Duplicity (Episode) - SirJeffCena

"**Duplicity**" is the third episode in the second season of *Smallville*, and twenty-fourth episode overall. It aired on October 8, 2002.

## Summary

After Clark's friend Pete discovers Clark's spaceship in the cornfield, Clark goes against his parents' wishes and reveals his secret, 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

### Starring

* Clark Kent
* Lana Lang
* Lex Luthor
* Pete Ross
* Chloe Sullivan
* Lionel Luthor
* Martha Kent
* Jonathan Kent

### Guest Starring

* Nell Potter
* Dr. Steven Hamilton

### Co-Starring

* Ray Wallace
* Dean Winters
* Dr. Glenn

## Notes

* Antagonist: Steven Hamilton
* Dr. Hamilton's spasms are similar to Earl Jenkins' in *Jitters*.
* Pete Ross is the only person that learned Clark's secret on *Smallville* after he made a conscious choice to share it.
* Pete tells Clark "It's not easy being you, is it?", paraphrasing a line from the song *Superman (It's Not Easy)* by Five for Fighting.
* When Pete talks about looking into the girls' locker room with X-Ray vision, it is likely a reference to a similar line from Superman: The Animated Series, *The Last Son of Krypton, Part II*, which is delivered by Lana Lang instead. Clark's response refers to how he (accidentally) did so in X-Ray.
* This is the first out of two features of kryptonite intoxication. The second, and the last, will be in the episode Fever. Those are the only episodes that this effect of kryptonite is appeared or even been mentioned.

## Spoilers

* Chloe Sullivan later found out Clark's secret when she witnesses him use his powers, but he found out she knew later and admitted the rest of his secret, and the same thing happened with Lois Lane.

## Locations

* Smallville
	+ Smallville High School
		- The Torch
	+ Smallville Medical Center
	+ Luthor Mansion
	+ Kent Farm
		- Kent House
		- Kent Barn
		- Clark Kent's Loft
		- Storm Cellar
	+ Talon
	+ Dr. Hamilton's barn
	+ Pete's tool shed

## Quotes

**Lionel**: We'll have a chance for some father-son bonding. You've always told me I've been lax in that requirement, Lex.
**Lex**: Are you sure you wouldn't be more comfortable at the beach house? I think the sea air would be invigorating.
**Lionel**: I'm getting the distinct impression, Lex, that you don't want me here.

**Clark**: Hey, Pete. Look, man, I know you're freaked out. Don't you think I freak myself out sometimes?

**Lex**: I just needed to get out of the mansion. It's getting crowded.
**Clark**: Doesn't it have like 75 rooms?
**Lex**: Yeah, well, my father takes up a lot of space.

**Clark**: (*to Pete*) I couldn't let you die to protect my secret, and I can't let anyone else die either. No matter who they are.

**Pete**: (*after learning about Clark's x-ray vision*) So you're telling me you never once looked in the girl's locker room?
**Clark**: Well, maybe once.
**Pete**: That's my boy.