I’ve been going through Season 1 again and last night I watched Episode 5 called “Cool.” (Some places mistakingly call it “Freeze.”) A brief synopsis of what happens. A boy at Smallville High who’s a womanizer falls under ice in Crater Lake which is loaded with Kryptonite giving him the power to suck heat out of anything he wishes, which is really helpful since he can’t stay warm. This includes wrecking Clark’s evening with his love interest, Lana Lang. Eventually, of course, Clark defeats the villain. I recommend watching the whole episode, but I would like to write tonight on what I think this episode is about and I didn’t find a single reviewer who caught it.
This episode is about sex.
A transcript of the episode which I will be getting quotes from is here:
http://tvmegasite.net/prime/shows/smallville/transcripts/season1/1-5.shtml
The mood is set at the beginning with Clark and Chloe attending a party and this opening line.
Chloe: This is what I love about high school parties. People will gather anywhere as long as there’s illegally purchased alcohol and even the slightest chance of hooking up.
And that is what happens when the villain, Sean Kelvin, tries to hit on Chloe. (Interesting play on words as a villain who can’t stay warm is named Kelvin after the temperature scale.) When he goes to play football with his friends, they ask about his interest in Chloe. Keep in mind that Whitney is actually a guy’s name in this series.
Whitney: So what’s with you and that Chloe Sullivan chick? The girl from the Torch? You into her?
Sean: Another notch, dog.
To which at this point, Sean’s view of women is made apparent by himself. Of course, Clark and Chloe know this also as Clark asks about Chloe writing her number on Sean’s hand.
Clark: That’s not what I meant. The guy’s a dog.
Chloe: Clark, relax. I just gave him my number to get rid of him.
However, at this point, a football has been thrown too far and goes out on a frozen Crater Lake. This is the point where Sean falls under the water and becomes the “freak-of-the-week.” What is being asked at the party that evening when no one can find Sean?
Partygoer: Hey, where’s Sean?
Football Player: Who knows? He’s probably in the back of some car.
Again, his reputation is pointed out repeatedly. How can this be missed?
Later in this episode, Sean visits the school nurse and his coldness is reduced when she places her hand on his forehead to check his temperature and he grasps her hand and seems to suck the heat out of it. At that point, he decides that he’s good enough to go through the day. When he comes up to hit on Chloe after last night, she plays a little hard-to-get. Sean’s not interested then. He sees easier prey. His old-ex Jenna.
Apparently, his hitting on her is a success. Next thing we know, she’s in the shower at her place apparently inviting him to join her. Instead, he pulls back the curtain revealing his frozen nature to which she conveniently falls to the ground grabbing the curtain to cover herself after he turns the shower into a rain of little ice cubes. At this point, Sean picks her up, kisses her, and in so doing, sucks all the heat out of her turning her into a frozen statue which then falls to the ground and is shattered.
Like he cares….
It doesn’t last long though. Before too long, Sean is frozen again trying to light matches and calling every single girl he can. He then looks at his hand and sees Chloe’s number. Chloe is helping Clark then and she tells him that Sean is going to meet her at the Torch, the school newspaper, with a drink. Clark goes off for a limo ride with Lana arranged by his friend, Lex Luthor then, and while watching the news hears about the death of Jenna to which he asks that the car be stopped as he leaves Lana at a restaurant saying he’ll explain when he gets back.
Chloe has been left a trail to follow that takes her to the pool at which she sees a frozen Sean as well.
Chloe: What happened to you?
Sean: I can’t stay warm.
Chloe: Why don’t you just sit by a fire?
Sean: Because I only get a quick fix. Body heat lasts longer.
At that point, Chloe gets scared and in her haste to run falls into the pool. Sadistic that he is, Sean stands there watching and then when she gets close to the edge, starts to suck all the heat out of the pool leaving Chloe with one foot stuck in the water and Sean drawing close. Fortunately, Clark rushes in and breaks her foot free and knocks Sean out. Sean sneaks away somehow though and Clark takes Chloe back to safety.
Clark: Any idea what happened to him?
Chloe: The only similar thing I can find is a medical condition where there’s damage to the thermo sensitive cells in the brain. The person literally can’t stay warm. It’s like a permanent case of hypothermia.
Clark: So Sean’s getting his heat where he can take it.
Chloe: Yeah, preferably from high-school girls. But you saw the pool. You take the heat out of water, you get ice. He’s like a battery that can’t hold its charge.
It is later on that Clark once again confronts Sean and Sean says the following:
“I need heat, Clark – contact! That’s the only thing that’s going to work for me. Every person’s another fix.”
Naturally, Clark manages to defeat Sean by knocking him into a lake that freezes over him. Fans of the series though will suspect Lex Luthor salvaged Sean though for some “studies.”
Now for the point.
I said at the beginning this episode is about sex and some of you probably saw it as I was going through.
The way this guy treated women before was the exact same way he treated them after. It just had different results. Each girl was a fix. Each girl was a notch. He could have had his heat from anywhere else, but high school females were the preferred target. As the case of Jenna shows, a girl used in that case definitely becomes a victim.
I wonder how different our society is.
How many Sean Kelvins are out there?
Each girl is another notch. Each one is another fix. The girls themselves don’t really matter. Just as long as they supply the need.
Every time I see this episode, that is what I think about. I can see it as a play on the view of sexuality.
Let’s remember that Sean was a villain. As Christians who believe sexuality is something sacred from God and that people are not objects to meet our pleasure, let’s remember we can do better.
Sean:
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