Subterranean - Recap

In a Kansas field, illegal immigrants are working for below-minimum wage. One boy, Javier Ramirez, tries to escape despite the fact his friend Francesco warns him anyone else who tried has disappeared. The guards break them up and the owner, Jed McNally, tells them to get back to work. That night, the two of them slip away and run through the cornfields. However, something tunnels beneath the field behind them and reaches up to grab Francesco and pull him below the ground. Javier runs down the road while the thing goes back into the fields with Francesco.

At the manor, Lana is considering Lex’s proposal and admits to him that she’s been losing sleep over it. Lex notes that he made it impulsively and tells her to take as much time as she needs before answering. He suggests she go to Amsterdam to see a museum art show and she agrees.

Clark is doing chores and finds Javier in the barn. He notices that he’s cut his arms from running through the corn and tends his wounds. Javier tells Clark what happened and that he came to America to be with his mother, who works in Granville and sent him money to be with her. He asks Clark not to call the authorities because he’s an illegal immigrant.

Clark agrees to help and goes to McNally’s farm. He pretends to need a tractor part and he chats with McNally, a friend of the Kents. McNally expresses his condolences concerning Jonathan’s death and notes that his own farm has been doing well since the meteor shower. He also says that all of his workers have their paper. As he goes to get the part, Clark talks to the workers about Francesco but they avoid answering him. One says something in Spanish that he doesn’t understand.

Back at the farm, Clark finds Martha home early. They start to talk but Deputy Morales arrives looking for Javier. They show him around but Javier has already hidden. After Morales leaves, Clark asks Javier to translate the words the worker told him. Javier explains that it means “Big Tree” and he remembers a large willow tree on the McNally property. As Clark goes to check it out, Martha stops him and tells him that she can’t stand by and let him break the law. Clark notes that Martha and Jonathan broke the law to take him in illegally. Martha gives him 24 hours to do what he needs to before she calls in the law.

After dropping off Javier with Chloe, Clark goes to the McNally farm and talks to two workers near the willow tree. They tell him how the ground “swallowed” Francesco. Clark uses his x-ray vision and spots buried skeletons around the tree.

Chloe is trying to locate Javier’s mother when Jimmy comes in. He suggests that they go on a date but Chloe admits she can’t. Jimmy covers up his disappointment and offers to buy pizza for Javier. Clark arrives and secretly tells Chloe what he found. She checks the files and discovers that LuthorCorp helped McNally with his bills and essentially owns the property. Clark goes to Lex, who claims he knows nothing about any deaths on the McNally property.

At Chloe’s apartment, Jimmy admits that he thinks Clark is jealous of him and loves Chloe. Chloe says that’s ridiculous and she and Clark are just friends. They realize that Javier has slipped away and run out to get him, only to see him jump on the back of a truck to make his escape. Clark arrives and Chloe admits that Javier escaped.

The next day, Clark goes to the McNally property where the authorities are removing the skeletons. Jimmy is there taking photos. Morales is arresting McNally and tells Clark that the workers are illegals who will be deported. McNally breaks free from his captors, swears revenge on Clark and Javier, and then tunnels underground.

Later at the manor, Lex is watching a video recording of McNally’s escape. Dr. Bauer, in charge of the LuthorCorp work at McNally’s farm, comes in and Lex blames him for not knowing McNally was killing his workers. Bauer denies any knowledge of McNally’s illegal activities and claims he was working with McNally to learn the extent of his burrowing abilities. Lex tells Bauer to find McNally.

Clark goes to the Daily Planet to see Chloe and tell her how McNally disappeared. Chloe has checked the records and learned that McNally was buried under meteors for three days during the last meteor shower. They hear a police report on the scanner of Javier being spotted at a bus stop in Granville. Clark gets there at superspeed and gets Javier away and takes him back to the Kent farm. Realizing Clark has superpowers, Javier promises not to tell anyone.

Chloe and Jimmy find Javier’s mother Esperanza and call Clark to tell him the news. They then bring her to Smallville to meet with her son. Meanwhile, Clark drives the truck to take Javier back to the Kent farm. Javier asks what happened to Francesco and Clark has to tell him he was one of the bodies found by the willow tree. A guilty Javier has Clark pull over and starts crying. Clark goes to him… and is sucked under the ground. Javier tries to run back to the truck, but Clark emerges from the dirt with an unconscious McNally.

Clark and Javier get back to the Kent farm where Esperanza is there with Martha. As Esperanza is reunited with her son, Martha tells them she’s doing what she can to establish their status as legal immigrants.

Lana returns from Amsterdam and admits to Lex that she was impressed with all the good she could do with the money she saw Lex display to get her there. She shows him the article on illegal workers and suggests she put his money to good use.

Jimmy visits Chloe at the Planet and tells her he has set up an apartment for her in Metropolis. She tells him that she’d rather stay in Metropolis. Clark interrupts them and Jimmy apologizes to Clark for taking Chloe away from him. Clark has no idea what he’s talking about but accepts Jimmy’s apology. After Jimmy leaves, Clark worries that putting McNally away may not have stopped the problems with illegal immigration. Chloe warns him that he can’t do everything.

Later, Lana visits Martha at the Kent farm to discuss her plan to have LuthorCorp sponsor the illegal workers. Clark wonders if Lex is using her and the residency program to cover his involvement with the McNally property. Lana angrily insists that it was her idea and that Lex has always been honest with her.

Lex goes to a secret lab facility where he and Bauer check on the sedated McNally. Lex leaves the level, 33.1, walking past other meteor-infected prisoners held in cells.

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