Pretty good. My thoughts:

Clark loots a row of ATM's in the beginning of the episode, without concealing his face. Didn't they have cameras? Was this deliberate? Will this come back to haunt him later?

My friend Chris Lopez asserted that following Clark's escape from the bank robbery, when the cop holds up the bullethole-ridden ski mask Clark was wearing, that it was the back of the mask we saw. How did the back of the mask get shot with holes?

RESET BUTTON: In the cliffhanger, Chloe was supposedly going to be Clark's enemy, intending to investigate him and expose his secrets. Now we see what the creator's resolution to this was: She simply changed her mind between the cliffhanger and the premiere. Pass.

I preferred Chloe's hair when it was longer.

The Jonathan-Jor-El sequence: NICE! As soon as Jonathan was hit with the light from the diamond-shaped opening in the key, I had a feeling that he'd end up with a scar similar to Clark's, and Kryptonian powers. I was right.

I realize the writers would have been repeating themselves, but the thought of using green kryptonite to stop Clark never occurs to the Kents.

Helen was working for Lionel. What about that scene in the finale where she was snooping around Lex's office looking for the vial, and Lionel caught her? They were alone, yet acted as if they didn't know each other. More to the point, Lionel seemed giddy that he had some dirt now to use on Helen.

Michael Rosembaum (Lex) got pumped up during the hiatus, which is absurd, given that Lex has supposedly been living on nuts and berries for three months. Have these people never seen Survivor?

As an aside, just once I would like to see John Schneider in a tv series where every episode doesn't revolve around his character losing their farm.

I thought about the Kents using green kryptonite on Klark too, but realized two things:

1. All they really know about the stuff is that it hurts Clark, a LOT. It seems a bit like any other parent deciding to club their son over the head with a bat to get him under control

2. Where would they get it? For something that's suposed to be all over Smallville, we very rarely actually see any of it lying around.

Also, I was a little disapointed that Lex's little adventure on the island felt so tacked on. Frankly, I would have liked to see more of that than Clark's story.

(as an immature aside: when Lex woke up on the beach, I couldn't resist saying "I know! I'll paint a face on the back of my hed and call it Wilson! It will be my friend!")

My ••••••• VCR decided to tape CBS instead so I missed this one! Dammit! I missed last season's finale first time around and had to wait for the repeat, just a few weeks ago, too! If my VCR doesn't tape CSI tonight while I'm at the Kucinich 2004 Meet-Up I'm gonna smash the ••••••• ••••.

I was expecting Clark to come across those bars of refined kryptonite again when he broke into Lionel's safe. Could it be a nit that he should've been aware of that possibility himself, and not have been so reckless about the job? Maybe not, though; red kryptonite doesn't seem condusive to good judgment.

I may have just forgotten something from last season, but do we, the audience, know what that valuable item in Lionel's safe was yet?

Chloe's eyes seemed more brown to me in this episode than I remembered them being. Not that I'm complaining, mind you...

QUALITY PSEUDONYM OF THE WEEK:
All of Evil-Clark's new buddies call him Kal. I thought that was pretty funny.

MOVIE CONTINUITY OF THE WEEK:
Could this be the beginning of finding the crystals that Jor-El sends to instruct Clark that are discovered in Superman the movie? In the movie, a green crystal contains an artificial intelligence of Jor-El.

PARENTS IN DENIAL OF THE WEEK:
I love that Clark's been up to no good and these amazing bad things have been happening in Metropolis for three months and Jonathan and Martha still say that it might not be Clark. At least Pete is there to give them some reason. Of course it's Clark. I know there are all kinds of freaks running around Smallville, but they know Clark is out there with some major personal issues.

SURVIVOR OF THE WEEK:
What was with that crazy island man? What are the odds that Lex would land on the same island as this guy?

SUSPICIONS OF THE WEEK:
>> Helen acted alone in trying to kill Lex.
>> Lex's experiences with Louis and Helen are going to be a big part of his route to evil.
>> Clark will be back to "normal" by the end of the next episode.

OVERALL OPINION OF THE WEEK:
I give it an 89%, B+. Very well done. I love this show. I was VERY upset when "TO BE CONTINUED" appeared on the screen. Can't wait for next week.

TUE

What was with that crazy island man? What are the odds that Lex would land on the same island as this guy?

He was a figment of Lex's imagination. Those islands make you crazy, mon.

And speaking of "all kinds of freaks running around Smallville", with Clark having been gone for three months and not keeping on eye on things, shouldn't Smallville have already been ravished by numerous kryptonite monsters and other such problems? I mean, the place can't seem to go a week or two without someone making trouble and killing the populace off.

"He was a figment of Lex's imagination. Those islands make you crazy, mon." -- Duke of Earl Grey

You know the really sad thing? I truly did know that when I made the post but it just didn't click in my brain. I'm so dumb sometimes.

TUE

I very much enjoyed this episode.

Duke, as far as Morgan and I can tell, that super secret item is that vial of Clark's blood that Helen had, Lex stole and then gave back to Helen, and presumably, Lionel stole it from HER.

About the missing bars of kryptonite: it seems to me that Lionel would have moved them as soon as they were discovered last season.