Duplicity

## "Duplicity"Season 02, Episode 03

**"Duplicity"** is the third episode of Season Two of The CW's *Smallville*. It was written by Todd Slavkin & Darren Swimmer and directed by Steve Miner. It is the twenty-fourth episode of the series overall, and premiered on October 8, 2002.

## Synopsis

After Clark's friend Pete discovers Clark's spaceship in the cornfield, Clark goes against his parents' wishes and reveals his secre}, but is shocked when the reaction he gets makes him question his friend's loyalty.

## Recap

Dr. Steven Hamilton arrives at the Luthor Mansion, twitching uncontrollably. He complains about the problems he is having doing his research. Seeming even more unstable, Dr. Hamilton leaves and causes a traffic accident in which a van goes off the road and overturns into a cornfield. Pete Ross comes upon the scene just as Dr. Hamilton speeds away. Pete runs into the field to check on the other driver and finds him staring at a spaceship.

Clark is shooting hoops when Pete pulls up and asks Clark to borrow his father's pickup to get the spaceship. Clark wants to bring it back to his house, but reluctantly agrees to store it in Pete's tool shed because he can't come up with a reasonable excuse. Pete wants to call Chloe so she can write an article and make them famous, but Clark convinces Pete to keep quiet until they investigate further.

Lionel tells Lex that since his therapy is going so well, his doctor gave him a break, so he came for some bonding time. Lex tries to wiggle out of it without actually saying he doesn't want his father there, but eventually gives in.

At the Talon, Aunt Nell is smooching with her new boyfriend, Dean, an insurance adjuster she met after the tornado. When Chloe Sullivan walks in, she has to make up a lie that she and Lana were together last night. In reality, Lana spent the night at the Talon because she didn't want to be around Nell and Dean. Chloe assures Lana that she can come over any time she likes.

Jonathan suggests to Clark that they try to steal his ship back, but Clark tries to convince them that he should just tell Pete the truth. Martha advises that the burden of his secret might be something Pete is not ready to bear.

Dr. Hamilton hears about a man who claims to have seen a spaceship in a cornfield-- Ray Wallace, the same man he ran off the road. Hamilton knows the ship is no longer in the cornfield and demands answers from Ray. Ray tells him that Pete Ross pulled him out but when he recognizes Dr. Hamilton, he kills Ray with a lethal dose of morphine. Clark and Jonathan arrive at Pete's tool shed but the ship is gone. Pete sees them drive away.

The next morning, Pete accuses Clark of stealing and lying about it. Clark tries to make excuses but Pete is unconvinced and drives off. Clark hesitates a moment and then makes a decision. Pete glances at Clark through the rearview mirror and suddenly Clark is right in front of him, stopping the car with his bare hands.

After Clark has told Pete his secret, Pete is hurt that Clark did not trust him and storms away.

In his barn, Dr. Hamilton is frantically trying to open the spaceship when he discovers a space which reminds him of a piece he found during the excavation of Miller's Field. He goes to the mansion to retrieve the disc from Lex, but Lex no longer has it. On his way out, Hamilton runs into Lionel in the corridor and persuades him consider funding his research. Guiding Lionel's hand around the ship, Dr. Hamilton tells him about the missing piece. Lionel promises that when Hamilton finds it, he might get his funding.

Clark tries to talk to Pete, but he is still angry. Chloe wants to interview Pete for his heroic actions at the accident site. She asks if Pete can corroborate Ray's claim of a spaceship. Pete does so sarcastically, and Chloe takes it as a joke. That afternoon, Clark finds Lex at the farm. Lex wants to be out of the house and away from his father; he also mentions the "paperweight" missing from his desk, to which Clark feigns ignorance.

In the evening, Clark finds Lana in his loft, spying on Aunt Nell and Dean. Clark tries to tell Lana about Pete, but he can't go into details, and Lana becomes annoyed, especially after she tells Clark about breaking up with Whitney. Clark encourages her to tell Nell how she feels about Dean. Lana takes Clark's advice and makes a date with Nell to discuss her feelings for Dean. Nell seems sympathetic, but then she tells Lana that she has accepted Dean's proposal.

Pete finds Hamilton searching his tool shed. When threatened, Pete accidentally blurts out something about the ship's owner. Newly determined, Hamilton kidnaps Pete and hauls him back to his barn.

The Kents discuss ways to retrieve the spaceship and Clark admits that he and Pete aren't speaking. Jonathan and Martha are shocked when Clark says he told Pete his secret. Jonathan says Clark has worsened the situation when Martha gets a call from Mrs. Ross; Pete has gone missing.

Pete is bound, trying to backpedal and say he just made up what he said about the ship's owner, but Hamilton doesn't believe him. He believes he is dying from prolonged exposure to the meteor rocks, but he is determined to establish himself as a credible scientist before he dies.

Lex walks in while his father is listening to Dr. Hamilton's research notes on the meteors, using a device that reads typewritten pages. Lex reveals that he spoke to Lionel's doctor, who in fact advised Lionel not to skip any more therapy sessions. Lionel speaks bitterly about the humiliation of being treated as a helpless object. Lex asks if this is also the reason behind his new fascination with aliens. Lionel tells Lex to go see what Hamilton has.

Chloe provides Clark with the link between Hamilton, the accident and Pete, so Clark rushes off to investigate Hamilton. Hamilton is about to inject Pete with a green liquid, telling him that it will cause the same tremors that he has. Pete bravely refuses to say anything. Clark bursts through the door just as he's lowering the needle.

Using his heat vision, Clark destroys the needle then throws Hamilton across the room. He tries to free Pete, but the meteor rocks all around the barn overcome him. Hamilton overhears a Clark tell Pete he's allergic to the meteor rocks and grabs a beaker of the liquid. He screams for Clark to tell him how to open the ship and threatens to pour the contents of the beaker on him, when Pete hits him over the head. As he falls, he knocks some of the meteor liquid onto himself and begins to have a violent seizure. At Clark's request, Pete tries to help him, but he dies.

After returning the ship to the Kents' storm cellar, Pete says he now understands why Clark hid the truth for so long. Clark explains to Pete that he couldn't have just let Hamilton die to protect his secret any more than he could have let Pete.

Lex and Lionel arrive at the barn; the spaceship is gone, so Lionel says he plans to stay in Smallville a while longer and investigate and Lex appears ready to help.

Clark and Pete play a game of super-powered basketball, and Clark proves that white aliens can jump.

## Cast

* Kristin Kreuk as Lana Lang
* Michael Rosenbaum as Lex Luthor
* Sam Jones III as Pete Ross
* Allison Mack as Chloe Sullivan
* John Glover as Lionel Luthor
* Annette O'Toole as Martha Kent
* John Schneider as Jonathan Kent
* Joe Morton as Dr. Steven Hamilton

Co-Starring* Andrew Jackson as Ray Wallace
* Michael Kopsa as Dean Winters
* Cameron Cronin as Dr. Glenn

## Trivia

### Production Notes

* When Clark tells Pete he is from another planet, it marks the first time in the series that he reveals his secret to a major character on the show.

### Goofs

* When Pete is talking about how Clark's downed spaceship is 'the Holy Grail' of stories, he says 'the Holy Grail' but his mouth repeats the words when the angle changes, without a sound. The same happens a few seconds later in the same scene, when Pete says "live it down".
* In the last scene when Clark and Ross are playing basketball, just before Clark jumps, their shadows are towards the left of screen, but when Clark is overhead, Ross' shadow is right, then both shadows revert to front (left) when Clark lands.