[EKG beeping]
[Door opens]
[Ominous music playing]
Tyler.
- I missed you. - Missed you too, mom.
Did you get my post cards?
I didn't think you'd come.
[Coughing]
- I'm getting the doctor. - Wait, Tyler.
I asked you to come home for a reason.
I need you to help me.
I want you to help me die, Tyler.
Don't talk like that, you're gonna get well.
I want to be buried back home, in Smallville.
You have to be strong, mom.
I can't fight this anymore.
If you love me, you'll do this for me.
I love you, mom.
And I love you, Tyler.
[EKG flatlining]
Oh, my god, security! Get me security now!
Get away from her!
- [Tyler] She was in pain! - [Man] What?
[Nurse] I think he killed her.
Let go! Let go! Let go!
[Man] Tyler Randall, male Caucasian. Body has multiple fracture injuries
consistent with a high fall of more than 20 feet.
Subject's neck is broken just below the axis.
Hm. What have we got here? Let's see.
Oh, man, that's gotta hurt.
[Pensive music playing]
Subject has unknown rock fragment...
Wedged between the brachioradialis and the flexors of the right forearm.
Come on, come on.
Possibly the result of impact.
Okay, Tyler, let's take a look under the hood.
[Suspenseful music playing]
[Dramatic music playing]
[Theme music playing]
J“ somebody save me j“
j“ let your warm hands break right through it j“
j“ somebody save me j“
j“ I don't care how you do it j“
-j“ just stay, stay j“ -j“ stay with me j“
j“ come on, I've been waiting for you j“
j“ to stay with me j“
j“ I made this whole world shine for you j“
j“ stay, stay j“
j“ come on j“
[pensive music playing]
Well, here we are.
I'm only asking for two hours! I'm sorry to cut into your busy social schedule.
It's not that. I don't mind helping out for a good cause,
- it's just all these people are... - Old and sick?
It's hard to deal with. There's nothing we can do.
You're right, you can't save them from old age and illness,
but that's not the point. You're saving them from loneliness.
Don't forget the irises.
You excited about the big fishing trip with your dad next weekend?
You didn't forget, did you?
How could I? We've been going every year since I was 7.
Ten hours in a rowboat, swatting mosquitoes, looking for ripples.
- I thought you enjoyed fishing. - I did when I was younger.
- If you don't want to go, tell him. - I don't want to hurt his feelings.
He may not like it, but he needs to know.
Ah! Martha, Clark, I'd like you to meet Tyler Randall, new volunteer.
- I want you to show him the ropes. - Hi.
He says you grow the best organic produce outside Metropolis.
- You just made a friend for life. - So, what brings you to Smallville?
I came back to make funeral preparations. I recently lost my mother.
Oh, I'm sorry to hear that.
Why don't we get to the deliveries.
We can start with Mrs. Sikes. She'll be happy to see us.
- Her dog pepper, on the other hand... - Pepper's not so bad.
[Barking]
Hi, pepper, hi! How are you today? Pepper, this is Tyler.
[Pepper growls]
Don't worry, she's probably hungry.
I'll get her something to eat.
A lot of our clients are elderly and housebound, like Mrs. Sikes.
Good morning, Mrs. Sikes. How are you feeling today?
[Sikes] Terrible.
- Is that Clark? He looks different. - No, this is Tyler, our new driver.
Let me.
How about some lunch, Mrs. Sikes?
[Gasps]
- What's wrong? - [Sikes] It hurts.
- —My pills, give me my, get my... - Isn't there anything we can do for her?
I wish there were.
One of Mrs. Kent's beautiful irises. For a beautiful lady.
[Groans]
[Sikes] Don't ever get old and sick, son.
The world got no use for you.
I'll tell you what...
I'll bring you another Iris tomorrow.
I like roses. White ones.
White ones it is.
I like this one, Martha.
[Dominic] Your father's very disappointed with you, Lex.
My father's disappointment is perennial, only the circumstances change.
What do you want, Dominic?
An internal audit of your division has turned up accounting irregularities.
And I've been authorized to come down and go through it in a thorough manner.
So this is payback for turning down my father's offer to join him in Metropolis.
Lionel has been very tolerant of your excesses.
But this time you didn't spend the money on parties and sports cars.
He wants to know where it went.
Do you know what my father gave me for my 10th birthday?
A copy of the will to power.
"Behold the Superman. Man is something to be overcome."
Sun tzu, machiavelli, Nietzsche,
they were the voices that nurtured me after my mother died.
My father made every question a quiz. Every choice a test.
Second best was for losers. Compassion, for the weak. Trust no one.
Those are the lessons I grew up with.
I'll remember that if I'm ever interviewed by the biography channel.
All I'm saying, Dominic, is try and remember who I was raised by.
I try to deny it, but I'm still my father's son.
Tread carefully.
- [Lana] Here you go. - Thanks.
[Trik Turner's "friends and family" playing]
Looks like a real page-Turner.
My father and I have our annual fishing trip.
Of course you do. My father and I went on a fishing trip once.
- He doesn't seem like the fishing type. - He's not. We were the bait.
We flew to south Australia,
got up-close and personal with a couple of great whites.
Sounds like a real Kodak moment.
When you're rich and untouchable, you do things to make yourself feel alive.
Why'd you go?
Because he didn't think I would. We never went on another father-son trip.
I wish my father would do something other than fishing.
How about a football game?
I've got two tickets for the skybox at the Metropolis sharks game Sunday.
They're yours.
That'd be great. My father's followed the team all season.
- I wouldn't even have to twist his arm. - Problem solved.
J“ 'cause all's I need is the air that I breathe and my friends and family to believe in me j“
j“ as deep as the abyss where the waters run as deep as the land of the rising sun j“
j“ you know I'm down and even when them odds are against us j“
j“ it doesn't even matter... j“
Lana, what is it?
That was Whitney's mom, his dad just had another heart attack.
[Ominous music playing]
Whoa, whoa!
It is not a good idea to sneak up on somebody with an acetylene torch.
I'm sorry. My name's Dominic senatori, I work for Lionel Luthor.
I'm here following up on a research project Lex Luthor recently instigated.
If you don't mind, I've got a lot of work to do around here.
There was an incident involving your son and Lex's Porsche and a bridge.
Lex has spent a considerable amount of time and capital researching the crash
and I was wondering if you knew why.
Look, the truth is, Lex Luthor was driving like a maniac.
His car went off the bridge into the water,
my son jumped in, risked his life to save him, that's the end of the story.
You wouldn't know why he commissioned an in-depth profile
into you and your family.
I have no idea.
Fair enough, Mr. Kent. Thanks for your time.
Uh, just out of curiosity, what were Lex's findings on the crash?
[Ominous music playing]
Whitney, is that you?
It's Clark Kent, Mr. Fordman.
Oh, Lana.
Well, where's Whitney? I haven't seen my son yet.
Don't worry, he'll be here soon.
- Where is Whitney? - [Lana] I don't know.
His mom said he'd be here.
Clark, how's Whitney's dad?
- He's hanging in there. - That's good.
- You remember this? - It's my first fishing rod.
You used to practice casting it out in the paddock all day.
- I remember. - In fact,
I remember I used to have to pry it out of your hands to get you to bed.
Dad, what would you say if we could be sitting in the deluxe box
next Sunday watching the Metropolis sharks?
I'd say the milk river's changed quite a bit.
Think about it.
No worms, no cold mornings, no eating canned peaches.
Wait a minute. Did Lex Luthor arrange all this for us?
Clark, this morning I had a surprise visit from one of Lionel Luthor's people.
Did you know Lex Luthor was having us investigated after the bridge accident?
Yeah, but Lex said that was all in our past. He promised.
- You knew and you didn't tell me? - Because I knew you'd react like this.
[Jonathan] I thought we had an understanding.
How am I supposed to protect you if you won't give me the facts?
- I don't need protection. - When it comes to your secret, you do.
When you get older, you'll understand my apprehension
- about the Luthor family. - Stop treating me like a kid.
I'm not 7 anymore, I'm not casting lines in the paddock.
I don't even like fishing, the only reason I do it is because it makes you happy!
That didn't come out right.
No, son, I think it did.
[Static on TV]
[Door opens]
[Barking]
Pepper?
[Pepper whines]
Peppen
[ominous music playing]
- I brought you a white Rose. - [Coughing]
You've lived so long with pain. Sometimes don't you wish it would end?
Oh, yes.
I can't go on, not like this.
It'll all be over soon.
I promise.
Where's dad?
He wanted to get an early start, said he had a lot of work to do today.
He's avoiding me, isn't he?
I'm not gonna play referee. You two need to work this out.
We will. First we'll have a week of uncomfortable silence,
then we'll talk about something trivial. And then we'll move on.
Avoiding it and hoping the problem goes away isn't dealing with it.
- You know how stubborn he can be. - I know how stubborn you both can be.
I don't want you to drift apart like he did with his dad.
I thought they were close.
They were, but they kept things from each other.
When your grandfather passed away,
there was a lot your dad didn't get to tell him, a lot he regrets.
I just don't want to see history repeat itself.
Chloe, I just got your note. I can't believe it. I saw Mrs. Sikes yesterday.
- I know. I'm sorry, Clark. - What happened?
The official story is, there was a fire. But all they found were her ashes.
- And the unofficial? - Spontaneous combustion.
She thinks the old lady just burst into flames.
"October 1978. Joyce maslow was dancing in Elizabeth, New Jersey,
when flames burst from her head and back, enveloping her.
In seconds, she was a human torch, consumed before her boyfriend."
- You don't have to look so happy. - I'm not happy, I'm intrigued.
Which means you're still gonna look into it.
- Am I that transparent? - [In unison] Yes.
Mr. Kent?
- Clark isn't here. - Actually, I came to see you.
I was wondering if you're planning on coming to the game next Sunday.
I'm going fishing, Lex, I don't know what my son is doing.
- The tickets were meant as a gift. - I'm sure your intentions were noble.
That's not fair. You don't understand how I regard Clark and your family.
[Jonathan] Yes I do, I understand perfectly well.
We're just the pawns in your eternal chess game with your dad.
- Do you have a family photo? - Yeah, I've got lots of family photos.
The only picture of my father and me appears in the LuthorCorp annual report.
Is this the part where I'm supposed to feel sorry for you?
No, I just want you to understand
if I'm guilty of anything regarding your family, it's envy.
If you're so envious of my family, then why do you feel the need
to investigate it behind my back?
I wanted to know what happened the day of the accident.
I had a theory and it was false. I was totally up-front with Clark about it.
That's what this is about.
- Clark wasn't up-front with you. - He's a good kid.
- I don't want that to change. - Neither do I.
You know...
From the day I first met Clark, all you've ever seen is the name Luthor.
Well, so far you haven't given me a reason to see anything else.
See that Kansas state game last week?
What are you doing here, Clark? Lana send you?
I told her you'd see it coming a mile away.
Hey, I'm not angry.
So you've come to find out why the heartless son
hasn't gone by the hospital to visit his dying father.
Something like that.
I remember how my dad used to say
how he'd be there the day I threw my first pass for the sharks.
- He said it so often, I actually believed it. - He still could.
My father was the strongest man I ever knew.
He lettered in three sports at state.
When I see him there in the hospital so weak...
It kills me because that's not my father.
Whatever you do, for a long time to come,
your father is gonna be there to support you.
I'll only have a memory of my dad.
And I don't want that memory to be...
Of that sick man laying there in the hospital.
No, I get it.
It's just, I'd take the man over the memory any day of the week.
[Pensive music playing]
Clark, I've been looking all over for you. Look what I found in the daily planet.
- "Body disappears from morgue"? - Yeah, but look at the photo.
The coroner's body was disintegrated into ash.
Just like Mrs. Sikes.
I don't know, but it would be nice to check out that house for ourselves.
[Camera clicks]
You know this is a crime scene.
Well, there's no other sign of fire damage anywhere.
You might want to dial back on that "spontaneous combustion" skepticism.
- No barking. - Wasn't planning on it.
-Peppen -who's pepper?
Mrs. Sikes' dog.
She turned into a barking machine anytime somebody came over.
Pepper? Come here, girl.
Well, animal shelter probably came and got her.
[Ominous music playing]
- Oh, no. - Don't tell me that's pepper.
What happened may have been combustion but I have a feeling it wasn't spontaneous.
[Ominous music playing]
- Well, afternoon, Martha. - [Martha] Hi.
I didn't know that you were volunteering today.
Dropping off some produce, didn't want it to go to waste.
- Let me give you a hand with that. - I've got it. Just close that for me.
All right. I'll be in the office if you need me.
[Martha] Okay.
Tyler! What are you doing here?
Here, let me help you with this.
Mrs. Sikes. That was you.
- Martha? - Hank.
- You okay? - Call the sheriff.
What's going on? Hold it right there.
Hank, no!
[Dramatic music playing]
Get away from her.
Clark, don't touch him!
Clark, are you okay?
Son, your mom is, uh... she's resting.
She's pretty shaken up, but I think she's gonna be fine.
Police are looking everywhere for Tyler.
- I don't think they're gonna stop him. - —why?
Because I saw his heart. It wasn't beating.
Clark, that doesn't make any sense. How can he walk around if he's dead?
How can he turn people to ash?
When he touched my face, I felt like the life was being drained out of me.
- Clark, you sure that you...? - Yeah.
Dad?
Yeah?
Nothing.
Clark, I heard what happened at mobile meals. Is your mom all right?
- Yeah. - Can't believe Tyler would hurt anybody.
- He seemed so nice. - If you run into him,
whatever you do, don't let him touch you.
Long story, just trust me.
Whitney phoned. He wanted to get together later and talk.
That's great.
I don't know what you said, but thank you.
Gotta go.
[Lex] Hi, Lana.
Clark, glad I ran into you. I need to talk to you about the sharks game.
- Is your dad coming? - I'm not sure.
Funny. When I asked him, he was pretty adamant he wasn't going.
I'm rescinding the offer. Go fishing with your dad.
- Lex, you don't have to do that. - I know.
But your dad wants to spend some time with you.
It's not something I want to come between.
He's just trying to give you something my father never gave me.
- What's that? - Limitations.
All my father ever told me was "don't get caught. Don't cause a scandal."
That's not love, that's public relations.
You have no idea how lucky you are.
When my father dies, kings will come to his funeral.
But when yours does, his friends will come.
Nell told me she saw you come out here.
I just realized that in all the time we've known each other...
- I've never been here before. - It's okay, Whitney.
No, it's not.
It's just, the thought of losing my parents was so awful...
I didn't want to think about it.
That's why you need to talk to your father.
Go see him, Whitney. Make the best of the time he has left.
[Pensive music playing]
Thanks, Lana.
I'm, uh, gonna go to the hospital.
- Do you want me to walk you home? - Think I'm gonna stay.
Haven't been out here in a while.
Okay.
[Rustling]
[Lana]Vvhhney?
It's all right, I won't hurt you.
I don't want to hurt anyone, Lana. I only want to bring them peace.
I heard your friend talking. His father must be in terrible pain.
I can help your friend.
[Chittering]
Then there's the discrepancy between the purchasing and shipping records.
[Lex] Stop. My father authorized this, but enough bean-counting for one day.
Thirty-year-old single malt.
Also bought with my father's money. Make sure you jot that down.
Let's be frank, Dominic. My father sent you here to spy on me
because he's afraid of how well I'm doing.
This was my last chance to prove myself and he just assumed I'd fail.
Now he has to revise his definition of me.
I'm not just his screwup son anymore.
Now I'm competition.
My father only knows one way of dealing with competition.
There are some things better left between patient and therapist, Lex.
You know, in ancient persia
the kings would kill a messenger who brought them news they didn't like.
In modern times, a sword in the chest might seem a little extreme,
something more subtle would be in order.
Enjoying your drink?
[Ominous music playing]
Oh, that's disgusting.
I should have mentioned the "may not be suitable for all ages" disclaimer.
- Your friend Tyler's been busy. - What do you mean?
He tried to kill his mother, Rose from the dead, and escaped from the morgue.
My buddy Chad works weekends for the me. He zip-filed the toxicology report.
Besides that fatal amount of painkillers,
they found fragments of an unknown green stone embedded in his skin.
- Meteor rocks. - Yeah.
Then why aren't all Smallville's dead bodies rising from the grave?
The combo of painkillers and meteor rocks caused Tyler to pull a "thriller."
Didn't you say Tyler tried to kill his mother?
Tried and failed. His mother recovered enough to be sent home.
[Door opens]
- [Lana] I left Tyler in the graveyard. - You okay?
He heard Whitney talking about his father, he said he could bring him peace.
Did you call the police?
Where are you going?
Don't look at me, he does that all the time.
[Ominous music playing]
- [Whitney] Dad? - He can't hear you.
- Who are you? - I've come to help your father. And you.
[Tyler] I can end your pain.
I know what you're feeling...
How much it hurts.
But I can make it all go away.
[Clark] Tyler, don't!
I heard your friend, Clark. Seeing his father like this is tearing him apart.
- I can give them peace. - It's not your decision.
You're wrong. I have to help him.
[Tyler yells]
You're not taking away pain.
You're stealing Whitney's last chance to be with his father.
You can't stop me, Clark.
No one can.
Don't you see? It's better. I know, I could see it in my mother's eyes.
Your mother's alive.
She recovered after that night. They brought her home to Smallville.
- I thought... - She's alive, Tyler.
Let me take you to her.
It's a miracle.
It's life. As long as we have that, there's still hope.
[Tyler] She seems so peaceful.
I thought that I was brought back to relieve the suffering of others.
But it was my pain all along.
- What have I done? - Tyler.
I just want it all to be over.
Tyler?
Interesting choice of location for a meeting, Lex.
Why didn't you come up to the penthouse?
I was making a garbage delivery, I didn't want to tarnish the marble.
I'm not in the mood to joust, Lex.
I was hoping you'd explain Dominic's visit.
My auditors discovered unaccounted expenditures coming out of Smallville.
- I thought it prudent to investigate. - Come on, dad.
I've squandered more in a weekend. You didn't sic your auditors on me then.
No, we're talking corporate finances, Lex, not your pocket money.
It bothers you, doesn't it?
That I'm not dependent on you anymore.
That I've made friends in Smallville, people I trust.
Don't be ridiculous, Lex. I'm happy you're doing well.
No, you're not. You're afraid I won't need you anymore.
You'll always be my son.
And you will always need me, Lex.
Aren't you going to ask about Dominic?
He hasn't checked in for hours, has he?
Unusual for a man of his predictable nature.
Go ahead...
Pop the trunk.
Ah, Lex, what has he done, what has he done?
[Dominic mumbling]
You want to ask an accounting question, dad? Call me.
The next time one of your drones bothers the kents,
he'll be lucky to catch a ride home with the spare.
[Man over pa] Playing quarterback for your Metropolis sharks
number 12, Whitney fordman!
Down, set, hut!
Hut, hut, hut!
[Rubyhorse's "sparkle" playing]
[Whistle blows]
J“ been around this place stumbling in the dark j“
- you all right, dad? - Never better.
J“ and when I feel the skies will never clear j“
j“ you remind me that spring is near... j“
that's a really nice thing you've done for the fordmans.
Thanks, Mr. Kent. That means a lot coming from you.
I just want you to know, I closed the book on that day at the bridge.
Why'd you investigate it in the first place?
That day was a miracle.
Haven't you ever wanted to find out why things like that happen?
I just accept the fact that they do.
You don't need an explanation for everything, Lex.
J“ it takes me back again when we were gettin' high... j“
how did he get the Metropolis sharks to do it?
When your father owns the team, it's easier to pull some strings.
It's strange, all this time I never thought Lex even liked Whitney.
And then he goes and arranges all this.
I think Lex feels he's become part of our lives.
I'd like to believe that.
You asked him, didn't you?
Being friends with Lex Luthor can be complicated, but it has advantages.
- What was that for? - Just being you.
J“ how you shine j“
j“ how you rise above j“
j“ the sky... j“
[whistle blowing]
J“ you rise j“
j“ and you rise... j“
- dad, I'm sorry. What I said, it... - Clark...
The fishing trips, they never had anything to do with fishing.
It was just that I wanted to spend some time with my son.
My dad and I, we saw each other every day but we never really talked.
I just don't want history to repeat itself.
That makes two of us.
J“ and when I feel the skies will never clear j“
j“ you remind me that spring is near... j“
[Clark] I know how we can catch more fish this year.
[Jonathan] What, new lures?
[Clark] X-ray vision.
[Jonathan chuckles]
J“ how you rise above j“
j“ the sky, yeah j“
[theme music playing]