Smallville 6.14: "Trespass"

Written by Tracy Bellomo
Directed by Rick Rosenthal

For more than five seasons, Clark Kent has kept his secret from Lana Lang, despite the odds and countless opportunities for truth or exposure. Even taking into account Clark’s active decision to hide his abilities, Lana is supposed to be intelligent. She’s been saved by Clark enough for realization to kick in a million times over. In fact, for many, her inability to make the connection made Lana look like a fool, especially when the secret itself became the killing blow to Clark and Lana’s relationship.

Ostensibly, Lex wins over Lana because he is more or less honest about his activities and goals. It doesn’t matter if he has an ulterior motive or if she lives in a gilded cage most of the time. Lana appreciates someone who can, to even a limited degree, admit both positive and negative truths. Clark was always honest in the positive sense, in terms of telling Lana how he felt, but the issue of trust was too much to overcome.

Starting with the end of the previous episode, and continuing into this installment, we see a remarkable change in Lana. For the first time in a very long time, Lana becomes proactive. Her choices derive from a consistent and driven design. And while her decision to hide that design from Lex contradicts her supposed desire for trust and truth, it does put her in a position to own her actions.

I was particularly pleased with the moment when Lex told his men to take Lana to the LuthorCorp building. Lex was ensuring the protection of a possession, from a certain point of view. Lana directly contradicted Lex’s will and ordered the men to take her to the Kent farm. Not only was that a reasonable choice, based on what she understood as the threat, but it was designed to give her access to Clark’s world with minimal penalty. I practically sat up and cheered.

Of course, it’s still a matter of incremental progress. Lana still made some silly choices, primarily in service to the plot. How many times did Lana leave the relatively safe confines of a locked room, despite the obvious danger? That isn’t just a problem for Lana, though, since a lot of characters make odd choices to allow for the stalker plot. In fact, the identity of the stalker becomes obvious by the end of the second act because he is the only common denominator involved.

None of this changes the fact that Lana is being positioned for something brutal. Lex makes it very clear that Lana is as much an instrument of attack against Clark as a symbol of his bruised innocence. Clark still loves Lana, but without the element of trust, it’s not clear that he respects her judgment. The only one able to change that now is Lana, and with her renewed obsession with Clark, it will shift the equilibrium. It’s unlikely to end up well; the writers would have to pull off quite a feat for anything less than tragedy to be the natural consequence. After all, Clark ends up with Lois in the end.

Writing: 1/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 2/4

Final Rating: 7/10