xparrot | on 6th season SV (yep, more Lex. You were expecting something else?)

(Have come down with an annoying cold, and it's more fun to focus on fictional angst rather than my own sniffles. Very long, rambling, and overly detailed analysis, proceed at your own risk!)

Regarding early 6th season Lex: our 5th season reading works so well I'm wondering if whoever came up with the idea convinced others of the staff to go with it (until Lana inevitably took over the story). Except by this take, things just keep getting more painful for Lex, because everyone is laboring under massive misapprehensions. "Zod" raises a lot of issues that aren't openly dealt with, but there's lots of room to interpret. I was getting pretty outraged with Clark, but now I think I understand where he's coming from, and my blame has shifted to other individuals. Meanwhile, Lex...oh, Lex.

At the conclusion of "Zod", Lex is in a terrible place. After spending a year trying to save the human race from Fine's invasion, he wakes up to find that the world was almost destroyed anyway - and he was the instrument of that catastrophe. He remembers nothing of Zod, knows nothing except what Lana tells him, and we don't know how much that is. Considering she neglects to mention the power-source octagon thingy, she can't have gone into much detail. At the least, even if Lana does tell Lex about Jor-El's dagger, she doesn't tell him where she got it. Why she doesn't tell him is anyone's guess. Martha and Lionel obviously knew something about Zod, but Lana never goes to ask Martha what's up with that, as far as we know. And if she had told Lex about them, presumably he would've been interested enough to try to get the information out of them somehow.

This is important. We the audience know about Zod and his ultimate fate, but imagine Lex's perspective. An irresistible subliminal impulse drives him to a field, there's a flash of light, and then he wakes up in a hospital bed with the world in rubble around him. (How many people died on Dark Thursday? As far as I can tell it never mentions, but considering the kind of world-wide damage we see, the body count has got to be up there.) Most people don't have a clue what really happened. Lana can tell Lex more than most (even though she doesn't), but only Clark Kent and his cabal (Martha, Chloe, and Lionel) know the whole story. As far as Lana knows, she tried to kill Zod, and failed, and that's it. She's got reason to be scared when she first sees Lex; how can she possibly know who he is?

Lex knows even less than that. He doesn't know who Zod exactly was, whether he was alone or the first wave of a coming invasion. Moreover, Lex doesn't know what happened to Zod. He has no way of knowing whether Zod was actually defeated or destroyed, or whether he decided to change tactics. For all Lex knows, Zod is still out there, biding his time to make another attack - or even might still be inside Lex. Lex has no way of knowing for sure that he's not going to wake up tomorrow and try to destroy the world again. (One wonders if he might have developed contingency plans for this.)

At this point I start screaming at Clark for allowing Lex to live with these doubts. This is not just Clark's secret anymore; other people are deeply involved. Clark has done quite a few terrible things under the influence of something or other, but has always after had the comfort of understanding what was going on. (There's a problem here that Clark has almost never experienced the situational amnesia that's afflicted most other chars in the show, especially Lex. Clark loses control but rarely loses memories, so has little idea how terrifying it must be. Clark should at least be able to remember "Transference," however, how he didn't have any way of knowing what Lionel did when in his body, and how nervous he was to find out. This is as it is for Lex now, except infinitely worse because the magnitude of crimes committed is so off-the-charts different.)

Except I can't totally blame Clark. He's operating under a lack of information himself. Clark doesn't actually know that the last time he talked to Lex, it wasn't really Lex. When Lex confronts him in the barn in "Vessel", that's not Lex talking. Lex has no memory of the incident, and I suspect that's because he was Brainiac-controlled at the time. Lex at that point obviously knows that Zod is coming and is acting to become Zod's host, and there is no way Lex would go along with that willingly (whether or not you believe Lex's motives are world-saving, Lex is not one to let himself be possessed, even for the sake of power). So everything he says to Clark, about wanting to be him, about his lies, wasn't really Lex talking - possibly a side of Lex, Brainiac stirring up his thoughts seeking things to piss off Kal-El; but not Lex's entire thoughts. Among other things? Lex would have agreed with Clark. When Lana confesses that she tried to kill him, Lex assures her that he would have done the same thing. Lex probably would have wanted Clark to kill him, if he'd understood what was at stake.

Why doesn't Clark make an effort to actually explain at the time? Because. Uh. Putting aside the issue of whether Clark deserves any of Lex's trust, I don't care if it's my most trustworthy and best friend in the universe, if he turned up with a knife, saying "I need to kill you now," the least I would want is an explanation of why. Like, "You're about to become the vessel of an evil alien dictator." Otherwise I'd be pretty dang pissed with his murderous self.

The problem is that Clark believes that Lex actually does know what's going on. I blame Lana for that. In "Vessel" she comes to Chloe after Lex gets abducted, going on about how Lex has gotten in too deep and how it was her fault he had the ship. She neglects to mention that Lex was not working with Fine. Lex was working against Fine; he planned to double-cross the alien from the start, pretending to be making the vaccine Fine wanted, while secretly producing enough to save humanity. But from Clark's un-informed perspective, Lex was selling out to Fine. Maybe just to make the vaccine for profit, but Clark seems to believe it's more than that. Knowing Lex's fascination with his own powers, Clark suspects that Lex bargained with Fine to get super-powers himself. Possibly even to be Zod's host.

If that's really what Clark believes - that's why he so angrily accuses Lex in "Oracle," "Fine double-crossed you," though one would think that Lex should be the most pissed. But Clark is assuming that Lex is perfectly content with the deal he made with Fine (While in truth Lex must be a bit frantic, trying to figure out exactly what's going on, what Fine did to him. Again, I think Fine must have sedated Lex at the very least; he's way too calm about his sudden healing ability.) Clark has no way of knowing the truth; even Lana can't be sure that Lex was being honest with her, and Lionel goes on about the darkness in Lex when talking to Clark. And when Clark meets with Brainiac-controlled Lex in the barn, Lex affirms all of his suspicions.

No damn wonder Clark doesn't trust Lex in 6th season. Clark and his cabal believe that Lex was partially or totally culpable in Zod's takeover. In "Sneeze" Lionel even questions whether Lex really forgot everything (possibly sowing doubts just to undermine his son; this is Lionel.) What a terrifying thing for Clark to face - it's one thing to learn a former friend is doing questionable things in business; it's another to see he's capable of such an incredible betrayal of humankind. Lana is the only person who knows that Zod's destructive power, rather than being Lex's great desire, is his worst nightmare (quite literally; see "Scare"). Unless she suspects Lex was lying to her all along, that he really did want that power...

Which is disturbing. Because if Lana really believes this, really believes that Lex is evil...why the hell did she stay with him? (Is she, apparently still in love with Clark, trying to prove her love by solving the mystery of Lex? Because that. Holy shit. I'll kill her. Forget blaming Clark. This is all Lana's damn fault, and I'm not even talking about the supposed love triangle.)

Lex is a victim of misunderstandings and betrayal from everyone who should believe in him. We the audience know Lex wasn't after superpowers. We are the only witnesses to his confrontation with Fine, which may be the most honest Lex is in 5th season or most of 6th. "I wanted to give my people a fighting chance." And Fine is astonished that Lex would be so generous with his funds as to mass-produce the vaccine. "I applaud your noble efforts to protect your species." Lex's bottom-line-obsessed billionaire mogul performance was convincing even to Brainiac. No one sees that it's just an act, that all the wealth and power Lex is gathering are only the means to an end - saving the world, the only way he knows how.

But Lex is letting himself drown in his own obsession. He's losing touch with the very humanity he's determined to save, because it's easier to do what he does if he doesn't see people, but pawns. Easier to play the numbers game and sacrifice a few dozen mutants for the sake of a few billion lives. He has almost no one in his life now to remind him that individual people mean anything - since Lionel is with the enemy, Lana is the only person he dares have any sort of relationship with at all, outside of his work. Small wonder he's so desperate to hold onto her. And Lana is rejecting him. Is telling him he is unworthy of love, is impossible to love, and Lex believes her, because he's been told so all his life; yet he clings to her all the same, because she's his last human connection. Once he loses her, there will be nothing holding him back, no reason for him not to let go and drop into the abyss of his own determination. No rules at all, just goals to be met.

Which can make Lex sound weak, that he needs someone's hand, that he's not strong enough to pull himself out of his moral vortex. But then humans never fare well in complete isolation, and Lex is about as isolated as they come.

In fact, I don't know if I can think of another fictional character as totally alone as Lex Luthor is at the moment. It's been noted before that it's a problem for the show, because he has no foil, no one to discuss his schemes or his true motives with; but it's a bigger problem for the character himself. The future Lex Luthor will have lackeys and flunkies, floozies and minions; he'll have Mercy Graves as his loyal bodyguard, and a superhero nemesis he trades insightful barbs with. Lex Luthor now has his father, who is always working against him; and Lana, who went from sincerely loving him, to loving him but distrusting him, to loving Clark more than him, to not loving him one iota to the point that her wedding march felt like a funeral procession (and no clear reason for this change of heart). He has no personal assistant that we've seen, only a cadre of unethical scientists, but without exception, every single one of those men and women (e.g. the doctors in "Rage" and in "Freak," the guy with Zod's box, Lana's physician) appear to fear and despise Lex personally, and are looking for ways to betray him. He doesn't even have any sycophants hoping to ride his coattails to the top, no clue why not. He isn't sleeping around anymore ("Bound" taught him better). His personal security has betrayed him before ("Shattered"). He's got to be wary of making political connections, after the "Fanatic" stalker girl killed several people in his name before trying to kill him.

Lex has had two best friends in his life: one he believed he murdered (in a fit of mental illness); and the other is either an alien invader out to destroy the world, or repeatedly lied to him without apparent cause before finally turning his back and walking away (and one can't blame Lex for wanting to think Clark is the former; betrayal by a spy is easier to accept.) He's been married three times now and every single time the bride had ulterior motives for saying "I do," even as she professed to return his love. Lex is a billionaire who only gets a single visitor the night he loses an important election, who has no bachelor party before his wedding and can muster up no wedding party and no best man but his father. That's going beyond pathetic and into scary. Small wonder Lex shows signs of being clinically depressed.

Especially since this is someone who craves companionship and acceptance more than anything. In "Lexmas" nothing makes Lex happier than being surrounded by loving family and friends. Remember in first season, Lex doing his paperwork at the Beanery or the Talon, hanging out with the local high schoolers (probably because none of the adults would dirty themselves talking to the Luthor heir.) He never leaves the office or mansion anymore; does he do anything not business-related? When is the last time we even saw him driving one of his pricey sports cars? He has not a single casual acquaintance that we know of, much less any confidante - he has absolutely no one he trusts enough to talk to honestly anymore; no one who cares about him personally so far as to even want to talk to him. Lana doesn't care enough to, will only give him lies now anyway.

Lana is an exceptionally bad match for him anyway, being one of the forces isolating Lex. She never makes any effort to get him to be social, never drags him out to dinner, doesn't wish to be seen in public with him. In "Reunion" she just wants to get him away from any possible friends as soon as possible. Is it that she's embarrassed to be seen on a budding supervillain's arm? Or because she's jealous of him having any other relationships besides devotion to her? I can't tell, but it's disturbing either way. She calls him obsessed but doesn't want to talk to him about anything but his work and Luthor family games. He sends her to an art exhibition in Europe and all she has to say about it is that being rich is awesome. Do we ever hear them converse about Greek history or family reminisces, the way he and Clark always used to talk? Knowing Lex is dangerously obsessed, she doesn't try to get him interested in a hobby, or point out that he obviously needs psychological help; she only wants his obsession to focus on her. That is not a healthy relationship.

Lex lets Clark back in the mansion time and again, after telling him he's not welcome, because at least Clark isn't afraid to speak his mind to him, which is better than Lex gets from almost anyone else. Lex will lie and murder to keep Lana; he goes to such ends because he thinks he has to force it, because he believes by now that there is absolutely nothing in him worthy of love. After so many years of being shot down by family, friends, and lovers, it's not unreasonable that he's concluded that he is a man incapable of being loved. Lionel, people can love and forgive, even knowing that he drugged, electroshocked, and poisoned his own son, and shows no evidence of actually having a heart; Lex, people cannot love, for no understandable reason except that he's extremely unlucky in who he gets close to. He knows Lana's feelings for him aren't real, but it's the closest he's going to get, so he's determined to hold on to her.

And maybe Lex sounds pathetic with this need, but then, how well would Clark himself fare if he had no support system whatsoever? Clark struggles with his own secrets, even having people to share them with; Lex is bearing secrets just as weighty, and has no one to balance the load. If he's turning into a monster - if he's allowing himself to turn into a monster - it's because it's the only way he can survive the pressure with his intellect functional and his sanity (mostly) intact. If precious little else of his soul.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

danceswithgary

Once again, wow. I love reading your insightful comments as much as your fiction. You've obviously done a lot of thinking about this and what you're saying rings true. Thanks for sharing!

From:

excavations of a fangirl mind

on 6th season SV (yep, more Lex. You were expecting something else?)

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