'Smallville' Season 10, Episode 2 Recap

['Smallville' - 'Shield']

It looked as if 'Smallville' was speeding straight back to standalone story territory this week after last Friday's dark season premiere, but 'Shield' had a lot more to offer than the average "Clark vs. the freak-of-the-week" plot.

First off, the episode delivered an iconic villain with DC Comics baddie Deadshot/Floyd Lawton (Bradley Stryker). Deadshot wasn't the only comic book character who leaped from the funnypages and onto the screen this week. We also got a visit from conservative cutie Cat Grant (Keri Lynn Pratt) and saw the return of Carter Hall/Hawkman (Michael Shanks), Rick Flag (Ted Whittal) and Bette/Plastique (Jessica Parker Kennedy).

There was a lot going on in 'Shield,' but, surprisingly, everything hummed along at a swift pace, and the show balanced all the diverging plotlines with a unified theme and some simple but effective storytelling.

Clark was feeling the pain after Lois' decision to ditch him and head to Africa. What he didn't know was that Lois was aware of his secret, and she was struggling to accept her role in his super-powered life.

Clark said he wanted to respect her decision to leave, but he wasn't about to let her go without making sure she was well protected. Enter Carter Hall, who was a joy to watch here, even though he didn't get a chance to strap on his wings or swing his mace around. Shanks dialed down his over-the-top performance from last season's 'Absolute Justice' two-parter and turned Hall into more relatable and engaging character.

The comic book fan in me appreciated the references to Hawkman and Hawkgirl's origin story during Hall's scenes with Lois. But, of course, this is 'Smallville,' not the Hawkman show. Hall and Shayera's (Sahar Biniaz) tragic love story served to remind Lois about her destiny to be with Clark and help him on his journey to becoming the world's greatest hero.

Clark put his hero skills to good use here by protecting Cat from Deadshot's bullets, but it turned out that the prissy hero hater wasn't the assassin's real target. It seems Rick Flag and his cool new Suicide Squad have a bigger agenda for our costumed-clad heroes, whom they tagged, but didn't exactly bag, in this ep. So we have the Suicide Squad, Darkseid and possibly Lex Luthor running around Metropolis making trouble for our hereos. It'll be fun to see how the show brings all of these threats together this season.

It seems like a lot of the fun this year will come from watching Clark taking his first big steps toward becoming Superman. He got some inspiration from an unlikely source, Cat Grant, in this episode. She reminded him that heroes should act like symbols of hope to inspire people. And they're leaving themselves open to a lot of bad PR by skulking in the shadows like Flag and his clandestine Suicide Squad.

"We need to be inspired by people who stand out in the light, not people who shrink in the shadows," she said. Corny but true. Cat's words, "We need a good ol' American hero in red, white and blue ... or at least red and blue" inspired Clark to ditch his black-on-black Matrix-garb for a new and more family-friendly super suit -- a slick red motorcycle jacket sporting the classic "S" symbol and some snazzy blue leather pants. Corny, again, but also pretty cool.

I'm worried about how the show is gonna handle Allison Mack's exit this year. Chloe has never been my favorite character on the show, but she was an integral part of Clark's development as a hero and the development of the Justice League. She apparently faked her own death and vanished, leaving Ollie wanting to "forge a new fate" and step out of the shadows. Once again, Chloe is helping a hero find his way and fulfill his potential, but I'd like to see her do that onscreen instead of disappearing for an entire episode.

Clark and crew are stepping out into the light, but while Clark embraced his destiny as a symbol of hope on the Daily Planet's roof, he dropped his plane ticket to Africa -- and with it his plans to get Lois back. And Lois still hasn't decided if she wants to be Mrs. Superman. Can't these two just kiss and make up already?

Other thoughts:

- Was the Nietzsche reference clever or awkward? It was definitely surprising. What did you think?

- Is Tess taking over Watchtower in Chloe's absence? Not a bad idea.

- So it's obvious that someone on the 'Smallville' writing staff watches 'Stargate.' Did you enjoy Shanks' references to the Egyptian sun god Ra, 'SG-1' fans?

- This episode was a lot of fun. It's great to see the show feeling sunny again while still offering some dark elements throughout the hour.

'Smallville' airs Fridays at 8PM ET on The CW.