Rogue debuted on 15 January, 2002. It was written by Mark Verheiden.

This time, it looks like Clark (Tom Welling) is in some real trouble, cause there’s nothing worse than a dirty cop. In this case it’s Sam Phelan (Cameron Dye) who stumbles onto Clark’s secret.

Phelan attempts to blackmail Clark into stealing some internal police files that don’t paint a good picture of him. Clark refuses, so Phelan ups the ante. He frames Jonathan Kent (John Schneider) for murder and will see to it that he faces the full force of the law, unless Clark breaks into LuthorCorp for him.

This is very much not a freak of the week episode, and is more about putting Clark and his secret front and center. it’s got some really solid moments, and is building a mythology for the series.

The character beats are growing stronger for the series, there are some great things with Clark and Lex (Michael Rosenbaum) and the development of the potential romance between Lana (Kristin Kreuk) and Clark. And Chloe (Allison Mack) loses her position at the school’s newspaper, The Torch, because Principal Kwan (Hiro Kanagawa) doesn’t like the stories Chloe is posting. Things get rough for her, when Lana is made the new editor after she pleads Chloe’s case, and that goes sideways for everyone.

And we have Clark in Metropolis for the first time. Lex shows he is shrewd and manipulative as we see him rekindling a relationship with the lovely Victoria (Kelly Brook) for his own purposes. He is also eager to find out what Phelan has on Clark – good thing the dirty cop doesn’t make it through the episode.

This is a great character-driven episode. The series is really coming along nicely. Narratives are being set up, and character arcs are working so well.

Shimmer sees the Victoria arc continue. Written by Verheiden and Micheal Green this episode debuted on 29 January, 2002.

The story gives us a freak of the week story in the form of Amy Palmer (Azura Skye).

Questions arise when Lex and Victoria are attacked by an unseen presence. Suspicion falls on the Palmer family, who work in the Luthor mansion.

Chloe thinks Amy is the most likely suspect, as she seems to be harboring a bit of a crush on Lex. But is it possible that the threat comes from her meagre brother, Jeff (Birkett Turton)?

All through the Victoria arc, there is the romance angle, but Lex is also working a business angle and as mentioned, has his own plans at work.

Sure the freak-of-the-week stuff continues, but there’s some really nice character work in this story as well. Oh, and Lionel Luthor (John Glover) shows up again! And Lana and Clark were so close to that first kiss, but now that line of friendship has been crossed, but how receptive will she be to the progression?

And why is Whitney (Eric Johnson) so distant with Lana lately anyway? Personal tragedy is striking at home. And Clark feels bad about moving in on Lana because of it.

The character stuff in this is great. The freak of the week, enh.