I think he *must* learn that, sometime in the future, because I think it will be one of the things preventing him from striking a similar future blow at Lex, which would not destroy him physically, but would do so morally.
Even though AlMiles & Co. aren't always the best at making good/hitting the pay-off with foreshadowing, there are certain things where I think you can just *tell* that what's been said/done/revealed is like a gun in a Chekhov play -- if it shows up in the first act, then it's going off before the curtain falls. I absolutely think that the revelation this week that Lex knows about that meeting with Jonathan will come back to bite Lionel (and possibly the remaining Kents) in the ass later on. It seems to me that Lex most likely even has proof of it, either via a recording of the phone call between them or (and this would be even better) surveillance imagery. Because it's something that happened while Lex himself wasn't in complete possession of his faculties, yet Lex knows all about it; this suggests he's watching Lionel's comings and goings like a hawk (and thus turning the tables on his father).
Now. Lex used it to ensure Lionel would back down from the hostile takeover bid, but it's still a pretty big stinkbomb should he decide to set it off before Lionel's had a chance to secure Martha's trust to the point it wouldn't make a difference. Given all the ways Lionel has directly contributed to screwing with Lex's potential for happiness in the past (paying Helen to spy on him, the hostile takeover of the nascent Lex Corp, even seducing Victoria, which contributed to damaging a relationship Lex seemed to at least enjoy, just to name a few examples), I can *absolutely* believe Lex would get off on the poetic justice of doing the same to Lionel. I mean, Lionel's interest in/attention to Martha isn't a new thing, and Lex does, I think, know his father well enough to know that even if Lionel's got some *other* motives for wanting a connection with Martha, there's nevertheless something about Martha qua Martha that's appealing to him. So I can see Lex timing it just so Lionel maybe gets close enough to thinking he's got Martha (and access to Clark), and then sharing the information and effectively destroying the tenuous connection. I certainly know *I* would find that to be really satisfying TV.
I agree that Lexana is only going to work for the viewers to the extent that there is mutual desire between them, so I really *hope* that this is just Lionel's usual mindfuck, and *not* foreshadowing.
I view everything that comes out of Lionel's mouth to Lex as being a mindfuck. Lionel is a classic emotionally/psychologically abusive parent, and others made an excellent case to me at the time of the episode (because that scene irritated me something *fierce* at the time) that this was just another instance of that. Lana was being used as a stand-in; Lionel was essentially telling Lex *no one* would ever love him, because he's apparently inherently unloveable, and that's (a) an awful thing for a parent to say to their child, and (b) absolutely not true, as iconic!Lex *is* well-beloved by the people of Metropolis (it's part of his rivalry with Superman because when Superman showed up, Lex suddenly had to share the status of "Metropolis' Favorite Son").
no subject
Even though AlMiles & Co. aren't always the best at making good/hitting the pay-off with foreshadowing, there are certain things where I think you can just *tell* that what's been said/done/revealed is like a gun in a Chekhov play -- if it shows up in the first act, then it's going off before the curtain falls. I absolutely think that the revelation this week that Lex knows about that meeting with Jonathan will come back to bite Lionel (and possibly the remaining Kents) in the ass later on. It seems to me that Lex most likely even has proof of it, either via a recording of the phone call between them or (and this would be even better) surveillance imagery. Because it's something that happened while Lex himself wasn't in complete possession of his faculties, yet Lex knows all about it; this suggests he's watching Lionel's comings and goings like a hawk (and thus turning the tables on his father).
Now. Lex used it to ensure Lionel would back down from the hostile takeover bid, but it's still a pretty big stinkbomb should he decide to set it off before Lionel's had a chance to secure Martha's trust to the point it wouldn't make a difference. Given all the ways Lionel has directly contributed to screwing with Lex's potential for happiness in the past (paying Helen to spy on him, the hostile takeover of the nascent Lex Corp, even seducing Victoria, which contributed to damaging a relationship Lex seemed to at least enjoy, just to name a few examples), I can *absolutely* believe Lex would get off on the poetic justice of doing the same to Lionel. I mean, Lionel's interest in/attention to Martha isn't a new thing, and Lex does, I think, know his father well enough to know that even if Lionel's got some *other* motives for wanting a connection with Martha, there's nevertheless something about Martha qua Martha that's appealing to him. So I can see Lex timing it just so Lionel maybe gets close enough to thinking he's got Martha (and access to Clark), and then sharing the information and effectively destroying the tenuous connection. I certainly know *I* would find that to be really satisfying TV.
I agree that Lexana is only going to work for the viewers to the extent that there is mutual desire between them, so I really *hope* that this is just Lionel's usual mindfuck, and *not* foreshadowing.
I view everything that comes out of Lionel's mouth to Lex as being a mindfuck. Lionel is a classic emotionally/psychologically abusive parent, and others made an excellent case to me at the time of the episode (because that scene irritated me something *fierce* at the time) that this was just another instance of that. Lana was being used as a stand-in; Lionel was essentially telling Lex *no one* would ever love him, because he's apparently inherently unloveable, and that's (a) an awful thing for a parent to say to their child, and (b) absolutely not true, as iconic!Lex *is* well-beloved by the people of Metropolis (it's part of his rivalry with Superman because when Superman showed up, Lex suddenly had to share the status of "Metropolis' Favorite Son").