Lex cracks worse than Humpty Dumpty!

The Good:
- Morgan Edge carries scars on his face from the plastic surgery. A nice touch.
- Edge also carries a "rosary" of meteor rocks to protect him from Clark. Interesting symmetry, in the comic series Lex Luthor has a Kryptonite ring made to protect himslef from the wrath he assumes he'll eventually unleash in Superman.
- Lionel and Edge both make a play for Lex' loyalty by using the same story, and casting the other as the bad guy.
- The ending of this ep was fantastic, from Johnny Cash's song to the display of emotion from Lionel as Lex suffers in the asylum.

The Bad:
- I have to get the number for the contractors who replaced that stained glass window and that skylight in under a day, nice work!
- Once again the Luthor security is at it's finest. Lex' bodyguard bursts into the room while Lex is under fire and just walks into a bullet. And Lex brings a hunting rifle into Lionel's locked office. These guys must be airport security rejects.
- I'm no ranch hand, and I don't know beans about horses, but I'd figure that someone who's been around them all her life would know not to crawl under one when it's spooked and jumping. Why didn't Lana just cower in a corner until the horse calmed down?
- Lex could find Edge at the warehouse when he was being unwrapped from his plastic surgery. Then Lex returns and finds a sweat shop where Edge's hideout used to be. At the end of the ep Lex attacks Edge in a house. For a guy who's trying to disappear, Edge is real easy to find.
- Aren't most hospital rooms private, or semi-private? I've never seen one with hallways on either side and windows all around. Lana's room was nega-private.
- Does Nell come back to Smallville every time Lana ends up in the hospital? I haven't seen her in ages.

The Ugly:
- OK, if Rutger Hauer wasn't available for an extended run as Edge, why not have Patrick Bergen play Edge in the first place? Was it really necessary for Edge to have plastic surgery? He's the crime lord of Metropolis and a lifelong friend of Lionel Luthor, so why does he need to change his face? Does he think that that is really going to protect him from Lionel? And did anyone else think that Patrick Bergen looks a lot like Gil Gerard from the old Buck Rogers show?
- Clark can move fast enough to push Lex out of the way of Edge's car, but not fast enough to jump, or move with Lex?
- Lana comes to the conclusion that being around Clark is dangerous. Actually, she gets into most of that trouble by herself. Clark usually bails her out.

I like the overall theme of this season, that Clark's abilities can't solve everything. As he keep swatch over Lana's hospital bed, which is an eerie reminder of how Season 2 ended, it's clear that despite his best efforts, everything continues to fall apart.

WOW. What an episode.

What, he wants Clark to declare war on Iraq?
Only a Drugged Psychotic Would Say This: “You’re either with me or against me Clark, choose right now!” -Lex to Clark, in the opening scene of Act 1.

She must mean became pale and did everything backwards
Great Name-Dropping Exchange:
Chloe: “After his brother died, Lex went right back to boarding school. And soon after that, he started exhibiting some…pretty…bizarro behavior.”
Clark: “What do you mean “bizarro”?

---Critique:
If nothing else, the events of last season’s cliffhanger and this season’s first couple of episodes, which may have been criticized for using the reset button, have served to provide some really good character interactions in episodes like this one. Clark trying to keep Lex from finding out that he knows who Morgan Edge is (and the way the drugged Lex reacts when he finds out near the end of the episode), Chloe still trying to keep the truth of her prior brief association with Lionel secret from Clark, and Lionel exploiting Lex’s experiences on the island in the premiere and second episode to have him institutionalized, etc.
---It may also appear that the creators are trying to depict Clark and Lana’s relationship as moving out of the “You have to open up to me/I can’t open up to you” spin cycle by having Lana say flat-out that being around Clark is dangerous, which would be a good thing. Putting aside all the members of the Anti-Lana Brigade who no doubt did a dance of joy at the sight of her leg twisted out of place in the closing shot of Act 2, obviously, their friendship can’t just simply end, but I’m gonna be really P.O.’d if they reset this the next episode by having it be the result of her being doped up while recuperating. I’m also hoping that her healing won’t take only a week. In truth, Lana is right, after all. Clark should not have involved her in Lex’s quite dangerous predicament, just because he had to get Lex food while he was hiding at the barn.
---And MAN, was the ending sad. Kudos to the creators for not letting Lex off the hook by allowing him to get back to normal by the end of the episode. I can’t wait to see where this goes from here.

---NITS & NOTES:
Going to the Kent farm to hide out was not very smart of Lex. Sure, he’s drugged and paranoid, but you’d think this would make him less likely to trust anyone else, and I’m surprised that he doesn’t have a dozen safehouses stashed away in and around Smallville and Metropolis. Going to the Kent Farm, rather than the Metropolis equivalent of the Plaza Hotel, was just dumb.

Lex’s shrink says the stained glass window in his corridor was broken when he through a vase through it. But the vase she shows him doesn’t appear to be broken.

In the hospital in Act 3, Chloe says that maybe Lex was drugged, and that the question is how it got into his system. No, Chloe, the question is first whether there are such drugs in his system. You hadn’t established that yet. Luckily, of course, they turn out to be right when Darius confesses.

Speaking of which, why don’t they check Lex’s blood? Is everyone in the hospital on Lionel’s payroll too? Clark and Chloe should’ve taken a sample of Lex’s blood while he was at the barn.

When the kryptonite beads fell apart off of Edge’s chain as he was beating Clark in Act 3, did the visual of them falling apart remind anyone else of the way the pearls fell apart from Bruce’s mom’s necklace when Joe Chill grabbed it in Batman’s origin?

When knocking Lex out of the way of Morgan’s car in Act 4, Clark should’ve dived out of the car’s way along with Lex, not stopped right there himself. There was no reason to do this except to make a display of his power for Lex, since the natural tendency of this act would’ve been for Clark’s body to have kept on going. Clark had to make a conscious effort to stop, which made no sense.

Holy spaghetti! I loved this episode!

I gathered that after Rutger Hauer had been cast, THEN they learned that he wasn't available for a second episode. My guess would be a communications mix up.

Having not been around horses or ranches either, my guess (again!) is that Lana felt it would be safer outside of the stall of a spooked horse than inside as a sitting duck. Frankly, I can't fault that reasoning.

I thought Lex would have clocked Lionel with the gun a lot sooner than he did. And Lionel's references to Julian's death not being Lex's fault...I want to know how Julian died!

Is it really conceivable that Edge would have hired what looks like a teenager to go after Lex? Why not hire a more...er...veteran pro?

When the horse trampled Lana, I was cheering. Loudly. With the crazy fist pumping and all that. But how did her leg get twisted like that? If she was crawling on hands and knees, and the horse came down, shouldn't she have just had her leg crushed? Or did the horse kick outwards?

Why didn't Clark just ask Lana to take the vial to Chloe, so he could stay to control Lex's violent tendencies? And did that drugged scotch ever get tested so that Lex could be busted from the asylum?

I like how it looks like even the reputable and unshakeable Claire Foster is in Lionel's pocket!

Obi-Juan: Interesting symmetry, in the comic series Lex Luthor has a Kryptonite ring made to protect himslef from the wrath he assumes he'll eventually unleash in Superman.
Luigi Novi: Actually, doesn't Batman keep that in the vault in the Batcave? (That's what the most recent couple of issues of the new Batman/Superman series have established.) Or is there more than one ring?

And yeah, I forgot to mention that line by Lionel about Lex's responsibility for Julian's death. WOW. I GASPED when I heard that.

And Pete Ross is again nowhere to be seen. I can't say I like that. Is he hiding in some "secure secret location," sitting around doing nothing, in order to prepare to be vice president one day?

Lex' bodyguard bursts into the room while Lex is under fire and just walks into a bullet.

This was the same bodyguard who was in on it, though. Having Lex watch a bodyguard 'die' and then have the bodyguard show up later would definitely add to Lionel's "I want everyone to think he's crazy" agenda.

Lex could find Edge at the warehouse when he was being unwrapped from his plastic surgery. Then Lex returns and finds a sweat shop where Edge's hideout used to be.

What I found odd about this was that Clark made a big deal about the fact that it'd only been a day since Lex had been there last... when the exact same thing has happened to Clark before (last season, 'Accelerate').

Lex’s shrink says the stained glass window in his corridor was broken when he through a vase through it. But the vase she shows him doesn’t appear to be broken.

Lex's shrink, like the bodyguard, appears to have been in on it.

Going to the Kent farm to hide out was not very smart of Lex. Sure, he’s drugged and paranoid, but you’d think this would make him less likely to trust anyone else, and I’m surprised that he doesn’t have a dozen safehouses stashed away in and around Smallville and Metropolis. Going to the Kent Farm, rather than the Metropolis equivalent of the Plaza Hotel, was just dumb.

It's a safe bet he does have safehouses like that. But odds are Lionel knows about at least a few of them... and even if he doesn't, Lex would just be in one of them on his own driving himself crazy about 'when his father would show up to finish the job' or something to that extent.

What gets me is the conversation Lionel and the shrink have at the end of the episode... talking about how Lex won't have any short-term memory left (which, I'm assuming, means he'll forget most of what had happened during and prior to this episode). And between medication and therapy, well... Lionel might not want to lose another child (isn't Julian actually still alive?). But I bet he'd love the chance to rebuild one from scratch.

Lucas Lex's other brother is still but as far Lionel is concerned he is damaged good. He is currently in hiding.

A Smallville first: It took 27 minutes for Lana to appear in the episode.

And speaking of Batman references, when Edge was in the barber's chair taking the bandages off his face, was anyone else saying "mirror. MIRROR!!!"
like Nicholson did?

And speaking of Batman references, when Edge was in the barber's chair taking the bandages off his face, was anyone else saying "mirror. MIRROR!!!" like Nicholson did?

Yes. Yes I was.

OK, the only nit I can remember is that at one point, Edge's kryptonite rosary beads have scattered all over the floor around Clark. In a later shot, Clark is lying there with narry a kryptonite bead to be seen.

After Lex was going all psycho on Clark, Clark was trying to crawl away from the gun. In doing so, he was shoving the beads away with his forearms.

Unless you're referring to a shot prior to that.

I guess I must have just missed that in-between, shoving the beads away scene then, distracted by the phone before the commercial break ended, or something like that. Thanks.

Obi-Juan: Interesting symmetry, in the comic series Lex Luthor has a Kryptonite ring made to protect himslef from the wrath he assumes he'll eventually unleash in Superman.
Luigi Novi: Actually, doesn't Batman keep that in the vault in the Batcave? (That's what the most recent couple of issues of the new Batman/Superman series have established.) Or is there more than one ring?

Same ring, different period of time. Lex Luthor makes the ring, and wears it for many years. Unfortunately, Kryptonite is radioactive to humans, although to a lesser degree that to Kryptonians. The ring actually "kills" Lex, and he comes back later in a clone of his own son. The ring falls into Superman's possession after Lex's "death", and he gives it to Batman for safekeeping.

Good catch on the imagery of the meteror rock beads in this ep and the pearl necklace that is a recurring symbol of Bruce Wayne's memory of his mother's last moments.

The rosary beads also reminded me of the beads Jet Li carried as a weapon in Lethal Weapon 4.

I have to admit, though... I was half-expecting Lex to wind up someplace like oh, say... Arkham Asylum. But that'd be too obvious a reference, and apparently there's no way they have the security Lionel would want. (after all, everyone keeps breaking out)

I don't read the Superman comics (although I'm getting into the new Teen Titans series, no matter how horrific the show is), but Morgan Edge isn't unique to Smallville, is he? I'm pretty sure I saw him on a recent episode of the Justice League cartoon. I hadn't thought much of it until then.

I don't think a reference to Arkham would be too obvious. I think the problem with it (in addition to security, which you pointed out), would be that it's in Gotham City, and not in Metropolis.

And yeah, I'm enjoying the new Teen Titans series. The recent storyline with Deathstroke the Terminator was interesting, as was the revelation that the DNA of Kon-El/Superboy/Conner Kent may be partially Luthor's. And Mike McKone's art, of course, is beautiful.