Smallville: Season 1, Episode 8 "Jitters"

 Smallville: Season 1, Episode 8 "Jitters"

December 11, 2001

Much better than the last episode, there is much to like about “Jitters.” We finally get to see the good ol’ city of Metropolis. No Daily Planet, but we receive more information about the Luthor Corporation. In addition, the villain of the week really is not a villain in the sense we have seen before. Up to this point, villains on the show have been kryptonite-infused angsty teens with murder as their only solution to their problems. Here, Tony Todd’s character is a person close to the Kent family and you can at least sympathize with his actions and rationale. Also, we get a bloody good storyline between Lex and his father. Lex wants to stay away from his super-villain future, but it seems like that can be difficult at times. Of course, Lionel makes a great villain and John Glover plays him incredibly well.

In this episode, Earl Jenkins is a former LutherCorp employee and also used to work at the farm with the Kents. He is suffering from this mysterious disease which creates violent body revulsions. When Clark is throwing a party with his parents out of down, Earl comes to the farm and tells Clark the disease has spread too far. He said it was the result of an explosion at the Smallville’s Level Three plant which was experimenting with meteor-rock fertilizer. Problem is…it does not exist. In order to prove he is right, he breaks into the plant and takes a class touring the plant hostage. Lex stays behind to help free the hostages as does Clark to learn more about this Level Three, which Lex denies even existing. On the other hand, Lionel may know a thing or two about this Level Three.

Overall, this a fantastic episode with excellent performances all around. There is no villain we have seen before in the series like Earl. His ending is even somewhat open-ended, so I would not be surprised if he appears on the show again somewhere down the line. This Lex-centric episode has me wondering about his future. In the early going, Michael Rosenbaum is showing the capability to become the best Luthor in any portrayal. There is so much depth to his character.

My Grade: A


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