Ep 1.2 - Metamorphosis

[Nimkong]

Wow, this episode has really grown on me. When I started watching the show when I was eight I absoulutly hated this episode because it grossed me out but now I really like this episode and its one of my favorite episodes of season 1. Clark showing his limit to his invincibility and his being powers of flight is awesome and its wierd thinking that 10 years from then he would finally get the power. I also like how it shows how kryptonite cant go through lead. I like how in this episode Lana and Clark are showing to be really good friends and they are already starting to trust each other. Lex was cool in this episode dropping hints about how Whitney is being the bad boyfriend and that he helps Clark by giving him her necklace. Whitney matured in this episode as not only did he aplogize to Lana he also did to Clark also(even though he dident hear it.) Pete and Chloe were not shown in this episode very much but when they were they were shown to be good relible friends to Clark by beliving him about Greg. Like I said before when i watched this before when I was eight I was grossed out by this episode but now I think its really cool and now I like Greg alot now and im glad he came back for the 200th episode

So I give this episode:10/10

[Supsfan]

This episode was awesome, Greg's obsession with insects and Lana was very freaky!

You know what was even freakier, Clark's and Greg where both obsessing over Lana in the opening scene(spying on her from afar), but we are to assume Clark was good and Greg was bad. lol

[The Krypton Knight]

Count me as another person who didn't really enjoy this episode upon first (and second, third, etc, lol) watch, but it has slowly grown on me. There are some redeeming qualities, as people have mentioned already.

The "Spiderman" nod never dawned on me though, thats a cool thought.

[jon-el87]

Don't usually rewatch early episodes of any show. Early episodes are where the writers are trying to establish characters, relationships, concepts and themes. And the show is still trying to figure itself out.

I like that Greg was shown to already be stalking Lana, prior to becoming a meteor freak. In the real world, stalkers can be quite dangerous. Some have been known to try and kill the person they're stalking. Or harm those, that they feel are in their way. John Hinckley shot Reagan, because he was obsessed with Jodie Foster and did it in an attempt to impress her. Getting powers didn't cause Greg to go after Lana, it just caused everything to happen faster. I have no doubt Greg would've, eventually, still tried something.

The FOTWs is something some like and others dislike. Previous Superman Live-Action TV adaptations usually had him go up against gangsters (not much of a threat to a super powered Kryptonian). So, the meteor freaks provided Clark with metahuman antagonists. They also provided Clark with a useful learning tool. Remember, this guy will one day go up against supervillains, so he has to learn how to fight. It was one of the problems I had with Man of Steel. That Clark spends 33 years avoiding fights and then you're expected to believe that he could go up against Zod (an experienced military man).

However, I am glad they phased out the FOTWs. The show couldn't have lasted ten years on these one-shot villains, that the writers created. In many ways, the show might've benefited having more recurring villains early on. You know, use Greg Arkin a few times, rather than introducing a bunch of other one-shots, who also go after Lana. Sure, you'd have repetition, but it would come from one recurring villain with a consistent motivation, rather than having 14-15 villains who all are obsessed with Lana.

As I was watching the episode, something began to dawn on me. When Superman was first introduced, they tried to give a scientific explaination for his powers (which were then limited to strength, speed, invulnerability and the ability to leap) and used ants and grasshoppers as examples. Now here, you've got a modern day adaptation of the man of steel going up against someone with power from bugs.

Thought the post-credit flight and Clark waking up floating was fun. Though, I'm glad they didn't constantly teased him flying in future episode. Looking back at past Superman shows, they may even have made the right choice to hold back on the flying. Both George Reeves and John Newton nearly died, because of problems with the wires. Take-offs can be tricky and Dean Cain's cape would sometimes be weirdly pulled to the side, because of the wires. Even the newer show, Supergirl, have problems with the flying, where it's obvious that she's on wires. Even how the actor acts the flying can be tricky. Here Tom had an advantage, in that his Clark only ran and you naturally know how to run. Furthermore, if they had him be able to fly, this early, it would've just bombarded the shows with complaints, every time an episode didn't have him fly (for the simple reason, that there were no reason for him to fly). I saw similar complaints with his super breath. Some thought he didn't use it enough.

When I was younger, I no doubt disliked Clark complaining about his developing powers. However, now that I'm older, I find it quite believeable. As a viewer (who also grew up reading Superman comics, saw the Chris Reeve movies and Lois & Clark), I know what's going on, he doesn't. He's in some strange form of puberty and, unlike regular puperty, there is no one he can talk about these things. No one has ever gone through it before. Jonathan even notes, in a deleted scene, that Clark didn't come with instructions. And being 14-15 years old, he isn't able to experience much of the fun bits with having super speed and the ability to fly, as there's no way he'd be allowed to go anywhere unsupervised. It's another thing in S4, when he meets Bart and they run down to Miami, as he's 17 there. All his powers means for a 14 year old Clark is a list of things he's not allowed to do (ex. play football).