Originally aired October 22, 2002
Written by Brian Peterson & Kelly Souders
Directed by Rick Wallace
Lana learns that a boy, Byron, has been leaving love letters at her parents' grave. She and Clark suspect that Byron is being abused by his parents, so Clark and Pete go to rescue Byron, only to find out the real reason why he was being held in captivity by his parents. Lex is furious when Lionel hires Martha as his personal assistant.
Tropes present in the episode:
- Abuse Mistake: After meeting Byron, Clark and Lana see scars on his wrists and are later threatened by his father with a shotgun, all which of lead them to think Byron is being abused. It later turns out that Byron's parents keep him in their cellar because exposure to sunlight causes him to turn bestial.
- Anti-Villain: Byron is a Type IV.
- Bait-and-Switch: For the first half of the episode, Byron's parents seem to be just abusive. When Byron finally comes out of the basement, there's a good reason for the Moores' treatment of him: Sunlight causes him to Hulk Out.
- Black Eyes of Evil: Byron, when he goes into beast mode.
- Calling the Old Man Out: Lex isn't happy to find out that his father hired Martha to be his personal assistant, and he threatens to end his and Lionel's "reconciliation" if any harm befalls Clark or his parents because of Lionel.Lex: [to Lionel] If I find out that you have any agenda that could hurt the Kents, this amiable father-son detente will come to an abrupt end.
- Disability as an Excuse for Jerkassery: Lionel contemptuously fires his latest assistant, Tad, and gripes at Lex for not doing enough to help him.Tad: So as you can see, sir, or maybe not actually "see" in your case, it was an honest mistake and one that I promise won't ever happen again as long as I'm working for you.Lionel: Thank you, Tad. That was a very heartfelt, if not interminably long-winded, apology. And I'm going to help you keep that promise, Tad. [Beat] Your things will be mailed to you.Tad: Are you letting me go?Lionel: Never lose that grasp of the obvious, Tad. It's one of your strongest attributes.[Tad leaves, and Lex enters the room]Lex: That's the fourth one you've devoured this month.Lionel: Where are you finding these people, Lex?Lex: Little schools, like Harvard and Yale. I spent hours going over resumes, looking for the perfect fit.Lionel: You mustn't be fooled by a resume, Lex. You have to look into their eyes to see if they're up to the challenge. I need your eyes to look for me, son.Lex: I see. So somehow the failure of your assistants is my fault.Lionel: Forget the self-pity, Lex. I wasn't criticizing; I was critiquing. There's a difference. And if I recall, I didn't ask for help; you offered.Lionel: My condition has nothing to do with it.Lex: You're not the master of your universe anymore, and it's killing you.Lionel: Just get me an assistant who meets my criteria.Lex: I don't think I would fit your criteria.Lionel: Probably not, but nobody's perfect. [leaves the room]
- Dramatic Irony: Byron becomes bestial and super-strong due to being exposed to sunlight, the same source that gives Clark his own powers (which Clark would later figure out in Season 3's "Perry").
- Foil: The Moores, to the Kents.
- Hulking Out: Happens to Byron when he's exposed to sunlight.
- Kick the Dog: After Lex warns him to stay away from the Kents, Lionel mocks Lex for wanting to be part of the Kent family and compares him to Prometheus.Lex: I don't know what your sudden interest is in the Kents, but I want you to stay away from them. They mean a lot to me.Lionel: And I wonder what they would think of your trying to meddle in their affairs. You think if you're a very good boy, they'll welcome you into their family?Lex: Well, it would certainly be a step-up.Lionel: You know, Lex, Zeus had a son, an adopted son, who thought he could find a home among mortals. You know what happened to the well-intentioned Prometheus?Lex: His dad had him chained to a rock and his liver was eaten by vultures. Why?Lionel: Prometheus was immortal, Lex. No matter how much he wanted to escape the world he was born into, the world of the gods, he never could. It wasn't possible!
- Leeroy Jenkins: Rather than wait for the police to handle things, Clark decides to go ahead and free Byron from his parents' basement. Big mistake.
- Mythology Gag:
- When Clark shows he's unimpressed with Byron's letter to Lana, Chloe snarks "Clark Kent, man of steel."
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Clark decides to free Byron from his parents' basement before Sheriff Ethan comes to search the house (earlier, when the Sheriff questioned the Moores, they claimed that Byron had been dead for eight years), but he ends up exposing Byron to sunlight, causing his bestial side to emerge and injure Pete. Nice one, Clark.
- Sadly Mythtaken: Lionel really needs a brush-up on Classical Mythology. Prometheus was not an adopted son of Zeus; he was a Titan, one of the giants who ruled creation before Zeus and the other Olympians existed, and he was punished for helping mortals, not trying to live among them. Depending on the myth, he either created humanity or took their side instead of participating in the war between Zeus and his father Kronos. In either version, he gave gifts to humanity (including fire), but was still very much a god who lived above them. Additionally, Lionel's entire analogy is completely wrong when you remember that while Prometheus was punished by having his liver pecked out every day (by an eagle, not vultures as Lex says), he was eventually saved from Zeus' punishment by the hero Heracles, who bears more than a passing similarity to Clark.
- Superpowered Evil Side: When exposed to sunlight, Byron becomes a bestial creature with Super-Strength.
- Villain of the Week: Byron Moore, sensitive poet with a Superpowered Evil Side.
