Promise, Reckoning and Lexmas: Parallels
This is the second half of the essay on Promise and characterization that I posted yesterday. I split it in half when it got too long; this part spells out in more detail some of the parallels among Promise, Reckoning, and Lexmas.
Parallelism: Comparing "Promise" to "Lexmas" and "Reckoning"
As I argued in my last essay, these three episodes are parallel in at least one major respect: in each episode, the main character (Lex in Lexmas, Clark in Reckoning, and Lana in Promise) is offered the promise of what s/he most desires, only to have their dream of a happy ending taken away from them. Clark and Lana both respond to this test (for I believe it is a test of character, if nothing else) by choosing self-sacrifice to protect the one they love (though their self-sacrifice also brings a price to others); Lex chose instead to embrace the path of power in the hopes of evading the necessity of sacrifice.
Parallels between "Promise" and "Lexmas"
The issue of choice and sacrifice is not the only parallel among these three episodes, though it is perhaps the strongest theme that resounds in them all. Let me start by examining some of the ways Promise explores themes raised in Lexmas, inverting some of them and mirroring others. I mentioned in my last essay that Promise seems to be giving Lex one more chance at the pivotal choice he was given in Lexmas: the path of love (and its attendant vulnerabilities) or the path of power (and the illusion of control it offers). In Lex's opening conversation with his father in Promise, he seems to be acknowledging that he can't control whether or not Lana loves him. His father insists that Luthors can, in fact control people. This is a direct inversion of the message Lillian was trying to teach to Lex in Lexmas, and the symbolic allusion to that episode is visually represented when Lionel appears reflected on the window glass next to Lex, just as Lillian appeared at the end of Lexmas. Lillian offered love, but she couldn't shield Lex from loss, and so in Lexmas he chose power, explaining to Griff explicitly that power was the way to ensure the happy ending.
In Promise, though Lex briefly questions whether power can actually deliver what it promises, Lionel is there to reassure him that it will and to tempt him to once again make a deal with the devil. Interestingly, Lionel's own behavior in Promise mirrors but reverses his behavior in Lexmas; in Lexmas, he contributed to Lex losing Lana forever by refusing to help get her medical care; in Promise he uses blackmail to ensure Lex's possession of Lana (though of course the viewers know this will ultimately alienate Lana from Lex completely).
Many of the events in Promise seem to parallel events in Lexmas yet invert them. In Lexmas, a stunned Lex awakes in a brightly lit room, wearing a white T-shirt, next to his pregnant bride; in Promise, Lex wakes up in a dimly-lit room, wearing a dark gray T-shirt, and his pregnant bride-to-be is not there because she's thinking of another man. In Lexmas, Clark not only accepts Lex's relationship with Lana but approves of it. In direct contrast, in Promise Clark feels he must rescue Lana from the choice she has made, in part because he completely disapproves of Lex. Furthermore, in Lexmas, Lex gained the love and support of the whole community (represented by Jonathan Kent nominating him for humanitarian of the year); by contrast, in Promise Lex is all alone on his wedding day--a fact Lionel calls attention to. Finally, in Lexmas, Clark explains that Lana fell in love with Lex because he became the sort of man she could love; in Promise, Lex has strayed very far from the path of a man Lana could love, and knows it; he fears if Lana finds out what he's truly like, she could never love him.
One theme that is not reversed, but is in fact directly paralleled in Promise and Lexmas is the idea that Lana's pregnancy poses a threat. In Lexmas, Lana's pregnancy ultimately kills her and shatters Lex's happiness; in Promise, despite the happiness both Lex and Lana exhibit when looking at the ultrasound, Lex is very aware of the threat posed by the fetus that he has manipulated in some way. His nightmare of looking at a baby with demonic eyes is a reversal of the joyous moment in Lexmas when he holds his newborn daughter in his arms.
And one final parallel between Promise and Lexmas is that each episode contains a confrontation between Lex and Lionel in which Lionel excoriates Lex for his choices and calls him "pathetic." It is true that the specific reason Lionel calls Lex pathetic is slightly different in the two episodes; in Lexmas, Lex is pathetic in Lionel's sight because after renouncing his true family and the money and power that came with being a Luthor, he has turned up at his father's door begging for help. In Reckoning, Lionel calls Lex pathetic for needing Lionel's assistance in covering up a killing, and for not being able to plan a murder well (as a true Luthor would no doubt do). Interestingly, though, in both episodes Lionel lectures Lex on the ability true Luthors have to control the people around them.
Parallels between "Reckoning" and "Promise"
I once threatened to compare Reckoning to every single Smallville episode--I bet you all thought I was joking, but apparently I was not!!!
serenography has already pointed out probably the most pivotal parallel between Promise and Reckoning: at the end of Promise, Lana is put in the same situation as Clark is at the end of Reckoning: having to completely lie to the person she loves to save his life. 1 That, for me, strongly suggests that Promise really is the climax of the Clexana triangle the producers intended all along, but it is certainly not the only parallel between the two episodes.
Lana's decision that she must find out the truth about Clark before she can decisively commit to Lex is triggered by the dream of Clark *flying* and saving her from the tornado. That flight--and the corresponding suggestion that Lana sees Clark as a savior figure--directly echoes the proposal scene in Reckoning when Clark flies her up to the top of the fortress 2 , and Lana says "how many times have you been there, saving me when I didn't know it." Even the *lighting* in the two scenes is even similar--washed-out white light--and I don't think that was the original lighting from Tempest.
Another parallel is that in Reckoning, Lana celebration's of her engagement is interrupted by a phone call from Lex, who needs her so she goes to him; in Promise, it is Clark who desparately needs to speak to her and she interrupts her wedding day to talk to him. On both occasions, the revelation (or lack of revelation) of Clark's secret is the pivot on which events turn, exposing Lana to danger because of the perspicacity of a Luthor male (though in Promise it's Lionel who's endangering her, not Lex). In both cases, Lana pays a high price for the knowledge of Clark's secret; the main difference is that in Reckoning, her death is accidental, while in Promise the sacrifice she makes is chosen.
Furthermore, in both Reckoning and Promise, Lex's reckless pursuit of Lana causes someone's death, though in Reckoning, again, the death is accidental, whereas in Promise, Dr. Langdon's death is more deliberate, even if Lex, from his perspective, didn't commit cold-blooded murder.
Another significant parallel between Reckoning and Promise is that in both episodes, Lana's love interest must appeal to his father in order to be able to keep her, yet in both cases, the "deal" ultimately causes him to lose Lana forever. (Ok, Clark's deal with Jor-El had that consequence; we don't know for sure that Lex's deal with Lionel will have that consequence, but it is heavily foreshadowed by all the references to Lexmas I discussed above.)
On the symbolic level, in both Reckoning and Promise, musical montages carry a lot of the emotional weight of the episode; also, as several people pointed out, both episodes end with a grief-filled Clark being showered by snow/confetti as Lana pulls away from him.
Am I missing any other parallels?
1. Of course, that scene also parallels other Clana scenes--in fact, some of the dialogue is lifted directly from the Clana breakup in "Hypnotic," only this time Lana, not Clark, says she's had a change of heart, and it is Clark, not Lana, who insists he will only believe it if Lana looks him in the eyes and says she no longer loves him.
2. Ok, in both cases he was technically leaping, not flying, but let's get real: they showed flying Clark for a reason. It echoes Jor-El's self revelation to Louise in "Relic," which itself echoed Lois and Clark's first flight in the Superman movies. It's fundamentally linked to the symbolism of Superman's self-revelation, which is the primary reason Almiles cheated on their own rules there
Parallelism: Comparing "Promise" to "Lexmas" and "Reckoning"
As I argued in my last essay, these three episodes are parallel in at least one major respect: in each episode, the main character (Lex in Lexmas, Clark in Reckoning, and Lana in Promise) is offered the promise of what s/he most desires, only to have their dream of a happy ending taken away from them. Clark and Lana both respond to this test (for I believe it is a test of character, if nothing else) by choosing self-sacrifice to protect the one they love (though their self-sacrifice also brings a price to others); Lex chose instead to embrace the path of power in the hopes of evading the necessity of sacrifice.
Parallels between "Promise" and "Lexmas"
The issue of choice and sacrifice is not the only parallel among these three episodes, though it is perhaps the strongest theme that resounds in them all. Let me start by examining some of the ways Promise explores themes raised in Lexmas, inverting some of them and mirroring others. I mentioned in my last essay that Promise seems to be giving Lex one more chance at the pivotal choice he was given in Lexmas: the path of love (and its attendant vulnerabilities) or the path of power (and the illusion of control it offers). In Lex's opening conversation with his father in Promise, he seems to be acknowledging that he can't control whether or not Lana loves him. His father insists that Luthors can, in fact control people. This is a direct inversion of the message Lillian was trying to teach to Lex in Lexmas, and the symbolic allusion to that episode is visually represented when Lionel appears reflected on the window glass next to Lex, just as Lillian appeared at the end of Lexmas. Lillian offered love, but she couldn't shield Lex from loss, and so in Lexmas he chose power, explaining to Griff explicitly that power was the way to ensure the happy ending.
In Promise, though Lex briefly questions whether power can actually deliver what it promises, Lionel is there to reassure him that it will and to tempt him to once again make a deal with the devil. Interestingly, Lionel's own behavior in Promise mirrors but reverses his behavior in Lexmas; in Lexmas, he contributed to Lex losing Lana forever by refusing to help get her medical care; in Promise he uses blackmail to ensure Lex's possession of Lana (though of course the viewers know this will ultimately alienate Lana from Lex completely).
Many of the events in Promise seem to parallel events in Lexmas yet invert them. In Lexmas, a stunned Lex awakes in a brightly lit room, wearing a white T-shirt, next to his pregnant bride; in Promise, Lex wakes up in a dimly-lit room, wearing a dark gray T-shirt, and his pregnant bride-to-be is not there because she's thinking of another man. In Lexmas, Clark not only accepts Lex's relationship with Lana but approves of it. In direct contrast, in Promise Clark feels he must rescue Lana from the choice she has made, in part because he completely disapproves of Lex. Furthermore, in Lexmas, Lex gained the love and support of the whole community (represented by Jonathan Kent nominating him for humanitarian of the year); by contrast, in Promise Lex is all alone on his wedding day--a fact Lionel calls attention to. Finally, in Lexmas, Clark explains that Lana fell in love with Lex because he became the sort of man she could love; in Promise, Lex has strayed very far from the path of a man Lana could love, and knows it; he fears if Lana finds out what he's truly like, she could never love him.
One theme that is not reversed, but is in fact directly paralleled in Promise and Lexmas is the idea that Lana's pregnancy poses a threat. In Lexmas, Lana's pregnancy ultimately kills her and shatters Lex's happiness; in Promise, despite the happiness both Lex and Lana exhibit when looking at the ultrasound, Lex is very aware of the threat posed by the fetus that he has manipulated in some way. His nightmare of looking at a baby with demonic eyes is a reversal of the joyous moment in Lexmas when he holds his newborn daughter in his arms.
And one final parallel between Promise and Lexmas is that each episode contains a confrontation between Lex and Lionel in which Lionel excoriates Lex for his choices and calls him "pathetic." It is true that the specific reason Lionel calls Lex pathetic is slightly different in the two episodes; in Lexmas, Lex is pathetic in Lionel's sight because after renouncing his true family and the money and power that came with being a Luthor, he has turned up at his father's door begging for help. In Reckoning, Lionel calls Lex pathetic for needing Lionel's assistance in covering up a killing, and for not being able to plan a murder well (as a true Luthor would no doubt do). Interestingly, though, in both episodes Lionel lectures Lex on the ability true Luthors have to control the people around them.
Parallels between "Reckoning" and "Promise"
I once threatened to compare Reckoning to every single Smallville episode--I bet you all thought I was joking, but apparently I was not!!!
serenography has already pointed out probably the most pivotal parallel between Promise and Reckoning: at the end of Promise, Lana is put in the same situation as Clark is at the end of Reckoning: having to completely lie to the person she loves to save his life. 1 That, for me, strongly suggests that Promise really is the climax of the Clexana triangle the producers intended all along, but it is certainly not the only parallel between the two episodes.
Lana's decision that she must find out the truth about Clark before she can decisively commit to Lex is triggered by the dream of Clark *flying* and saving her from the tornado. That flight--and the corresponding suggestion that Lana sees Clark as a savior figure--directly echoes the proposal scene in Reckoning when Clark flies her up to the top of the fortress 2 , and Lana says "how many times have you been there, saving me when I didn't know it." Even the *lighting* in the two scenes is even similar--washed-out white light--and I don't think that was the original lighting from Tempest.
Another parallel is that in Reckoning, Lana celebration's of her engagement is interrupted by a phone call from Lex, who needs her so she goes to him; in Promise, it is Clark who desparately needs to speak to her and she interrupts her wedding day to talk to him. On both occasions, the revelation (or lack of revelation) of Clark's secret is the pivot on which events turn, exposing Lana to danger because of the perspicacity of a Luthor male (though in Promise it's Lionel who's endangering her, not Lex). In both cases, Lana pays a high price for the knowledge of Clark's secret; the main difference is that in Reckoning, her death is accidental, while in Promise the sacrifice she makes is chosen.
Furthermore, in both Reckoning and Promise, Lex's reckless pursuit of Lana causes someone's death, though in Reckoning, again, the death is accidental, whereas in Promise, Dr. Langdon's death is more deliberate, even if Lex, from his perspective, didn't commit cold-blooded murder.
Another significant parallel between Reckoning and Promise is that in both episodes, Lana's love interest must appeal to his father in order to be able to keep her, yet in both cases, the "deal" ultimately causes him to lose Lana forever. (Ok, Clark's deal with Jor-El had that consequence; we don't know for sure that Lex's deal with Lionel will have that consequence, but it is heavily foreshadowed by all the references to Lexmas I discussed above.)
On the symbolic level, in both Reckoning and Promise, musical montages carry a lot of the emotional weight of the episode; also, as several people pointed out, both episodes end with a grief-filled Clark being showered by snow/confetti as Lana pulls away from him.
Am I missing any other parallels?
1. Of course, that scene also parallels other Clana scenes--in fact, some of the dialogue is lifted directly from the Clana breakup in "Hypnotic," only this time Lana, not Clark, says she's had a change of heart, and it is Clark, not Lana, who insists he will only believe it if Lana looks him in the eyes and says she no longer loves him.
2. Ok, in both cases he was technically leaping, not flying, but let's get real: they showed flying Clark for a reason. It echoes Jor-El's self revelation to Louise in "Relic," which itself echoed Lois and Clark's first flight in the Superman movies. It's fundamentally linked to the symbolism of Superman's self-revelation, which is the primary reason Almiles cheated on their own rules there