Recap / Smallville S 10 E 08 Abandoned

Originally aired November 12, 2010

Written by Drew Landis & Julia Swift

Directed by Kevin Fair

Clark and Tess investigate an orphanage run by Granny Goodness, and Tess uncovers a startling secret about her past. Lois watches a video left behind by her late mother and makes a drastic decision about her relationship with Clark.

---

Tropes present in the episode:

• Adaptational Attractiveness: Desaad's now a handsome, blond Brit with a Beard of Evil.
• Alliterative Name: Tess's birth name is revealed as "Lutessa Lena Luthor."
• Always Someone Better: In his holographic message to Clark, Jor-El remarks that he believes his son has the potential to be a better person than he was.
• Calling the Old Man Out:
  • Lois goes to the Fortress to try and convince Jor-El to reconcile with Clark, saying that the silent treatment he's been giving Clark is the reason he isn't the hero he's meant to be. Jor-El remains silent, causing an angry Lois to remark that Clark's lucky to be rid of him; this prompts Jor-El to imprison Lois in a column of energy.
    Lois: Hello. Mister...El? I'm here to talk about your son Clark. Kal-El. Look, I know as a parent, you had to make the hardest decision ever to save your son and send him here alone. When my mom was dying, she tried to protect me, too. And I love her, but she was wrong. I will never get to hold her again. But you, you can still be there for Clark—I mean, Kal-El. Your son needs a father who believes in him. I-I wish knowing that I loved him was enough. But Clark can't fully hear it with the ghost of your disappointment haunting him. You're stopping him from fulfilling his potential. He's an amazing man. He's a hero. [silence from Jor-El] Nothing? You know, you may not care about anybody else but yourself, but Clark does. And you are not one-tenth the Kryptonian he is. He's lucky to be rid of you!
  • Clark later arrives and warns Jor-El that, if he hurts Lois, he will have failed all of his expectations.
    Clark: Jor-El, let her go! I may not have lived up to your expectations, but if you hurt her, you will have failed all of mine!
• Chekhov's Gunman: Though she doesn't appear in this episode (having been dead for years), Pamela Jenkins, Lex's childhood nanny who appeared in Season 1's "Crush," is revealed to be Tess's biological mother.
• Co-Dragons: Granny Goodness, Desaad, and Gordon Godfrey, Darkseid's Prophets.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: After saving Tess at the orphanage, Clark is confronted by one of Granny's mooks who cracks her whips at him in a taunting manner. Clark knocks her unconscious in about one second.
• Early-Bird Cameo: Desaad appears briefly in the final act, but doesn't take center stage until later in the season.
• Internal Reveal: Tess discovers that she is the biological daughter of Lionel Luthor and Pamela Jenkins, but doesn't tell anyone else until "Luthor."
• Jerk Justifications: Kryptonian!Jor-El explains in an holographic recording that he left his emotions out of the A.I.'s programming, believing they held him back from saving his home and his people; this explains why A.I.!Jor-El is such a Jerkass at times.
• Mythology Gag: Lois's mother Ella is played by Teri Hatcher, who played Lois Lane on Lois & Clark.
• Orphanage of Fear: St. Louise's, run by Granny Goodness. It turns out Tess lived there for a time as a child.
• Parental Abandonment: It's revealed that Lionel left a young Tess in the care of Granny Goodness.
• The Reveal: Tess is the illegitimate daughter of Lionel Luthor.
• Title Drop: Done courtesy of Granny Goodness.
• Terrible Trio: Granny Goodness, Desaad, and Gordon Godfrey comprise one.
• Video Will:
  • Lois's mother Ella left a series of tapes for her daughter before she died of cancer.
    Ella Lane: [on tape] Lois, my little girl. I've asked that you girls not be brought to visit me at the hospital. I know you don't like being told what to do, but I want you to have happy memories of me. The Colonel is convinced I'll pull through. He packed a bag with my favorite nightgown and sweater. I didn't know your father noticed those things. He even managed to slip in Blue. Your father got this for me the day we found out I was pregnant with you. We were stationed in Russia, and there, this is considered a symbol of hope. He's going to do a wonderful job raising you. But sometimes, girls need their mother. So, as hard as these tapes are to make, they're for the days that I want to be there and won't be. Play the tapes. Think of me...because losing a parent can create a hole in a person's heart. Someday you're going to meet someone special; knowing you, I'm guessing tall, dark, and handsome. And you can't commit to that person fully if you think there's a love that you're missing from some old memory like me. You can't let someone leaving you stop your future with someone else. You know, the thing about being a parent is it doesn't end. Not with age. Not with death. I will always be your mother, Lois. And I will always love you.
  • Just as Clark is about to completely give up on him, Jor-El plays a holographic message of his Kryptonian self and Lara telling Kal-El of their love for him, their hopes that he will live a full and happy life, and expressing their confidence that he will become Earth's greatest hero.
    Lara: My son...I've only had the joy of knowing you a few weeks. I wish I could be with you always to guide you and protect you.
    Jor-El: We don't have much time.
    Lara: My dearest Kal-El, our love will always be with you. I can already see you carry within you your father's independent spirit.
    Jor-El: But more importantly, your mother's never-ending bravery and her compassionate heart.
    Lara: Your father tells me the new world you're journeying to, Earth, is full of complicated beings capable of great emotion. My wish is for you to live a full and wonderful life, but I need you to know you were born of a great love. And your brilliant father has devised a way for you to carry on that love without us.
    Jor-El: The ship I designed to carry you to your destiny can only hold one Kryptonian, one who has so much potential, so unlike your father.
    Lara: No.
    Jor-El: Your mother and I cannot come with you. To do so would be to burden your innocent soul with our frailties and failures. But you have within you the best of both of us. And I am sending with you all my knowledge and none of my ego or regrets; they will die with me here on Krypton. Whatever trials I put you through, I will never lose faith in you.
    Lara: Quickly, before it's too late. We may not have been able to save our planet...
    Jor-El: But we are confident you will become Earth's greatest savior. And never doubt that, just as you are a part of us, we will always be a part of you. Farewell, my son.
    Lara: Farewell.
• Villain of the Week: Granny Goodness, who runs an Orphanage of Fear and has ties to Tess.
• Wham Shot: Tess's birth certificate, which lists her father as Lionel Luthor.

---