Charade (Episode) - SirJeffCena

"**Charade**" is the eighteenth episode in the ninth season of *Smallville*, and the one hundred-ninety-third episode overall. It aired on April 23, 2010.

## Summary

In order to keep their jobs, Lois and Clark have to investigate the early prison release of ex-District Attorney Raymond Sacks. The Blur is photographed by a delivery man who plans to sell the photo to Sacks so Lois and Clark must thwart the delivery of the photo but at the risk of their jobs at the Daily Planet. However, powerful forces are backing Sacks and their only goal is to learn the Blur's identity: by kidnapping Lois.

## Recap

Lois is hidden inside someplace dark dressed in a bunny outfit. Meanwhile, disgraced former D.A. Raymond Sacks arrives at a party to celebrate his early release from prison at a swanky backroom club. Sacks meets a young man who is trying to collect a $1 million solar reward, when Lois jumps out of a large cake that has been wheeled in. The crowd cheers as Lois is helped out of the cake and she blows a kiss to Sacks as he looks at her seductively. Suddenly, she sees Clark standing just a few steps away and he yells her name in surprise. Lois then walks over and takes a swing at Clark as multiple cameras capture the moment with one of the photos ending up on the cover of the *Inquisitor.*

Still in their tux and bunny outfit from the night before, Clark and Lois are sitting in the office of the new Editor-in-Chief, Franklin Stern. Stern asks them what happened and, when they say nothing, assumes that they had some sort of "lovers spat". They both disagree, saying that they don't have "spats" and that they try to keep their personal lives separate from work, but Stern tells them that they won't have to try any more because they are both fired.

Yesterday...
Chloe is standing in front of a coffee shop and gets a text from "EmeraldArcher1". The text is of the Metropolis skyline with the tag "You should see the city from up here" to which Chloe smiles. Lois arrives and Chloe scolds her for not being on time but Lois says that nothing can ruin her good mood. She tells Chloe that Clark is taking her up to the roof that night to do some star-gazing and Chloe gives her a telescope that Lois had asked her to find as a gift for Clark. Lois and Chloe sit down inside the coffee shop and Lois tells her that tonight she is going to drop "the L bomb". Chloe asks her why they haven't volleyed the "L" word and Lois tells her that there are a lot of relationship "milestones" that they haven't come to yet. Lois says that tonight they are going to air all of their secrets and Chloe looks very concerned about what this means for Clark and his secret.

Chloe goes to the Kent Farm, where Clark has just arrived home, and confronts him about telling Lois his secret. Clark seems surprised and says that he hasn't planned to tell Lois anything, but that he is making dinner so that she will tell him all of her secrets. Chloe seems upset because when Clark started calling Lois as the Blur, he asked her not to tell anyone including her boyfriend that they were in contact. Clark says that a relationship with secrets cannot work so if Lois is going to trust her with her secret, then maybe he can trust her with his.

Clark and Lois have an awkward moment in the elevator on the way to work at the Daily Planet, but it passes as they begin heavily making out. They stop kissing as the elevator opens onto the bullpen and Lois notices that there is a lot more foot-traffic than normal. Clark tells her that it must be because of the new Editor-in-Chief. Lois makes a quip about how the Editor position is like a revolving door with people spinning a wheel of fortune to get the job, when Franklin Stern, the new Editor, turns around having heard everything she just said. He tells them that he must have "pulled the lucky number" this week and then correctly guesses who Lois is as a result of her flamboyant personality. He tells them that, though there have been quite a few Editors lately, he hopes that the Board of Directors will make his posting permenant. Stern says that he believes Lois and Clark are involved in an inter-office romance, which the two deny and quickly step apart. He then tells them that D.A. Raymond Sacks has had his conviction overturned, and the one of them who brings him that story will get to stay while the other is fired.

Meanwhile, Chloe is looking through Tess's computer in the LutherCorp CEO office when Tess arrives and catches Chloe in the act. Chloe immediately acts hostile towards her and Tess remarks that their truce must be over. Chloe tells Tess that she is wrong to be allied with the Kandorians and Zod; Tess tells her that she knows that Oliver is Green Arrow. Chloe asks what Zod has been up to, but she remarks that, since he hasn't been to see Tess in a while, they must have had a falling out. Before she leaves, Chloe tells Tess that she must be getting very lonely because she is running out of people to betray. Tess looks distraught.

Clark and Lois are researching Sacks with the hope that if they both land the story, they will both get to keep their jobs. Clark believes that for Sacks to get released, he must still have powerful friends in the mayor's office. They discover that there is a party being thrown in Sacks' honor at a club that is frequented by mobsters, so they decide to split up to cover more ground. Before she leaves, Lois tells Clark that she can't wait for their date tonight and Clark just smiles at her nervously. Lois gets into the elevator and begins making numerous calls to "The Blur" (actually Zod) for help and rambles for three or four messages until she finally asks him to be her wingman with the Sacks story she is working on.

Clark goes to the Watchtower to get Chloe's help so that he can find Sacks before Lois does. Chloe remarks that she is also busy with watching the Fortress for Zod and updating the security in the Watchtower, but she has discovered that Sacks has put out a one million dollar reward for a photo of the Blur. Clark suspects that Sacks would have a favorite club or restaurant since he enjoys the VIP treatment, and they find one: Tony's Pizza.

Meanwhile, Lois has already found out about Tony's Pizza and confronts Sacks as he gets out of his limo. He says that Lois has too much faith in the Blur and tells one of his men to get rid of her and her dead body. Clark as the Blur arrives just as the goon is going to shoot Lois, and saves her by throwing her into a construction zone. Sacks, realizing that the Blur has ruined his plan again, leaps into his limo and speeds away. Lois sees the Blur's shadow through a sheet of plastic covering the construction area, and thanks him for responding to her calls. Clark realizes then that Lois has been talking to someone pretending to be the Blur for weeks and has been investigating things for this imposter. As Clark speeds away, the young man from the opening scene steps out, excited, saying that he took a picture of the Blur. Before Lois is able to stop him, he runs off with the photo.

Lois pulls out her phone and begins to dial a number when Clark arrives. He demands to know who she's calling and asks if it's the Blur. He is upset that she lied to him about not talking to the Blur any more and asks her if she even knows who she's talking to. Clark demands to know who "the Blur" is and Lois becomes upset that he doesn't trust her. She asks Clark if he would reveal the Blur just to save their jobs. Clark says that he is in fact trying to help her because she sometimes has too much "blind faith" in someone she doesn't even know. Lois says that she trusts the Blur *because* he has not revealed himself to her; she knows that the Blur is only trying to protect her from anyone who would want to hurt her. Lois then storms away, leaving Clark standing there looking frustrated.

Clark speeds into Watchtower and tells Chloe what has happened. Having stolen Lois' phone, he asks Chloe to trace her calls to discover the identity of the fake Blur. Chloe remarks that, though she can still find the number, Lois has deleted everything off of her phone in an impressive attempt to keep the Blur's secret. She traces a call to the fake Blur that Lois is currently making in a telephone booth and they discover that some amateur photographer has taken a photo of the real Blur. Lois tells the fake Blur that she is headed to Sacks' party in hopes of delaying the photographer so that he can stop Sacks from seeing the photo.

Lois arrives at Sack's party and finds out that the "surprise" who was supposed to wear the sexy bunny outfit inside the cake hasn't shown up yet. Clark in his tux has also somehow gotten into the party and is looking around for the photographer when Lois jumps out of the cake just like before. She sees the photographer standing behind Clark and throws the punch just like in the opening scene. Clark avoids her punch and she stumbles into the photographer, grabs his phone, and crushes it under her foot. Before Sacks can do anything to her in retribution, Clark grabs Lois and rushes her out of the club with the crowd still clapping at what they thought was the entertainment. As the photographer looks down at his destroyed phone, Sacks pats him on the back and tells him that they didn't need the phone, they just need him. The young man is taken away by one of Sacks' goons, as a mystery man with a black King printed on his handkerchief watches from a balcony.

Back at the Daily Planet, Lois and Clark are leaving, having cleaned out their desks. Lois is upset about what she calls Clark's “obsession” with the Blur, because she believes that he went to Sacks' party in hopes of getting the Blur photo for himself. Lois tells him that she doesn't like this side of Clark and, before Clark can defend himself, she storms away again. When Lois walks around the corner, she stops and starts to cry but before she can do anything, she is kidnapped by an unknown assailant.
Lois is taken to a strange facility and hooked up to a machine, along with the young man who took the photo of the Blur and four other victims (all presumably with connections to the Blur). The man with the black King on his handkerchief is standing over Lois, the last piece in his puzzle. Ray Sacks is admiring a black Knight that he assumes is an invitation to join the handkerchiefed man he calls the Black King.

The Black King tells him that everyone hooked up to the machine has witnessed the Blur and that by using the individual pieces in their minds, he can create a complete image of the Blur. Using his device to extract memories from each of the six people who have seen the Blur, the Black King will finally be able to discover the true identity of whom he believes to be the most infamous and dangerous metahuman of them all. Sacks asks him if he is going to use the metahumans to protect the planet, but the Black King tells him that, unlike the White Queen, Amanda Waller, he intends to eliminate all metahumans, citing them as outside the rule of order and unpredictable. Sacks reminds the Black King that he too is a metahuman and the King tells him that his ability gives him first hand knowledge of how dangerous they can be. The two of them then turn to watch the holographic display as it gradually creates an image of the Blur using the combined memories of the six people hooked up to the machine.
Chloe and Clark are investigating Lois's disappearance back at Watchtower. Chloe has discovered that along with Ray Sacks, a number of other criminals were released from prison around the same time. Clark recognizes them as criminals that he personally put away. The man that is displayed on Chloe's desk is Rick DeGroot and is one of the six people kidnapped by the Black King. They find out Maxwell Lord, the Black King, threw Sack's “welcome home” party, and that by funding the governor's re-election campaign, Lord was able to get Sacks and his associates out of prison.

Ray Sacks is walking out of the basement of the club where his party was held and is talking on the phone to an unknown associate. He tells his associate how with what Maxwell Lord has in the basement, he is a very powerful player who has just given him the "keys to the city". Suddenly, Clark arrives and throws Sacks against a wall, knocking him unconscious. He kneels down to pick up Sacks' black knight saying “Checkmate” as he crushes the chess piece in his hand.

Maxwell Lord is hovering over Lois as the image of the Blur is slowly being compiled. He reaches out and begins transferring her memories to the machine; suddenly the image of the blur becomes much clearer. Maxwell comments that she is fighting his power and realizes that she must know the Blur. Clark arrives and tries to save Lois but Maxwell informs him that he will erase all of her memories if he attempts to do so. Clark tells him to let her go but Maxwell refuses and tells him that for her to resist him so strongly, the bond between her and the Blur must be one of love. Maxwell then uses both hands to increase his mental hold on Lois but, at that moment, Clark leaps through the holographic display that has been building an image of the Blur and destroys the machine.

Lois awakens, sits up, and sees a monitor in front her that shows a reflection of the Blur standing right behind her. She says that she wants to see his face or even know his real name but that for her to protect his identity, she cannot know anything about him. Lois tells him that she is aware of the danger that his identity poses to her so she asks him to leave. Clark places his hand on her shoulder and she touches it briefly before he super speeds away, leaving her to cry as she grips her shoulder and looks into the monitor to see now only herself. Meanwhile, Maxwell Lord leaves his house to try and escape Metropolis when he is forced into a limo outside where he meets the Red Queen.

Clark is in the Barn, fixing the tractor, when Chloe comes in to see if he's still beating himself up over what happened to Lois. He asks her which him: the Blur that Lois would die to protect or the boyfriend she was protecting him from. Chloe tries to tell him that he did his best, but he is too upset because he feels that the Blur got all of Lois' trust while he got all the rest, so one side will have to say goodbye to her if he wants to have any part of Lois at all. Chloe tells him that she tracked the fake Blur phone to RAO Industries which is owned by Zod. Clark gets upset because everything that Zod told him about them being brothers was a lie and that he was manipulating Lois. He tells Chloe that he knows what he has to do.

Having received a hand-written letter from the Blur, Lois answers a phone call  in the payphone that he first called her at. It is Clark, as the Blur. He tells her that it was a place that meant something to both of them. Lois wants to know what her next mission is, but Clark tells her that there won't be one and that this will be their last conversation together. She says that she needs him to feel important, but Clark tells her that she doesn't need him for that and that there are other things in her life that can make her feel that way. Lois doesn't believe him, but Clark tells her they would do anything to protect each other, so he cannot risk her life, but he will be watching over her. Clark looks down from the rooftop where he is watching her and tells her goodbye before she can say anything else. As the Blur hangs up on Lois for the last time, she says "goodbye" and stands there in shock as she looks up at the bright full moon.

Later that night, Lois arrives at a romantic dinner on the rooftop of the Daily Planet that Clark has set up for her. The two try to reconnect but she is still devastated by the loss of the Blur. Lois admits that she had been talking to the Blur and says that she shared things with him that she couldn't share with Clark. Clark tells her that he still wants her in his life, but Lois says that she cannot ask him to be okay with it. He tells her that he understands how it seems unfair to have this calling that you can't share with anyone. Clark looks at Lois and asks her if, since the Blur is now gone from her life, am I enough. Lois looks as though she is about to say something but instead they remain silent.

## Cast

### Starring

* Clark Kent
* Chloe Sullivan
* Lois Lane
* Tess Mercer

### Guest Starring

* Maxwell Lord
* Franklin Stern
* Ray Sacks

## Notes

* Antagonist: Maxwell Lord and Ray Sacks
* Maxwell Lord and Franklin Stern make 72 DC Comics characters adapted into the series.
* Although mentioned throughout the episode, Oliver Queen and Zod do not appear.
* Last time Ray Sacks appeared in *Idol*, Lois became suspicious of Clark and believed him to be the Blur.
* Although her face is hidden in the shadows, the Red Queen makes her first physical appearance in this episode.
* According to Chloe, Sacks was incarcerated in prison for 8 months, meaning this episode would take place around July.
* Lois and Clark are fired from the Daily Planet in this episode. This is the third time that Lois lost her job in this season; the other times were in *Savior* and *Persuasion*.
* This episode covers the classic Superman mythology love triangle between Clark Kent, his super-powered persona, and Lois Lane. In this classic triangle, Lois is attracted to Clark but in love with Clark's secret identity; meanwhile, Clark is madly in love with Lois.
* Ray Sacks had his life sentence reversed with help from Maxwell Lord simliar to how Lionel had his life sentence reversed with help from Genevieve Teague in season 4.
* Rick DeGroot was one of the criminals released by Maxwell Lord and also one of the people who's memories were used to discover the Blur's identity. Ric DeGroot is also the name of an assistant accountant for the smallville franchise.

## Continuity

* Ray Sacks was last seen in *Idol*.
* Clark last spoke to Lois as the Blur in *Idol*.
* Zod has been masquearading as the Blur since *Escape*.
* Tess has been underground since *Checkmate*.
* Lois is out of a job for the third time; the first happened in *Savior* and the second in *Persuasion* when she was put under a spell by Clark's infection with gemstone kryptonite and quit her work.
* Lois buys Clark a telescope. His old telescope broke in *Fade*.
* Clark places his hand on Lois' shoulder just the same as he placed his hand on Lana's shoulder in *Accelerate*.
* General Sam Lane was mentioned by Lois. He was last mentioned in *Persuasion*.
* Amanda Waller was mentioned by Maxwell. She was last seen in *Checkmate*.

## Spoilers

* The Red Queen is later revealed in *Hostage* to be Martha Kent who was last seen in *Phantom*. Annette O'Toole has confirmed that the Red Queen's legs shown at the end of Charade were in fact her own via an interview with IGN.
* Clark places his hand on Lois' shoulder. This is a habit of Clark's, since he also placed is hand on Lois' shoulder in Aqua after Arthur say goodbye. Later it helps Lois to recognize Zod is not Blur in Salvation.

## Quotes

**Maxwell Lord**: So it's true -- the Red Queen *does* exist.

**Franklin Stern**: Let me guess. You two have a lovers' spat?
**Lois**: Clark and I don't spat. There was no spatting.

**The Blur**: Our relationship put you at risk. I know that we would do anything to protect each other. What if, one day, I'm too late?
**Lois**: But you don't understand. I don't care about the risk. When I'm working with you, I'm doing something good, something right.
**The Blur**: You don't need me for that.
**Lois**: But I do need you, and maybe I didn't realize until it was too late, but this is the most important part of my life.
**The Blur**: Well, there must be some other part that means more to you.
**Lois**: When I'm with you, it's about more than what I want, who I want. It is something that is bigger than me.
**The Blur**: I wish things could be different, Lois. This is the only way I can protect you. I won't call again. If anyone calls claiming to - to be me, don't believe them. No matter what they say or what happens, you can't trust them.
**Lois**: No, please.
**The Blur**: I will be watching over you. I promise. Goodbye, Lois.

**Clark**: I guess if half of me has Lois's trust, then the other half gets the rest of her- it all works out in some weird way.