Smallville S4 E4 – Devoted

Welcome back to our Smallville rewatch! We’re hitting that classic Season 4 stride where the show tries to balance high school football, Clark’s destiny, and the fact that everyone in this town is apparently one bad day away from a mental breakdown.

Preview: The “Devoted” Edition

Clark Kent trades the farm for the gridiron this week as he finally joins the Smallville Crows. But while Clark is busy learning playbooks, the cheerleading squad is busy brewing up a little something extra in the locker room. It turns out the “school spirit” is coming from a Kryptonite-spiked Gatorade that transforms the players into the world’s most intense boyfriends. If you thought Clark’s life was complicated before, wait until he has to dodge a jealous assistant coach and a cheerleading-uniform-clad Chloe who is suddenly very into him…. again

Meanwhile, Lois Lane continues her streak of being the only person in town with a functioning BS detector. She teams up with Clark to figure out why the team’s star players are acting like they’ve joined a cult of personality. Between the literal love potions and Lex Luthor trying to prove he’s still a “good guy,” it’s just another Tuesday in the meteor capital of the world. Grab your jersey and your lead-lined water bottle, this one is going to be a bumpy ride.

Episode Review

Starring: Tom Welling (Clark), Kristin Kreuk (Lana), Michael Rosenbaum (Lex), Allison Mack (Chloe), and Jensen Ackles (Jason Teague).

Guest Star / “Freak of the Week”: The Cheerleaders of Devotion (Mandy, Hope, and Tiffany). They don’t have traditional “powers,” but they’re savvy enough to mix Green K into the team’s water supply. It’s basically Mean Girls meets Breaking Bad.

This episode is Season 4 at its most “guilty pleasure.” It’s a bit of a backtrack into the “Freak of the Week” formula after a very serialized season opening, but honestly? It’s fun. Seeing Clark try to navigate the social hierarchy of the football team while being Superman-adjacent is always a treat. The chemistry between Tom Welling and Erica Durance (Lois) is already miles ahead of the Clark/Lana angst, providing some much-needed humor.

Special Effects: The effects this week are pretty grounded. We get some classic “Clark-vision” and a few super-speed saves, but the real “special effect” is the makeup department making the poisoned boyfriends look just a little too intense. Oh, and Clark making a pipe burst with a “stray look” was a nice touch of physical comedy. Nothing groundbreaking, but the practical stunt work during the football game holds up well.

Music Soundtrack:

• “Meltdown” – Ash
• “Revolution” – Authority Zero
• “Our Mystery” – Bebo Norman
• “Better Off By Myself” – Bosshouse
• “California” – Hawk Nelson
• “On The Run” – Sam Roberts

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Stars ⭐⭐⭐✨that’s being very generous

(Lost half a star for the “Kryptonite Love Potion” being a bit of a stretch, but gained it back for Lois Lane being Lois Lane.)

Synopsis & Plot Breakdown

The episode kicks off with chaos in the locker room. The Crows’ star quarterback goes absolutely ballistic on the new assistant coach, Jason Teague, because he thinks Jason is moving in on his girl. This opens up a spot for Clark, who finally gets Jonathan’s blessing to play football (provided he keeps his powers in check).

Clark quickly realizes something is wrong. The players aren’t just motivated; they’re obsessed. It turns out the cheerleaders are using a Kryptonite-based “love potion” to turn the guys into the perfect, devoted boyfriends. Unfortunately, the potion has a side effect: it makes them homicidal toward anyone they perceive as a threat.

Chloe accidentally gets a dose and becomes Clark’s “Number One Fan,” which leads to some hilarious (and awkward) scenes in the barn where she’s wearing nothing but his jersey. Lois, being the intrepid reporter she is going to be, helps Clark investigate. Things get dicey when Jason Teague drinks the spiked water and goes full “Crazy Jealous Guy” on Clark. The climax happens at the big game, where Clark has to win the game while being weakened by the Kryptonite water and hunted by a murderous Jason. In the end, Clark and Lois find the antidote (basically just heating the potion up…not their best fix), everyone returns to normal, and Lex reveals he’s cleared out his “Clark Obsession Room” to prove his friendship is genuine. (Sure, Lex. We believe you.)

Lessons & The Path to Superman

The Lesson: This episode is a lesson in Boundaries and Free Will. Clark sees firsthand how “perfect” devotion isn’t actually love if it’s forced or chemically induced. It reinforces his moral compass: he wants people to choose to be good (and choose to love him) on their own terms, not because he has the power to make them.

The Path to Superman: We see Clark learning how to be a leader without using his fists. By joining the team, he’s learning how to “fit in” and inspire others, which is a core part of the Superman mythos. He’s also learning how to manage his secret in a high-pressure, public environment. Plus, his partnership with Lois continues to build the foundation of the greatest duo in investigative journalism. He’s learning that he doesn’t have to do everything alone, sometimes you need a partner who isn’t afraid to call you a “geek” while you’re saving the day.

Review Notes

Not my favorite episode and so far… not my favorite season.

Not a fan of losing Lois, I know she will be back, but just starting to fit in.

They really need to stop with the Chloe pining for Clark episodes, she needs a boyfriend/Pete replacement.

This Teague/Lana relationship is still icky.