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.

That would be really good TV, and I'd *love* to see Lex bring down his father in that way.

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

I agree that here his dad is actually saying no one will ever love him. I think, though, that in Smallville canon (as opposed to comics canon) that's going to be *true*. I mean, he'll have people who are crazily devoted to him, like Lexfan in "Fanatic" (and Mercy and Hope, if they ever turn up on the show), and he may be *popular* as a politician, but I think part of the SV mythos is that if anyone really ever loved Lex for Lex (as opposed to for his power or money or influence) and *didn't* later abandon him, he wouldn't go completely evil.

This suggests, to me, that even if Lana *does* fall for him, she's going to end up abandoning him at some point (perhaps because he lives up to his promise and never lies to her, and at some point she realizes she can't live with knowing exactly what he's doing).