Smallville: 3x09 - Asylum
Jan. 16th, 2004 01:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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Season 3 - Episode 9: Asylum
What's in a name?
Asylum has two possible meanings - a place for the insane to be kept, or a shelter from danger.
The first meaning is all too obvious - the action centers around an asylum, Belle Reve, where Smallville's unmentionables are kept.
The second meaning, however, is continually refuted in the episode - there are no safe havens for Clark or Lex. They can't even protect each other, no matter how much they want to or how hard they try. There is no place they can go to and feel safe in - not even their own homes or families.
And with the loss of Lex's memory, Chloe, too, has lost her chance for a shelter from Lionel's plans.
Where does this piece go?
This is a watershed episode for all three primary characters, as each takes a step toward their destiny. Clark takes a huge step toward being Superman, Lex shows the steel that will mark him as the only man who can stand up against the most powerful man in the world, and Lana grows up a little.
This episode furthers the emotional growth that started in Shattered and makes it look as though that growth will be a permanent change in the characters.
Who with the what now?
Clark takes another step away from his parents and from Lana - he moves further from the Smallville mindset and closer to what he'll become. He acts as a partner with Chloe, foreshadowing the Lois relationship. He chooses Lex's well-being over everything else, as he did in most of Shattered. He firmly comes down on the side of Lionel needing to pay for his actions - and realizes that he's probably the only person with the knowledge and power to even make the attempt to bring Lionel down.
Lex reminds us that he knows very well how to read people - not falling for his father's tricks or Ian's attempt at a conspiracy. He shows faith and passion towards Clark. His last act in the episode is to tell Clark that he could never forget the importance of his friendship with Clark.
Lana meets someone new, continues a friendly relationship with Martha Kent, and still has feelings towards Clark (as evidenced by her reaction at the end of the episode).
Chloe continues to stand with Clark, though she also continues to have doubts as to the wisdom of his actions.
Pete and Jonathan continue to hate Lex and choose Clark's secret over Lex's mental health. Martha chooses Jonathan's side, her fear for her son overcoming any personal liking she may have for Lex. Martha also strongly pushes the Clark/Lana connection - it has always symbolized Clark's desire to be normal, and therefore, her pushing of the relationship shows how much she desires Clark to want normal again, instead of growing up into something more than just her son.
Lionel proves that his fear is much stronger than any love he might hold for Lex - I would compare him to Holtz, in some ways. Or rather, the exact opposite of Holtz's path. His fascination with Clark Kent and Clark's secret continues.
Thicker than water, blinding ties:
Dr. Foster (last seen in Shattered) returns, and we learn that she'd been blackmailed by Luthor. She dies in a car accident that has Lionel written all over it.
We also have return visits from three previous 'villians' - Eric (Leech), Ian (Dichotic), and Van (Extinction).
Eric, having been in Belle Reve the longest, was the most changed by what had happened to him. Above all else, he longed for the power that he'd known through Clark, because with that power, he would never be trapped again. Eric, unlike the other two, was probably placed in Belle Reve by his own family - the ultimate betrayal, as we see with Lionel and Lex.
Ian was much the same, but had been sharpened by his time. His intelligence and non-threatening appearance garnered him a place in the institution where he could gather information on the place and the outside world. He was willing to kill the mutant hater, but had thought that he and the like-minded Eric had become friends, not realizing just how much Eric had suffered.
Van was the least changed by his incarceration, as he'd been in there the least amount of time. He was used and then disposed of by the mutant duo.
What's your damage?
Trust and betrayal were the key themes of this episode (this is part of why Lana's subplot felt out of place - it didn't related to any of the key elements of the main plot).
Van is betrayed by Ian, who is then betrayed by Eric. Lex is betrayed by his father and his doctor. Clark is betrayed by his family and by all of his friends but Chloe.
We see the fragility of trust - Ian, who had killed Van without a moment of hesitation, was hurt by Eric's betrayal. Clark has always trusted his father's opinion, but realizes in this episode how wrong his father can be. He may not confide his secret to Lex, but he doesn't share much with his family either.
The one person who gains rather than loses is Lana, who gets a new friend in the shape of Adam.
Another theme in the episode is regret - and of bringing your own tragedy upon yourself. We see this in the Clark-Lex story, but also in the Lionel-Lex one. Clark flips the switch that hurts Lex, Lionel orders the procedure that loses him his information source.
I think I'm kinda gay.
This episode had a lot of subtext. The Clark/Lex relationship is the lynchpin of the episode, with Lana as a distraction that doesn't work. Twice, Clark's mother attempts to redirect Clark's attention toward Lana instead of Lex.
Lex and Clark do quite a bit of touching and staring. The Clark/Lex relationship is what provides the episode with passion and drive - all of Clark's independent actions are for Lex.
This is all making a kind of sense that's... not.
Belle Reve wasn't the most believable institution. Lana's recovery rate was laughable. And I don't really see why there was a welcome home party for someone who never left.
Take no substitutions.
Most of the people who are generally amazing were wonderful.
In particular, I must point out Tom Welling's stunning performance as a Clark Kent who is starting to see that he must rely on his own instincts when it comes to right and wrong, Michael Rosenbaum's turn as a Lex that you could picture facing up against Superman and not backing down, and John Glover's Lionel - who is the best rat-bastard on air.
Sum-up:
An emotional episode that moves each of the primary characters a very important step forward in their personal journeys.
What's in a name?
Asylum has two possible meanings - a place for the insane to be kept, or a shelter from danger.
The first meaning is all too obvious - the action centers around an asylum, Belle Reve, where Smallville's unmentionables are kept.
The second meaning, however, is continually refuted in the episode - there are no safe havens for Clark or Lex. They can't even protect each other, no matter how much they want to or how hard they try. There is no place they can go to and feel safe in - not even their own homes or families.
And with the loss of Lex's memory, Chloe, too, has lost her chance for a shelter from Lionel's plans.
Where does this piece go?
This is a watershed episode for all three primary characters, as each takes a step toward their destiny. Clark takes a huge step toward being Superman, Lex shows the steel that will mark him as the only man who can stand up against the most powerful man in the world, and Lana grows up a little.
This episode furthers the emotional growth that started in Shattered and makes it look as though that growth will be a permanent change in the characters.
Who with the what now?
Clark takes another step away from his parents and from Lana - he moves further from the Smallville mindset and closer to what he'll become. He acts as a partner with Chloe, foreshadowing the Lois relationship. He chooses Lex's well-being over everything else, as he did in most of Shattered. He firmly comes down on the side of Lionel needing to pay for his actions - and realizes that he's probably the only person with the knowledge and power to even make the attempt to bring Lionel down.
Lex reminds us that he knows very well how to read people - not falling for his father's tricks or Ian's attempt at a conspiracy. He shows faith and passion towards Clark. His last act in the episode is to tell Clark that he could never forget the importance of his friendship with Clark.
Lana meets someone new, continues a friendly relationship with Martha Kent, and still has feelings towards Clark (as evidenced by her reaction at the end of the episode).
Chloe continues to stand with Clark, though she also continues to have doubts as to the wisdom of his actions.
Pete and Jonathan continue to hate Lex and choose Clark's secret over Lex's mental health. Martha chooses Jonathan's side, her fear for her son overcoming any personal liking she may have for Lex. Martha also strongly pushes the Clark/Lana connection - it has always symbolized Clark's desire to be normal, and therefore, her pushing of the relationship shows how much she desires Clark to want normal again, instead of growing up into something more than just her son.
Lionel proves that his fear is much stronger than any love he might hold for Lex - I would compare him to Holtz, in some ways. Or rather, the exact opposite of Holtz's path. His fascination with Clark Kent and Clark's secret continues.
Thicker than water, blinding ties:
Dr. Foster (last seen in Shattered) returns, and we learn that she'd been blackmailed by Luthor. She dies in a car accident that has Lionel written all over it.
We also have return visits from three previous 'villians' - Eric (Leech), Ian (Dichotic), and Van (Extinction).
Eric, having been in Belle Reve the longest, was the most changed by what had happened to him. Above all else, he longed for the power that he'd known through Clark, because with that power, he would never be trapped again. Eric, unlike the other two, was probably placed in Belle Reve by his own family - the ultimate betrayal, as we see with Lionel and Lex.
Ian was much the same, but had been sharpened by his time. His intelligence and non-threatening appearance garnered him a place in the institution where he could gather information on the place and the outside world. He was willing to kill the mutant hater, but had thought that he and the like-minded Eric had become friends, not realizing just how much Eric had suffered.
Van was the least changed by his incarceration, as he'd been in there the least amount of time. He was used and then disposed of by the mutant duo.
What's your damage?
Trust and betrayal were the key themes of this episode (this is part of why Lana's subplot felt out of place - it didn't related to any of the key elements of the main plot).
Van is betrayed by Ian, who is then betrayed by Eric. Lex is betrayed by his father and his doctor. Clark is betrayed by his family and by all of his friends but Chloe.
We see the fragility of trust - Ian, who had killed Van without a moment of hesitation, was hurt by Eric's betrayal. Clark has always trusted his father's opinion, but realizes in this episode how wrong his father can be. He may not confide his secret to Lex, but he doesn't share much with his family either.
The one person who gains rather than loses is Lana, who gets a new friend in the shape of Adam.
Another theme in the episode is regret - and of bringing your own tragedy upon yourself. We see this in the Clark-Lex story, but also in the Lionel-Lex one. Clark flips the switch that hurts Lex, Lionel orders the procedure that loses him his information source.
I think I'm kinda gay.
This episode had a lot of subtext. The Clark/Lex relationship is the lynchpin of the episode, with Lana as a distraction that doesn't work. Twice, Clark's mother attempts to redirect Clark's attention toward Lana instead of Lex.
Lex and Clark do quite a bit of touching and staring. The Clark/Lex relationship is what provides the episode with passion and drive - all of Clark's independent actions are for Lex.
This is all making a kind of sense that's... not.
Belle Reve wasn't the most believable institution. Lana's recovery rate was laughable. And I don't really see why there was a welcome home party for someone who never left.
Take no substitutions.
Most of the people who are generally amazing were wonderful.
In particular, I must point out Tom Welling's stunning performance as a Clark Kent who is starting to see that he must rely on his own instincts when it comes to right and wrong, Michael Rosenbaum's turn as a Lex that you could picture facing up against Superman and not backing down, and John Glover's Lionel - who is the best rat-bastard on air.
Sum-up:
An emotional episode that moves each of the primary characters a very important step forward in their personal journeys.
