Smallville S4 E8 – Spell

Welcome to Smallville Reviews! Let’s dive into Season 4, Episode 8, titled “Spell.” This is a wild ride of an episode where the show fully embraces the supernatural.

Preview

When Lana Lang buys a 17th-century spell book on eBay, she gets more than she bargained for after touching a blood-stained page. The spirit of Countess Margaret Isobel Thoreaux possesses her body, and she quickly recruits Chloe and Lois into her witchy coven. The trio of resurrected sorceresses turns Smallville upside down in their quest for three powerful Kryptonian crystals, leaving a trail of magical chaos in their wake.

With his parents out of town, Clark Kent is left to deal with a house party that spins wildly out of control, a very important visitor from Princeton University, and a trio of spellcasters who manage to strip him of his super-powers. Can Clark find a way to stop the magic before the coven tears the town apart, or will his hidden Kryptonian secrets be exposed to the world?

Episode Review

This episode is a complete tonal shift for the season, leaning hard into campy, supernatural fun. Watching the main cast step out of their usual teenage angst to play 1600s French witches is highly entertaining, even if the plot requires a massive suspension of disbelief. Kristin Kreuk clearly relishes playing the villain here, giving us some truly memorable, maniacal laughs that break up her usual serious demeanor.

Cast & Freak of the Week

The standard “Freak of the Week” formula gets a major upgrade here. Instead of a meteor-infected high schooler, our antagonists are a trio of 17th-century witches possessed through Lana’s online shopping habits.

• Kristin Kreuk pulls double duty as Lana and the Countess Margaret Isobel Thoreaux.
• Allison Mack (Chloe Sullivan) becomes Madelyn Hibbins.
• Erica Durance (Lois Lane) rounds out the coven as Brianna Withridge.The chemistry between the three possessed ladies is great, and they seem to be having a blast playing completely unhinged versions of their regular characters.

Special Effects

The visual effects in this episode are a mixed bag. The magical energy blasts and the glowing violet eyes look decent for 2004 television, but some of the physical stunts feel a bit dated. The highlight is definitely the levitation and the wind-machine-heavy spellcasting scenes in the Kent barn. It’s cheesy, but it fits the campy comic-book vibe perfectly.

Music

The soundtrack blends mid-2000s pop-rock with classical music used to torture a billionaire.

• “What You Waiting For?” by Gwen Stefani (Playing during the wildest barn party Smallville has ever seen)
• “Blame” by Black Toast Music
• “We Might As Well Be Strangers” by Keane (Setting the mood for the emotional loft scene at the end)
• “Impromptu No. 2 in E Flat” by Schubert (The classical piece Lex is forced to play on loop)

Rating

Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3 out of 5 stars)

Complete Synopsis and Plot Breakdown

The episode kicks off in 1604 France, where Countess Margaret Isobel Thoreaux, Madelyn Hibbins, and Brianna Withridge are facing the stake for witchcraft. Before the fire is lit, Isobel uses her own blood to seal a spell inside her book, ensuring her spirit will live on through her modern-day descendant.

Cut to present-day Smallville. Lana is showing off the ancient book she bought on eBay to her boyfriend, Jason Teague. The moment she touches the blood-marked page, a magical surge forces the Countess’s spirit into her body. Soon after, Isobel uses the book to possess Chloe and Lois, forming a modern coven.

Meanwhile, Clark is panicking because an admissions representative from Princeton University is coming to interview him, but Lois has decided to use the Kent barn to throw Chloe a surprise birthday party. Things go from bad to worse when the possessed trio uses magic to transform the modest gathering into a massive, alcohol-fueled rager. Clark ends up under a spell that has him dancing in his underwear on the stairs, right as the prestigious Princeton rep arrives to witness the chaos.

The witches aren’t just here to party, though; they are hunting the three Kryptonian stones of power. They track one down to Lex Luthor’s mansion, where they use magic to force Lex into playing a piano continuously until his fingers bleed. They then target Clark, correctly guessing he knows where a stone is hidden. Using magic—which completely bypasses Clark’s physical invulnerability—they shackle him, strip him of his powers, and torture him into revealing the location of the crystal hidden in the Kawatche caves.

Jason Teague manages to break into the cave and disrupt the ritual just as the witches are about to claim the stone. Clark regains his powers, uses his heat vision to destroy the spell-book, and banishes the spirits back to the ether. The episode wraps up with the girls having no memory of their actions (how convenient), leaving Clark to clean up the physical and academic wreckage of his weekend.

Lessons and the Path to Superman

Lessons Learned

The most practical lesson here is simple: don’t buy ancient, blood-stained books on internet auction sites. On a deeper level, Clark learns a harsh lesson about vulnerability. Up to this point, he has relied almost entirely on his physical strength and speed to solve problems. Facing an enemy that ignores his physical durability forces him to realize that muscles alone won’t always save the day.

Becoming Superman

This episode is a milestone for the Superman mythos because it firmly establishes magic as one of Clark’s definitive weaknesses. In the comics, Superman is famously susceptible to magical attacks because his dense cellular structure only protects him from physical threats, not supernatural forces.

By showing Clark completely helpless against the coven’s spells, the show adds a layer of vulnerability that balances his god-like powers. It also pushes him further into the overarching Season 4 quest for the Kryptonian Stones of Power, ensuring he understands just how dangerous these artifacts are if they fall into the wrong hands.

Photos

Witches of Smallwick

Talk Ville: SPELL (S4E08) w/ KRISTIN KREUK! Untold Stories On Set & Too Much Fun Dancing

Review Notes (these are just thoughts written upon review watching)

OK this whole episode basically falls into the so bad that it rounds the corner to kind of good.

The barn looks cool all decked out, but the girls entrance is so cringe.

OK its just so bad its bad

This is the first episode to make me realize maybe this is why I didn’t watch this the first time around.

Clark has a cell phone now? or only for this episode LOL

Jason is just all in on magic instantly lol

I will say that Kristin seems to be having a blast.

Jeez did Tom juice or what, those Lats are crazy from S3 to S4 he basically doubled in upper body size.

They took his powers and Jason to the rescue.

This episode is so CW

Clark wtf u gonna shoot em lol

OMG dumbest climax/solution so far.

He really sucks at explaining to mom and dad. But it does end with a giant Superman reveal (magic can hurt me)

Gotta respect Lex telling Lana the truth about getting Jason fired, not even sure I would have done that.

Next Episode: Bound