Did Lex Ever Realize He Could Save Lana!?!

[Super Snipes]

I know the episode was to show some purpose to Lex really turning evil, but logically speaking there was a 3rd choice. If a life with Lana was really possible and the only reason he turns it down is because she dies, didn't he ever think of possibly changing the future. I mean he could choose to become good and have Lana and then spend the next 7 years finding a way to stop Lana from dying! One obvious solution is don't have a second kid, or save your money for the next 7 years and be prepared, get a good doctor. He had a look into the future and had an advantage to know what was to come, if he really cared about her he would change and then prevent her death from happening. Just seemed logical to me, but then there would be no Lex Luthor as we know him. All I know is it would have been the first thing I would have done. And also why was he poor? I thought he was in control of Luthor Corp? Stash some of the cash away and then use the rest for good. That didn't make sense looking back at it now. Did Lionel take back control? I don't remember that happening.

[smallville_fetish]

He probably couldn't have stash away any money because somehow he would've either spent it or lost it (his father making sure he has no ties in the Luthor name, esp finically.) Lex chose the dark side because of power, not because of Lana's death. Lana's death only made him realize how helpless and pathetic (like his father said) he is without power, money, fame, etc. Which is exactly what he said in the ending so who knows, he might want it all including Lana even though she'll only fall for him if he decides to quit the LuthorCorp/abondon his father. But at the end in the hospitol scene, he wasn't pleased with his father for a lot of reasons.. more possible Lex killing Lional foreshadowing anyone? Lex does know he could easily repeat everything minus the few errors but then what? She ends up dying in a car accident later on? It's like he's bound to lose everyone he loves and he can't escape nor control it; the only thing tangible is money, power.

[lastdaughterofkrypton]

I think Lex really do seee money and power as the solutions to everything in the world, but also is a matter of pride his father with the money and power was in positiion to humiliate him and did so and then he fell so pathetic that he doesn't want anyone to ever be in a position that enables them to do the same again to him or to anyone he would love...In many cases Lillian's glimpse just made him worst :(

[Liriel]

Originally posted by Super Snipes
I know the episode was to show some purpose to Lex really turning evil, but logically speaking there was a 3rd choice. If a life with Lana was really possible and the only reason he turns it down is because she dies, didn't he ever think of possibly changing the future.

He's not turning down a life with Lana - he thinks he can have that and the money and power.

But I brought up these same points on TWOP.

If it's saving Lana (and not his own happiness) that he wants, then he could simply not get involved with her.

Or he could, as you said, not have a second child.

Or he could try to talk Lana into having a cesarean before Christmas Eve - though that involves convincing the doctor and really depends on how far along she is at that point.

Or he could not go to the Christmas party that day but instead sell her on the idea of Christmas out-of-town at some site conveniently close to an excellent medical facility.

[Billy Jor-El]

I am reminded of the very interesting book "Glimpses" in which among other things, the main character of the story (Ray) who is able to time shift to very interesting musical events in history attempts to prevent Jimi Hendrix from dying on September 18, 1970; yet despite his success at that, another event happens to still take the Man with the Guitar from us just the same.

In the same way, Lex may have thought no matter what, he would be faced with the same despair and loneliness of the loss of Lana, thus...why try? Take the power, take the money, even if that in itself means never having Lana anyway.

Dang, there's so many facets to this ep that my mind boggles. I thought it might have been a trite fantasy episode, instead turning out to be very strong.

Oh...and Lana was wonderful in it.

But....uh, Chloe still was my favorite beautiful jewel of the season.

Happy Lexmas, y'all.....

[The Great Ymmij]

If that was the future that could have happened and he chose the path, then there would be no way to prevent it. He'll try his best in the path to save money, but somehow he'll lose it. He'll try his best to prevent having a second child (with safe sex or what not), but it'll probably still happen. And don't give me that whole "just don't have sex" excuse 'cuz he'll want to have sex with Lana again, trust me on that one. It'll end up the same way he saw it at the end.

[lastdaughterofkrypton]

Originally posted by The Great Ymmij
If that was the future that could have happened and he chose the path, then there would be no way to prevent it. He'll try his best in the path to save money, but somehow he'll lose it. He'll try his best to prevent having a second child (with safe sex or what not), but it'll probably still happen. And don't give me that whole "just don't have sex" excuse 'cuz he'll want to have sex with Lana again, trust me on that one. It'll end up the same way he saw it at the end.
Yeah maybe is like the time machine movie he saved his girlfriend but she ended up dying anyway...you can't change the future...:(
I wonder how will react to Lana now? He will try to have her knowing that she could die of he just convinced himself that she is going to be fine or he will just talk to her into adoption or renting a woman that could carry on the pregnacy so she won't die or he will just go along hoping for the best...

[smallville_fetish]

Yes perhaps now that Lex has money he'll build a time machine.. haha I doubt it. Only Clark can time travel..... I wonder how Lex is going to act around Lana now that he's been through all this with Lana.. through her preganancy labor and stuff, that's a very intimate moment.

[hotkk]

What I think is not that lex want to live otherwise only so Lana won't die. I think he realised that being a "middle-class guy" ripped him of his power (he was powerless against Lana's death). So, he chose not only what would let lana lived, but also what would let him be able to deal with ANY situations. That's why, at the end, He said something about wanting power. Than he had the word money, because of how he's been raised: he thinks that the way to gain power is to have money (which is, unfortunately, not entirely false). I must that that this particular momen is really an indication that he will go on the wrong path not to keep Lana alive, but really to be able to to anything.

[muffinpeddler]

Yeah, I think that Lex could try a million different ways to save her, but she could still die a million different ways.

[Naomi]

Originally posted by Super Snipes
I mean he could choose to become good and have Lana and then spend the next 7 years finding a way to stop Lana from dying!
The ending wasn't about Lex trying to save Lana. It was about Lex being unable to cope with any life where he couldn't have money and control

Lillian wasn't showing him an exact future, everything was from Lex's perspective, that's why Clark wasn't wearing the glasses. It was Lillian showing Lex the sort of life he could have, and Lex rejecting a life where he wouldn't have had it all. It could just as easily been one of his children who died, and Lex having to crawl to Lionel for that.

[muffinpeddler]

Bravo, Naomi.

[Naomi]

Thanks :D

[Elite]

lol, of course it wasnt the exact future

if it was, i would've looked up the lotto results for the seven years :D

[muffinpeddler]

that and find out who won the world series for the last seven years.

[superman05]

i disagree i think lex might have the information on jonothan up because after he becomes senator his father wont be ashamed of him being a luthor also he can then focus on being goooood

[smallvillerocks45]

After watching the episode a second time, I couldn't help but wonder why on Earth didn't Lex go to Senator Kent. I mean, the episode didn't really go into the Kent's financial vault, but if he (Jonathan) has connections with the governer, and Lex was winning the Humanitarian of the Year Award (showing that he is respected within the community), wouldn't these people have been more than happy to help him?

[Watching Smallville]

Because it was a dream that reflected Lex's experiences and fears in his life. It wasn't an alternative reality where he had choices. It was a dream that was being directed by his own psyche, combined with what was happening to him in the hospital. There are posts about this on other threads, much more eloquent.

[Eh,Man?You-El?]

The "dream" was a subconscious attempt by Lex to decide the question he had at the beginning of the episode:
"Should I cross the line and authorize Griff to destroy Jonathan Kent even though I know it will alienate me from every human relationship in Smallville."

Lex could have imagined a thousand ways to "save" Lana. He could have imagined a thousand ways to deal with the loss and raise his TWO children. He could have imagined a far more realistic situation where he'd have retained enough money for emergencies in his shiny new life.
The dream was NOT about how much Lex loved Lana. If anything it demonstrated how very little he loved her or any aspect of the possibility of a "good" life. At the first sign of trouble, Lex turns his back on it all and whines about how "everyone I evah wuved dies! Buhoo-hoo-hoo!"
It's a lame rationalization.
Lex becomes evil because he is lazy and substantially heartless, even more than than he is afraid of getting hurt.
All the good things Lex had done over the last four years were basically an experiment inspired by Clark saving his life. For entirely arbitrary reasons, Lex decided the experiment was over.

[Watching Smallville]

Maybe it's a little less black and white. I think Lex's longing for acceptance and love is genuine. And I think his longing for power and control is genuine. Lex has always been in the middle of these desires pulling him in different directions. So I don't see this dream as anything new. I don't see this decision as anything new. The big difference to me is that at this point he seems to have decided that he can no longer straddle the fence, as he has been doing since Season 1. He's decided to make a choice.

Actually, the choice is presented to him by Griff. The effect of the dream is to convince him what choice to make. Without the dream, he probably would have made the same choice. Or, the dream is the process of his making the choice. Actually, now I'm thinking that we were witnessing his decision-making process.

[Clark's Angel]

I think that overall, Lex realized that the only way to have everything he wanted (in his opinion) was to have the money and power to control his life. Here's Lana, the girl he loves, who is dying, and he could save him if he has all the money and power that his heart already desires. It's not just about Lana, per se, it's his glimpse that without the money and power, his perfect life could be destroyed. Since he's already torn because he wants both, this pushes him over the edge. He assumes that since the money and power could save Lana's life, it can still buy him everything he's ever wanted, including Lana.

[screenwriter26]

Okay...he turns evil no matter what. It's his character. Yes, I would LOVE to see him happy. I mean, he was really happy. I don't want him to turn evil but it's inevitable now. We can only see him get worse as the season presses on. I do believe that Jonathan's death will be his doing. Afterall, he said to "pull the pin on the grenade." He wants power and he's obviously going to do whatever it takes to get that power.

[crazysmoke]

Originally posted by lastdaughterofkrypton
Yeah maybe is like the time machine movie he saved his girlfriend but she ended up dying anyway...you can't change the future...:(


isn't it u can't change the past? besides we all know this future never really happened anyways.

even if things somehow happened this way. clark can fly lana to the clinic (or maybe even his mom can't predict wat happenes to clark) cuz he had time to go ask Lionel and everything.

and about lana dying, i think it had to happen or else he would of chosen that path too easily. it was to show that he can't have everything.

but i think the whole thing was just an answer to his question at the beginning of the ep about going against johnathan.

[Yuui]

Originally posted by Naomi
The ending wasn't about Lex trying to save Lana. It was about Lex being unable to cope with any life where he couldn't have money and control

Lillian wasn't showing him an exact future, everything was from Lex's perspective, that's why Clark wasn't wearing the glasses. It was Lillian showing Lex the sort of life he could have, and Lex rejecting a life where he wouldn't have had it all. It could just as easily been one of his children who died, and Lex having to crawl to Lionel for that.

Though I do not see why Lex couldn't have both Love and Power. With his resources and everything at his grasp, he could easily coerce Lana to the point portrayed in his dreams. If anything, it is Lex's ego that is getting in the way.

[slave2moonlight]

I LOVED this episode, even though they kinda ripped off Star Wars Episode 3, and even though they depicted Santa as drunk and suicidal, though it might not have been Santa, or he might have been playing Clark.

Having said that...

I do feel there were other ways things could or should have gone. Specifically concerning Lex, I can't believe he would ever have to be on a budget simply because I was under the impression he was a business mastermind. Well, sure, he'd have to be on a budget for a little while, but I thought he was a whiz at making money. I'm not convinced he only knows how to do shady business. I think he can do legit stuff too.

Second, if Lana died in childbirth, I don't see how having money and power would make a big difference, except for the possibility of going to better medical facilities, but he should plan ahead if that is the case. I know people have cited the remake of "Time Machine," but in that film he couldn't change the "past." This is the "future." Plus, the only reason he couldn't change the past was because it was a part of his past on which the invention of the time machine depended. Because he used the time machine to make the change, the machine HAD to be invented, therefore the purpose of his inventing it (his fiance's death) had to take place. Basically, to change something in the past, it would have to have nothing to do with the reason you went back in the past to change it, or else you'd never go back. It's kind of theoretical and not without flaw, but that was the idea of the Time Machine movie, and it's a little different in Lex's case, dealing with the future. Plus, you have to believe the future there was REAL and not a dream or just one possibility. You might believe that the future is something set in stone, but if that's the case, then it wouldn't matter if Lex dropped out of the race or not. If that one decision could alter his future, then so could any other decision, meaning that he could still make successful attempts to prevent Lana's death, if there IS a medical solution.

[unsafepariah]

Call me crazy but, wouldn't State Senator Johnathan Kent (who likes Lex in this vision) have enough pull to get Lana to Metropolis?

[lastdaughterofkrypton]

Originally posted by unsafepariah
Call me crazy but, wouldn't State Senator Johnathan Kent (who likes Lex in this vision) have enough pull to get Lana to Metropolis?
Ok Crazy...:D
That isn't the point that point is that after all Lex likes the live he is living. A life in wich a helicopter is in his backyard a life in wich everything can be fixed with money since people are an unpredictable variable, no matter how good his hearth is and that Lana told him not to change, she died anyway and he was under Lionel's power. Lex can't handle a life without power or people more powerful than him, it doesn't matter it it was Lana's death or that Alexander wanted a expensive toy, the case is the same: Lex needs to have power to have what his hearth desires it doesn't matter if its popularity, money or love.
And I think this is the reason this Lex will hate Superman because he would be above him and Lex can't stand that....:(