While looking through old files, I found this!  In October 2004, I did a short write-up on how the symbolism of the Air, Fire and Water elements might be applied in the three distinctive relationships between Clark, Lex and Lana. This is an extended version. Most of the supplementary sources that discuss the Elements include "Earth" as the fourth major Element. "Earth" is not included in Smallville's element mythos. Nevetheless, these sources do help to burgeon our understanding of the crystals' metaphoric connection to the Smallville Triumvirate.

The Elements in the Smallville Mythos

According to the mythology developed by Smallville producers in Season 4, there are three crystals, which come together to form a "house of knowledge" -- air, water, and fire. Based on episodes that aired into March 2005, a number of greedy treasure hunters have been on the search for the crystals since the 17th Century. It's uncertain if these seekers are aware that the crystals are of Kryptonian origin, making Clark Kent the most ideal recepient of the treasure. As of April 2005, the crystal recovery has been haphazard at best and confusing at worst. However, once the crystals are uncovered, they usually signal Clark through sound frequency. Clark is led to rescue the crystals and he is to place them into three slots in the Kawatche cave wall. The three crystals, once united, will ultimately lead Clark to find the Fortress of Solitude where he will learn about his destiny.

Each Element's Possible Significance

When studying the properties of each element, it is possible to project the Triumvirate's major personality traits and how they might affect each other. Based on what has been established in Smallville "canon", the supposed human representatives of the three elements are as follows:

1. Air = Clark. Air is extensive, light and invisible. It moves, but it can also become still. Air seems to be the most appropriate symbol for Clark because of his future ability to fly and because of his super-speed which allows him to be felt yet not seen. But, there are deeper connections between Clark and the "air" metaphor. According to one source, because of air's weightlessness, air symbolizes the abstract workings of the mind; an "airy" person is believed to be a theoretical or idealistic person. Clark might be considered "idealistic" to a greater or lesser degree. He is very morally sensitive, which makes him rationalize situations based on what he considers to be good, true, and real. Yet, similar to the air's movement, his current immaturity often makes him judgmental and reactive. With reference to air's vastness, Clark's influence is currently localized to Smallville, but his future heroism will be more universal.

2. Water = Lana. Even though water is heavier than air and fire, it is not solid in its original form; it is liquid. Its original properties can be changed or transformed into solid (ice) and gas (steam). But both ice and steam can revert to the original liquid form under different conditions. This possibly explains why the Water crystal is responsible for transference or transformation. Like water in its liquid form, Lana can be changeable and inconsistent. She is a deeply emotional person, so when she becomes hyperaware or insecure, her loyalties may shift or she may appear hypocritical. She can be icy cold, but she can also be airily loyal, romantic and idealistic.

3. Fire = Lex. Once ignited, fire moves quickly and instinctively. It needs to be constantly fed. Like fire, Lex has intellectual spark, charisma, and brash instinct. Just as fire consumes whatever is in its path, suspicion and betrayal feeds Lex's insatiable acquisition of information and control. In the process, he can also "consume" others. Yet, fire can be deadly if left uncontrolled by external forces. Lex can also become destructive when he doesn't have a moral barometer. He is destined to have a bloody future and destructiveness can be both deliberate and unintentional. He is aware of this potential threat, so he currently craves positive moral influence to keep him contained.

Application to the Three Major Relationships

Sources are divided on which elements are most compatible platonically, sexually and romantically. Some say Air/Fire and Water/Earth are most compatible. Others say Air/Water and Fire/Earth are most compatible. Yet others say opposites -- Air/Earth and Water/Fire -- are very likely extremely drawn to each other as well. Is there any compatible match in Smallville mythology?

1. Clark and Lana. Air and Water share the chemical property, Oxygen. Oxygen is necessary for life and for sustaining life. Oxygen, in this context, may symbolize Clark's goodness and Lana's desire to do good things. Clark instinctively protects the underdog and those in danger while Lana instinctively attempts to see the good in people she encounters, which explains why she so easily stayed with Whitney Fordman (S1), befriended Byron Moore (S2), and has allied herself with Lex (S1+). Clark and Lana's mutual view of the world draws them closer to each other. They seem perfect for each other. However, Lana's unpredictability may be potentially problematic to Clark's sensibilities, especially since she also seems drawn to fire-like elements, such as Lex.

2. Clark and Lex. Air and Fire are both weightless yet head-strong elements. For both Clark and Lex, things must make sense; things must be rationalized. Clark rationalizes morality while Lex rationalizes necessity. Fire needs the Oxygen in Air to grow and to maintain power. Clark's goodness is essentially what keeps Lex desiring their friendship. As recent as Season 4's Devoted, he pleaded with Clark not to give up on him. The goodness Lex sees in Clark can help control his instinctive destructiveness because it makes him want to be a better person. In turn, Clark has learned to be more sensitive to his own emotional and moral struggles by interacting with Lex.

However, Lex's desire for truth about Clark's mysteriousness and Clark's lack of disclosure also feeds him. In an interesting twist, the same traits that Lex now admires in Clark may be the traits that he comes to despise once their friendship completely collapses. The Superman mythos has already established that these two young men will be morally opposed to each other. Envy of Clark, his need to become more powerful than Clark, or his need to restrain Clark in order to install his own agenda may negative feed Lex in the future.

3. Lex and Lana. Truthfully, Water and Fire are not always compatible, since Water's coolness is often used to put out Fire's heat. Fire can also condense Water into steam. In terms of personality, Lana's emotiveness counters Lex's practicality. Her hesitance counters his proactiveness. Yet, interaction that is labeled as "counteractive" in one situation can be considered "complementary" in another. Therefore, the L/L relationship is still an ambiguous pairing force.

In her normal "liquid" state, Lana provides a challenge for the emotionally reserved Lex because she can quickly fluctuate between trust and skepticism. Her tendency to be capricious and reactive may result in inner conflict about her loyalties to Clark and Lex, since she has developed distinctive relationships with both. Indeed, she already has a penchant of relying on one when separated from the other (Nocturne, Perry, Sacred). When Lex and Lana are at peace, she can help to relax him during emotional or moral distress. Shattered and Memoria reveal her potential to cushion his darkness. She is beginning to have a power to emotionally draw him in. However, Lex might eventually become impatient with her emotional flux. She opened heated arguments with him in Talisman and Recruit, prompting him to be the one to regulate their exchange. Depending on the level of Lana's reactiveness in the future, Lex might "consume" her by emotionally destroying her. On the other hand, she might emotionally "extinguish" him by either obstructing him to protect him or fully allying with his "enemies".

Lana complements Lex best when she is in her "airy" state. Adopting practicality (as she did in Kinetic) and loyalty (as she did in Memoria) will definitely increase her attractiveness to him. At present, her creativity allows her to connect with him on a very different level than she connects with Clark. During Season 1's Kinetic and Zero, and Season 2's Prodigal, they reveal how successfully creative they are together.

As an extention, their methods of communication are quite singular. Lex's ability to effectively charm Lana and appeal to her by citing John Donne in Nocturne (S2) and Rainer Maria Rilke in Legacy (S3) indicate that he's more effective when he uses literature or culture to communicate with her. In fact, their mutual appreciation for aesthetics and literature might actually increase their romantic/idealistic image of each other. Lana made particular note of Lex's romantic spontaneity in Heat (S2) and Lex declared Lana as being the one he could "come up for air" with in Talisman (S3). Whether or not their images of each other are seen as accurate by the viewership, their images of each other are real for them.

Conclusion

The interpretations of Air, Water and Fire in this "mythology" have not yet been exhausted. These are simply generalizations based on observation. There surely are many other applications available, but the significance of the Elements in the Smallville "canon" certainly is promising.

(Originally written in April 2005.)

Lexmas was Smallville's first holiday-themed episode, which aired on December 8, 2005. L/Lers were especially fortunate because it featured a married Lex and Lana in the episode's alternate universe. In terms of SV-verse, alternate universes often foreshadow some things that would play out in real time. By the end of S5, Lex and Lana were falling in love and battling Zod. Lexmas still makes me smile after all this time and it's become one of my tv viewing Christmas traditions. So here is my original review for it, unrevised. Feel free to share your favorite scenes and quotes from Lexmas.



Lexmas begins with Lex in Luthor-mode and a Ray Charles tune in the background. He's surreptitiously gone to see Griff (a Luthor lackey) about the upcoming senate elections. It is testosterone city as Lex and Griff swagger around each other, making veiled threats and plotting to take a swing at Jonathan's run for senate. The good in Lex makes him hesitate at Griff's proposition to "launch a grenade", whether fact or fiction. Lex leaves without giving a clear answer. Outside, he's approached by a pair of trigger-happy miscreants. As he falls from two gunshot wounds, he goes into a visceral dream/alternate state where he is married to Lana, has a son (Alex) and a daughter (Lily) on the way, is friends with Clark and Chloe, and is accepted by Jonathan and Martha Kent.

L/L SCENES TO WATCH: This episode is laden with L/L gifts, beginning from Lex waking up with Lana to Lily's birth. However, there are three scenes I've become endeared to:

1. The Christmas tree lot. Lex and his pint-size namesake stand together, hands in pockets, looking up at one prospect. There is a strong implication that the son is the shadow of his father, either genetically or intentionally. The father/son shadowing is more visibly emphasized within the Lex/Lionel scenes by the end of the Lex-mas. It's obvious from their very first scene that Alex is all about Daddy, not only inherently possessing some of his traits, but also purposely imitating some of his mannerisms. The kind of father Lex is in this experience is so different from his real-time experience with Lionel because, unlike Alex, he has rebelled against morphing into his father. He's also repeatedly questioned his father's sincerity in loving him, something Alex has no doubt about. Good stuff.

2. Returning home and getting the tree inside the house. I loved Lex joking with Alex, "Come on, Muscles! Do I have to do this by myself?" as they were pulling in the tree. Again, Lex reveals how comfortable he has become with this alternate existence. Lana, Lex and Alex respond to the house in such a way that the house looks and feels lived in. However, all the cuteness aside, this is where the real point of the eppy comes in when Lex notices a LuthorCorp gift:

Lex: Hey, what's this?
Lana (retreating from the stairs): Your father's secretary never does forget us.
Lex: No. This is a corporate gift. Not something from my father. I don't understand.
Lana: Lex, you know that Christmas is just another opportunity for your father to ignore you. It's his way of reminding you how disappointed in you for turning your back on what he thinks it means to be a Luthor. (Something was going on below my vision, but I get this sense that he was touching her belly.) But, as far as I'm concerned, getting shot was the best thing that ever happened to you. Coming that close to dying made you realize the things in your life that are important. It made you the man that you are today, the man that I married.

One thing that surfaces here and later is Lex's apparent attempt to redefine the Luthor legacy. Lana never said that Lex changed who he was, nor did she imply that he changed in order to be with her. What she recognized was that he became aware that there were more important things in life than money and power.

3. Lex struggles with losing Lana. In my opinion, this scene has become the benchmark for "bittersweet" on Smallville. Michael brings viewers to their knees and Kristin also brings up her game.

Lex: Lana, please, don't give up. Don't leave me.
Lana (weakly): Lex. You have be strong, Lex. For Alexander. For Lily.
Lex: Lana, I love you. Maybe I tell you that all the time. I don't know. Please listen to me. I mean it, I love you. I have always loved you.
Lana (she smiles): I love you too, Lex Luthor. You're a good man. (Her voice becomes softer) Don't ever change. (She wipes a tear from his cheek and caresses his face. She flatlines and Lex is inconsolable).

LEX TEXT: When Lex regains consciousness in real-time, he discovers Lionel made a reckless pre-op decision that he feels was more about appearances than survival. He says, "How dare you play God with my life?" His rebuke is so precise that there is implied anger about Lionel's role in the loss he experiences in his alternate state. A fear of a loss of control seems tied to his subsequent reaction. He tells Griff:

Lex: Don't worry, Griff. We Luthors are made of tough and definitely expensive material. . . . It's not everyday that someone has a near-death experience. It's true, much like Ebenezer Scrooge, I realize that what I more than anything is to live "happily ever after." And do you know what the secret to living happily ever after is? (He looks at Griff, detachment in his voice) Power. Money and power. See, once you have those two things, you can secure everything else and keep it that way. . . . I want you to pull the pull the pin on that grenade. Find it. Fake it. Do whatever it takes to knock Jonathan Kent out of the race. I want to be senator. I want it all.

His reaction is more emotional than it is rational. He's scared of loss because he's been deeply scarred by loss, so he's trying to buffer himself by using his "Luthorness" to deal with a situation currently under his consideration, a situation which could be the first step to acquiring power he thinks he needs. Undoubtedly, being able to afford the best of everything gives one a sense of comfort, and, yes, a degree of happiness. That's not in question. However, the irony of the choice eclipses its practicality and realism somewhat. Having the power and money doesn't automatically guarantee that he will "secure everything else and keep it that way." His father had power and money, but it didn't keep Lillian from dying, did it? This false sense of security and control is where he treads dangerously. He wants to be happy, but the methods of acquiring and keeping power, coupled with his obsessive nature, can ultimately undermine the "happily ever after" he so desperately wants to secure.

Lillian fades away as Lex shadows Lionel. Lillian tells him earlier, "You just have to make the right decision. Follow your heart, not your ambition." I don't think she's telling him not to be ambitious. She wants him to let the goodness he still has guide his ambition and she avoids imposing her will on his choices. In contrast, Lionel imposes his will on Lex's life in both real-time and in the alternate state, propelling Lex to take a darker route of self-preservation. This is the young man Lionel has been trying to provoke into existence since we first met the Luthors in the Pilot. In that way, Lionel is a trigger and an instigator more than he is an enemy. Either way, Lex's chances of long-term acceptance and happiness are jeopardized in different ways. So the angst begins again and badass Lex is coming into his own.

L/L TEXT: "Well, you became the kind of man she could love", Clark tells Lex at the Kent's party. One of the things I remember hoping for at the beginning of S3 was for Lex to be loved for who he is. He's able to justify his bad choices, but to be loved by Lana; all he has to be is himself. Lana has already said she admires his protectiveness, friendship and wisdom (Metamorphosis, Legacy, Splinter), his passion and decisiveness (Heat), and his ability to challenge her (Precipice). She sees his lost soul; she wants to be his friend and she wants to trust him (Shattered, Memoria). She isn't quite there in terms of loving him or trusting him, although that may come in time. The most important thing Lex will need to change to gain her trust is his penchant for secrecy. The Lex and Lana I see in Lex-mas are emotionally uninhibited and honest with each other, so much so they apparently know what the other is thinking. To get to that place with Lana in real-time, Lex will need to be more transparent with her even if he's not transparent with anyone else. Lana will also need to reassess who she is.

And as she turns
This way she moves in the logic of all my dreams
This fire burns
I realize that nothing's as it seems -- Desert Rose by Sting

Well, it's been awhile! I'm overdue for a confessional update because I wanted to rest Confessions "properly" but real-life has been busy. However, for any L/L fan fic writers still out there needing any help in characterization for Lex or Lana, or any major pairing pointers for their relationship, I've since updated their profiles. You can find the links to the updated profiles within this post or click on the links above.

Until I settle on how to rest Confessions, take a read of the new profiles and if there's anything you want me to add or reconsider in the profiles, let me know.

Lana Lang Character Profile
Lex Luthor Character Profile
Lexana Pairing Profile