1.16 Stray
Episode title: 1.16 Stray

Airdate: April 16, 2002

Writer: Philip Levens

Director: Paul Shapiro

Story: The Kents take in a runaway boy, unaware that he has the ability to read minds and has been exploited by his step-parents for criminal activities. Meanwhile, Lionel tells Lex to return to Metropolis.

How the title of the episode figures in:

Ryan is the eponymous stray; he runs away from his abusive step-parents and finds shelter with the Kents; the title may also refer to the way he can detect people's 'stray' thoughts. It is also possible to infer that Lionel is attempting to rein in his own 'stray', Lex.

Jonathan: You always had a soft spot for strays.
Martha: Well, the last one turned out all right.

Regular Cast:

Tom Welling as Clark Kent
Kristin Kreuk as Lana Lang
Michael Rosenbaum as Lex Luthor
Allison Mack as Chloe Sullivan
Annette O'Toole as Martha Kent
John Schneider as Jonathan Kent

(Sam Jones III as Pete and Eric Johnson as Whitney do not appear in this episode.)

Featured Characters:

Ryan Kelley as Ryan James
Jim Shield as James John Gibson, Ryan's stepfather
Brandy Ledford as Ryan's stepmother
Bill Finck as the pawnshop clerk

Recurring Cast:

John Glover as Lionel Luthor
Rekha Sharma as Dr Harden

VOTW/FOTW, their special power/ability and how they got it:

Ryan can 'hear' people's surface thoughts - what they're thinking at a particular moment - but he can't read Clark. There is no explanation for his power, and no indication that it is related to the meteor rocks.

Firsts:

First FOTW unrelated to the meteor shower.
First mention of Lex's dead brother Julian.
First appearance of Dr Harden.
First appearance of Warrior Angel comics.
First mention of Edge City.

Locations:

A pawn shop.
Route 90.
The Smallville Medical Center.
A bowling alley (the name starts with an S, but I can't make out the rest).

Gadgets, Objects, Accoutrements:

Ryan's angel figurine.
Warrior Angel comics.
Jonathan's cow coffee mug.
Clark's basketball.
Ryan's backpack, filled with comics and Twizzlers, as well as a photo in a secret compartment of Ryan with his mother.
Martha peels green apples for pie.
Clark's spaceship in the storm cellar.
A foil (Lex's gift to Clark).
Ryan's stepfather's sawn off shotgun.
Ryan's stepfather's mug shot (name: James John Gibson, height: 74 inches).
Ryan's stepfather's laptop.
A bowling ball (Clark uses this to take Ryan's stepfather down).
Lex drinks a bottle of Ty Nant water.
Lionel fondles two blue pool balls.

Discoveries (made by characters, etc.):

Lionel wants Lex to return to Metropolis where he will hold the position of Special Advisor to the Chairman Emeritus (Lionel).
Lana discovers that a waitress named Skye has been stealing from the Talon till.
Lex tells Clark about his baby brother, Julian, who died.
Clark learns that Chloe wants him to ask her to the prom and has already picked out a pink dress.
Ryan discovers Clark's secret, and his spaceship.
Chloe has a source at the sheriff's office: a traffic officer who let her out of a speeding ticket.
The password to Lex's trust fund is not 'Julian'.

Exposition:

Lex tells Clark that when he was eleven, his mother became pregnant, making both Lex and Lionel very happy. Then his mother found baby Julian dead in his crib on the morning of his baptism. Lex says his mother was never the same and that Lionel became even more distant; Lex thinks Lionel saw Julian as his second chance for a son he could truly love. Lex also believes that had Julian lived, Lionel would have set the brothers against each other.

Ryan explains to Clark that he hears people's thoughts wherever he goes, and he can't block it out anymore. He says his mother is dead and that his stepfather and his new wife have been using Ryan's ability to help them steal. He says they threaten and hit him, and he wishes he could be adopted by the Kent family where he could start over and feel safe.

Relationships (highlights, tone, progress):

The Kents develop strong, familial affection for Ryan in a short space of time. Ryan's presence makes Martha and Jonathan happy...and very wistful about adopting another child. Clark takes on the role of a protective and loving big brother, and uses the nickname 'buddy' for Ryan. Ryan's appearance in Clark's life prompts Clark's heroic tendencies, planting the strongest seeds yet for his future as a protector with a secret life.

Lionel expresses satisfaction with Lex's work in Smallville and tries to convince him to return to Metropolis to work under him. Lex is wary of his father's sincerity and motives, and is uncertain whether he wants to join him; he feels that he is a different person when he is around Lionel in Metropolis. Eventually he declines the offer, much to Lionel's irritation, and they part company on a challenging note.

Clark is still keen on Lana, but her own feelings are less clear. They are on very friendly, if slightly evasive, terms; they discuss family, for instance, and Lana implies that she thinks Clark makes a trustworthy, reliable brother figure, which seems to both please and disconcert him. When Ryan confesses to Clark that he's definitely in love with her, Clark says, "Join the club."

Clark continues to be oblivious to Chloe's feelings for him. When Ryan lets slip to Clark that Chloe wants to go to the prom with him, Clark seems disbelieving but not averse to the idea. When he questions her about it, she is embarrassed and tries to make light of it. Later, Chloe tells Clark that unlike Lex, she's not going anywhere, but although he smiles, he is too distracted to register her seriousness.

Lex's attachment to Clark has become so strong that he feels answerable to Clark; it is also clear that Clark is a factor in Lex's reluctance to leave Smallville. Lex confides in Clark about his little brother, and then tells Clark about his father's Metropolis job offer, something he has not spoken of to anyone else. Clark tells Lex that if anyone can choose who they want to be, it's Lex; he does not try to influence Lex's decision but makes it plain that he at least would be happy to see Lex stay.

Character Specifics

Jonathan likes coffee with milk and little honey.
Lionel has been in Monaco.
Lana has always dreamed of having a brother or sister.
Lex is a fan of Warrior Angel comics; he has the whole collection, including a framed original first edition panel.
Jonathan wears reading glasses.

Hair and Clothing

Ryan's shirt has black and grey stripes like a stereotypical prison uniform, offset by primary red around the collar. He continues to wear it even after spending time in a garbage truck.
Ryan's step-parents wear 'human' masks during the pawnshop robbery.
Ryan's stepmother wears a conspicuous red beret at the medical centre.
Lionel dangles one of his leather gloves near Lex's head, as if to throw down a gauntlet.
At the Talon, Lana wears a bright green shirt which matches the dumpster in the back lane.
Clark wears a very sexy toolbelt with his red and blue top.
Lex wears a suit with a purple tie for his dinner date with Lionel.
Ryan's stepfather disguises himself as Lex's limo driver.
By the time Ryan leaves, he is wearing a flannel shirt.
Ryan's aunt has red hair.

Memorable Lines and Passages:

Clark: Ryan, everything's gonna work out. I know it. You like comics?
Ryan: I like this one.
Clark: Warrior Angel. Why him?
Ryan: Because he protects people who can't protect themselves. I like being around you, Clark. It's...peaceful.

Martha: Do you ever think we made the wrong decision not adopting another child? Maybe sharing his secret with a younger brother would have helped. He seems to really like Ryan.
Jonathan: I don't think he's the only one. You always had a soft spot for strays.
Martha: The last one turned out all right.

Lionel: We don't need to play games, son.
Lex: Dad, games are all we've got.

Lana: I've always dreamed of having a brother or sister. You know, someone to talk to. Help fill the silence.
Clark: Someone you could totally trust and would always be there for you?
Lana: It's just how I see you, Clark.

Lana: Everybody has secrets, Ryan.

Lex: It's a foil, Clark. Every hero should have one.

Lionel: You think you can find your future in Smallville? I'm your future. Join me, Lex. Join me in Metropolis. How long have you been waiting to hear me say those words?
Lex: I've waited to hear other things from you for a lot longer. I'll return to Metropolis when I'm ready.
Lionel: At the head of an army?

Ryan: Are you sure you don't want to know how Lana feels about you?
Clark: I prefer to find out on my own.
Ryan: Clark, be careful of Lex. I know you like him, but there's a lot of darkness he keeps from the world. I've seen it in his head.
Clark: I like to believe in people's best.

Accidents, Explosions, Random Acts of Destruction:

Martha runs over Ryan in her sedan on Route 90.
Ryan hides in a dumpster which gets emptied into a garbage truck; Clark rips it open to rescue him.
Ryan's stepfather shoots up the bowling alley trying to flush Ryan out of hiding; Clark throws a bowling ball through a wall to take Ryan's stepfather down.

Injured/hospitalized:

Ryan's stepfather shoots the pawnshop clerk.
Ryan is run over by Martha's sedan; at the hospital, an examination reveals scrapes and bruises (some of which were not caused by the accident), 'amnesia' and post-traumatic shock.
Ryan's stepfather hits Lex in the chest with a shotgun and pushes him from the moving limo; Lex is rubbing his left arm in pain when Clark arrives but seems otherwise unhurt.
Ryan's stepfather shoots his wife.
Ryan's stepfather shoots the bowling alley janitor.
Clark throws a bowling ball through a wall at Ryan's stepfather; it hits him in the chest and knocks him down.

Deceased:

None of the three gunshot victims are confirmed dead, but it appears probable they did not survive.

Literary/Art/Historical References:

Lex: Von Clausewitz, 'On War'. Isn't that a little 80s, Dad? Even for you?

Lionel: You know, Philip of Macedonia raised his son among lions to instil fearlessness in him.
Lex: Didn't he also try to impale the kid with a spear?
Lionel: In an aborted coup attempt, but history remembers that boy as Alexander the Great.

Chloe: Wow. You're like a modern day Kaspar Hauser.

Pop Culture References:

Clark: How would Ryan know that?
Chloe: I don't know. Maybe he's an alien or maybe he called Miss Cleo.

Chloe: Hey, Zorro, what's with the sword?

Lionel: Join me, Lex.

Superman myth references:

Clark: I didn't know you liked comic books.
Lex: A strange visitor from another planet who protects the weak. When I was young, he was my idol. Not to mention the fact he's bald. I have the whole collection.

When Clark saves Ryan from getting squashed in the garbage truck, there is a nimbus of light around his head as he says, "You're safe now," just like in the Warrior Angel comic Ryan was reading. He repeats those words later after saving Ryan in the bowling alley.

Lex: Where's your young sidekick? Many DC superheroes have sidekicks, although Superman is not one of them.

Clark asks if the prom dress Chloe has chosen is pink. (In Superman: The Movie, Superman reveals that Lois' underwear is pink.)

Lex: It's a foil, Clark. Every hero should have one.

Ryan is going to Edge City with his aunt. The name is probably an homage to the DC character Morgan Edge. (There is also a comic strip unrelated to DC called 'Edge City'.)

The music at the end of the episode is 'Superman' by Five for Fighting.

Unusual or Distinctive Use of Clark's Superpowers:

Right in front of Chloe, Clark rips open Ryan's backpack to find a secret compartment.

Clues to Timeframe:

The events of 'Stray' appear to occur over three nights and days. The pawn shop robbery probably takes place between 9.30pm-10.00pm. (Jonathan: I still can't figure out why you were out on Route 90 at 10 o'clock at night.) The incident with the garbage truck apparently happens the next day, and Ryan's discovery of Clark's spaceship the day after. It is dark when 'Child Services' arrives at the Kent Farm to take Ryan away. Lex arrives fifteen minutes later on his way to dinner with his father in Metropolis and is later attacked by Ryan's stepfather on Route 90. Ryan presumably leaves with his aunt the day after that.

Most characters wear jackets outside during the day, and the nights seem cool and misty.

Vehicles:

Martha is driving a sedan when she runs over Ryan.
Ryan's stepfather commandeers Lex's limo. The limo appears to have a mirrored roof.

Random

LuthorCorp stock is up.

Suggested Subtext:

Clark/Lex:

Lex gives Clark a sword. Clark plays with it. Clark says, "For what it's worth, I hope you stay." By the look on Lex's face, it's worth a whole lot. When Ryan says he's definitely in love and Clark says, "Join the club," the scene immediately cuts to Lex. Ryan knows how much Clark likes Lex - so much so that he feels the need to warn him off Lex.

Lionel/Lex:

Lionel says Lex's performance in Smallville has been...more than adequate. Now he wants Lex to join him in Metropolis in a special position. He dangles an article of leather clothing temptingly in front of Lex as they discuss the playing of games. Later, Lex specifically tells Clark about Lionel's offer (and their dinner date) and explains that he's a different person around his father...and that he's just not sure what he wants anymore. When Lex refuses to leave Smallville, knowing that his father just wants to keep an eye on him, Lionel is visibly upset as he squeezes a pair of blue balls. Lionel insists that Lex has a future with him, but Lex is still waiting to hear those special words.

Lex: I know why you want me back. I'm driving you crazy, aren't I?

Mistakes, or errors in continuity:

Ryan continues to wear the same shirt for several days, despite getting stuck in a garbage truck.

Music:

'Free To Change Your Mind' by Regency Buck plays during the pawn shop robbery and as Ryan runs away.
'Lonely Day' by Phantom Planet plays as Clark coaxes Ryan away from his comic to play basketball.
'Superman' by Five for Fighting plays at the end of the episode, as the Kents say goodbye to Ryan and Ryan gives all his Warrior Angel comics to Clark.