Smallville Season 7 Episode 17-Sleeper
Overall, I thought this was a boring episode, and that it was aptly titled -Sleeper. But it did bring to light some good information for the ongoing story plot. Obviously the whereabouts of Kara and Brainiac are huge and what Brainiac's evil plot to destroy Clark Kent is. While this nugget of information is huge and very interesting to find out, the rest of the episode is a foray into the relationship of Jimmy Olsen and Chloe Sullivan. While I find these characters interesting, as long as they don't overstep their bounds for their roles in the series, I don't find their relationship very interesting. It could be that I have a longing for Chloe and Clark to get together in a romantic relationship, which will probably never happen. But I think Jimmy is best relegated to a secondary or tertiary role in the series, as this attempt to have him as a primary role in the episode fell flat, for me anyways. The introduction of Special Agent Vanessa Weber and the introduction of her into the series was well done and I found her character and involvement more interesting than Jimmy Olsen in this episode. Sadly, I doubt we'll be seeing Agent Weber very much if at all in the future. The subplot of Lex Luthor opening the lock box in Zurich was a big deal and what the reveal for what was inside it is a big plot point too. However, this subplot took very little screen time and could've been easily added to any other episode.
FULL REVIEW:
At a club full of beautiful people, we see a masked man in black crawling through the ventilation shaft. He opens the vent and jumps down into a hallway and uses a stun gun on a man with a briefcase. He opens the briefcase and downloads the contents. He leaves and goes into an elevator and removes his black clothing. It is none other than Jimmy Olsen!
The next scene starts off with the title - 14 hours earlier. We then see Jimmy clumsily making breakfast for Chloe Sullivan. Chloe comes into the kitchen and tells him that she can't stay for breakfast. Jimmy is sad, and feels neglected. He questions Chloe if she is feeling anything for their relationship anymore. She indicates that it will take some time, plus she is really busy running Isis for Lana Lang, while she is incapacitated. She tells Jimmy that she will take him to lunch later and leaves for work. Jimmy eats breakfast alone, and we see that someone is spying on him through the window with some high tech gear.
At Isis, Chloe is getting things up and running, Clark comes in and tells her that he didn't get the keys yet and that he spent all night by Lana's side. Chloe tells Clark that he needs to put more effort into getting those keys from Lex or else it won't matter anymore. They discuss the need to find Brainiac so that they can get Lana healed. Clark and Chloe are frustrated over the lack of success. They decide to take a different approach and look at information gained from satellite images. Chloe will try to access this information and Clark will try to get information from Dr. Swan's journals.
Jimmy is hanging out at the Talon, when Special Agent Vanessa Weber begins telling Jimmy that they have been watching him. She accuses him of hacking the mainframe of the NSA. Jimmy doesn't know what she is talking about and Vanessa shows him a picture of Chloe and accuses Chloe of being a terrorist. Vanessa wants Jimmy to spy on Chloe and to tell them if she makes her move. Vanessa gives Jimmy a suitcase full of spy gear. She tells Jimmy that Chloe is not who he thinks she is. Jimmy believes her.
Jimmy goes to Isis and talks to Chloe about how they were supposed to have lunch but she forgot. Chloe blows him off and she runs off to meet with Clark.
Lex Luthor is planning his trip to Zurich and an assistant comes and tells him that there are some complications, the government has red flagged his travel plans. Lex tells him to fix it.
Jimmy comes back to Isis and breaks in and opens the computer lab. He sees that Chloe is trying to hack into the NSA satellites.
At Chloe's apartment, Clark has been reading Swan's journal and tells Chloe that there is a page there that wasn't there before. There is a message that in order for him to save Lana, he needs to take her to the fortress. Chloe tells him that it might be a trick, but Clark is willing to risk it.
Clark goes back to the barn and gets the portal key. Jimmy comes walking in and wants to talk to him. Jimmy hints that he has a friend that is hiding something, Clark surmises it's Chloe and encourages him to trust her.
Clark goes to the Fortress and questions Jor-El about the message to save Lana. He hears a distorted voice and it is Kara trying to communicate with him. She warns him and states that she is on Krypton. Clark is confused.
At Isis, Chloe is trying to hack into the satellites information and comes across information that could help him track down Braniac. She calls Clark and tells him that she has a way to figure out what's going on. The computer starts copying files and Chloe figures out that Jimmy is the one copying the files.
Jimmy meets with Agent Weber and she tells him to go with Chloe to the club and to wear a wire to spy on her. She threatens Jimmy to do it, even though he doesn't want to, or else they will both be facing federal charges.
At the club, Chloe and Jimmy are dressed to impress. Jimmy uses his cell phone to clone the data files from Chloe's phone to his. He distracts her by asking her to dance. They dance like pros and Chloe is impressed. Afterwards, Jimmy grabs his phone and then makes an excuse to go. Chloe then gets into the elevator. She goes to another floor in the building which happens to have a computer lab for the satellites. Jimmy is now dressed in black, crawling through the ventilation shafts as in the beginning of the episode. While Chloe is hacking into the satellite system, Jimmy is tasing the man with the briefcase. Chloe finds the information that will help them locate Brainiac. Jimmy exits the elevator and goes to find Agent Weber. He gives Vanessa the cell phone and it contains false information. It turns out Chloe double crossed Jimmy. Vanessa tells Jimmy that he is going to prison and has him escorted out. Chloe locates the information and sends it to her email address, just as Agent Weber comes in and stops Chloe. Jimmy disables the guard and heads back to where Chloe is. She is being interrogated by Agent Weber, Chloe won't talk and is being beaten for it. Jimmy comes in and distracts Agent Weber, he disables the other guard, but Weber starts beating him up, but he knocks Vanessa out. He unties Chloe and they escape.
Back at the Talon, Jimmy and Chloe begin arguing about trust and how Chloe has been deceiving him. Chloe admits that she lied to him, and tells him to ask her whatever he wants to. Jimmy kisses her and then she kisses him back. Jimmy tells her that the feds won't be coming after them, that he has taken care of it.
In Zurich, Switzerland, Lex arrives at the bank and is handed the lock box. He goes into a room and opens the box using the two keys. There is nothing inside the box. Or so it appears. There is a secret compartment, that Lex finds and he finds the envelope. Inside is a device with wheels that must be configured to reveal the Veritas V. Lex is assaulted from behind, but he disables the assailant who tells him that "You aren't one of them", before being knocked out.
At the Daily Planet, Jimmy visits Lex and asks him for help. Lex has cleared Chloe's name and Jimmy asks what's the catch. Lex says there's no catch, but tells him that when he needs help, he knows Jimmy will be there for him. Jimmy leaves knowing he just made a deal with the devil.
At the barn loft, Clark tells Chloe that Brainiac has taken Kara to Krypton, but that is impossible. Chloe tells Clark that maybe it is true and shows him pictures that were taken by the satellites. Chloe shows Clark how the pictures show a vortex opening and revealing a red star and a planet. They surmise that Kara and Brainiac have time traveled back to the time when Krypton still existed. They realize that Clark has to go back in time to Krypton as well to prevent Brainiac from killing him as a baby and causing him to cease to exist.
In a deleted scene, we see Lex being visited by Special Agent Weber. He reveals that he knows he is being barred from international travel due to her survelliance on the Daily Planet and Chloe Sullivan. He threatens her to fix that ban on Lex's travel or he will reveal her unethical tactics to her supervisor.
In a second deleted scene, we see Chloe get into the elevator at the club. She has a key hidden in her shoe that allows her to access the floor to the satellite computer lab via elevator.