Bird?
Plane?
Nah, it's...
23. Lexmas - Smallville, 2005
Photo credit: Warner Bros.
The one-time WB-now-CW network's Smallville, which wrapped an impressive ten season run earlier this year, ranks as one of my most beloved shows ever. The modern re-imagining of Clark Kent's pre-Superman years as he came of age in Kansas was fun, clever, and often times surprisingly heartbreaking. That being said, it did suffer at times from an overabundance of fluff and cheese, especially before the 6th season shift that saw the show really start to embrace the mythology it was rooted in. "Lexmas" is a bit of the good and the bad rolled into one, but hey, they can't all be home runs, and there's enough of the former to earn it the 23 spot.
At its core, the episode is something of a reverse It's A Wonderful Life. Lex Luthor, who's still in his Maybe I'm Not Evil Even Though I Do Evil Stuff All The Time phase, approaches a shady guy in a shady part of Kansas about waging a dirty campaign against Jonathan Kent in the Senate race. After having a, "Once you go down this dark path, you can't turn back," moment, Lex says he needs to think about it, gets shot by thieves, and wakes up in a dream world where he's a nice middle-class guy married to Lana with a son and another baby on the way.
Now, I don't think I need to tell you that I side with the heroes. My favorite characters on any show tend to be the brave and tortured souls who sacrifice their own happiness for the sake of the world and end up having a million terrible things happen to them before they inevitably die in the most tragic and heroic manner possible. My Nemesis is so named because she's the opposite. In fact, her favorites have murdered mine on more than one occasion. So, naturally, if you asked her, the Lex thread is the best part of this entire episode. For me, it's good, but it's nothing new.
By this point in Smallville's run, Lex Luthor had played the, "Well, but maybe I'm just a good guy who's done some questionable things," card too many times, usually coupling it with a, "I'm the way I am because my dad sucks," that got just as tired. Unfortunately, this makes the better parts of Lex's fantasy life - his desire to have a stable family, open and honest friendships, the trust of the Kents, the love of the town, and everything else he couldn't manage to earn in reality - feel stale. It's hard to believe he might actually be capable of being this guy because he's already turned away from that path so many times. Still, it's a brilliant look at his psychosis, especially when we see that even when everything's perfect, he firmly believes the bottom has to drop out. This is a man who is 100% convinced that he cannot achieve happiness through love. Not the warmest of holiday revelations, but an honest moment for the character.
The Lex-has-been-shot subplot, where Lionel Luthor goes to extreme measures to ensure that his son will not be crippled by his injuries even if it means he will not survive, is forgettable. The episode would not have suffered if it had been cut.
Then, of course, there's my favorite bit: Clark playing Santa. Literally. What I loved most about the fifth season of Smallville was Chloe finally knowing Clark's secret. Their friendship became something really firm and beautiful as a result, and it also allowed for fun little moments like this. Was it cheesy? Yes. Especially when real Santa enters the picture. But it's my kind of cheese, and I embrace it without shame.
As would be the case with any reverse It's A Wonderful Life (clearly, I've decided to make that a thing), our shiny-headed compatriot does not get a happy ending. Having survived his ordeal, Lex calls his contact and instructs him to knock Jonathan Kent out of the race by any means necessary. It's meant to be a symbolic moment - the younger Luthor is finally embracing his dark side. But again, it feels like we've already been there. A few times. It robs the gesture of some of its power.
But then we hit that final shot and can't help but feel a little haunted.
Merry Christmas.
No highlights this time around, as we're 10 minutes away from midnight and I want to get this up. See you tomorrow!
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