Kinetic was written by Philip Levens and first debuted on 26 February, 2002.

Lex (Michael Rosenbaum), Clark (Tom Welling) and Chloe (Allison Mack) are at the Luthor Mansion for an interview. But things go badly when a local gang, who have the ability to phase through walls show up to rob the place.

And because they are kryptonite-enhanced Clark has problems dealing with them. And poor Chloe gets very hurt.

And that’s all before the opening credits. So you can imagine Clark is determined to find out who’s in this gang. He also worries about the fact that he wasn’t able to help Chloe, which leads to a nice talk between he, Jonathan (John Schneider) and Martha (Annette O’Toole).

Oh, and guess who just joined the gang? Whitney (Eric Johnson). He’s lost his scholarship because of his focus on his ailing father. We learn that the gang has tattoos enhanced with kryptonite and they are eager to induct Whitney.

Lex doesn’t file a police report, which means there’s something in the items that were stolen that he doesn’t want public. And this is something the gang plans to exploit, which may put Lex in some serious trouble.

Oh, and Lana (Kristin Kreuk) is prepping the now closed theater, The Talon, into its new form as a new coffee shop. If she can make a deal with Lex.

It’s nice to see Whitney a little more involved in the story, and I like that Clark has some problems dealing with the fact that he can’t save everyone.

A solid episode with a hint of Lex’s darker side.

Zero first aired on 12 March, 2002. It was written by Mark Verheiden from a story by showrunners Alfred Gough and Miles Millar.

Lex and Lana are working together to create the new version of The Talon, a coffee shop in the theater space. But Lex is going to have some serious problems as his past comes back to confront him.

Club Zero has been mentioned a couple of times, and now we find out more about what happened there. Jude Royce (Corin Nemec!) arrives in Smallville and is stalking Lex. Apparently there was a shooting death at the Club the night Lex was there. Or at least that’s what the official report said. And now the truth is coming for Lex. Or is it someone masquerading as Jude?

Meanwhile, Chloe has begun digging into Clark’s past and his adoption as part of a class project (Clark gets Lana). Can Jonathan and Martha hold her off?

And speaking of the Kents all of their herd is killed off because of a poisoning caused by Luthor Corp – how much would you like to bet that Royce or whoever he is was behind it? But will that make a difference to Jonathan considering the opinion he already has of Lex?

And how much trouble will Lex be in by episode’s end? And what will Chloe do with her research into Clark’s adoption?

This is a great episode that moves the characters forward and fills out a past that has been referred to but unseen until now.