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.
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