Luthor

DVD, Smallville S10 (Luthor)

The logical conclusion of Lionel Luthor's evil is that, after all his games with Lex, with Clark, with anyone and everyone, he did it all for himself, and when threatened he would take the necessary actions to ensure he remained at the top of the totem pole. That's the lesson learned from this alternate reality episode when Tess inherits a 'mirror box' of Kryptonian origin, and Clark accidentally activates it, plunging him into a gloomy, monochrome vision of Metropolis under Lionel's rule, or influence at least. In this reality he's Clark Luthor, found and raised by the businessman, allowed to kill Lex, and with Tess' position as sister well known. Oliver Queen has a plan to dispatch him, Lois hates him, and no one else from the series exists apparently, because they didn't have the budget for that… It's okay, it was enough to have Lionel Luthor back (in more ways than one, but more on that later), almost entertaining in itself, but although the concept of other Earths (they call it 'Earth-2' in the episode, dropping in a little nugget of comic book canon - in other words I've heard of this version of our world), is not to be sniffed at for all the dramatic possibilities you can have with it ('DS9' made it practically an annual instalment in the Trek universe), it needs more than the mere appearance of either evil or different versions of existing characters to make it something special, and it didn't have that.

The desaturated image style they used to differentiate it from the warm palette of 'Smallville' the series, was irritating, but necessary to show Lionel had traversed to out world at the end. We've seen them do black and white, noir-ish direction, and other shades between, and though this did have colour, it was so washed out and dreary when it was supposed to be dramatic and horrifying, it didn't help. And it's like the same set places exist - they have to go to Watchtower, or the empty Clark barn, the structure of the series is the same. Granted, there was something appealing about seeing Lionel doing a spot of fencing in the Luthor Mansion, but everything was as it is, despite the conceit being that this world is so different with Clark under the Ultraman secret identity in which he can carry out punishment and murder with impunity. If it had been done in an earlier season we'd have had those characters taking part: Chloe or Pete, Martha or Jonathan, and I'm not suggesting that they should blow the budget on reuniting the cast in a parallel universe - if they were to do that it would have to be in our universe for it to be truly meaningful. No, it's just that the alternate is too similar, except for Lionel, and it doesn't exactly tell us anything new about anyone, even him - we could have extrapolated for ourselves his endgame. The only really meaningful moments are Lois recognising 'real' Clark is back just by looking in his eyes, and Clark comforting Tess in her pathetic wish to have been accepted by Lionel instead of being cast out, he accepting her for who she is, despite having learned of her Luthor blood.

Other than that, it's a bit of stunt casting to bring back a dead character again, and in that regard it worked better than expected: I noticed Lionel rushing towards Clark's back just as he twisted the mirror box to return, and it seems the crafty beggar somehow got himself caught in the travelling across the parallels to end up in the familiar surroundings of our world. I'm not sure why he wouldn't automatically be swapped with the dead body of our Lionel, but perhaps it was because he was dead that he was able to exist outside of his world? Whatever bizarre concoction used to justify it, I can't deny that it leaves the series in an uncertain place: Alexander, having tricked Tess and escaped, is on the loose; his 'Father,' Lionel, is also out there, and it's like the series is beginning to turn full circle to its beginnings, which could be good, possibly. The breaking of the fourth wall as Lionel talks directly to camera when conversing with a citizen, and he says he 'wouldn't want to miss how it all turns out' has a double meaning for the character and the actor, if John Glover is going to play a big part in the end of the series. He was certainly one of the best actors on it in his day, though mishandled as a character and not always written that well (hey, it's 'Smallville'), so he could add a dash of pizazz to the drama.

It still can't beat episodes where Lois and Clark work together as a team, and it's a relief that they did this Earth-2 thing so late in the series' run, because I couldn't see myself full of anticipation for the next episode in the Mirror Universe saga (even the Trek ones were patchy), because unless you've got a compelling story to tell that goes beyond resurrecting dead characters or showing known ones in a different light, it can be a bit unoriginal and lacking in the essential quality that makes the series stand out for its own style and direction. But I don't expect to see them revisit it again. It's not like we haven't see evil Clark before, either, be it the influence of Kryptonite of many colours (the Gold variety is touched on this time - it apparently touched on Clark Luthor's wrist so he could create a homemade tattoo in the shape of the Luthor 'L'), or other outside forces affecting him or even replacing him with… Metallo, was it? I'm not sure on the internal logic of the mirror box, as the Clarks clearly bodily swap, since the tattoo gives visual evidence, but why was Clark holding it in both worlds, when he had to find it in Earth-2, so Clark Luthor didn't have it there. And in our world he still had hold of it when Clark Kent returns…

Perhaps the real issue is that alternate realities can only ever be thought concepts, a place to explore a different angle on characters, because they themselves are meaningless - if reality is made up of every branching decision everyone ever made, then there is no right and wrong, because all permutations exist, or existed, or will exist. For one thing, I think it's the height of arrogance to suggest that the universe would bend to the will of every tiny thought or gesture a person makes, and in the other it shows the Godless view that the existence we have here is as throwaway as a speck of dust and we don't have a specific role or destiny or anything else, it's all just a mishmash of irrelevancy. That's why, in fiction, I prefer the view that the world we watch is the real one, even if there can be alternates within this fiction, because then the characters can make mistakes, learn, grow, and generally develop. Then again, this is 'Smallville,' so I'm probably going too deep. Do they ever really develop? Not really, I'm afraid, they just jump to new stories, fulfilling the old comic book mould, and one thing that makes the films so dull and repetitive since you need things to stay the same for reasons of marketing and the general audience's understanding. But enough about the state of the blockbuster film industry! A nearly there episode, but not quite. Even so, welcome back, Lionel.

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