Episode 5.9: Lexmas

Lex speaks to someone about pushing Jonathan Kent out of the senator race through nefarious means. He decides he needs more time to think about it. But he is then shot by two street thugs. In his coma he dreams of a different life with Lana, having a family with her and spending Christmas with Clark, after separating himself from his father and the Luthor fortune. But when Lana falls ill he is forced to beg Lionel to help her. When Lionel says "no", Lex must watch her die. Back in the real world, Lionel has "the best specialists in Metropolis" perform a risky procedure on Lex to save his life. The procedure works but, when Lex awakens, he is angry with Lionel for gambling with his life. He also decides to push Jonathan out of the race, now believing that the only way to prevent the harsh realities of life is to have the money and the power to stop them from happening.

I like the element of the story which sets Lex onto the path of seeking money and power. It comes from a place of love, but it is love as seen through a fractured mirror, broken and twisted. It's heartbreaking to see Lex and Clark being such good friends again, in Lex's dream state, because it highlights the fact that deep down that's all that Lex wants. It's bittersweet because you know this will never be.

Typically, Rosenbaum gives an excellent performance as Lex, showing a warmer side to him than usual. But the episode does err a little bit too much on the sentimental side of things.

There are two scenes between Lex and Lionel, which are the standout moments of the episode, as is often the case when you get these two on screen together. The first one takes place in the dream, where Lex asks for help to save Lana. Lionel looks like a full-on Ebeneezer Scrooge by this point, all alone in his ivory tower, with only his wealth to keep him company. The second is when Lex chastises Lionel for playing God with him. Lex looks fit to spit bile here.

In the dream world there is a moment where Jonathan tells Lex that  he is proud of him. It's sad to think about how much Lex craves this from someone else's father because he has pretty much given up on the chance that he might ever hear it from his own.

It's a good episode in the sense that it does show us that death is a part of life and, without it, you cannot truly appreciate how much you love those around you.

There is a subplot that takes place in the real world, where Clark helps Chloe to deliver a load of presents to underprivileged kids, then ends up running into Santa. It's really hokey and super cheesy. But it's too much of a stretch, and very hard to swallow, even for Smallville. It's also very flimsily plotted and feels like padding. Clark stops Santa from jumping off a roof by telling him he's delivering presents to kids. Santa has a change of heart and decides not to jump. But it's all just really wooden in the way that it unfolds. It does offer one funny moment where Clark takes the milk and cookies though.

7/10