Again, I regard Lex's actions in "Scare" as indicative of his essential nature, which is to do what he believes is right and/or necessary, regardless of the cost. I don't believe that's changed at all.
But Lex has proven himself untrustworthy in relation to Clark. See Nixon, the chamber of Clark, the shenanigans in Moral that put Lana and Clark's parents at risk because Lex believes he has a right to do whatever it takes to learn a secret before Clark was ready to share it.
First off, I point out that there is no evidence that Lex sent the mutants after Clark in "Mortal." Yes, it was Lex the lead mutant bumped into in order to turn off his restraining device, but that strikes me as pure coincidence. Lex had every reason to be at Belle Reve on that day; Lionel had just been admitted in a state of catatonia strikingly similar to the state whats-his-name the linguist was in before he abruptly gained superpowers and started running around blasting people, so Lex naturally wanted to get another close look at his father before personally giving the doctor instructions to notify him immediately if Lionel's condition changed. And of course Lex had extra security (including extra cameras with a separate power source) on the kryptonite solution he'd been experimenting with; he had good reason to expect attempts by superpowered mutants to try to steal that solution, and he wanted it kept safe, if possible, and to know exactly who had taken it, if not. After returning to Smallville and being informed that there'd been a power outage and a possible break-in, Lex naturally checked the video footage, and was surprised to see Clark and Chloe breaking in, and further surprised to see Clark apparently injured by the laser when Lex had long had good reason to believe that Clark was far harder to hurt than that. Clark and Chloe promptly leaped to the conclusion that these bits and pieces somehow 'proved' Lex's guilt, but then they also concluded that Lex was the one who had exposed Clark to the 'silver kryptonite' in "Splinter," and they were dead wrong then, too.
And, in fact, Lex has proven himself utterly trustworthy regarding Clark's secret. In the "Shattered"/"Asylum" arc, Lex saw Clark use his powers and yet, aside from his initial startled outburst while drugged out of his mind, he kept Clark's secret the entire month he was locked up in Belle Reve -- despite the fact that Clark had allowed him to be locked up in the first place, and then flatly refused to break him out when he came to visit and Lex begged him for help. Lex kept Clark's secret throughout his imprisonment, even though he could have used it to bargain with Lionel for his freedom. Lex kept Clark's secret, even though he could have used it to bargain with Lionel to keep Lionel from frying his brain. I'd say that's at least as much proof of trustworthiness as Pete's refusal to tell a crazy scientist that Clark was the alien the guy was looking for. Yet Clark not only never trusts Lex with the truth afterwards, but he endangers Lex's sanity and Lex's life in "Memoria" in order to keep Lex from possibly remembering what he'd seen Clark do. If you ask me, it isn't Lex who's untrustworthy -- it's Clark.
no subject
But Lex has proven himself untrustworthy in relation to Clark. See Nixon, the chamber of Clark, the shenanigans in Moral that put Lana and Clark's parents at risk because Lex believes he has a right to do whatever it takes to learn a secret before Clark was ready to share it.
First off, I point out that there is no evidence that Lex sent the mutants after Clark in "Mortal." Yes, it was Lex the lead mutant bumped into in order to turn off his restraining device, but that strikes me as pure coincidence. Lex had every reason to be at Belle Reve on that day; Lionel had just been admitted in a state of catatonia strikingly similar to the state whats-his-name the linguist was in before he abruptly gained superpowers and started running around blasting people, so Lex naturally wanted to get another close look at his father before personally giving the doctor instructions to notify him immediately if Lionel's condition changed. And of course Lex had extra security (including extra cameras with a separate power source) on the kryptonite solution he'd been experimenting with; he had good reason to expect attempts by superpowered mutants to try to steal that solution, and he wanted it kept safe, if possible, and to know exactly who had taken it, if not. After returning to Smallville and being informed that there'd been a power outage and a possible break-in, Lex naturally checked the video footage, and was surprised to see Clark and Chloe breaking in, and further surprised to see Clark apparently injured by the laser when Lex had long had good reason to believe that Clark was far harder to hurt than that. Clark and Chloe promptly leaped to the conclusion that these bits and pieces somehow 'proved' Lex's guilt, but then they also concluded that Lex was the one who had exposed Clark to the 'silver kryptonite' in "Splinter," and they were dead wrong then, too.
And, in fact, Lex has proven himself utterly trustworthy regarding Clark's secret. In the "Shattered"/"Asylum" arc, Lex saw Clark use his powers and yet, aside from his initial startled outburst while drugged out of his mind, he kept Clark's secret the entire month he was locked up in Belle Reve -- despite the fact that Clark had allowed him to be locked up in the first place, and then flatly refused to break him out when he came to visit and Lex begged him for help. Lex kept Clark's secret throughout his imprisonment, even though he could have used it to bargain with Lionel for his freedom. Lex kept Clark's secret, even though he could have used it to bargain with Lionel to keep Lionel from frying his brain. I'd say that's at least as much proof of trustworthiness as Pete's refusal to tell a crazy scientist that Clark was the alien the guy was looking for. Yet Clark not only never trusts Lex with the truth afterwards, but he endangers Lex's sanity and Lex's life in "Memoria" in order to keep Lex from possibly remembering what he'd seen Clark do. If you ask me, it isn't Lex who's untrustworthy -- it's Clark.