Episode 1.16 is very touching in that Clark for the first time has a sibling-figure in his life. The same goes for Ryan James, a young boy who escaped from the cruelty of his adopted parents.
This episode is so touching because both Clark and Ryan relate so well to each other. Neither knows anything about their true family, and thus are struggling, albeit on different levels, to find security in their lives. Clark is in a better situation, however, because he does have loving adoptive parents, whereas even Ryan's adoptive parents are inhumanely cruel. In the goodness of their hearts, Jonathan and Martha take the boy in for adoption- though it is for a brief time. However, even with such brief time, Clark and Ryan become very close, as they each have a brother for the first time in their lives. Ryan reluctantly has to leave the Kent home after about a week, though he is (supposedly) headed for an adoption center where he will get adopted by loving adults. Ryan gives Clark his Angel Warrior comics and remarks that he now has a real superhero in his life.
What is also touching about this episode is that Ryan is one of the few, and one of the first, people to know Clark's secret. Clark feels comfortable telling Ryan this secret because they feel so much like brothers and have so much in common. What a wonderful episode.
The "Smallville" writers hit it right on the head with this show.