Smallville 3.09 - Asylum

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This episode shows Lex Luthor in the Belle Reve psychiatric hospital. Just look at the way he has to sleep, on a metal slab with only a thin piece of rubber as a pillow. He's confined in a cage, so he can't even turn over. Admittedly, this is after he's attacked the guards, but it still seems inhumane. Is treatment like this common in America?

After a month in Belle Reve, Clark is finally allowed to visit Lex. I'm surprised he waited this long, because he already knew that Lex's illness is the result of his scotch being drugged. In the corridors Clark meets three old friends.

Ian Randall is a young man affected by the meteor rocks. He was an ace student with the ability to divide himself into two. We saw him in the second season episode "Dichotic".

Eric Summers is a young man who was able to steal Clark's powers when they were struck by lightning in the first season episode "Leech". He didn't have the maturity to use the powers for good.

Van McNulty is a young man that we saw in the third season episode "Extinction". He was on a mission to kill everyone affected by the meteor rocks.

After seeing these three characters from past episodes, one from each season, it should be obvious that some sort of conflict is brewing. At least, it's obvious to me now. At the time "Asylum" was broadcast, I doubt many viewers, if any, understood what was happening. It was two years since Eric Summers had been seen, and in 2004 there wasn't as much Internet coverage as today. The reaction of most viewers must have been "Damn! Who's that?"

Clark finds Lex in a communal room painting. It seems to be a self-portrait of himself destroying the world. In actual fact, the episode's director, Greg Beeman, painted the picture before the episode was filmed.

Lex insists that he knows Clark's secret after seeing stop a car last episode. Clark denies it, so Lex goes wild and attacks him. 

Later that evening Lex tries to break out, knocking out several guards on the way. He's only stopped when he's unable to climb over the barb wire on the fence. This scene broke my heart. I could feel his pain and frustration. What's it like to be held in an insane asylum when you know that you're not mad?

Tom Welling pointed out a blunder that I missed while watching the episode. Lex Luthor's hands are bleeding when he falls on the ground, but in the rest of the episode his hands aren't bandaged. That's something Greg Beeman missed. Maybe. The meteor rocks granted Lex the ability to heal quickly. It's not the super-fast healing that Marvel characters like Wolverine have, but the scars from the accident would have healed within a few days. But that's the point: a few days. The story continues when Lionel visits him the next day, and his hands aren't bandaged.

Back at the farm, Clark tells his parents he wants to help Lex break out. They dissuade him. Lex has already seen Clark's powers, and a breakout would be the final proof he needs.

Incidentally, I had to stop and replay this scene. I never realised Annette O'Toole had such a killer body. She's only Clark's mother in front of the camera. Tom's eyes must have wandered when she was standing in front of him.

Lionel is unhappy with Dr. Claire Foster for not yet having any success with Lex's treatment. He wants his short term memory to be erased. He suggests electroshock treatment, but Claire is reluctant. She says it's only successful in 50% of cases, and in the other 50% the person is left a vegetable. Lionel isn't happy. The next day Claire is found dead in her car.

Maybe Clark has been put off freeing Lex, but the three imprisoned bad guys have other plans. They see Clark and Lex as their way out. The plan is that Eric should steal Clark's powers, and Lex should give them money to pay for new identities on the outside.

Van bribes a guard to bring him a meteor rock. But there's no honour among madmen. The two Ians kill Van and take the meteor rock. A few minutes later Clark breaks into the asylum to free Lex. He rips open his cage – hooray! – but the two Ians attack him, weakening him with the meteor rock.

Ian (single again) hooks Clark up to high voltage wires and throw a switch while Eric is standing over him with the meteor rock. Clark's powers are transferred to Eric. He beats up Clark, then throws Ian through the air, possibly killing him.

At this very moment Lex is in the electroshock chair, where a replacement doctor is about to perform the therapy. The power surge makes the electricity fail. Anyone who reads as many comics as me knows that super-hero stories are built on coincidences. This is just as true in films and television as on the written page.

Clark grabs the meteor rock, which no longer weakens him. Holding the rock, he pushes Eric back into an electric box. There's another electric shock, which transfers Clark's powers back from Eric. At this moment the electric current is restored, and Lex's electroshock therapy is completed. That was another scene that hurt me deeply. I can't bring myself to watch it again, and I refuse to publish screenshots.

Electroshock therapy, sometimes called electroconvulsive therapy, is a terrible treatment which usually does more harm than good. The main purpose in real world usage is  to calm down an aggressive person, but it does this by destroying part of the brain. There have been calls for it to be banned, but it's never been stopped outright. Its usage has been lessened since the 1980's, but there's been a recent surge in popularity, especially in America. Basically, electroshock therapy is a psychiatrist's admission of failure. If he can't treat a person with medication he gives him an electric shock to kill his brain cells. If it doesn't work, he repeats the procedure, killing more and more brain cells until the person is finally docile.

I've read literature which claims that electroshock therapy can be advantageous for certain illnesses. Don't believe it. It's all lies. It's better to die than have electroshock therapy.

After the treatment Lex is discharged from the hospital. Clark visits him to see how he's doing. The treatment has been a success, in Lionel Luthor's eyes. Lex has forgotten everything that happened in the last few weeks. He can't remember finding out that his father killed his grandparents, and he can't remember seeing Clark use his powers. He's sitting calmly in his mansion sipping his scotch. Terrible! He's only half the man he used to be, but he's fortunate. This meteor rock powers will heal the brain damage caused by the electroshock. "Smallville" is fiction. That doesn't happen in real life.

Incidentally, Lionel regrets Lex's electroshock treatment afterwards. He sees security camera footage of Clark's visit in which Lex says "I know your secret". Lionel wanted to know Clark's secret, but now he can't ask Lex any more.

There's an important subplot. Lana is in physical therapy, recovering from the injuries of being trampled by a horse last episode. Another patient, Adam Knight, mocks her for giving up to easily. This irritates her, because she's trying her best, but his criticism encourages her to try even harder. He asks her if she was injured in a cheerleader pileup.

Even Ryan Tellez, who's never seen the series before, realised that this is the start of a new romance. In the podcast Tom Welling shares his relationship wisdom:

"If a man likes a beautiful woman, he insults her first, because no one ever does. It gets her to notice him".

Hmmm... thanks but no thanks, Tom. I'm not going to take your advice.

They bid farewell when she leaves the clinic. Who is invading whose personal space?

When Lana returns home, there's a big party for her at the Talon. She's surrounded by dozens of friends that we've never seen before. They were the best Canadian extras who could be found at short notice. Lana is talking to Chloe and Pete, but when Clark walks in she pointedly looks away.

This is an excellent episode, despite the unpleasant scenes. Thank you to Michael and Tom for making it interesting. I felt that I gained more from the podcast than I did in previous weeks.

But what's with Michael's doggy caps? In the picture above he's wearing a cap for Rosie's Dog Beach. Last week his cap was for Laurel Canyon Dog Park. Is he paid for product placement?

Always hold on to Smallville

and...

Bring back the Blu-rays.