What's up with Clark? The drawing of the drifter shows a medallion around his neck with an etched Kryptonian symbol Clark remembers from the cave drawings. Jonathan and Clark find the drawing on the cave wall. Clark touches the wall. It opens. As he reaches inside, he has flashbacks of the drifter and he finds the medallion. Later Clark realizes that the medallion is a diary of Jor-El's time in Smallville.

Through various flashbacks, Clark sees Jor-El and his life in Smallville, calling himself "Joe." Jor-El's father had sent him to earth for a lesson. While in Smallville "Joe," met and loved Lana's great-aunt Louise who was married to Dexter at the time. They met when "Joe" saved Louise from an armed robbery attempt by would-be burglar Lachlan Luthor, Lex's grandfather. As their relationship grew, "Joe" told Louise he had to leave Smallville to return home. Louise wanted to accompany him. "Joe" tried to explain that it wouldn't be possible. He even demonstrates his flying abilities, elevating Louise, so she would understand why she couldn't return home with him. On their last night together, Lachlan Luthor found them together in the barn, shooting "Joe" many times. "Joe" was unhurt, but one stray bullet caught Louise, who died in "Joe's" arms.

While investigating the circumstances of Louise's death, Lana and Clark find out that present Mayor William Tate was Deputy Billy Tate at the time. He released Lachlan Luthor from jail on the day Louise was shot dead. Lana and Clark visit Mayor Tate to ask about Lachlan. Clark's flashback leads him to discover that Tate was also in love with Louise. Clark encourages the Sheriff to investigate Mayor Tate's connection with Louise's murder. Clark believes Tate made a deal to drop charges on Lachlan on the attempted burglary if he'd kill the drifter "Joe." Tate could then pin the murder on Dexter.

Another flashback reveals that Jonathan's father Hiram Kent believed that "Joe" was innocent and tried to help him escape.

What's up with Lex? Chloe questions Lex about his grandfather Lachlan Luthor. He has no answers. Lex later confronts Lionel with the story of Lachlan's attempted crime and Lionel's story of his grandfather's heritage from Scottish nobility. Lionel admits he fabricated the lineage of his parent's to erase his past of poverty. In reality, grandfather Lachlan and his wife died in a tenement fire in the slums.

Lex has an investigator probe into his grandparent's deaths. Lex tells Lionel that the fire in the tenement where his grandparents died was caused by an explosion originating from the family's apartment. There were traces of ammonium nitrate found. (Although it wasn't mentioned in the episode, ammonium nitrate is an ingredient of fertilizers). Lex is curious why Lionel never sought revenge. Lex tells Lionel they need to find out who was responsible for the murder of Lionel's parents, for justice.

How it ends: Clark impersonates "Joe," slicking back his hair and wearing Grandpa Hiram's old leather bomber jacket along with the medallion. He confronts Mayor Tate, telling him to confess to Louise's murder. Clark (as "Joe") dodges bullets as Tate tries to kill him. The Mayor is so distraught, that when Clark disappears and the Sheriff arrives, Tate mutters a confession, "Lachlan was supposed to kill the drifter. I never meant to kill Louise. I loved her."

Lana visits her great-uncle Dexter in the prison hospital. He's finding it hard to believe that Tate really was behind Louise's death and let him take the rap serving the past 42 years in prison.

Back in the cave, Clark has a flashback of "Joe" placing the medallion back into the cave wall. Clark's grandfather Hiram found him there, telling "Joe" "If there is ever anything you need, you know where to find me." Clark tells Jonathan he doesn't think he and Jonathan found him by accident. They were chosen as Clark's adoptive parents.
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The year was 1961. I was just a speck of pollen in my grandpappy's nose and in Smallville (the town, not the show), a slutty young woman who looked like a tarted-up Lana Lana by way of Natalie Wood (oldest tasteless Hollywood joke I know: What kind of wood does not float? Natalie) meets a drifter with strange superpowers. She's strangely attracted to him, especially after he throws a mugger (who, it turns out, was Lex Luthor's grandfather) into a post. We find all this out because Lana meets the husband of the young woman, now an old man who was accused of her murder back in '61. The young drifter, it turns out, was Jor-El (yep, Clark's real father), who was just passing through looking for thrills when he met Lana's great-aunt. But there's more: The town deputy was in love with her too, and tries to get Grandpa Luthor to kill the drifter. Instead, the olden Luthor killed the wrong person. In the present day, Lana and Clark try to figure out what happened and Clark keeps getting Dead Zone flashes to the past. Clark '61 and Lana '61 have some sex, which I guess is cool except that everybody in town is in love with Lana. History has no taste. When Clark figures things out, the Cigarette Smoking Mayor confesses in cheesy fashion (Clark in a leather jacket pretends to be a ghost...booooooooo!) and presumably goes to jail, so we lose a potentially cool character to a very lame plotline. Lex, meanwhile, also finds out about his petty-thief grandpa and also finds out that Papa Luthor's parents died in a tenement fire that Papa Luthor may or may not have caused. (He acts sad about it, but also shifty.) The revelation about Jor-El means that Clark's showing up in the town via the Meteor Express probably wasn't an accident. But it's still all about Lana, or Natalie Wood, or whoever the hell this wigged, heavily made-up woman-child great-aunt is supposed to be. 1961 was a bad year for Smallville (the show, not the town).
By: Omar L. Gallaga (TWoP)

Lana's great uncle, who was convicted of murdering his wife forty years ago, shows her a picture of the man he believes really killed her aunt, and she is shocked to discover the drifter looks just like Clark. Sure that the man is Jor-El, Clark's investigation leads him to a kryptonian medallion that allows him to see bits of the past - and the life that Jor-El started for him long before he arrived on Earth. Michael Rosenbaum, Allison Mack, Sam Jones III, John Glover, Annette O'Toole and John Schneider also star.

Okay, maybe I'm a pervert, but look at Lana in the 00s, then look at 1961 Lana. Lana's hotter in the sixties. I've been struggling to put my finger on it, but then I came up with it. In the 00s she seems like an airhead with no chemistry and a lot of make-up, and in the sixties, she seems like a down-to-Earth girl who might get a little physical... with a lot of make-up. Minus the make-up, you have my ideal gal... thus the finger be putteth.

When Clark is explaining his theory about the dreams to Pete...

WAIT! I said Pete! Yes, folks, Pete is IN this show. Just barely, but he's there. Keep your fingers crossed, he might come back. If they keep the cool lack of freaks going, they could make Pete a female Mongolian Zoroastrian who spouts cheeky catch phrases like "Where's the idol, Ferris?", for all I care. Though I like Pete. (more...)
By Neal Bailey