Along comes dirty cop, Sam Phelan, who learns Clark's secret and blackmails him into helping him do dirty and illegal things. As the episode progresses, twists and turns pop up, increasing the already dramatic plot.
This is a great episode for drama, not as much action, as Clark's enemy is not superhuman or a person afflicted with some meteor rock induced power. Clark's enemy is his struggle to keep his family, more specifically his father, safe. However, there is some action and we do get to see some of Clark's abilities used once again. We also get to see Clark's intelligence come into play.
Chloe and Lana seem to be in some kind of contest for Clark's affections in this episode and it all comes to ahead when Chloe loses her job as school newspaper editor and Lana wins the title. They develop their friendship a bit, while still developing the already existing friendships between Lana and Clark, Chloe and Clark and especially Clark and Lex.
All the characters get a boost in development as well and family values comes into play. It's an inspiring episode in some aspects. It's more of a thrilling episode in a dramatic sense than an action sense. Visual effects are substantial as ever, such as when Clark has a five hundred pound (or more) generator fall on him and he throws it off himself with ease.
Costumes are still great and the dirty cop is easily a hated character and the girl, Victoria (Kelly Brook) comes along to presumably do something with Lex in a future episode. This quick hatred for a new character is proof of good writers. If Sam Phelan isn't hated by the audience during this episode, the writers haven't done their job. It's a great episode and one of my favourites.
