Last season had one of the best cliffhanger endings ever seen on "Smallville."

Lana Lang (Kristen Kreuk) left for Paris, Clark Kent (Tom Welling) was sucked into the cave wall by his Kryptonian father Jor-El, leaving Jonathan Kent (Jonathon Schneider) in a comatose state.

Lionel Luthor (Danny Glover) was imprisoned awaiting trial, and eventually death row. Meanwhile, Lex (Michael Rosenbaum) was poisoned (presumably by Lionel) as he took a drink, and the building which Chloe Sullivan (Allison Mack) and her father were entering spontaneously exploded, also presumably by Lionels efforts.

One thing's for sure, "Smallville" wont be the same again.

If that wasnt enough to bring you back to the small Kansas town for another season, then maybe the fact that Clark took to the skies, Lois Lane (Erica Durance) has now been introduced and the original Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) is going to make a few cameo appearances will help sway you back.

The episode started off as Lois Lanes car is driven off the road by a lightning strike near a cornfield, scorching a large "S" burned into the crops. Moments later, she discovers the man of steel, who has no memory of who he is, or where hes been for the last three months. Lois does the natural thing for someone in her position by taking Clark to the hospital, where he is spotted by Martha Kent (Annette OToole) who is visiting Jonathon. The two return to the farm where Martha does her best to jog Clarks memories of who he really is.

The choice to cast Durance as the future love of Clarks was an excellent move. Not only is the actress incredibly talented, showing off a chemistry with Welling, her looks could kill. She seems to have all the traits, if not a little more less-refined, of the Lois Lane all fans of the movies already know.

Meanwhile in Egypt, Lex Luthor explores a newly discovered tomb seeking to find a cure for his blood condition which resulted from his poisoning last season. On the back of an uncovered artifact, Lex discovers Kryptonian text, and realizes this is what he was looking for. On the plane, however, as he undergoes a blood treatment, he drops the artifact, revealing a crystal with more Kryptonian writing. As the artifact breaks, back in Smallville Clark tells Martha he remembers who he is - - Kal-El of Krypton, and it is time for him to fulfill his destiny.

After knocking Martha to the ground, he takes to the skies on a collision course for Lexs jet. This scene was perhaps one of the best the episode had to offer. Not only did Clark knock his mother off her feet, but it also allowed for him to fly for the first time, even if it wasnt completely the small town boy himself.

As he approaches the jet, the pilots spot him on radar, and cant help but wondering is it a bird? Is it a plane? Its little nods to the future of the saga which make this series so great, and does a lot to prove that the writers are always thinking about the fact that there is a larger mythos at work. One which they must conform to.

Clark nabs the crystal and heads to the cave where he was sucked into last season. But back on the farm, Martha is visited by an emissary of Dr. Swann (who was played by Superman actor Christopher Reeve). She provides Martha with a piece of black kryptonite, which will help her reclaim her son with a mother's love. It was interesting to see how these two actresses would work together, since they worked with each other before in the third "Superman" movie where OTool played an older Lana Lang. The scene itself was a short one, but it did have some bigger implications for Dr. Swanns character in the future, since hes let the cat out of the bag regarding Clarks secret. Kidders character has an enigmatic feel to her: We dont know who she is, or why Swann decided to share Clarks origins with her and the rest of the Swann Foundation -- whomever they may be -- hinting at a future story which may take place. Is Swann really on Clarks side, or is he just another wolf in sheeps clothing?

Martha confronts Clark in the cave, and after hitting him on the chest with the kryptonite, a battle between Kal-El and Clark Kent takes place. The battle was over far too quickly, and was done among some rather spectacular, if not constricting, special effects. The story was open to a more action-packed battle between the two entities and was a bit of a let down in terms of the battle itself when compared to what took place at the end of Season 3.

Unsurprisingly, Clark won, and returned to his former self, and at the same time, Jonathon springs to life in Smallville Medical Centre, suggesting that the reason for his coma was tied to Jor-El and not his ill-health.

While all of this is going on in Kansas however, Lana enjoys spending time with her new boyfriend Jason (played by former "Dark Angel" actor Jensen Ackles) in Paris as she studies an ancient warrior princess. As she does a rubbing of the warrior from an ancient pictograph, she notices she is wearing what looks like the kryptonite necklace she once wore, before Clarks ship purified it in the second season. Moments later, a burst of light from the pictograph consumes her. Lana wakes up the next day in her apartment, with the same tattoo on her back as the warrior, with no idea how she got home, or how she got the tattoo.

The story following Lana, however, was a little weak, going straight for the love story. Who cares what's going on with Lana's love life when so much excitement is going on back in Kansas. How has Lana Lang been getting on without Clark? I found myself asking the question of what has she been doing in Paris all this time? What has her life been like in France? There was no backstory into her life on a new continent or of her thoughts of finally leaving Smallville. However, the story of how Lana and Jason met was a rather humorous one, if not long winded. A flashback would have been more than sufficient. Ackles himself, while is acting is top notch, seems to pull off not a new character, but just a reformed edition of his "Dark Angel" alter ego, Alec. But Im sure once he joins the party in Smallville, well be seeing whole new depths to his character.

But the appearance of the mystical tattoo does set the stage for a larger role to be played by Kreuk, who thus far has acted more or less as a love interest only for Clark Kent -- a story which does seem to have gone stale, and could do with a little freshening up. Although Im not entirely convinced that another love interest for Lana is the answer, since it was briefly toyed with last season.

The episode ends at the graveyard, with Clark agreeing to help Lois uncover who killed Chloe and why. But as Lois walks away from Chloes grave site, Clark cant help but take a little peak inside. Using X-ray vision, he sees that Chloes coffin is empty, leading him to the conclusion that our favourite wall of weird journalist is still very much alive. Meaning they have work to do.

The concept of Clark and Lois teaming up to investigate together is an interesting one, and could actually do a lot to help the show. The old dynamic of Clark, Pete, Chloe and Lana is over, and now this new relationship forming between Clark and Lois will help bring some new life to the series, as well as taking yet another step into the comic book mythos, in a similar fashion to the "Lois and Clark" television series. If the producers are able to shake the old faithful Krypto-villain formula, then this season could perhaps revolutionize the series, ushering it into the greatness it so much deserves.

Crusade
Smallville

Writing: A
Story: A+
Acting: A-
Directing: A+

Overall: A

Alan Stanley Blair is a writer for Airlock Alpha, and is based out of Scotland.

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