I definitely think that Lana's tolerance for meteor mutants was because she thinks Clark is one. It's very consistent with Extinction!Lana, who had little difficulty with Van gunning mutants down but was simultaneously able to accept the possibility that Clark was one of them while thinking it Okay that he was. The difference with (and progression in) Freak comes in where Lana also gets to deal with another mutant whose intentions aren't horrible in Tobias. In Extinction, the other mutant she dealt with basically tried to kill her. Here, she's got not only Clark as an example that they're not all bad, but Tobias as well. So even when she gets the reveal that Clark is not a mutant, she still has an example in Tobias of a mutant who's not all bad. It's a baby step to ultimate and true tolerance on Lana's part (as opposed to what she exhibited this week, which was more Clark-specific than not).
This was the most I've liked Lana all season because she was smart and capable and an active agent in her own life. Proactive!Lana is one of the best incarnations of the character. At the same time, I wish she would just dump Lex because I honestly can't understand why she's marrying him. She cares about him, but she doesn't love him and it's clear that she doesn't trust him (I don't think she believed him at all at the end, but I think she's resigned herself to the fact that he's going to keep things from her). I suppose the money's an angle, but she really doesn't seem to care about that. Furthermore, they've actually given her a storyline that's interesting but not dependent on her romantic feelings for either Lex or Clark. She wants to know Clark's mystery, yes, but that really is different from wanting to be with him. She can pursue that storyline without being tethered to Lex.
I think that Lana can adjust her thinking about Kryptonians based on Clark in the same way she's managed to adjust her thinking about meteor mutants based on thinking he was one. She knows that he's loved and protected her, that he's protected and saved others; his being Kryptonian won't erase that knowledge. I do, however think that if there's any impediment to a return to romantic Clark/Lana, then Lana learning the real nature of Clark's secret is it. Even in Reckoning I, she had some hesitation and there, she didn't know the full import of Clark's arrival, just how much and in what way that affected her own life. In other words, I don't think that learning Clark is Kryptonian would make Lana hate him, but I do think it might put the brakes on her wanting to be with him for a while. And while she's sorting out her feelings on that count is probably when his heart turns to Lois, thus setting up the dynamic wherein Lana decides she nevertheless wants Clark, but he's moved on.
ITA that Lex and Clark were both really awesome in this episode. They both felt very much like their iconic selves, especially Lex (Clark was a leetly shaky on the dismount with the laptop 'cause hi, merely suspecting someone of nefarious actions doesn't mean you get to break the law to ascertain whether your suspicions are right or not; this is why you grow up to be Superman, Clark, and not, you know, Batman or Green Arrow).
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This was the most I've liked Lana all season because she was smart and capable and an active agent in her own life. Proactive!Lana is one of the best incarnations of the character. At the same time, I wish she would just dump Lex because I honestly can't understand why she's marrying him. She cares about him, but she doesn't love him and it's clear that she doesn't trust him (I don't think she believed him at all at the end, but I think she's resigned herself to the fact that he's going to keep things from her). I suppose the money's an angle, but she really doesn't seem to care about that. Furthermore, they've actually given her a storyline that's interesting but not dependent on her romantic feelings for either Lex or Clark. She wants to know Clark's mystery, yes, but that really is different from wanting to be with him. She can pursue that storyline without being tethered to Lex.
I think that Lana can adjust her thinking about Kryptonians based on Clark in the same way she's managed to adjust her thinking about meteor mutants based on thinking he was one. She knows that he's loved and protected her, that he's protected and saved others; his being Kryptonian won't erase that knowledge. I do, however think that if there's any impediment to a return to romantic Clark/Lana, then Lana learning the real nature of Clark's secret is it. Even in Reckoning I, she had some hesitation and there, she didn't know the full import of Clark's arrival, just how much and in what way that affected her own life. In other words, I don't think that learning Clark is Kryptonian would make Lana hate him, but I do think it might put the brakes on her wanting to be with him for a while. And while she's sorting out her feelings on that count is probably when his heart turns to Lois, thus setting up the dynamic wherein Lana decides she nevertheless wants Clark, but he's moved on.
ITA that Lex and Clark were both really awesome in this episode. They both felt very much like their iconic selves, especially Lex (Clark was a leetly shaky on the dismount with the laptop 'cause hi, merely suspecting someone of nefarious actions doesn't mean you get to break the law to ascertain whether your suspicions are right or not; this is why you grow up to be Superman, Clark, and not, you know, Batman or Green Arrow).