What's up with Chloe? Chloe investigates Jake, finding that he had gills. He was exposed to meteor rock and she already has a "wall of the weird" file in her computer on him and others in Smallville. Mending their friendship, Chloe welcomes Clark back to help with The Torch. She tries to resign from The Daily Planet to avoid Lionel's blackmail tactics, but he tries to get under her skin again. Later Lionel visits Chloe at The Torch office. She realizes that Lionel and LuthorCorp have access to her computer files. Lionel warns Chloe to never again investigate a member of his family.

What's up with Clark? Clark suspects Jake's friend Van is the shooter. Van's father was a Marine recruiter killed by Tina Grier. Clark's theory is that Van is hunting those affected by meteor rocks to avenge his father's death. Clark finds Van's target list, taken from Chloe's "wall of the weird" files with Lex marked as the next victim. He rushes to Metropolis just in time to stop the bullet aimed at Lex's head, shot from Van's rifle. Van witnesses Clark's ability and his weakness to meteor rock. Van manufactures kryptonite bullets to kill Clark. He shoots him in daylight at the farm. The bullet penetrates Clark's hand and shoulder. Jonathan removes the bullet. Clark quickly recovers.

What's up with Lex? Lex realizes he has never been ill since the meteor shower. He has survived many near-death experiences. Now he thinks he really may be a freak too, without any logical answers to explain his survival but those found within himself.

How it ends: Van finds Lana, looking for help to escape the police. He tells Lana she is being fooled, and Clark is a bulletproof freak. Van captures Lana and locks her in his trunk. He goes off to confront Clark again. Van drags Lana inside. Her hands are bound. They find Clark. Van throws Lana down, and shoots Clark several times in the chest as Lana witnesses. From behind, Lana kicks Van down. Clark reveals a lead shield under his shirt that has stopped the kryptonite bullets. Van ends up in a psychiatric ward.

Later Lana visits Clark at the farm. She tells him "Open up to the people who love you or you'll always be alone." "I may not have a choice," Clark replies. Lana disagrees, "You always have a choice."
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What do you call an episode of Smallville where instead of a Freak of the Week, they have a guy who hunts Freaks of the Week, but in doing so actually becomes more Freak of the Week than Man while commenting on some of the show's more egregious tropes? It's all very Adaptation, isn't it? This week, a dude gets a crush on Lana (nothing new, right?), but he's got gills and can breathe underwater. But check it out: Fishboy gets capped by a sniper who's got it in for Krypto-Villains. The Joshua Jackson-looking vigilante has a hit list, courtesy of Chloe's hacked computer, of potential Wall of Weirders, including Lex Luthor, who becomes the next target. But when Josh Jackson Jr. (J3 to his friends) figures out that Clark is the king among freaks, our villain turns our attention to him. Hello, Kryptonite bullets. Clark survives a green bullet to the shoulder, but instead of tempting fate, he decides to wear a bulletproof vest to save Lana, who has somehow not taken the hint that she and Clark broke up. Or maybe it's Clark who can't figure out which direction his emotional compass should be pointing. Many callbacks are made to villains of the past two seasons, which is odd given that the events here almost make it seem like last week's superlative episode didn't even happen. Well, we knew this streak of great episodes had to end.
By: Omar L. Gallaga (TWoP)

Clark discovers someone is hunting people affected by the kryptonite rocks and the killer's next target is Lex. Clark uses his powers to save Lex, but is caught off guard when the killer learns his weakness and shoots him with a kryptonite bullet. Kristin Kreuk, Allison Mack, Sam Jones III, John Glover, Annette O'Toole and John Schneider also star.

Clark: This will only take a minute.
Pete: That's what you said when we broke into his locker, his car, and his house!

Lex: Clark, the only abilities I have are playing the market and falling for the wrong women.

Clark: I've been in contact with a lot of krypton-infected people, and it never ends with us shaking hands or being friends.

Chloe: (to Lionel) You are so low, you're subterranean.

Lex: It was Winston Churchill who said, 'Out of intense complexities, intense simplicities emerge.'

High point of the show is Clark getting hit by kryptonite bullets - I was in such agony when Jonathan was trying to remove the kryptonite bullet from Clark's shoulder. Even though I know that Clark won't die, I was still on the edge of my seat. I like it when they show Clark's vulnerability as makes it easier for the viewers to relate to him.

Looks like Lana's ass-kicking moves are here to stay. I'm not sure what they're doing to Lana's character. It's as if they need Lana to show some flesh to attract the male audiences and then have her kick some butt to show that she's not just a weak female. Before, she was a damsel in distress, simple. Now, one minute she's damsel in distress and the next minute, she's kicking butt! Not to say that sweet popular girls should not be able to save themselves but it could be done in a more believable...and less confusing manner. (more...)
By Hayley Planet