Professor Fine Propositions Clark
- Professor Fine tells Clark that he should come work for him, even though Clark shows up late for his class and fumbles with excuses. "Actually, I'm not looking for a job, sir," Clark tells him. "The only thing worse than the fear of speaking the truth, is the fear of uncovering it," Fine tells him. "If you know Lex Luthor, ask him yourself."
At the Luthor mansion.... (this scene may be cut... see below)
- Lex has hired a swim coach. He's surprised to find "A.C.," a 19-year old phenom from the Stanford swim team. Why are my Hoyay alarms going off? "Your inexperience is a concern," Lex tells the young man. We learn that A.C. - Arthur Curry - bowed out of the Olympic trials. "There are more important things in life than chlorine and winning medals," Arthur tells Lex. "Like what? Finding the perfect wave?" "Among other things."
- Lex introduces Clark to his new swim coach. Arthur recognizes Clark for a rescue from earlier in the day. "You were like a torpedo out there," Clark tells him. "I'm going to show our boy Lex everything I know," Arthur replies.
- Clark confronts Lex, as he always does, and asks him why he needs a swim coach. Lex tells him that Arthur can do the 100 meter free-style in under fifty seconds, and Lex wants to try out for a Pentathlon. "It's something I need to do," Lex tells him. "Is building weapons something you need to do, too?" Clark asks him. Professor Fine has told him some new information about his bald friend...
Lana and Lois Discuss "A.C."
- Lana and Lois have a scene together in the Talon. "He goes to Stanford, he's the star of the swim team, and he's passionately interested in something meaningful," Lana tells her, easily impressed.
- "I kind of wish I had never met him. Because now my head is in a constant fog," Lois tells her. Lana tells Lois the fog is about to lift, because A.C. has just entered through the Talon's doors.
- Arthur looks at Lois and says "Do you look beautiful or what? Even with that seaweed in your hair, and that sand all over your face, you looked beautiful." Seems at this point he's already saved her life. Arthur spots something on the floor - it's Lois's military ID badge. He picks it up and gives it to her. Lois tells A.C. that her father would have "lined me up in front of a firing squad" if she lost that, so now, he's saved her life twice. She tells him he deserves an award. She guides him to a table, and then brings him coffee and a scone "on the house."
- "You're not like most chicks, are you?" Arthur asks Lois. "Life would be a whole lot easier if I were," she tells him. He calls her on her "bad-***" attitude, but inside sees her tenderness. Arthur starts to get even fliriter, and kisses her. Lois melts into his arms, and at that very moment, Clark walks in to the Talon.
Later, at night...
- Arthur, Clark, Lois and Lana are all hanging out in the Talon late at night. Clark suspiciously eyes Arthur from across the table. Clark is sitting with Lana, and a smitten Lois is sitting with Arthur. Lois comments that Stanford must have been hard to get into, and Clark says "when you're a star swimmer, it kind of helps, right?"
- Arthur tells them he wasn't on the swim team freshman year. He joined when the swim coach saw him swimming laps in the pool and "reeled him in."
- Clark is inquisitive. He asks A.C. how he learned to swim so fast. "Guess it's in my genes, you know?" Arthur says. Clark keeps plugging away with questions. "Clark, this isn't a Barbara Walters special," Lana reminds him, embarrasased.
- We learn Arthur's dad operates a lighthouse in Northern California. Arthur says his mom died when he was very young, so, she "must've been the one with all the skills."
- Arthur talks more about his childhood. Lana tells him she's always wanted to go diving, because that's probably "as close to another planet as you can get."
- Clark is still suspicious. "You seem to know an awful lot about the ocean," he says. Arthur reveals that he's a marine biology major. He then talks about his environmental concerns. "I've decided to dedicate my life to protecting the sea," he tells them.
- Clark keeps grilling. "Why are you here? Smallville's a long way from Stanford." A.C. tells him that he's there hoping to get a chance to talk to Lex Luthor about his environmental practices. This response makes us wonder if the whole "swim coach" aspect of the character, mentioned in previous spoilers, has been cut in favor of this new direction. if that's the case, we apologize for the erroneous spoilers.
- Clark's still asking far too many questions. Lois asks Clark for a word. "I already have an overprotective father," she tells him. "There's something fishy about A.C.," Clark tells her. Lois accuses him of being jealous, because A.C. is "smart, passionate, and looks like Adonis." Clark tells her he thinks A.C. may be a meteor freak. "Oh, so now you're playing the meteor freak card?" The call is interrupted by a call from General Lane. "It wasn't me, I swear..." Lois tells him. No ideas, though, on what it is she is talking to him about.
