Hothead

## "Hothead"Season 01, Episode 03

"*The Torch torched. How’s that for dramatic irony?*"
—Clark Kent

**"Hothead"** is the third episode of Season One of The CW's *Smallville*. It was written by Greg Walker and directed by Greg Beeman. It is the third episode of the series overall, and premiered on October 30, 2001.

## Synopsis

Clark takes to the gridiron in this offbeat look at sportsmanship. The future Man of Steel is asked to join his high-school football team after the head coach sees Clark fire a pass to another player. Jonathan, however, refuses to sign the permission slip, fearing Clark might accidentally hurt another player or inadvertently show off his powers. Determined to play, the teen defies his father’s wishes and gets his mother to sign the slip. What Clark doesn’t know is that the coach has some powers of his own, and he’s using them to cover up a cheating scandal involving his players.

## Recap

The show opens with a football game at night. It's raining so hard, quarterback Whitney can't see to throw. Coach Walt berates his young star to throw the ball. The Crows win; they are now one game away from Walt's 200th win and the state championship. The coach relaxes in the sauna, a gift from a grateful community, using meteorite sauna rocks, when Principal Kwan arrives. Seven players have cheated on midterms and will be suspended on Monday. The game is in jeopardy. Walt loses his temper when Kwan refuses to wait until the off-season to deal with it. Kwan leaves and Walt burst of temper seemingly sparks a fire.

Chloe has written an article on the cheating and is receiving hate mail. Lana and Whitney are arguing over the severity of the misconduct. The coach arrives to band the team together when one of the jocks spots Chloe taking pictures. He lobs a hard throw at Chloe's head which is stopped and returned (with a little super extra) by Clark into the jock's gut. The coach is impressed with Clark's power and offers him a spot on the team. Clark at first declines but is pressured by Walt.
At home, Jonathan again forbids Clark to play and the two argue. Clark feels he can control himself and announces he's playing with or without his father's blessing.

Lex meets with members of Luthor Corp who tell him to drop 20 percent of his work force. He instead announce he is increasing his work force. He dismisses the "drones" and enjoys one's discomfort at Lex's mentioning the drone's sister.

Lana is doing a little defying of her own. Nell finds her in her room packing away her cheerleader things. She announces to a stunned Nell that she has quit the squad and will be looking for a part-time job -- not at Nell's flower shop.

Jonathan shows up at the practice to make sure no one gets hurt. His presence at first distracts Clark who is berated by Walt for it. Clark runs the play -- effectively using his strength and speed without hurting anyone or being revealed. Jonathan leaves as everyone crowds Clark to praise his playing. After practice, Kwan confronts Walt again. This time Kwan accuses him of helping the players cheat and says he will have Walt's job shortly. Walt's temper "flares" again - causing another fire. Kwan leaves and Walt manages to focus his new talent to start a car fire in Kwan's car. Clark and Pete are nearby and Clark saves Kwan when Pete goes to call 911.

Jonathan is alarmed at Clark's frequent use of his gifts and keeps questioning Clark as to witnesses. The tension mounts and Clark leaves. Martha confronts Jonathan about trusting Clark's judgment more, and Jonathan reveals he's terrified that someone will uncover the truth and take Clark away. Martha points out that Jonathan is pushing Clark away anyway. No one has to take him.

Clark and Pete tell Chloe about the fire, which she feels is suspicious and linked to the cheating players. The trio enter the local coffee house and are surprised to discover Lana. It's Lana's first day and it's not going at all well. She is messing up orders and just wants to scream. Clark commiserates with her. Chloe decides to follow the cheating jocks after hearing their on their way to meet Coach.

Lionel Luthor arrives to bring Lex back in line. Lex is bitter about being banished to "a crap factory," though Lionel claims it's to build his character. The two fence to resolve their impasse. An emotional and sloppy Lex is quickly defeated and Lionel demands he fire the personnel.

Clark tries out his new uniform and discusses Jonathan with Martha. Mom plays the peacekeeper and tells Clark she wants to believe in him. She also warns Clark that he must learn to take responsibility for his decisions.

Chloe spies on Walt confronting the cheating players. Walt learns that one -- Trevor Chappel -- told Kwan that Walt gave them the test. Walt sets the sprinklers ablaze and tells the terrified boys to keep their mouths shut.

At the pep rally, Chloe confronts Trevor with a picture of the blazing sprinklers. Trevor refuses to talk and runs away. Walt catches him and burns him with his touch. The terrified boy tells the coach about Chloe. Walt then starts a fire in the Torch's offices, trapping Chloe when she tries to get out. Chloe opens the window and calls for help; she's spotted by Clark at the pep rally. Clark races in and his yelling for Chloe causes the coach to stop the blaze and leave.

Chloe tells Clark about Walt's connection to the cheating and the fires. Clark is disbelieving but agrees to talk to Trevor. He goes to the coffee shop looking for him and finds Lana and Lex. Lex tells him about his father's demand and Clark tells him about his own problems with his father. Lana joins the conversation with her own parental grief and the three share a moment. Lex announces that Clark and Lana have inspired him to stand up to his father and toasts them with the drink that Lana brought him. He tells Lana it's perfect. It's not. Clark and Lex received something completely different from the order.

Clark finds Trevor at home. He's in the garage surrounding himself with fire extinguishers. Clark gets the truth from him and goes to confront Walt. Walt is in the sauna before the big game. When Clark enters to confront him, the meteor rocks sap his strength immediately. He still tries to stop Walt, who locks him in the sauna and goes to the game.

At the game, the Kents and Chloe quickly realize Clark is missing. Jonathan proceeds to search for him, much to the alarm of Walt. Jonathan finds Clark and breaks him out of the sauna when Walt attacks them. Clark, strength restored, easily deals with the physical attack. Walt tries to burn him. Clark easily deals with that as well (having learned he was impervious to fire when he rescued Whitney last episode). This throws Walt who begins to throw a temper tantrum and demands that Clark do as he said. When Clark announces it's over, Walt's thwarted rage triggers a massive fire. It engulfs the coach who later dies from the burns.

Jonathan and Clark make amends and Jonathan says he's proud of his son. Lana later catches up to Clark on the field. She's been fired from the coffeehouse and came to see Clark play. The two share a primal scream as the episode ends.

## Cast

* Kristin Kreuk as Lana Lang
* Michael Rosenbaum as Lex Luthor
* Eric Johnson as Whitney Fordman
* Sam Jones III as Pete Ross
* Allison Mack as Chloe Sullivan
* Annette O'Toole as Martha Kent
* John Schneider as Jonathan Kent

Special Guest Star* John Glover as Lionel Luthor
* Sarah Jane Redmond as Nell Potter
* Hiro Kanagawa as Principal James Kwan
* David Paetkau as Trevor Chapell
* Dan Lauria as Coach Walt Arnold

Co-Starring* Allan Franz as Football Player
* Jada Stark as Beanery Manager

## Trivia

### Behind the Scenes

* 9/11 occurred during the filming of this episode. As all planes were grounded, Annette O'Toole had her husband Michael McKean drive to and from Vancouver to pick her up.

### Goofs

* The episode begins with a football game in pouring rain. After the winning goal is scored, the crowd shots show the cheerleaders' hair wet and their uniforms completely dry.
* Principal Kwan states that there were seven football players found to be cheating, but when they coach calls the players out to find out who told Kwan that the coach supplied the answers, there are eight players.

## References

1. ↑ http://www.smallvilleph.com/2001/10/hothead/