Exile

## "Exile"Season 03, Episode 01

"*I am Jor-El, the true father of Kal-El.*"
—Jor-El to Jonathan Kent

**"Exile"** is the first episode of Season Three of The CW's *Smallville*. It was written by Alfred Gough & Miles Millar and directed by Greg Beeman. It is the fourty-fifth episode of the series overall, and premiered on October 1, 2003. This episode is the third season premiere.

## Synopsis

Under the influence of red kryptonite, Clark is following a life of crime in Metropolis while his friends and parents desperately try to find him. Lex is forced to confront his personal demons on a desert island, while Lionel holds a funeral for his presumed-dead son. And Jonathan Kent must pay a high price for the power necessary to bring his son back home.

## Recap

It's been three months since Clark put on a red kryptonite ring and left Smallville. He is in Metropolis going by the name "Kal". He sees a luxury car he likes in a show window and tears open a row of ATMs for the cash to buy it with. He leaves the dealership with the car and the sales girl. When they arrive at the night club Atlantis, they are making out at the bar. When she asks about the scar on his chest, he grabs her hand, and she leaves. As he leaves, his scar starts to burn. Doubled over in pain, Clark ducks into a phone booth and unbuttons his shirt. The scar burns and glows until Clark takes off the ring. Without the ring, he decides to call his mother. At the Kent Farm, Martha answers the phone. Clark doesn't say anything, but she knows it is Clark, and she pleads with him to come home. Looking like he's about to cry, Clark hangs up the phone and slips the ring back on.

The next day, a Metropolis bank is being robbed by thugs wearing clown masks, but they are interrupted by Clark. He crashes through the window on a motorcycle. He hides his identity with a ski mask, and he catches the bullets shot at him with his bare hands. Clark picks up a bag of cash and walks outside the bank to meet the police led by Captain Maggie Sawyer. When he reaches into his jacket, they open fire. He stands there as the bullets bounce off him, and then he uses his heat vision to blow up a car. When Captain Sawyer picks herself up off the ground, all she finds of Clark is a ski mask and a pile of spent rounds on the sidewalk where he was standing. Clark super speeds behind a building grinning at his own exploits.

At the Kent Farm, Pete shows Jonathan and Martha a Daily Planet front-page article detailing Clark's crimes. Pete says Clark's crimes are escalating and Jonathan declares that he is going to retrieve him. Martha protests, saying that Clark, knowing what red kryptonite does to him, doesn't want to be found. She stresses that he will come home when he is ready and Jonathan concedes.

Chloe meets Lana at the Talon and offers her a ride to Lex's funeral, but she says she is going with the Kents. She tells Chloe that she is considering staying in Metropolis for a few days to look for Clark. Chloe argues that Clark isn't lost. She tells Lana that he made a conscious decision to run away. Lana gets upset at Chloe's words, but Chloe continues, telling her that she needs to move on because pining for Clark is not doing her any good. Lana counters that Clark is waiting for the right person to find him.

Clark is asleep in a nicely furnished penthouse apartment when two goons break in and open fire on him. He throws them across the room and is approached by Morgan Edge. Edge asks Clark about interrupting his bank robbers and says he wanted to see for himself if Clark was really super-strong and bulletproof. He offers Clark a job; saying that he is the biggest crime boss in the city and Clark can come to him when he's ready to move on from the little league.

Chloe is summoned to the Kawatche Caves by Lionel Luthor. He talks with her about the octagonal hole that used to be in the wall, which disappeared the day Clark left. He asks Chloe if she has seen him, and brings up her Daily Planet column, saying there is more passion in it than in her investigation of Clark. Chloe says she's given Lionel all the information she has, and that she can't get more information while Clark is missing. Lionel does not accept these excuses and expects her to rise to the challenge and bring him more information.

On a tiny remote island, Lex Luthor wakes up from a fever dream. He is suffering from malaria and the only other person on the island is Louis Leery, a free-spirited individual who seems perfectly content to be stranded and torments Lex with the suggestion that either Lionel or Helen betrayed him. He tells Lex he should let go of his old life and enjoy life on the island. Lex is surviving by eating insects on the island when he sees a plane fly overhead. He tries to send out a smoke signal but Louis will not help and the opportunity is missed. Louis repeats that Lex belongs on this island and he must accept his fate.

Lionel speaks at Lex's funeral, in which Lana and the Kents are in attendance. She looks away and sees Clark but when she pushes through the crowd he is gone. Lionel's speech is interrupted by Helen Bryce and he spits that she is just there for show and stalks away. Later, Helen arrives at the Luthor Mansion with her arms full of shopping bags and finds Lionel in the library. He congratulates her on her "performance" at the funeral and says that he doubts her story about how the plane went down and there being only one parachute, Lex sacrificed himself to save her. Lionel vows that he will get even with Helen for murdering his son.

Chloe arrives at Clark's apartment and tries to get Clark to come home. He yells at her to never come back but Chloe is undeterred. She doesn't believe that Clark is done with Smallville. She questions his behavior and asks how he will explain himself to Lana or his parents. Clark yells that he is through explaining himself to anyone. Chloe is angry by now and calls him a coward. Clark turns away as pain crosses his face. He grabs Chloe by the shoulders and physically pushes her out of the apartment, yelling that if she tells anyone where he is, he'll go so far away no one will ever find him, steering her towards the door. She is not intimidated and pushes him right back. He screams in her face to get out and slams the door. He then tears open his shirt. His scar is glowing red. He takes off the ring and the scar stops burning.

Without the ring, Clark goes to his loft and sees that his things have been packed into moving boxes. He overhears his parents below discussing their plans. They need to be moved out before the bank conducts the auction. They can store some things in Bill Ross's garage as long as they need, and Lana has given them the apartment over the Talon. Martha begins to cry and Jonathan tries to reassure her that they will get through it. Something falls on the floor as Clark turns to go. Martha hears it and runs to the loft, calling Clark's name, but Clark is gone.

Lana tells Chloe that she feels guilty because Clark asked her to come with him and now she feels like she could have made him come home if she had gone. When Chloe asks, she says she loves him. She says she saw him at Lex's funeral and plans to hang up fliers. Chloe admits she knows where Clark is, saying she ran into him at a club two months ago, but he threatened to leave Metropolis if she told. Lana is angry that Chloe knew about Clark's whereabouts and leaves for Clark's apartment. She is standing outside when Clark rides up on his dad's motorcycle. She insists that she is not letting him go. Clark tells her to get on and they ride away together.

Lex is using the compass Jonathan gave him on his wedding day. He sees a necklace floating in a puddle of water but when he pulls it out it is attached to a skeleton. Louis appears and reveals himself as a psychopath by admitting that the remains are of his father, whom he had to kill because only one of them could survive. Louis chases Lex through the jungle and they fight at the beach.

Clark takes Lana to Club Atlantis. She pretends to have fun but ducks away to call the Kents. Jonathan says he's on the way but Clark finds her. He takes the phone from Lana and tells his parents that they're probably happier he's gone and they were never his parents anyway. Martha tells Jonathan that he can't stop Clark but Jonathan says if he doesn't try, they may lose him forever. He goes to the toolbox to take the key out of its hiding place.

Clark finds Morgan Edge and accepts his job offer since he suddenly feels the need to disappear. Edge tells him he wants him to break into LuthorCorp Plaza and steal a package from Lionel's office.

Back on the island Lex gets the upper hand and hacks Louis to death with a machete, but he is approached by a third figure. Lex tries to explain that he had to kill him but is astonished to see that Louis is gone. The third man explains that his captain saw his fire and came to rescue him.

Jonathan takes the key to the Kawatche Caves but he can't find the keyhole. He shouts angrily throws the key down in disgust. As he turns to go it glows and flies towards the wall. A burst of energy flows through Jonathan and he is addressed by Jor-El. They argue about Kal-El's name, parentage and destiny. Jor-El will allow him to return to Smallville, but Jonathan must retrieve him. Jonathan complains that Clark is too powerful, and Jor-El asks if he is willing to sacrifice anything. Jonathan says he will do anything for his son.

Clark breaks into the building and retrieves the package, but as he turns to go, he is approached by Jonathan. Jonathan admits that it was Jor-El who helped him find Clark. Clark refuses to listen and throws Jonathan against a wall. Clark is surprised to see Jonathan stand upright, unharmed. He tells Clark again that he is coming home and super speeds towards him. Together they fall through a window toward the street, sixty stories below.

## 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

Special Guest Star* Terence Stamp as Jor-El (voice)

Guest Starring* Ryan Robbins as Louis Leery
* Emmanuelle Vaugier as Dr. Helen Bryce

Co-Starring* Jill Teed as Captain Maggie Sawyer
* Brock Johnson as Edge's Blonde Thug
* Donny Lucas as Edge's Black Thug
* Daniella Buzzi as Club Girl
* Allison Warnyca as Car Saleswoman

## Trivia

### Production Notes

* In the commentary for this episode, it is mentioned that the pre-credit scenes of Clark having fun with the Red Kryptonite (Destroying ATMs, etc.) were added in a week before the episode aired. Gough and Miller were all for the idea as long as the network paid.
* While being erased, the mark on Clark's chest in the final split second resembles the "S" sign that Superman will wear in the future.

### Behind the Scenes

* Chloe (Allison Mack) sported a distinctive asymmetric hairstyle, a style Mack had adopted over the summer hiatus. However, it was felt that the look wasn't right for Chloe, so Mack wore extensions for the subsequent few episodes whilst her natural hair grew longer. Mack has often joked that no-one in Smallville appeared to notice Chloe's hair changing length over the course of one episode.
* Terence Stamp, the voice of Jor-El, played Gen. Zod in Superman I & II.

## References

1. ↑ http://www.pogdesign.co.uk/cat/Smallville/Season-3/Episode-01