Sure it’s another freak-of-the-week episode, but the series is still finding itself, and building its characters and narratives. Cool first aired on 13 November, 2001 and was written by Michael Green.

This time out, Sean (Michael Coristine) apparently drowns in ice-covered Crater Lake. At the bottom of that crater, kryptonite-infused rocks (as usual) which give Sean an unending need for heat, and some chilly abilities.

And to get some more heat, he freezes his girlfriend, absorbing her heat, and now has his eye’s set on Clark’s (Tom Welling) friend Chloe (Allison Mack).

But the series continues to move the characters and narratives forward. The Kents are having financial difficulties. Lex (Michael Rosenbaum) advances the idea of investing in the local farms, instead of having farmers like the Kents, take out another loan. Jonathan (John Schneider) is dubious of the Luthor name and track record, while Martha (Annette O’Toole) is a little more receptive.

And it also moves the Lana (Kristin Kreuk)/Clark story forward, or back. As they are about to go on a date, Radiohead (tickets provided by Lex), but has to stand her up to save his friends and family.

So that means she’ll be with Whitney (Eric Johnson) for a little while longer. Despite his screw-ups in their relationship.

By the end of the episode, everything and everyone converges on the Luthor home as Sean feeds on more and more energy.

Can Clark save the day without revealing his true nature to Lex? And where will he and Lana be, friendship/relationship wise?

Everybody gets a moment in this episode, including Pete (Sam Jones III), which is nice to see. Shows us that five episodes in, the series is focusing on its characters, even if the freak-of-the-week trope is still needed to move the story along (for now).

Hourglass first aired on 20 November, 2001. It was written by Doris Egan.

Lana, Pete and Clark are all working in the Companion Program, which puts them in an elderly home, befriending and chatting with the residents. Lana gets paired with Harry Bolston (George Murdock).

Harry has a secret however, he’s been hiding out in the rest home, stealing smokes, and evading his history – he was a convicted murderer. When he has an accidental fall in the local, meteorite-infested pond, he emerges as his younger self (Eric Christian Olsen). And he has a plan.

Harry wants to exact vengeance on the descendants of the jurors who sentenced him. And one of them is Jonathan Kent.

Clark is troubled when the resident he was talking to, Cassandra (Jackie Burroughs) claims to be able to see the future, and someone close to him will die. And of course, her powers are real, because they were brought on by kryptonite as well.

Lex also seeks out Cassandra as well for information on Clark. And we get a disturbing glimpse of his future.

There’s some nice character moments, like Lana discovering the Wall of Weird, and wondering how everyone sees her because of it. And Clark’s vision makes him fear he’ll outlive everyone he loves and be alone. Clark also discovers that Lex is checking him out, but doesn’t give it too much credence. They’re still friends.

Sure, it’s a freak-of-the-week episode, but there is definitely a noticeable shift of things towards developing character moments, and overall narratives. We see developments in the overall narrative, which includes the reveal to Clark by Lex, that he has the Porsche from the crash when they met.

The series is growing, and I’m loving every minute of it.