4.04, Devoted

[Season Four, Episode 404]Chloe is working at the Torch and ends up having to cover all the pieces with Clark deciding to dial back on Torch duties due to joining the football team (thus refocusing his priorities away from her and the Torch) and her cousin still trying to get into Met U without an earned diploma by trying to get the Dean to change he admissions policy.   This sets Chloe to cover the football practices herself where she drinks a concocted kryptojuice which makes her fall head over heals -- for Clark.

Smallville, Episode 4.04: Chloe and ClarkShe goes back to the Torch where she runs into her cousin; Chloe puts her on the case by telling her to interview the cheerleaders before she declares that she was quitting the Torch.  Chloe expounds that she "spent all her time buried in this stupid newspaper" and that's what prevented her from being with Clark; she starts to take down the Wall of Weird.  Her cousin asks for her to "stop with [her] crazy talk" and demands to know "how many anvils** are you going to let [...] drop on you?"  Chloe gets angry and wants to know why her cousin is "getting in her way" - hilariously said with the Superman crest behind her.  Her cousin gives in and storms off and in the next scene blatantly tells the audience that she doesn't want to write the article.

When Clark comes up to his loft that night, Chloe is waiting for him in only his football jersey.*  Chloe reiterates her priorities about throwing off her Torch commitment for him.*  Clark is understandably confused by Chloe's personality shift - but still questions exactly what it is that Chloe's willing to do for him.   She sits in his lap and says that she's devoted to him, and kisses him.   When Clark talks over this alter with his mom he very pointedly says what is holding him back from Chloe wasn't about Chloe - it was about not being over Lana.  He also tells us that his jersey is in the barn but "nothing happened."  He agrees with his mom to be honest about his feelings with Chloe.

Smallville, Episode 4.04: Chloe and ClarkChloe ambushes him at practice, dressed now as a cheerleader, so she can be with Clark "all the time."***   Clark gets her cousin to agree to keep Chloe at bay until he can figure out what has gone wrong with her; EDLois agrees to play distraction.****  Clark figures out that the cheerleaders are spiking the drinks, using meteorites to make their love compound work and her cousin decides they should go to the party to get the report from the head cheerleader.

Chloe, in the final step of the drug, attacks her cousin with a wrench claiming that she's not going through what she went through with Lana again; she won't let her cousin steal Clark.  Her cousin is obviously taken aback and says she doesn't want to hurt her - Chloe says that she already did.  EDLois kicks her into a hot furnace on accident - which breaks the drugs hold.  They both meet up with Clark, explaining how to reverse the process; Chloe's cousin tries to take on three football players at once - Clark uses his heat vision to save her butt.

Wow. Superhero and journalist. What are the odds?

The next day, after Clark wins the game, Chloe comes down on the field to talk with him and she says that she might have to do an article on him; Clark surmises that she's back at the Torch and she agrees.  Clark tells her that she made a great cheerleader to her chagrin.  Chloe apologizes for making things awkward but notes that he's going to be very popular now (the Torch was previously called a 'geek rag' in this episode).  Clark admits that he plans on making time for the Torch and expects her to keep him in line.  Chloe remarks that "Wow.Superhero and journalist. What are the odds?"  Clark kisses her on the cheek, and she says, emotionally, that she'll see him tomorrow - a throw back to Delete.

* This was the highest rated episode of Season Four - and "sexy" Chloe was promoted; it's a very close parallel of 'Pheromone, My Lovely' from the first season of Lois and Clark as well.  In Pheromone, Lois comes over in a blue belly dancer outfit to seduce Clark, Chloe's waiting for him in his jersey (and the next day, as his personal cheerleader.)  It's notable that as his football outfit is an analogy for his Superman costume later, this would be akin to wearing his cape.  It's red to boot.  Additionally the conversation mimics the conversation between Clark and Lois in LnC when he's trying convince her that something is wrong with her when she talks about cutting work together.  And the entire after-effects of the perfume and the drink are the same.

** Anvils - the popular term in the KryptonSite and now TWoP threads that refer to the big glaring clues in Chloe's favor as Lois Lane (and they were referred to as that before Erica Durance came on the show.)

*** This is a fallback to Hothead where Chloe said that since he joined the football team, she should join the pompom brigade (interestingly enough, Lana tells her in that episode that there is a spot open, in fact this is the first game we've seen Lana go to since Whitney and she is no longer a SHS cheerleader.)  Clark wanted to joining the team, hilariously, in part to spend more time with Lana - and instead when he joins he gets his own personal cheerleader... in Chloe.

**** This is the first in a long line where her character doesn't do anything but provide buffer filler time while someone else does the work; it's the start of her role as the replacement Pete.