Smallville: Season 3 (2003)

 Originally Reviewed

Tuesday March 20, 2007

Season 3 takes a complete 180 degree turn from Season 2 as we begin to see Smallville get a little darker and grittier and everyone's life begins to take a complete down-slide. Clark must come face to face with the consequences of running off to Metropolis. Lex makes it off the island he crashed on only to be institutionalized by his father who makes him appear to be insane. Chloe is stuck under the thumb of Lionel Luthor, but has the necessary information to put him away although at the same time also potentially putting her life in danger. Pete begins to experience the negativity of knowing Clark's secret as his life is put in danger on countless occasions. Jonathan Kent begins to experience serious heart problems due to his bond with Jor-El which he made in an attempt to bring Clark back from Metropolis. And Lionel Luthor discovers he's on deaths door which makes him more dangerous and desperate than ever before! In my opinon Season 3 has the best story-lines in the series, even the side episodes which don't try to fit into the main plot of the season, turn out to be quite entertaining.
 

Character Development:

Clark Kent: Clark begins to experience the consequences of his irrational actions during his three month fling in Metropolis when he was hopped up on Red-K. His relationship with Lana, which had finally happened prior to him leaving, was now pretty non-existent, and he now has renowned crime boss Morgan Edge on his back. Throughout the rest of the season Clark begins to get that much closer to discovering the truth behind his past, though the closer he gets the more it seems to have a negative effect on the lives of those around him.

Lex Luthor: After his plane crashed on a deserted island Lex probably didn't believe his life could get much worse, but it was about to. In his return he discovers his father had setup his meeting with the woman he ended up marrying, the woman that tried to kill him in a plane crash. This leads Lex to progress the family feud to an even greater level. He discovers that his grandparents had been killed in fire before he was born and that his father and Morgan Edge were the ones responsible. In an attempt to get his father put in prison Lex makes a deal with Edge to confess to the murders, but Lionel soon gets wind of Lex's plan and begins to make Lex appear insane. After Lionel has Lex committed and his memory of the past couple of months erased Lex spends the rest of the season attempting to get back the months of his life his father stole from him.

Lana Lang: Growing tired of the small-town life and the ups and downs of her failed relationships Lana has begun to not be so open to heartbreak. The breakup with Clark hurt worse than anything else due to the fact he refused to be honest with her and kept pushing her away even though at times it was clear Clark really did care for her. Near the end of the season she finally begins to come to grips with her emotions and makes an attempt to break free of Smallville.

Chloe Sullivan & Pete Ross: Chloe's decision at the end of Season 2 in agreeing to help Lionel dig into the past of Clark Kent turns out to be a major mistake on her part. While it got her an internship at the Daily Planet, it also locked her into the demands of Lionel Luthor. In an attempt to get out of her position Chloe is able to obtain Lionel’s confession to the murder of his parents, but blackmailing a Luthor isn't a wise move. With Chloe's life now on the line she turns to the only person who can protect her...Lex. As for Pete Ross, he's quickly learning that being the cover-man for Clark Kent's secret isn't all he expected it to be. Eventually Pete's life is put on the line because of his knowledge of Clark; it's all too much from him to bear.

Lionel Luthor: This season Clark and the mysterious caves become Lionel’s obsession. While Lex is off attempting to dethrone Lionel by recovering his lost memories, Lionel is attempting to open the secrets that lay within the mysterious underground caves. Much like Lex, Lionel believes Clark Kent knows much more than he leads on about, and the secrets that live inside the cave walls could mean life or death for Lionel.

Top 5 Episodes :

Aired 1/14/04

Lionel has Lex admitted to Belle Reve and schedules him for a highly deadly shock therapy in hopes of erasing Lex's memories of the past few months but the result could potentially fry his brain. Clark plans on breaking Lex out before the procedure begins but runs into trouble when he reunites with a few fellow meteor infected classmates he helped put in Belle Reve.

Aired 4/28/04

Lex is being haunted by the memories of his youth, specifically ones involving his younger brother Julian, who died as a baby. These flashbacks of his youth all seem to be linked to an experimental treatment he is undergoing at the Summerholt Institute which is supposed to help recover the last few months of his life that his father had erased. But instead of recovering those past months Lex remembers the truth behind the death of brother, a secret kept buried inside of him for so long that he had forced himself to forget. Clark attempts to prevent Lex from going through with the treatment but falls into a trap set by Lionel.
 

 Aired 11/19/03

Morgan Edge returns from the grave but has had a total facial reconstruction done and now looks and sounds like a completely different person. Lex finds him and coerces him into confessing to having assisted his father in the murdering his grandparents years ago. After that Lex's life is suddenly turned upside down and he believes someone, possibly his father, is out to kill him. The video tape confession of Morgan Edge is stolen   and there is no evidence of an attack on him at the Luthor mansion. It all seems like an elaborate plan to make Lex look mentally unstable, but Clark believes Lex is telling the truth only helping him get to the bottom of it ends up putting Lana's life in danger and revealing his secret.

Aired 10/01/03

After Season 2's shocking conclusion Clark's guilt leads him to Metropolis on a long term Red-K high, and there's no stopping Kal-El. Clark's Red-K alter ego leads him to a life of crime and gets him mixed up with Morgan Edge, Metropolis's leading crime boss, who hires Clark to steal something from Lionel Luthor, something that turns out to be a vial of Clark's own blood! Lana goes to Metropolis in an attempt to bring Clark back and is furious at Chloe whose known where he was at the entire time. Jonathon Kent makes a deal with Jor-El in an attempt to bring Clark back and Lex tries to stay alive and escape the island he's been stranded on for 3 months.

Aired 5/19/04

A girl claiming to be from Krypton arrives at Clark's doorstep claiming she was sent to bring him to Jor-El to prepare him for the next stage of his journey. Lionel informs Lex he's dying from a rare liver disease, Clark terminates his friendship with Lex when he discovers Lex has continued to investigate him after he claimed he had stopped. Lana moves to Paris, Clark agrees to follow Jor-El to save the life of Jonathon Kent, and a handful of main characters meet their possible doom at the hand of Lionel Luthor whose still able to pull strings even behind bars. 

 9/10