Smallville: Fracture (Episode 712)

Night at a junk yard. Lex, with Lois hot on his heels, traipses through the rain with a GPS. Lois helpfully identifies the scene as "the armpit of Motor City," and she's followed him here because he's looking for Kara. They split up. Lex finds Kara's silver bangle on the ground, and Lois finds the AWOL El locked in a chainlink cage. Kara does not recognize Lois nor remember her own name, but she's all too willing to be sprung.

Unfortunately they are joined by an armed man named Finley, who's locked Kara up to "keep her safe." Lex arrives on the scene as well, and the men point their weapons at each other, Finley holding Lois against him as a shield. Kara begs Finley not to do this, but he swears to "Linda" that he won't let her get hurt. Nice shoutout to Supergirl's earth name. Lois struggles free, and Lex and Finley fire at each other simultaneously. Finley goes down with a shoulder wound, while Lex, in slow motion, drops his gun, drops to his knees -- ouch, Rosenbaum! -- and we pan up his body to see that he's been shot in the head. Kara screams his name, and he topples forward, dead.

End of series.

Kidding. I guess the theme song, "Somebody Save Me," has never been more appropriate.

An undetermined time later, Finley shoves Lois into Kara's cage with her, locks them in, and tells Kara he'll be back for her. Kara tries to tear away Lois's duct-tape bonds, and notably is unable to do it with her bare hands. Hmm. She finds a sharp edge to cut them free, explaining that she woke up in Detroit with no memory about a month ago, and the wait staff at a diner took her in, gave her a job, and became her family. Finley was the bus boy and was never anything but nice until now. She can't believe Lex is dead.

Don't worry, honey, he's got a long and storied future of villainy ahead of him. At the moment, however, Lex lies in a coma at Smallville Medical Center, having been medi-vac'd there. Ooo-kay. Clark and Chloe arrive to find Lionel watching Lex through a window, and he explains that they removed the bullet, but Lex may never wake up. He was found in a ditch with Lois's cell phone in his pocket, on which is a photo of Lex and Kara, presumably at the diner in Detroit.

Lionel is called away, and Clark and Chloe discuss the fact that Kara may be without her powers, since the picture shows her wearing a bandage, and that she and Lois are in danger. Chloe suggests she use her powers to heal Lex so he can tell them where to find the girls, but Clark isn't too happy about the idea of Chloe dying again: what if she doesn't come back this time? Chloe argues that they have no choice, since their only clues are in Lex's head.

At the ISIS Foundation, Lana shows Clark and Chloe research on Project Intercept, a project spearheaded by Lionel for the military. It was intended for use by interrogators on terrorists by linking their brainwaves and allowing the interrogators access to the terrorists' memories and thoughts. Luthorcorp still has all the equipment, but the project was scrapped when, after a few initial positive tests, interrogators began to die on the table. Clark volunteers for the job.

Er, Clark? Did you not watch last week's Supernatural? Important lesson about venturing into other people's heads!

At a Luthorcorp lab, Lana and Chloe try to argue that Clark's superstrength may not extend to his brain. That's a rather politically correct way of explaining some of the intellectually questionable decisions Clark has made over the last six years, but we'll go with it. Lionel enters with a doctor who is extremely reluctant to do this, but at last he asks Chloe and Lana to leave the room. Clark wants to know whether, if Lex ever wakes up, he'll remember Clark was in his mind. The doctor assures him he won't. He explains that once in Lex's mind, Clark will see a telephone red door, which will be his emergency exit should the doctor be unable to pull him out.

Clark is strapped into the machine, and he and Lex, on parallel gurneys, are rotated to horizontal position. The doctor works his buttons and switches, and announces that Clark is in. We follow the neuro pathways into Lex's head, and Clark finds himself in a hallway next to a red door. He walks down the hall and peeks through a small break in a window to see Lex's first vision of Our Lady of the Floaty Costume. He continues down the hallway, but we see another eye peek through from the other side of the window.

A small, shadowy figure follows Clark down the hallway, hiding around corners. He has red hair. OMG COULD IT BE.

Redrum.

Clark enters a room to find himself in the Detroit diner. Finley bandages Kara's arm after a disastrous encounter with the owner, and Kara walks straight past an unseen Clark to fill up Lex's cup of coffee. Lex introduces himself, noting that "Linda" doesn't suit Kara as a name and that she doesn't seem to belong here. Kara tells him that she lost her memory, and he offers to try and help her via some of the best researchers in the world.

Just then, the Lex's voice interrupts the memory to ask Clark what the hell he's doing there. Back in the hallway, an echo-y Lex in a white suit seizes Clark by the throat and raises him off the ground, demanding that Clark get out of his head. Just as Clark's about to be choked to death, the shadowy figure from before clocks Lex over the head with a baseball bat. The red-headed boy of about 8 or 9 tells Clark that Lex has been trying to kill him for as long as he can remember. "I'm Alexander," he says. AWESOME.

Alexander grabs Clark's hand and leads him away, explaining that Lex thinks he makes him weak, and that he'll kill both of them if he finds them. Alexander is even dressed in an Excelsior Academy school uniform, y'all. As they run, Clark asks if Alexander has seen Kara or Lois. Alexander promises to start looking for them, but Clark must hide. He opens a locked door to "a place Lex never visits," saying Clark will be safe there in the meantime.

Alexander: "Trust me, Clark. You're my best friend." Oh, my heart.

Heartbreak enhanced by cuteness. Dammit.

Clark and Alexander smile fondly at each other, and the little boy ducks into a tunnel. As Clark enters the locked room, the doctor back at Luthorcorp informs Lionel that there's been a spike in brain activity, and that Clark is "going deep." The hoyay writes itself, as usual.

Clark enters a room at Luthor mansion to see young Alexander painting a figurine for his war set. Suddenly, an angry Lionel bursts in, demanding to know if Alexander has been in his briefcase. The little boy cowers, swearing he hasn't, but Lionel grabs him roughly, tossing him around the room, demanding the truth. Finally, Alexander admits he saw his mother going through Lionel's things. Lillian enters and orders Lionel away from Alexander, exclaiming that she can't take the secrets anymore. She demands to know what "Veritas" is. Well, Lillian, it is the title of the last pre-strike episode! Oh, probably not what you meant, eh? Alas, then, I cannot help you.

Lionel and Lillian argue, poor Alexander trying to come between them, until Lionel throws Lillian to the ground, orders her to stay out of his affairs, and storms from the room. Alexander tries to comfort his mother, but Lillian snaps angrily that he's said quite enough, and she leaves as well. Clark looks on with pity as the little boy whisperedly begs his mother not to go.

After commercial, Clark is in the hallway again. Dude, when your nine-year-old best friend tells you to stay put for your own safety, you do it! Alas, Clark wanders into the diner again, an indeterminate time after his first visit. Kara allows Lex to fasten a necklace around her neck -- St. Anthony, the patron saint of lost souls. How fitting, then, that this necklace is what he later uses to track her. Anyhoo, he tells her his jet is on standby to take Kara to treatment, and he'll be with her every step of the way.

Lex: "Trust me, there's nothing that's lost that can't be found again." Yeah, I know the moral of the episode when I hear it.

Kara leaves to say goodbye to Finley, et al, and we see that Finley has been watching and listening to their conversation. He tosses Lex the evil eye. Meanwhile, Clark hears a familiar voice behind him: Lois announces her presence to Lex. She followed him here, but certainly didn't expect to find him chasing after Kara. She shows him the picture of the two of them she just took with her phone, and he snatches it and puts it in his pocket. Just then they hear a ruckus in the kitchen, and Kara screams.

Back in the lab, the doctor's panels are lit up like a Christmas tree. Lionel demands to know what's going on, and the doctor explains that Lex and Clark are "in phase," and that he's never been able to pull anyone back who's delved so deeply. It's now up to Clark to exit on his own.

In the hallways of Lex's brain again, White Lex catches up to Clark and grabs him by the lapels. He grins sadistically and offers to give Clark the "grand tour." He shoves Clark into a candlelit room in which Lex and Lana are, shall we say, making the beast with two backs. He forces Clark to watch as Lana scratches up Lex's back, murmuring that she will always love him.

Like Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner, omg.

White Lex smiles in satisfaction, and Clark tears out into the hallway again. Alexander shouts for Clark that he's found Lois and Kara, and they sprint through the passageways to another room. Clark enters and finds himself in the junkyard, where he sees the double shooting happen in real time. He rushes to Lex's body, next to which is the dropped GPS. From it, Clark determines where they are.

He dashes back into the hallway and starts to make for the red door, when he hears Alexander quietly call his name. He turns, and White Lex has Alexander by the throat. He calls the boy "pitiful," and promises to kill him. Clark watches as White Lex drops Alexander to the floor and drags him off elsewhere. Caught between the red door and the chance to save Lex from finally destroying the good part of himself, Clark runs after them.

Back in the lab, Lex's vitals become critical. The doctor grabs the defibrillator, saying they have four minutes to bring Lex back, or he'll be braindead. Chloe enters, wondering what the hell is taking so long, and Lionel explains that Clark is trapped, and that if Lex dies, so does Clark. Behind him, Lex flatlines, and Chloe takes a deep breath and tells Lionel that she can save him.

Meanwhile, Clark follows White Lex and Alexander into a darkened room at Luthor mansion, where White Lex grabs one of the ancient weapons off the wall and prepares to bludgeon the little boy. As Chloe's touch causes the catatonic Lex to glow with returning life, Clark attacks White Lex, screaming for Alexander to run while he pummels White Lex in the face. White Lex merely laughs maniacally through his bloodied mouth.

It tickles.

As Chloe brings Lex fully back online, Clark finds himself back in the hallway, running toward the red door. Alexander calls his name again, begging him not to leave him. Clark kneels before Alexander, and asks him to promise that they will see each other again. He also asks the boy to promise never to stop fighting, and that now that Clark knows he's here, he'll always keep an eye out for him. Oh man, you guys. He wipes a tear from Alexander's cherubic face, and disappears through the red door.

In the lab, Clark bursts awake, exclaiming that he knows where Lois and Kara are, but the sight that greets him is Lionel cradling a grey-skinned Chloe on the ground. You can almost see his stomach turn over, y'all. He orders Lionel not to take her to a doctor, but simply to take her home, then superspeeds off.

At the junkyard, Lois picks the lock and lets them out of their cage, but as they make their way out of the maze of cars, Finley returns and pulls a gun on them. In typical obsessive villain fashion, he thinks "Linda" is being an ingrate after all he did for her, and he would rather kill her than go back to prison. Just then, a large stack of car pancakes topples over between Finley and the girls, and Clark sends Finley careening into a pile of junk. When Lois and Kara climb through the rubble, they find only Finley knocked aside, and the police arriving.

Back at the Smallville Medical Center, Lex gets dressed in his room. He demands Lionel tell him what is going on, since he was admitted with a bullet wound to the head, and now there's not a scratch on him. Lionel smoothly explains that he salvaged a single dose of the healing technology developed by Queen Industries, meaning to keep it for himself, should he ever need it. Lex is surprised that Lionel would give it to him instead. Lionel confides sadly that he was afraid he wouldn't have the chance to tell Lex that he loves him. Lex merely blinks at his father, revealing no emotion whatsoever, and leaves the room.

Love is never having to say, "Fuck off, Dad."

At the Talon apartment, Clark brings Chloe some tea as she rises from bed, tired but quite alive. He reports that she had no heartbeat for over 18 hours, and he was afraid he'd lost her. He doesn't think she should ever go that far again. Chloe argues that it's her ability, and therefore her decision; but when Clark unexpectedly swallows his righteousness and agrees, she admits that both of them have a responsibility to the world to stay alive. She wonders aloud why she was chosen for this gift. Unfortunately, Clark does not say it is because she is pure goodness and light and they should be together for the rest of their lives.

At Luthor mansion, Clark waits in Lex's office, noticing a small wooden box with painted warriors on it. When Lex enters, Clark asks why he went after Kara in Detroit. Lex claims that he was trying to help her, and that he called Clark twice to tell her where she was, but Lana hung up on him. Clark doesn't believe him, but he does believe that part of Lex is still good, and that Lex should let himself find it again. Lex smirks at him, but Clark repeats Lex's earlier words to Kara: "Trust me, there's nothing that's lost that can't be found again." Lex stares after Clark as he leaves.

Does that mean the romance is not dead?

Lex meets Kara in the Talon coffee shop. They make small talk about Lex's healed wound and whether Kara might get her job back at the Talon. Kara is glad to see him, because the Kent farm doesn't feel quite right: she feels like Clark is hiding something from her. She asks what happened to Lex and Clark's friendship. Lex: "I grew up." Or, you know, you grew obsessed, tyrannical, and ruthless. Same diff. Lex assures Kara that he's not interested in keeping secrets, and once Kara gets treatment, she'll remember everything, and they'll finally have the truth.

Dun dun dun.

screencaps courtesy SVFan