"Transference" Technical Review & Recap!
Written by Tigress35

We open with Clark playing football. Is it a game, you ask? No! Clark is playing with the cows. They're lined up on the defensive line. Quite frankly, the cows are not enjoying themselves. They moo at Clark and don't make a move, so Clark dodges... nothing.

Poor Clark. No wonder he wanted a little brother. The cows are no fun. Clark throws the ball and hits a water bucket, splashing cool, refreshing water. A particularly offended cow moos, "Hey! That was my waterbucket you just broke, dumbass!"

Clark, however, pays no mind, and is deliriously happy with his false championship. Of course, you're never alone when you embarrass yourself on a TV show, so Jonathan and Jason show up behind him. It's probably a good thing they did-- those cows looked about to turn on Clark at any moment and kick him out of their pasture.

Jason lets Clark know that he could be up for a scholarship to Met U. Are you planning on taking the SATs at all Clark? Have you filled out any applications? You were supposed to do that last year.

Anyway, my friend reminds me that this is Smallville. I slap myself across the cheek to snap out of this 'logic mode' I was momentarily in.

How much you wanna bet that since it doesn't seem likely Clark will get the scholarship, thanks to Lionel, Lex is gonna set up a special scholarship just for him?

Clark hears that ringing sound again, that same one that called Clark to his boyfriend's plane twenty thousand feet in the air. Jonathan dismisses Jason, and Jason's all whatever and I assume that he makes it out of the pasture, and past the angry cows.

I think that sound is like the Dark Mark in Harry Potter. One day it just lights up n stuff and you apparate and you automatically know where to go. This must work the same way--Clark ends up knowing to run to the Kansas State Penitentiary.

And yay! This is a new sign, actually with a fairly specific name. So much better than that other lame establishing shot of Generic Prison Could Be Anywhere Sign. And this one is steel grey and creepy and much more mood setting appropriate than the other.

We also have a new jail interior-- and this one is sweet. I love the lighting and the colors here. We can read a lot into the master shot.

The objects in the set create lines to draw our attention to the center of the frame. The pole, the staircase, and the division between the rug and the floor all point toward the table where Lex and Lionel are sitting.

Aside from the prison suits, all the colors here are very cold-- mostly shades of grays and blues. There's also high contrast-- the light colors are very bright, and the dark colors are very dark. There are also light beams everywhere, and all of those have to be individually placed and manipulated. The blue line to the left of the frame and the beams of white light on the behind right wall are no accident. The table is also lit uniquely-- the frame of the table is dark, but the middle flat surface appears to have a spotlight hitting it. It looks damn cool.

Note that Lex is wearing the darkest clothes and is in the most shadow, which signals to us that-- at least around Lionel for now-- Lex is being pretty bad. We later learn that he's drained Lionel's bank account-- it's good to turn in your parent for murder, even if they are family, but you could at least leave him money so he can buy his way out of beatings each week (as we later learn Lionel has to do).

The other thing worth noting about Lex is his placement in the shot. Because of the angle and direction the camera is shooting Lex from, Lex is bigger in the frame than Lionel, which subtlety shows us that Lex is in a higher position of power than Lionel is right now. And indeed, at first Lex has all the power in the scene, and lets Lionel know it. I also believe that the staircase behind Lex adds a sort of optical illusion-- the way it is above Lex and then slopes down to Lionel seems to make Lionel appear even smaller in the frame than he actually is.

Needless to say, I adore this shot. I love this next one too:

I'm not entirely certain what is behind Lex (the door?) but the dark frame and the light interior makes it look awesome. If we were to look at Lex straight on, Lex would be perfectly centered in the light box. However, since we're not looking at him straight on, it looks off balance, which perfectly represents Lex's motives in Season 4 so far. We're not really sure where Lex stands. Additionally, Lex is set up as a villain figure in this scene, because the angle is ever so slightly canted. If you look at the box, the right side is lower than the left side, so the camera isn't entirely level. This type of shot angle is usually used with villains, among other things.

What's also nice is that Lex's body sort of splits the box-- on the left side, you can see bits of blue, but on the right side, it's all blown out into white. And of course, we can still see the spotlight on the table.

Having Lionel's shoulder so close to the camera also adds such depth to the shot-- we know that Lex is seated only two feet away, but it looks much farther than that. It enhances the feeling and idea of separation-- they're father and son, but so at war that they're incredibly distanced from each other, and the shot reflects this. This is all the same for the reverse shot, when the camera is on Lionel.

I can't really draw any profound meaning from it, but how cool is it that the two beams of light on the back wall form a shadow that hits the security guards shoulder? Perfect.

Lionel pretends to apologize to Lex and says he loves him, and holds out his hand. Now, having seen the extreme close up of Lionel's hand extended toward Lex, the spotlight over the table does more than just make the table look cool-- it lights up Lionel's hand (of course, they could have always lit his hand like that whether they had the light over the table or not). I like to think the light across the top of his fingers symbolizes hope. You could disagree, it's all subjective, but that's what I take away from it.

Lex hesitates, building some tension and giving Clark time to burst in, still holding his ear. The guard let's him in-- no, that's not a security issue, not at all. Clark runs over and knocks the table over (and Lex with it) just in time to prevent Lionel from shaking his hand with the thingy. And we get a bright slow motion lightshow to demonstrate their souls or whatever switching bodies. Conveniently, all the light in the jail is suddenly dimmed so we can see this better, but is back to normal when they break apart. I love 'Lionel's' poor pathetic cries for Lex. Oh, Clark. Your boyfriend can't help you now.

In the car at the Kent farm, Lex thinks Clark seems different. 'Clark' says the prison upset him. Awww. You poor thing. I know that's not really Clark talking, but I can't help but make fun of him anyway. Lex agrees with me, because he's all, duh, "It's not the happiest place on earth."

The next scene is highly amusing, in which 'Clark' has no idea he can lift the Forever Broken Tractor, and then discovers he can. All in front of a painfully obvious greenscreen, may I add. 'Clark' looks especially orgasmic, as he discovers this new power. I'm not surprised that Lionel would sexualize power.

What I find especially amusing is Jonathan's treatment of him-- slave labor much? Finally, I don't care how strong you are-- you can't balance a tractor perfectly horizontal by holding one end.

Cut to jail with 'Lionel' and many cave/mythology related drawings. We also meet his crazy roommate. We learn Lana's tattoo means water, and that Almost!Superman 8 symbol means air. So, Clark can fly. Does this mean Lana is supposed to be an exceptional swimmer? Is her death going be by drowning? Did she somehow cheat death when Emily II pushed her off that bridge? Will she melt into a puddle? Will she cry herself to death if someone abandons her again like her pancaked parents? Oh, the possibilities are endless!

Clark in Lionel, rather smartly, deduces that Framed!Cellmate was probably put in jail by Lionel so that the dude could help Lionel figure out all the symbols and math and whatnots. Unfortunately, Clark doesn't emphasize this to him, and Cellmate doesn't put two and two together either. Some mathematician you are. Cellmate also reveals that Lionel is dying. D'oh. Sucks to be you, Clark.

On a more serious note, this is a big deal for Clark. Clark never thought he would die, in fact, his worries were just the opposite, evidenced by the vision he had in Hourglass. Clark feared that everyone he loved would leave him, because he doesn't know if he could die or not. Not to mention the only thing that makes him sick or can kill him is kryptonite. So, this is the first time Clark has had to face mortality, and it's an additional motivation for him to have the urgency of switching back to his own body, aside from the horrors of jail and not knowing what damage Lionel could do with his superpowers.

Next scene: 'Clark' speaks French, shirtless, and checks out his own package, and likes what he sees. This scene is so disturbing. Mama Kent comes up the steps and 'Clark' calls her Martha, so she says that she knows he's a grown man but he still has to call her mom. This really creeped me out, because he's standing there half naked while she's talking about how he's almost a man. So creepy! And then he wants a hug and sniffs her hair, which turns him on so much that he eyejaculates out the window. I just... it's so disturbing. *shudders*

Then, we assume that 'Clark' figures out how to put out the fire, and completely ruins Clark's possible football career, refusing to go to practice when Jason stops by. Various moments of hilarity include 'Clark' slapping Jonathan's back when Jonathan did it to him, and using his quick wit to read Jason's coach nametag to figure out who he is.

Cut to 'Lionel' having to try and reason with Cellmate. The shape of the main prison room here is reminiscent of the set of Oz, except much more blue, since this is Smallville. Then 'Lionel' gets beat up. Poor Clark. He thought he could take them, but he couldn't.

Meanwhile, 'Clark' tries to access the LuthorCorp website. Lex changed the password, so he breaks off a corner of the desk. Duh, Lex changed it. That's not surprising. High security passwords should be changed regularly anyhow, so it wouldn't even have to be out of spite, although it is still smart. Chloe comes in and wonders about the desk, and 'Lionel' is a much better liar than Clark (not that that is any news) and says it was like that when he got there. The line delivery is so funny.

This scene, by the way, killed me. Absolutely killed me. I really thought that Lionel was just so horny that he'd go after any living thing he saw, but then, to seduce Chloe and deny her out of revenge... it really puts the magnificent in the bastard. I think Lionel was telling the truth about finding her fascinating and sexy, possibly even the bit about wanting her for a long time, and I was watching the scene going, "OMG, will they just kiss already, why are their lips not touching yet!" And then 'Clark' says, "Don't you wish." And that line delivery is utterly perfect and Chloe's subsequent reaction shot... those things combined just killed me and I really think my heart dropped into my stomach. I loved the scene because it was so evil and so good and I hated it because it was so evil and too good. Poor Chloe.

Cut to Lana, talking about her research paper, and they didn't ADR Kristen Kreuk's Canadian accent this time. Apparently this countess lady was a martyr but burned as a witch. Gah. Please do not equate Lana with a martyr. I don't want to see any storyline where she gives up her life for some greater good in the universe. Blech.

And, 'Clark' uses his superhearing to hear Jason and Lana talking. Which is a prime example of why they shouldn't be getting together in school if they don't want to be found out. Dumbasses. 'Clark' barges in on them kissing and talks about Lana being young and having needs. While thinking of Lana having needs is icky enough, it's even ickier knowing that this is being thought of by the brain of Lionel. Icky! Lana is understandably horrified.

'Clark' then goes to visit 'Lionel' in jail. I'm not a huge fan of this scene, because there are too many things to nitpick. First, 'Clark' x-rays 'Lionel's' hand to see the Magic Body Switching Stone. It took Clark a good bit to learn how to do that... one could argue that maybe it comes so easily to him now that Lionel could have no trouble using it, but I want to know how Lionel knew that he should focus on something to make the x-ray switch. This would have been okay if we had had a brief scene where Lionel accidentally discovered the x-ray vision. I understand that we're under time constraints in a 42 minute show, but it would have been cool to see that worked in-- I'm sure it could have been used for some creepy humor that would fit right in with the rest of the episode. The second reason why I wasn't a big fan of this scene is the cliche dialogue. "You won't get away with this!" "Oh, but I have!" Please.

Unfortunately, 'Clark' discovers that there's only $2.57 left. He crushes the cell phone in anger. Umm, Lionel? If $2.57 won't buy you another cell phone. Just sayin'.

Then Lana walks in, and the rest of the this scene is such gold. 'Clark' mutters, "This one." It may just be one of the best lines ever uttered on Smallville and I love the acknowledgement that not everyone finds Lana so enchanting and wonderful. No, clearly Lionel knows that she's hella annoying. He starts rolling his eyes as soon as she starts talking, obviously thinking that he has no time or interest in her drama. He tells her she'll "get over it."

But Lana keeps talking and 'Clark' paces with his hand on the back of his neck like he's incredibly annoyed and has an intense headache. Lana-- and this is the good part-- gets increasingly irritated that 'Clark' looks so distracted and isn't paying attention to her. Her tone gets angrier and her facial expressions get crosser. And all the while, she keeps talking about herself, until she actually tries to hurt Clark by telling him it's serious.

See, this is the reason that I despise Lana. She seems very sweet and wonderful, as long as you actually play into her need to have her ego stroked and have everyone think her problems are the worst in the world. And when you don't, she gets viscous. Her comment about it being serious with Jason wouldn't have been said if she was apologizing, like she came over with the pretense of doing. No, her apology turned into a rub when she saw that 'Clark' didn't care. So really, the only reason Lana came over was not because she felt truly apologetic, but because she wanted to just keep the drama alive and if Clark didn't react and reassure her guilty conscience the way she wanted him to, she became hurtful.

Fortunately, she's actually talking to Lionel, and so he says a sexual-like comment to her, and her virgin ears are deeply offended. Thank goodness Lionel was there to respond back in a way just as hurtful (to her).

Then Lana gets extremely pissed off because 'Clark' makes a move on her, and that I can understand her being upset about, because that was obviously non-consensual. But, you know, the irony of this is that 'Clark' really did tell her the truth-- that he was attracted to her and thought she was dumb for being with the high school football coach. And Lana still got pissed off at the truth, and she would have gotten pissed off if he had kept it from her. So, either way, Clark is screwed. He's definitely the one better off without her.

Next scene: Martha visits 'Lionel' in jail. At first she doesn't believe him, but 'Lionel' yells out a story about accidentally running into the woods. Martha then believes him, and that was just a little too easy, but yeah, gotta move the story along. Anyhow, 'Lionel' keeps talking loudly about the stone and the ringing. Clark, seriously, you're in a room with dozens of other people. They can hear you. Whisper or something.

Meanwhile, 'Clark' barges into Lex's study, wearing a purple shirt and black slacks. I don't know where Lionel would have gotten those-- not from Clark's closet, and not with $2.57. So, I can only conclude that, again, Lex accidentally left them over there one night.

Just as an aside, why is Lex still living in Smallville? I doubt he has to run the plant, I imagine that he can find someone else to do it. If I'm not mistaken, Lex is the head of LuthorCorp now. I would think that it would be easier for him to live in Metropolis. Considering that he's never seemed very fond of the castle in Smallville, I can only conclude that he's staying there because of Clark. Whether you want to see this as a Clexy thing or not, I think Lex is sticking close so that he can investigate Clark. Oh, Lex. You are so evil.

'Clark' then totally lets all pretenses go, because he needs the money that badly, and ends up threatening Lex and pinning him against the desk. Martha suddenly shows up with the kryptonite making the Spyro the Dragon sound effect yet again. But she's an idiot, because instead of keeping the rock on him, she goes over to help Lex and 'Clark' runs away. People in Smallville are so dumb.

'Clark' is already back at the Kent farm, and a warning call from Martha isn't enough to prevent Jonathan from getting tossed around the kitchen. Ouch. And again, the person under 'Clark's' wrath is saved when Cellmate calls and tells him he needs to see him.

Back to the jail! The Easter bunny line cracks me up, although I have to say, I really can't imagine Lionel saying that. I'm sure he'd thrown in some Greek mythology reference instead. The Easter bunny is much too pedestrian. Ah well.

Cellmate says the switch isn't permanent. Personally, I think he was lying, and that Clark got through to him. This would make sense, because then that would give a reason for 'Clark' to come into physical contact with 'Lionel' and 'Lionel' could have a chance at making the switch, and he's probably lying about the guards taking the rock.

'Clark' gets the idea of murder in his head just in time, because then the prison starts to gang up on 'Lionel' again. 'Lionel' actually does a halfway decent job of defending himself, considering he's weak with liver problems, and takes down the dude that's trying to stab him.

And just like in Oz, whenever a fight breaks out, "Lockdown!" echoes over the PA system. Nobody however, goes back to their cell. A few guards come in and the prisoners all beat them up. Some LAME rock music starts playing as a prisoner throws a guard over the railing. This just a seriously bad prison fight scene. Seriously bad. One prisoner dies elaborately, and there's suddenly a ton of paper and stuff all over the floor and everyone is fighting, even prisoners with other prisoners, to this bad rock music. This probably isn't supposed to be diegetic sound, but it sure adds to the cheese. The aforementioned two prisoners roll on the ground with each other, not even really fighting. And then 'Lionel' just wanders back into the scene, and isn't fought with or knocked down or anything. It's ridiculous.

I do, however, love the shot where 'Lionel' watches 'Clark' approach, and it cuts to a shot where we can only see 'Clark's' eyes pass through a space created. It's really cool. Then, 'Clark' walks past in slow motion, which makes him look like he's stalking. And it's hot.

'Lionel' holds out his hands to show he's not holding the rock, but turns out he was hiding it under his arm, and then lets it go into his hand. I find this very unlikely, even if when we saw him come back into the central room part of the prison, it was because he was going to get the Magic Body Switching Stone.

More colorful magic switching occurs. Sometimes, I wonder what Smallville would do if the Matrix had never been made. Their visual effects would not be the same, I think. Lionel's makeup is ghastly.

The SWAT team dudes come in, and throw in gas, and someone steps on the Magic Switching Stone, so it is lost for now. Surprise!

There's a weird shot where Lionel looks up at Clark, and he's all glowing in the gas clouds. Weird. I think I know what this is supposed to mean, but it's spoilery, I think.

Next scene: Clark is back in flannel. Boo! Clark learns that Lionel destroyed his life. Aww. And he wants the stone, because it fits in the Magic Puzzle in the cave. But, of course, Jonathan discourages it.

And oh, now Lionel is healed. The doctor looks like an aged Martin Sheen. Lionel says he's a changed man. It fits with the previous shot I described where Clark kinda looked angelic. Lionel looked like he was having an epiphany of some sort. In any case, boo on Lionel being healed.

Clark then catches up to Chloe in the hallway and starts a rambling apology. Chloe tells him he's used up his lifetime allotment and is tired of the convenient amnesia. I seem to recall that Chloe has had that once or twice herself, so that's a bit hypocritical, but yeah, Clark... I think you've apologized to Chloe enough. Chloe tells him he needs psychological help. Clark is all, 'nooo I don't'. Clark... if you're trying to make your friend forgive you, say, "Yes, Chloe, you're absolutely right. I'll look into some therapy." Don't argue with her about how she's wrong, okay?

Then Chloe tells him he's a crackhead, and Clark says, "Chloe, I don't do drugs!" I totally burst out laughing. Clark takes everything so literally or has no idea about slang. Or both. It's hilarious. And really, I loved the "This one" line, but this line is my favorite line of the episode. Forget about all the Lionel impersonations Tom Welling did in this episode, this is the best line delivery he's ever done. It's simply perfect. I love it to death. It also reminds me of one of the other great lines of Smallville, where Chloe previously said, "Clark Kent would have to be on drugs to do drugs." Hee. So much love.

Then, Lana is still pissy and insists on knowing if Clark has told anyone about her and Jason yet. But Clark doesn't know what the hell she's talking about, so Lana pulls him aside and talks about it in a normal tone of voice. Anyone can hear you! You're in the school! *sigh*

Next, Clark barges in on Lex, yelling for him. Dude, Clark, knock or something. Also, Lex is always in that room. It's not like you have to go shouting and looking for him. Honestly. Lex pulls a gun, and I'm sorta glad to see that. I'd get pissed if someone barged in on me like that. Clark proves it's really him and Lex hugs him. Clark is all, whatever. I think Tom Welling got his teeth whitened again. His fangs stand out even more! Just in time for Halloween.

Lex thanks Clark for intercepting the body switch. Clark says it's not anything Lex wouldn't have done. Lex just slaps his arm and smirks. Yeah, Lex totally wouldn't have. But he's gonna let Clark think he would. Clark begs for Lex to help Cellmate get released. Lex eventually acquiesces, and gives Clark a longing look.

Cellmate leaves and is picked up by Not!Swann Kidder. He gives her the Magic Body Switching Stone. Oh, the plot thickens.

Note: The views of Tigress35 don't necessarily represent the thoughts and feelings of everyone at KryptonSite.

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