Current mood:

cranky

SV Timeline: Reaper (S 1, Episode 17)
Episode title: Reaper

Airdate: April 23, 2002
Writers: Cameron Litvak
Director: Terrence O’Hara



How the title of the episode figures in.
Tyler, the FOTW, is the reaper, in that he can touch people and turn them ash and end their suffering.

Featured Characters

Tyler, a teenager who attempts to suffocate his mother to put her out of pain and then falls out of a window.
Tyler’s mother, a very ill older woman
Hank, the man who organizes the local Mobile Meals program for the elderly.

Recurring Cast

Lionel Luthor, Lex’s father
Dominic Santori, Lionel’s assistant, sent to investigate Lex’s spending of corporate dollars.

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

Tyler, who is able to turn people to dust by the touch of his hand. He gets this power after he falls of a Metropolis hospital window and a sliver of meteor rock that was in his bracelet gets embedded into his arm. He also had painkillers in his system.

Firsts

Dominic meets Jonathan for the first time. He reveals that Lex has commissioned an in-depth study of the Kent family.
When Tyler touches Clark, his face starts to turn to ash like the others, but he able to fight it. Still, he is weakened. He later admits that he felt his life draining away.

Locations

A Metropolis hospital, Smallville Medical Center, the Mobile Meals Center, The Talon, Smallville High School, the cemetary, the Kent Farm, Luthor Mansion, a Metropolis street.

Gadgets, Objects, Accoutrements

White Lilies, White Roses, meteor rock (embedded in Tyler’s arm)

Discoveries (made by characters, etc.)

Jonathan discovers that Clark’s been hiding the fact of Lex’s investigation of the Kent family.
Clark discovers the white rose at Mrs. Sykes house after her death and knows that Tyler is the one who murdered her.


Exposition

In investigating Mrs. Sykes’ death from a “fire,” Chloe finds a case of a woman whose hair caught on fire on a dance floor in October 1978. The official cause of death was spontaneous combustion. She believes Mrs. Sykes may have gone the same way since there are only ashes where her body was.
Later when she sees a picture of Tyler in an article about a body missing from the morgue, she speculates that Tyler may be the cause of the Mrs. Sykes’ death.
Back at the volunteer center, Martha is startled by Tyler. When he touches a basket of fruit and it turns to ash, Martha knows he’s the killer and he trieds to get her.
Relationships (highlights, tone, progress)

Tyler/Mom – Tyler loves his mother but hates to see her suffer. She asks him to put her out of her misery and he attempts to suffocate her.
Clark/Lex – Clark confides to Lex that he’s dreading his annual fishing trip with Jonathan. Lex offers tickets to a Sharks game in Metropolis as an alternative. Clark is grateful. Lex later rescinds the offer, hoping Jonathan and Clark will patch up their differences.
Whitney/His Dad – Whitney is avoiding the hospital because he dreads seeing his father weak and sick. He wants to remember him as a strong man.
Clark/Jonathan fight about the fishing trip and about the Luthors. Again. After some avoidance, they talk and make up.
Jonathan/Lex – fight about Lex’s influence over Clark.
Whitney/Clark – Whitney confides his fears about his Dad to Clark. Clark tells him, “I’d rather have the man than the memory.” Whitney goes to see his Dad. And later, Lex arranges to have Whitney play with the Metropolis Sharks so his father can watch him play.
Lionel/Lex – Lionel sends Dominic to investigate Lex’s corporate spending. Lex is annoyed that Lionel doesn’t call or come himself. He delivers a drugged and tied up Dominic to Lionel in Metropolis. Lionel tells him “Well done.”
Lex/Dominic – Lex has nothing but contempt for Dominic and warns him off. When Dominic doesn’t listen, Lex puts him in a trunk and delivers him to Lionel in Metropolis.
Martha/Clark – Martha asks Clark to help her with the Mobile Meals program. He’s not very enthusiastic but realizes it’s important.

Character Specifics

Clark and Jonathan have been going on an annual fishing trip since Clark was seven-years-old.
Lionel sends Dominic to scrutinize some of Lex’s spending. Lex points out that he’s spent more on a weekend in Hong Kong.
Lionel took Lex fishing once – on the inside of a cage that was attacked by Great White Sharks. It was their last father/son outing. Lex only went because Lionel thought he wouldn’t.
Lex tells Dominic that after his mother died, Lionel gave him a copy of The Will to Power. He adds that he was nurtured by the works of Nietschze, Sun Tzu and Machiavelli.
Whitney has never visited Lana’s parents’ grave until this episode.

Hair and Clothing

Lex wears a snug dark gray sweater, long black coat and dark pants in his first scene with Clark and in his scene with Jonathan. Later he wears a bright blue shirt with dark pants and the black coat.

Memorable Lines and Passages

Dominic (to Lex after Lex tells him of his childhood reading material): I’ll remember that if I’m ever interviewed by the Biography Channel.

Clark (to Whitney): “I’d rather have the man than the memory.”
Lex (to Jonathan): “Since the day I met Clark, all you’ve ever seen is the name Luthor.”
Jonathan replies: “You’ve never given me a reason to see anything else.”
Lex to Clark: “When my dad dies, kings will come to his funeral. When yours dies, his friends will come.”

Accidents, Explosions, Random Acts of Destruction

A fight in the hospital room between Clark and Tyler causes some damage.


Injured/hospitalized
Tyler’s mother, Mrs. Randall
Whitney’s father, Mr. Fordham.


Deceased

The coroner who examines Tyler in the morgue
Mrs. Sykes and her dog, Pepper
Hank

Literary/Historical References

Mr. Fordham lettered in three sports at State University.

Lex tells Dominic that he believes Lionel sent Dominic to spy on Lex. “In Ancient Persia, they killed the messenger,” he says. But he has something more subtle in mind.

Pop Culture References

None that I noted

Superman myth references

When quoting The Will to Power, Lex says, “Behold the superman. Man is something to be overcome.”

Unusual or Distinctive Use of Clark’s Superpowers

He uses X-ray vision to find the body of Pepper, Mrs. Sykes’ dog.

Clues to Timeframe
Several characters wear light jackets and school is in session. Also, the Metropolis Sharks play a game with Whitney at the end of the episode. Perhaps late Fall? Or early Spring?

Vehicles

Martha drives the blue farm pickup to deliver flowers and produce to the Mobile Meals program.
Tyler drives a van for the program to deliver meals and food to the sick and elderly.

Suggested Subtext:

Lex hints that his feelings for Clark go much deeper than friendship. “I don’t think you understand how I regard Clark and your family,” he tells Jonathan. He talks to Jonathan as if he is the unaccepted boyfriend. He tells Jonathan that he was “totally upfront with Clark” about the investigation.
Later, at Clark’s request, Lex arranges to bring the Metropolis Sharks to Smallville so that Whitney can play with them. Jonathan tells Lex was a nice thing he did for the Fordhams.

Mistakes, or errors in continuity


None that I noted.