Smallville: Perry

I was watching Season 3 of Smallville while I was doing my homework, and I saw the episode "Perry." The show starts out with a middle-aged man (or older) getting drunk in a bar, and he is thrown out by the bar's bouncers, who tell him not to come back. The drunk then gets into his car and drives, while he fiddles with a map and assures someone on his cell phone that he is not drunk. For some reason, Clark Kent happens to be running on the road, and the drunk man smashes his car into a telephone pole as he swerves to avoid hitting him. Clark walks undeterred through the torn power lines and tears off the car door to rescue the man. "You tore off that door with your bare hands!" the man exclaims. "You must have been drinking, sir," Clark answers. Clark then asks the man his name, and the man replies, "Perry White." The show then cuts to the opening song and credits.

Every Superman fan knows who Perry White is. He is the boss of Clark Kent and Lois Lane, the editor-in-chief of the Daily Planet. Maybe the thought that is supposed to enter our minds as we watch this Smallville episode is, "How will this bum ever rise to that position?"

But there is more to the story. Perry White on this episode was working for a show about the paranormal. But, before that, he was actually a Pulitzer-nominated reporter. His downfall came when he tried to write an expose of Lex Luthor's corrupt billionaire father, Lionel Luthor. Lionel made sure to end Perry's career.

Over the course of the episode, Perry puts many people at risk in his pursuit of a story. This includes Clark (whose superpowers are fluctuating due to solar flares) and Lana Lane, Clark's flame. In the end, Clark still helps Perry, who learns as a result that there are good people in the world, a fact that he previously doubted. As he gets on the bus, he remarks to Clark that he (Perry) has been sober for over a day, that Clark is a poor writer but has potential, and that he owes Clark one. Perry then says that he has some friends at the Daily Planet. As the song "Walking in Memphis" plays, the viewer knows what the future holds. Perry White has gotten on his feet again. He will get back his job as a reporter, and he'll eventually rise to the position of editor-in-chief for the Daily Planet. He still doesn't have this job by Season 7, showing that the process is slow and arduous. But Perry White has been blessed with a new beginning, which will lead to the Superman setting that we have come to know and love.

I like this episode because it is about redemption, hope, new beginnings, and perseverance in the face of disappointments and setbacks. Most interestingly, the actor who plays Perry White is the husband of Annette O' Toole, who depicts Martha Kent, Clark's mother. He also played Mr. Ditweiller on The Brady Bunch Movie, but I don't see the resemblance.