently problematic?
I've said it here before, and others have brought it up elsewhere as well, but Chloe has a very Oracle-like role in Smallville. She's gifted at research and hacking, and has time and time again been Clark's biggest help in solving mysteries and whatnot. There was even that Justice League-ish episode where she was guiding the superpowered and/or costumed heroes through a Lexcorp facility, in front of a screen and sporting a headset. I think she may have even referred to herself or her position as "Clocktower", given that she was in Ollie's penthouse with the giant clock.
Currently, there's a subplot going on where Brainiac infected Chloe with something that's giving her a new power, that of superhuman intelligence. She's suddenly an expert in organic chemistry and can read, process and retain vast amounts of data at an incredible rate.
Now, in the comics there was a plot where Oracle was infected with a Brainiac virus that gave her the ability to interface and directly communicate (psychically, I guess?) with computers and technology. Barbara Gordon, however, was already an extremely intelligent person. She was already an expert when it came to information, computers, and using technology, not to mention a couple of graduate degrees under her belt and a near-perfect memory, making her a fountain of all kinds of knowledge.
Chloe, while skilled and kick-ass in her own right, is not Barbara Gordon. And whatever Brainiac did to her is not giving her an extra ability, it's enhancing something she already had.
At one point in the most recent episode (#3 of season 8, "Toxic"), Clark starts to realize something's changed about Chloe, and bursts out: "Chloe, you're getting smarter, AREN'T YOU?" (which sent me into a fit of giggles, but that's not an unusual occurrence for me when watching Smallville).
Maybe I'm placing judgement on this plot too soon, but I can't see any way for it to conclude in such a way that doesn't somehow involve Chloe returning to her previous level of intelligence and not have it feel like the same kind of let down we saw with Donna at the end of the fourth season of Doctor Who. You know what I mean, the whole "OMG, her BRAIN can't HANDLE all the SMARTNESS!" thing.
Even if it concludes reasonably and in a way that makes sense, even if it ends with Chloe shrugging her shoulders and continuing on being plucky and determined, it'll still feel like the underlying message is "stay down, stay dumb". And that doesn't sit right.