Superbad

I opted to watch Smallville tonight for the first time in a long time. (I think the last time I watched was at the start of this season when they introduced Supergirl...)

I'm going to recap tonight's episode, even though I really don't have a clue as to what is going on story-wise. But that's okay, because, statistically speaking, neither do you.

Tonight's episode was entitled Traveler. (It's always bugged me that all Smallville episodes are one-word titles. Makes them too difficult to remember, imo.) Anyway, on we go!

No previouslies, which is kinda weird, but I guess they figure that we don't need to know what's going on.

It opens with Papa Luthor signing things at his desk. A lackey approaches him and says, "You got one more, sir." An autograph request?
It shows that the envelope has a wax seal, so maybe it's a Hogwarts acceptance letter...
Papa Luthor opens the envelope, reads the contents (we don't see them) and looks very worried.

Clark is in the barn, looking at one of those octagon-key-portal-spaceship pieces that played importance several thousand seasons back (and might still?). He hears a noise, and the suspicious music clues us in that it is not Lana, despite him calling out to ask if it is. (So I guess he and Lana are back on speaking terms this week?) Suddenly, an electric shocking dart flies through the air and hits Clark in the chest. It's obviously laced with kryptonite, and he gets the first of what will prove to be many shocks of the episode.
He manages to remove it from his chest, and instead of super-zipping out of the danger zone, he watches as another shock-dart hits the wall next to him. He turns to see that a military commando guy is standing nearby. Clark hurls him through a wall (he must be hypnotized [/running gag on Smallville]) but is soon taken down by the rest of commando guy's crew, who put many many many kryptonite-laced shock darts into Clark. So, it's the Initiative, huh? Leader of the crew says, "I understand why they'd want you," and kicks Clark.

Credits.

Lana and Chloe are in the barn, examining the aftermath of the abduction. They find one of the shock-darts, and see that it has a piece of Clark's red shirt in it, so they deduce that he's been abducted.

Clark wakes up in a kryptonite-laced cage. The commando leader from earlier is behind a glass wall with a control on the cage, where he can raise the amount of krytonite flowing into the bars, and he claims that he can kill Clark if he doesn't stay put. In case you missed this torture scene, don't worry, it's repeated several times throughout the episode.

Papa Luthor meets up with a woman he addresses as "Patty" Swann - she is the daughter of Virgil Swann (who was played by Christopher Reeve). She expositions that she knows that when she was a kid, Papa Luthor, her dad, and two other folks used to have meetings all the time where they would talk about the upcoming arrival of "The Traveler". They used to call their group "Veritas", and all of the members are now dead - except Papa Luthor. And she says she has proof that he murdered them.
Papa Luthor doesn't take threats well, and implies that if she comes forward with her information, that it would end badly for her.

Supergirl is living at Lex's house...and doesn't have her memory? Huh? Anyway, Lex suspects that Supergirl is ...well, he doesn't know what, exactly, but he's got his people constantly spying on her, in case her memory comes back. And if that doesn't happen, he's got some memory retrieval thing set up to put her through. But the scientists warn him that it could kill her. Lex doesn't care, he wants answers. Oh, Lex.

Clark is in the cage o' torture. Psycho-guard guy is there, torturing Clark. Suddenly, Papa Luthor walks in, and gives psycho-guard guy a warning that Clark is not to be hurt, just watched, and if anything happens to him, he'll hold psycho-guard responsible.

Commercials.

Lana & Chloe arrive at Papa Luthor's place of business to ask him if they know where Clark is. They show him the shock-dart they found. Papa Luthor tries to direct them toward Lex.

They go to do research, and quickly discover that it is really Papa L. who is holding Clark hostage. They realize that the only way to get Clark out is to have Supergirl save him, but Supergirl is with Lex...

Patty Swann shows up to talk to Lex and subtly gets him interested in Veritas. She gives him a painting he made as a kid of the Veritas symbol, that Lex has no memory of, oddly. She tells him that she bets her dad would have more information...

Commercials!

Lex confronts Papa L. about Veritas. He tries to deny it, but Lex ain't buying it. Once Lex leaves, Papa L. calls Patty Swann and says he's ready to make a deal. (No, Lionel!! Your case has more money in it!! Don't do it!)

Lana & Chloe are getting in Chloe's Toyota Prius, saying they're going to rescue Supergirl. In her Prius! They drive down the road in the Prius. And... scene.

Lex is ready to do the memory retrieval, but at just that moment, the cameras that are focused on Supergirl go dead. Chloe & Lana arrive and tell Supergirl that she 'has to go with them right now'.

Another torture Clark scene.

Supergirl and Chloe (where's Lana??) are now in the Fortress of Solitude, where Chloe forces Jor-El to return Supergirl's memory (and powers, apparently, I didn't realize she'd lost those too.) Dramatic music and CGI ensue, and now Supergirl is back, and ready to save Clark. But first, commercials.

Patty meets with Papa L. to make a trade: Her evidence on his murders for the Traveler. But then psycho-guard knocks Patty out, by hitting her on the back of the head with a gun. This makes Papa L. happy, but then psycho-guard turns on Papa L! He claims that Clark needs to be terminated, since he's a threat to national security. He knocks Papa L. out, and cranks up the juice on the torture-cage. Clark is near death, when in comes Supergirl! Hooray!
She uses her fire-eye-beam power to destroy the voltage on the cage, then hurls it through the glass window where psycho-guard was. He ducks.
Clark & Supergirl share a moment, where Clark is glad to have her back. Psycho-guard stands above them with a gun, armed with more electro-shock-darts, but before he can fire upon the Kryptonians, Papa Luthor smacks him on the back of the head, where he falls to his death, impaled on a piece of the broken torture-cage. Ha! Poetic justice. Followed by commercials.

We return at Clark's house, where Patty is giving Clark a journal that her dad wrote, all about him. He reads some of the prophecies, which state that "The Traveler will bring great change to the world."
They discuss the Luthors and how Lionel had done all those bad things to have Clark under his control. She leaves Clark, telling him she'll be in Metropolis, and to look her up sometime.

Clark goes to see Papa Luthor, angry about having been put in a cage. Papa L tries to put a good spin on the situation ("I built the cage to store other Kryptonians"; "These death threat letters I got said they were going to kill you!") but Clark isn't hearing that tune.
Clark and Supergirl talk at home about how people are mostly good, but that the Luthors are probably a lost cause.

Patty is being driven to Metropolis. Her driver stops the car, gets out, and shoots her.

Lex contemplates the Veritas painting that Patty gave him. End!

Next week - Spike comes back! With information about Supergirl!! Wait. What?