Smallville, Season 9 Episode 4, 'Echo'

Show: Smallville
Episode: 9.04 'Echo'
Airdate: Friday, October 16, 2009 on the CW

Do you have ESP? Can you read my mind? Probably not but Clark Kent gets a temporary front row seat to our thoughts as he undergoes the first of Jor-El's trials. Saving a warehouse of people from being blown up by a bomb, Clark picks up his new [but temporary] ability. Gaining access to only Lois' thoughts at first, Clark is let in on Lois' secret thoughts about him - and his body. Soon after learning this is a trial set up by his father, Clark is able to read everyone's mind.

While he does use this new ability to get to the truth in the investigation of the warehouse explosion, our hero does use it to make a certain woman in his life feel better. Starting with stealing the last doughnut for a down-in-the-dumps Lois, Clark continues to read her thoughts and in turn asks her out to dinner - but not a date, just like a date. But of course, with his responsibilities of being the Blur, Clark is forced to stand up Lois on their plans when he learns that Toyman was behind the warehouse explosion and is out for revenge on Oliver Queen for framing him for the death of Lex Luthor.

Having tracked him down in Mexico, Tess ropes Oliver into addressing their shareholders because stocks for their company have fallen far below Oliver's ego. While giving his speech, Oliver is payed a visit by Toyman via a listening piece and a teleprompter. Told he is standing on a pressure plate over a bomb, Oliver is forced to read a speech confessing all his sins - ending on the truth behind Lex's murder. Just when Clark realizes what's going on, his ability is taken away and he must use what he's learned to find Toyman. Clark calls upon Chloe's help to get the people out of the room at which point he finds Toyman. Clark finally gains understanding of human behavior and reveals that Toyman didn't even attend the event and the bomb was not triggered by a pressure plate but a timer.

Not having confessed to murder, Oliver hits rock bottom as he steps off the supposed pressure plate after everyone had left the building. Seeing this, Clark realizes he should have given more attention to his friend and gives Oliver his word that he'll be there for him. So the danger is done, a friendship is on the mend, andToyman is in solitary with a new toy to work on courtesy of Tess Mercer...but will Clark Kent get a second chance at a date [or like a date] with Lois Lane after having messed things up so badly?

All sides of Tess Mercer were shown throughout this episode, from her soft-spot for Oliver to her scary-as-all-hell side confronting Toyman. Cassidy Freeman really stepped up her game and delivered a fearsomely good performance. All members of the cast, in fact, are giving some of their greatest performances in the show's history this season. Although, I personally wish that Allison Mack's talent would be foregrounded a little more in her role as Chloe Sullivan.

Chloe has always had a story line in each season and now just seems to be there without any obvious purpose. She is WatchTower which holds an infinite amount of interesting plotlines but with the Justice League separated dealing with the guilt over the death of Jimmy Olsen, there is not much she can do as WatchTower. We have seen Chloe keeping tabs on them but until we see them pull out of their depressions, I fear Chloe's character might fade out. She may be the only non-comic book character of the show but that alone is why she is an interesting character - no one knows her fate. So I truly hope her story line picks up in the coming episodes because I would hate to see such a great character be put on the sidelines.

Alright, back to this episode. While I still think 'Rabid' is the best of the season so far, this episode had me smiling the whole time. Every episode so far has been fun to watch but this episode added depth to characters we haven't gotten much screentime with. 'Smallville' has the unique ability to find the balance of fun and drama while still pushing the narrative forward with each new episode. I don't know if it's because Tom Welling is now a co-executive producer but this season has a whole new feel to it and it's got me hooked more than ever. I give this episode a 5/5.

Preview for 9.05 'Roulette':