Originally aired February 4, 2004
Written by Drew Z Greenberg & Mark Verheiden
Directed by Greg Beeman & James Marshall
Clark befriends Jordan, a new student who has the power to see the future death of anyone he touches. Chloe and Lex begin investigating Adam.
Tropes present in the episode:
- Anti-Villain: Coach Altman is a Type II. He just wants to be reunited with his dead daughter.
- Birth-Death Juxtaposition: Jordan's mother died shortly after he was born during the 1989 meteor shower.
- Brought Down to Normal: Jordan loses his powers after he and Clark save Lana and Megan from the burning house.
- Cassandra Truth: Jordan mentions to Clark that, whenever he experienced a vision of someone's death, he and his father tried to warn people, but no one listened to them.
- Cliffhanger: The episode ends with Clark finding Jonathan having a heart attack in the barn, Jonathan losing consciousness in Clark's arms, and Clark desperately yelling for his mother.
- Disproportionate Retribution: After learning that Megan had a fight with Julia and that Lana let Julia leave the night that Julia was hit by a car, Coach Altman decides he was wrong to blame himself for taking Julia off life support a month ago and plans to kill the two girls along with himself.Lana: We didn't cause the accident!
Mr. Altman: You might as well have! - Downer Ending: See Cliffhanger above.
- Evil Teacher: Mr. Altman, a coach at Smallville High.
- Forgot About His Powers:
- In the final scene, Clark finds his father having a heart attack in the barn and, when Jonathan passes out, he seems to forget that he has Super-Speed and thus could speed Jonathan to the hospital, instead screaming for his mother.
- Clark also forgets that to use super speed and invulnerability to save Coach Altman, Lana, Meagan, and Jordan.(Perhaps the writers didn't know how to have everyone but Jordan incapacitated so that Clark could keep his secret.)
- Hates Being Touched: Jordan, due to the fact that coming into physical contact with another person causes him to experience a vision of that person's death.
- Interrupted Suicide: In the teaser, Clark saves Coach Altman from being hit by a car. This occurs after Jordan has a vision of Altman walking onto the middle of the road so he can get hit by a car and die.
- Kill It with Fire: Coach Altman attempts this on himself, Lana, and Megan.
- The Force Is Strong with This One: When Clark touches Jordan, Jordan experiences a vision of a red cape flying through space. He later tells Clark that, unlike other people he's touched, he didn't see Clark's death.
- Meaningful Name: Jordan Cross = "crossing the River Jordan."
- Mundanger: Coach Altman has no superhuman powers.
- Mythology Gag:
- When Clark touches Jordan, the audience gets treated to a shot of a fluttering red cape bearing the Superman symbol.
- And right before the above moment, there's a banner on the wall reading "Emerald Knights".
- When Clark touches Jordan, the audience gets treated to a shot of a fluttering red cape bearing the Superman symbol.
- Never Found the Body: When Clark went to the burning building to rescue Jordan and Mr. Altman, he only found Jordan.
- Playing with Syringes: Chloe catches Adam injecting something into his arm.
- Seers: Jordan has the power to see the future death of anyone he touches (except Clark, whom Jordan suggests will live forever). He loses his ability by the episode's end.
- Taking You with Me: Coach Altman kidnaps Lana and Megan, ties them both up in his basement, and sets fire to the place, intending to die along with them.
- Together in Death: In the teaser, Coach Altman attempts suicide in order to be with his deceased daughter Julia, and he's not happy that Clark saves him. He then plans to kill himself along with Lana and Megan later in the episode.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Clark saving Coach Altman from attempting suicide ends up endangering Lana and Megan, since Altman learns that Megan had argued with his daughter Julia and Lana let Julia leave alone on the night Julia was hit by a car, and decides that Lana and Megan have to pay for what happened to Julia. It's even discussed between Clark and his mother in the final act.Clark: Mom, by helping Mr. Altman, I put three other lives in jeopardy.Martha: But you were there for them.Clark: If it wasn't for me, he wouldn't have hurt anyone.Martha: Clark, what's this really about?Clark: I'm wondering if that's why I was really sent here—to change destiny. What if I make a wrong choice and I'm not there to make it right?Martha: It's a huge responsibility. You have to concentrate on the good you do. Think of all the people you've saved—your dad and me, and Lex; he's turned out to be a really good friend. Sweetheart, you just have to do the best you can. You can't save everybody.
- Villain of the Week: Coach Altman, a man who wants to be reunited with his dead daughter.
- Wham Line: Jordan tells Lana that Adam wasn't just hurt; he actually died.