Mortal

"Mortal" is the second episode in the fifth season of Smallville, and ninetieth episode overall. It aired on October 6, 2005.

Summary[]

Having been stripped of his powers, Clark tries to pursue a "normal" life. But when those closest to him are taken hostage, he is forced to recover a serum from LuthorCorp's Level Three and save the day without his superhuman abilities.

Recap[]

Mortal1 — Lex observes Lionel's catatonic state.

Lex is watching Lionel in his cell at Belle Reve. His expression is unreadable as Lionel wanders around in a straitjacket, unresponsive. Lex instructs the doctor to monitor Lionel at all times. As he exits the facility, he bumps into Tommy Lee, a man with electrical powers. The guard doesn't notice Lee's restraints deactivate. Lee overpowers the orderlies and escapes with twins who have the ability to create a powerful force field together. They ask where to and Lee replies Smallville.

Smallville's citizens are raising a barn with Clark and Jonathan's help. Jonathan asks Clark how he is doing and he says that he doesn't mind being sore or in pain. Chloe also asks how he's adjusting, saying that she believes his destiny is more than farm life. Clark insists that he is glad to be free of his Kryptonian destiny and it's worth it because he gets to be with Lana. Lana talks about how the world seems to be off of Clark's shoulders. Lex arrives to talk to Clark and says he hopes they can rebuild their friendship. Clark and Lana go to the Kent barn to retrieve supplies and they discuss their relationship, agreeing to put the past behind them. Clark is more relaxed around Lana now that he is human.

Mortal5 — Clark protests as Lee details his demands.

Mortal2 — Lana, Martha, and Jonathan are held hostage.

Lana and Clark are making out in his loft but he suggests they slow down because he wants their first time to be special. They are interrupted by the three fugitives. The twins blast Clark with a bolt of psychic energy, pinning him to the ceiling. Tommy Lee talks about how everybody in Belle Reve wants him and how he's a legend there. Clark tells him he's got the wrong guy. Lee responds that than he is going to have to kill him and his girlfriend.

Lex finds Chloe in the Kawatche Caves examining the altar and again questions her on how she made it to the Yukon. He tries to force her to tell him what she knows about what happened in the cave and about Clark's involvement and she counters that he knows more than he admits as well, because he is now claiming that the spaceship Lana saw was non-existent. She tells him to stop asking her questions or she will start asking him some of her own.

Back at the farmhouse Clark learns the Belle Reve escapees were part of an abandoned test group subjected to green kryptonite injections and have since become addicted to them. Eager for a fix, Lee devised a plan to make Clark Kent get it for them, having heard of his amazing feats. Jonathan and Martha drive up looking for Clark and Lee takes Lana hostage and tells Clark to get rid of them. Clark lies badly that Lana went to lie down, but his parents notice his shirt on inside-out and realize he's lying. They try to investigate but encounter the three fugitives, who take Jonathan and Martha Kent hostage, too, and send Clark to find the drug, or else they will kill his family.

Clark enlists Chloe's help and she takes him to LuthorCorp. She comes equipped with a trunkload of spy gear and they use her laptop to break into the building during the security shift change.

Inside the partially reconstructed Kent house, Sheriff Adams shows up. Lee takes Martha for leverage and sends Jonathan and Lana out to get rid of her. She tells Jonathan they found the car the convicts stole up the road and makes small talk for a few minutes.

Mortal3 — Clark and Chloe try to save the day without his superpowers.

Clark sneaks into the ventilation duct and communicates to Chloe through an ear piece. They snipe at each other for a bit and Chloe is incredulous when he lets slip that he told Pete about his super powers.

Back at the Kent farm, Sheriff Adams notices something is amiss. She leaves to call for backup; Tommy blasts her away and the Twins put up a forcefield.

Clark and Chloe locate the serum in the facility, but they cannot get through the room in which they are stored because the lock is only activated with Lex's thumb print. Chloe remembers that Lex picked up her flashlight during their confrontation in the caves. She and Clark lift a fingerprint off of the flashlight. However, the room is still crossed with security laser beams and when Clark reaches for it, they burn his arm.

Back at the farm the police can only wait impatiently on the other side of the twins' forcefield. Clark arrives and asks the sheriff to let him handle things. Clark gets inside and ends up fighting the fugitives with a sledge hammer and no super powers. He surprises them with Chloe's flash grenade (a graduation present from Lois), and dodges out of Tommy's energy blast so that it hits the twins. He shorts out the electricity with the hammer, disabling Tommy's powers, and floors him with a punch. The police arrest the three men.

Mortal4 — Clark and Lana share an intimate moment.

As they are being hauled away, Chloe arrives and congratulates Clark's heroic act. She also reveals that someone was watching them break into the facility. Lex is watching a security tape at the Mansion. He insists it is impossible when he sees Clark being burned by the security beam. He looks up and sees Clark standing in his doorway. Clark stalks into the room and punches him, knocking him to the floor. Clark demands to know what he promised the meteor freaks and tells him that if he wants to test him he should do it himself. Clark tries to punch him again but Lex punches Clark back. When Clark's split lip bleeds he asks Lex if he's satisfied.

Afterward, Clark goes to Lana's Talon apartment for comfort. He doesn't tell her about his and Lex's fight, but he talks to her about the uncertainty he feels, indirectly saying that he thought his life would be different or easier without his powers. Lana takes care of his wounds and they make love for the first time.

Cast[]

Mentioned[]

Featured Music[]

"A Message" - Coldplay

Title[]

Mortal is a term for a human being. "Mortal" means subject to death, in contrast to the deities, who are immortal.
In this episode, Clark experiences life as a "mortal" after being depowered by Jor-El.
Clark is also in mortal danger, as Tommy Lee and the Twins threaten not only his own life but also those of his girlfriend and his family.

Featured Super beings[]

Notes[]

Antagonist: Tommy Lee and the Twins
Clark uses no abilities in this episode because Jor-El stripped him of them.
Being stripped of his powers, Clark is unaffected by the Kryptonite he picks up while walking with Lana.
Though Clark has already lost his abilities six times (including this one), this is the only time that he doesn't have powers throughout an entire episode.
Lois Lane does not appear in this episode.
This is one of the only times since they were written off the show that Pete Ross, Jason Teague, and Alicia Baker have been mentioned. Unlike the latter two, Pete makes a return appearance in "Hero".
Tommy Lee's abilities in this episode are similar to that of Jeremy Creek from the "Pilot". Although one notable difference is that Tommy Lee needs to draw power from other electrical devices for his abilities to work, and Jeremy's are self-powered. Also, Tommy converts the electricity to some form of energy blast before discharge.
Sheriff Adams reports a "10-11" out at the Kent farm on her police scanner; this is the code for identifying a radio frequency. (Note that police codes, including 10 and 11 codes, although typically based on California codes, are not the same for every Law Enforcement agency.) [1]
John Glover does not have any lines in this episode.
Tommy Lee mentions that Clark's powers are often circulating topic within Belle Reve Sanitarium, considering how many people Clark has put away in there, this is not hard to believe.

Trivia[]

When the barn structure is being lifted, we may see a brief glimpse of a camera on the right of the truck. However, it's also possible that the tripod is part of the construction equipment and not filming equipment.
On the episode "Goodbye Love" (4x20) of fellow WB series Everwood, main characters (and platonic friends) Amy and Ephram are discussing what they want their first times to be like. Amy says she would rather just "get it out of the way." Ephram remarks that it "doesn't have to be all candles and Coldplay," but it should be special. In this episode, Clark and Lana lose their virginity to candles and Coldplay.
Kristin Kreuk's name in the opening credits is fixed as it was spelled "Kristen" in the season premiere.

Continuity[]

Clark mentions the time Pete found Clark's spaceship, which occurred in the Season Two episode "Duplicity".
This episode marks the end of Clark and Lex's friendship.
Nancy Adams was last seen in "Ageless".
Tommy Lee makes a reference to his extended stay in Level 33.1, which was first glimpsed at in Jinx.

Spoilers[]

The doctor treating Lionel also appears in the Season Six episode "Combat", where her name is revealed to be Dr. Albright.

Allusions[]

Tommy Lee calls the Twins Heckle and Jeckle, the names of two twin cartoon magpies popular in the 1950s.
Tommy Lee shares his name with a canonical Superman supporting character, who first appeared in Superman #362 (August, 1981). The character was a friend of Clark Kent and Lana Lang during their college years. Though, their shared name appears to be more of a coincidence than the character on Smallville being intended to be an adaptation of the Tommy Lee from the comics (who is Asian-American, and has a different relationship to Clark Kent). In the Season Nine episode Disciple, Lois Lane mentions another Tommy Lee, the drummer from the heavy metal band Mötley Crüe.
Towards the end of the episode, Sheriff Adams dubs Tommy Lee "Sparky". There have been several DC Comics characters who have gone by that name, including some Superman villains.

Quotes[]

Clark: (in pain) What do you want?!

Tommy Lee: What every freak in Belle Reve wants Clarky boy. (points at him) You!

Clark: This will only take a second.

Lana: (sits down) No hurry. I think I need a break anyway.

Clark: (picks up box) Found them.

Lana: (laughs) You know, sometimes taking your time isn't a bad idea.

Clark: (apologetically) Sorry.

Lana It's okay. Umm, we should probably be heading back anyway.

Martha: (to Clark) Why is your shirt on inside-out?

Clark: Chloe, where'd you get all this stuff?

Chloe: eBay.

Clark: Is that a flash bang grenade?

Clark: Are you sure this is gonna work?

Chloe: You got a better plan?

Clark: Well, I mean, normally I'd just rip open the door, then superspeed past the surveillance cameras and somehow open the vault or whatever with my... heat vision.

Chloe: So what you're saying is that now that you're human, you have absolutely no useful skills?

Clark: Not so much.

Chloe: Take your next left.

Clark: (pants; sighs)

Chloe: Come on Clark, left!

Clark: (crawling through ventilation ducts) I'm goin' in circles!

Chloe: No, you're not. It just feels that way because you're in a confined space with no visual markers.

Clark: This is impossible, it's a million degrees in here!

Chloe: Gosh, Clark, I didn't realize super-whining was one of your powers!

Clark: Pete was a lot better at pep talks in these situations.

Chloe: Pete!?

Clark: (hits his head) Ow!

Chloe: You told Pete your secret?!

Clark: I kinda had to-- he saw my ship.

Chloe: What?! Pete got to see your spaceship?!

Officer: What the hell is this, Sheriff?

Sheriff Adams: (sighs) Another day in Smallville.

Chloe: Can't you see if he can give you more time?

Clark: He's not a more time kind of guy.

Tommy Lee: I guess all the talk about you is true, kid---you really are outta this world.

Clark: You have no idea.

Sheriff Adams: (to Tommy Lee) Keep moving, Sparky!

Clark: I thought we could start over, Lex. But you're too obsessed with the past. With me! But I'm different now and I'm through playing games with you! You wanna test me? You wanna see what I'm really made of? Do it yourself, you coward.

Clark: (to Lana) After everything that's happened, I thought I knew what my life would be like now. I thought it... it would be easier. But I guess you can never be certain what's gonna happen tomorrow... can you?

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