It amazes me how so many times Clark's been incapacitated by one little piece of Kryptonite lying a foot away from him, and yet when he's trapped in a mine, surrounded by the stuff, with debris on his back, he is able to just rise up, and keep moving. Not to mention the fact that he also had a piece of shrapnel in his arm. I know he's Superman, but there have been plenty of times when he was uninjured, and one little piece of Krytonite dropped him. So, was he just being a baby then, or what? Considering how he usually passes out from exposure until someone comes in to rescue him he should have never been able to get back to his feet. Of course I always felt that he should be able to crawl away from one little piece of Kryptonite anyway, but whatever. The one saving grace of this episode for me is that it's very similar to an episode from the Superboy TV series called Mine Games, where Superboy and Lex end up trapped in a mine, and have to work together to escape. Still, it's not enough for me to look the other way on such a blatant inconsistency. You can't have Clark be completely incapacitated by one little piece of Kryptonite in every instance up to this point, and then have him get to his feet, and retreat with several pieces scattered around him, and shrapnel in his arm. It just doesn't make sense. The only way I can make it work is to assume that Clark really was just being a baby all those other times, and could have crawled away from the Kryptonite if he had wanted to. I mean, he didn't even appear to be weakened by it all that much when he got up, and he'd been exposed to the Kryptonite on top of an explosion that left a piece of shrapnel lodged in him. Then, later in the episode there's a piece of Kryptonite, across the room from him, and he winces and hesitates. Seriously? That affects him, but the four pieces surrounding him earlier in the same episode don't? Then, when he gets to it, just as close as he's been countless times before, he soldiers through it? Give me a freaking break, and don't say repeated exposure lessened the effects on him. It was just in the previous episode where Chloe crippled him with one little piece of Kryptonite, and he passed out until his mom came home, and found him. Now he can suddenly crawl away from it? It just makes me feel like the writer's have zero respect for the audience, and doubted anyone would notice. The rest of the episode is decent aside from Clark's never ending hypocrisy. I swear if he weren't such a hypocrite the stuff he throws in everybody's faces wouldn't bother me so much. Clark may save people on a daily basis, but that doesn't excuse his behavior. I was glad when Lex left him for dead, but then of course he had to come back. I figured he would, but still. Part of me hoped he wouldn't. In real life I would never advocate for leaving someone for dead, but Clark is always such a self-righteous prick. I wouldn't have blamed Lex if he had made a run for it. My favorite part of the episode, though, would have to be at the end when Clark's talking to his mom, and wonders if he's partly to blame for who Lex has become. Questions if maybe he gave up on him too soon. I've always kind of felt like Clark not trusting Lex, is what made him turn on him. Then his mom says that Clark never gives up on people. I'm sorry Mrs. Kent, but your son is not as virtuous as you think he is. He gave up on Lex, and almost never gives anyone else the benefit of doubt. I rate the episode a 3, but I don't even want to give it that.
