Smallville - "Whisper"

I think we have a strong contender for the most fun episode of the season. Some thoughts, in no particular order:

- Clark gets glasses! I couldn't keep myself from grinning.

- A fantastic job of introducing superhearing, both in Clark's initial bout with it, and his attempts to control it. Maybe not as classic as the heat vision ep, but good nonetheless. But its introduction seemed natural, and its consequences were immediately felt, without seeming forced (as was the case with x-ray vision). Now all that's left is telescopic and microscopic vision, super-ventriloquism, and, of course, flight.

- Pete's back! And he actually does something!

- We finally meet the oft-mentioned but never-seen Judge Ross.

- Great foreshadowing of Pa's condition. It's going to be such a tragedy when he goes.

- Oodles of development on character relationships. Clark learns about Chloe's agreement with Lionel. Lex learns what Lionel thinks of him. Lionel seeds dissention between Lex and Clark. Chloe threatens Lionel, and Lionel's reaction was spot-on. Chloe and her dad both lose their jobs. Lex is "looking out for Clark," but with a hint of darkness. There's going to be plenty of fallout from all of this.

- More drama between Clark and Lana. I've long since tired of the "Dawson's Creek"-ness of this aspect of the show, and I didn't care for having this episode end on pretty much the same note as last week's. Still, the last-minute inclusion of the hearing improved that moment substantially. And I hope that the inclusion of Adam will bring some life to this subplot.

- Smallville has a population of 45,000. And the 3-hour distance between Smallville and Metropolis finally gets spoken on the show, even though I think that's absurdly far.

- Problems with the ep: Judge Ross should've recused herself from the case, for personal reasons. The sheriff's an idiot if she didn't connect two crimes that involved all of the nearby glass being broken. (Why didn't the tow truck's windshield break?) The police should have fiercely interrogated Masterson about his accomplice's location. And his lawyer better get disbarred.