Recap / Smallville S 01 E 08 Jitters

Originally aired December 11, 2001

Written by Cherie Bennett & Jeff Gottesfeld

Directed by Michael W Watkins

Earl Jenkins, the Kents' former farmhand, suffers from body tremors that he claims were caused by an explosion in a mysterious Level 3 inside Smallville's LuthorCorp plant. Desperate to prove his claims and find a cure for his condition, Earl takes everyone at the plant hostage, including Clark and his classmates.

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Tropes present in the episode:

• Anti-Villain: Earl is a Type V. He doesn't want to be a bad guy; his desperation to find a cure drives him to take questionable action.
• Bad Boss: Lionel confronts Lex and chastises him for Earl getting into the plant so harshly that Jonathan has to interrupt him and remind him that Earl is holding hostages.
  • Later, when Lex enters the plant to exchange himself for the hostages, he remarks to Earl that Lionel doesn't care about any of his employees or the hostages.
    Earl: I tried talking to your father, but he wouldn't listen to me.
    Lex: I know the feeling. Earl, you say that everybody's been lying to you. I'm gonna tell you the truth—my father doesn't care about you. He doesn't care about anybody in this room. Because if we all die, his PR firm will spin it. His insurance company will pay and you will go down as the bad guy.
• Calling the Old Man Out: In the final scene of the episode, Lex confronts Lionel for lying to him about the existence of Level Three and for closing the safety doors while he was still inside the plant, but Lionel refuses to accept any responsibility for what happened and reminds Lex that it was he who made the call to go into the plant and negotiate with Earl.
  Lex: You lied to me.
  Lionel: No. I said Level Three wasn't on any plans; it wasn't. It's plausible deniability.
  Lex: What were you doing down there?
  Lionel: It doesn't matter. It was a failure. We closed the door and moved on.
  Lex: You almost got me killed.
  Lionel: No, you almost got yourself killed. It was your call, remember?
• Code Silver: Earl takes everyone inside the plant, including Clark and his classmates (who are there on a field trip), hostage after he can't find the entrance to Level Three.
• Despair Event Horizon: Earl crosses it after he finds Level Three empty.
  Earl: It's all gone. How am I gonna get better if I don't know what poisoned me?

• Evil Former Friend: Earl, to the Kents, though he's more of an Anti-Villain than a straight villain.
• Fight Off the Kryptonite: In the final act, when the Level Three walkway starts to collapse with Lex and Earl holding on for dear life, Clark comes over, grabs Earl's hand, and pulls both men up despite the fact that Earl has Kryptonite fragments embedded in his body.
• Find the Cure!: Earl's goal. He doesn't succeed, but Lex vows to get him medical care.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Lex exchanges himself for the hostages.
• Jerkass: Lionel's behavior towards Lex in this episode places him in this category.
• Killed Offscreen: The Chloe Chronicles reveals that Earl died sometime after the events of this episode.
• Never My Fault: Lionel's response to Lex calling him out for closing the safety doors while knowing Lex is still inside the plant. (See Calling the Old Man Out.)
• Plausible Deniability: Invoked by Lionel when Lex confronts him for lying to him about Level Three. (See Calling the Old Man Out.)
• Sarcastic Clapping: Jonathan's response after Clark cleans up the house at Super-Speed after throwing a party without his parents' consent.
• Slave to PR: In the final scene, Lionel, fresh from a heated exchange with his son and refusing to accept any responsibility for everything that's happened, politely turns to the news cameras and falsely claims that Level Three is a redundant storage area. Lex joins in, saying they're going to make sure Earl gets the help he needs.
• So Proud of You: Martha to Clark at the end of the episode after he helps to save the day.
• Suddenly Shouting: Earl, after he and Lex head down to Level Three and find it empty.
  Earl: What have you done with it? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH IT?!
• Villain of the Week: Earl Jenkins, a man suffering from body tremors.
• White and Gray Morality: While Clark is traditionally heroic as always, Earl is not a bad person by any means. He's just desperate to find a cure for his tremors. Even if he has to take morally questionable actions to do so.
• Wild Teen Party: While his parents are away for their anniversary, Clark decides to have an intimate gathering with a few people, but things quickly spiral out of control.

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