Lana tells Clark that she suspects Jason may have followed her from Paris to Smallville for reasons other than his love for her. Protective Clark reassures her - and she declares that she's always bee in love with Clark. After his continued efforts to keep her at a distance for her own safety, why do the screenwriters have him so willing to kiss and make up? Well, to keep the story going, of course. Jason suddenly appears and bashes Clark around, declaring to Lana that no one can protect her from him (Jason). She up and stabs Jason, who falls from the barn loft and lands...on the floor of the Talon! So wait, whose dream is this? Jason's injuries are real - he's in the hospital with Lana by his side, so it must be his dream. His heart rate and blood pressure are sky-high, and the doctors are at a loss. At the Talon apartment, Chloe begins to snoop into Jason' belongings, finds he had a meeting at Luthorcorp, and they're off to see Lex. At the plant, Clark tells a peevish Lex about Jason's condition - Lex says the meeting Jason had was with the H.R. folks about job leads, Lex claiming to feel guilty about getting Jason fired from his coaching job (revealed in "Spell," a couple episodes back). So this scene seems to be reality.
Chloe, still poking around the deserted plant, comes upon a whispering figure in a chair in her mother's voice - suddenly the figure turns - a horrible death mask face appears, and suddenly Chloe is strait-jacketed and screaming in terror, until retrieved by Clark - so Chloe is imagining all this. You're infected, girl.
A bit more is revealed - a Luthorcorp plant accident has disabled the work force - it was a bacteria leak from the toxins they're producing under a military contract. It can produce a person's worst nightmares, and the antidote isn't ready yet.
Still in prison, Lionel is visited by Warden Stone - and Lionel sounds like a religious convert. The appellate court has overturned his conviction and he's to be released, but he refuses, wanting to stay because he has found his mission in life. Sorry Lionel, it isn't a hotel, she tells him, refusing his request.
While Clark and Chloe investigate further, Lana is struck by her worst nightmare - her parents, Chloe and Jason dead in a morgue. How did Lana get infected by the toxin? At the plant, the antidote's ready but untested, but Lex, always ready to risk the life of another, orders it tested, with deadly results. Meanwhile, the hospital is overloaded with victims, including Lana, even though Lex confesses to the staff that his plant is the source of the toxin. Just then, a meteor shower hits the hospital, and it looks like Clark's worst nightmare, as he slept, and had some reaction to the bug.
As the antidote is nearly ready, Clark uses heat-vision to speed the process, and Lex bravely tests it on himself. His nightmare - he's President of the US as ICBMs detonate around the world - Lex the Destroyer. But the antidote works.
Lionel is released from prison - and leaves with an unseen benefactor - we're left guessing about the identity until a later episode. After the entire town is cleaned up, Jason is packing for departure - leaving Lana alone again. For upcoming shows, here's the clue - Chloe has found her mother in a mental institution. And Clark nears the point of revealing his true identity to Chloe. There's some good surprises in this episode, and scenes that leave us guessing about reality versus nightmare, so it's a good one to see more than once. Re-run rating B.moreless
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Episode Summary
A LuthorCorp experiment is released into the atmosphere - a toxin that causes its victims to hallucinate their worst fear. Chloe, Clark, Lana, and Jason all fall victim to the toxin, and Lex, desperate to find a cure, takes a dangerous antidote. Meanwhile, Lionel is released from prison and his conviction overturned thanks to a mysterious benefactor.moreless
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Annette O'Toole
Martha Clark Kent
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Michael Rosenbaum
Alexander ('Lex') Joseph Luthor
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John Schneider
Jonathan Kent
Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions
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Trivia
ADD TRIVIA- When Chloe is in her nightmare, after she runs out of the room where she sees her mom/zombie-self into Luthorcorp hallway, right before the scene changes you can see the red and yellow lockers of Smallville High in the background. Edit
- During Lana's nightmare, when she goes over to the "dead" Jason she moves her hand all across his face. While she is doing this, you can see that Jason's eyes are twitching/blinking slightly. Edit
- Lana seems a little inconsistent with her story here. She claims that the first time she saw Jason, he was lying on the floor of the Talon, but hadn't she gone upstairs to get her jacket when he arrived to take her to lunch? Edit
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Notes
ADD NOTES- This episode won a Leo Award for Best Make-Up in a Dramatic Series. This episode was nominated for a Golden Reel Award for Best Sound Editing in Television Short Form - Sound Effects & Foley. Edit
- On disc 3 of the Smallville Season 4 DVD set, there is an alternate dream sequence for Lex Luthor near the end of the episode. After he gives himself the vaccine, he dreams that he is about to get married. It is then revealed that the person he is about to marry is actually his mother, who starts to blame Lex for his brother's death. She then talks about how he is on a path to destruction. Lex responds furiously by strangling his mother before being woken up by Clark. Edit
- Wendy Chmelauskas and Ben Odberg reprise their roles as Lana's mom and dad for her hallucination. Edit
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Quotes
ADD QUOTES- Lionel: You know I've done everything to work this system. I hired the best lawyers in the world. I tried to pay off everyone from the bailiff to the president of the united states and I was told categorically that I was never gonna see life outside these walls again. Warden Stall: You do not want to be telling me things of this nature. Lionel: Yes I do, I'm guilty. Not of the crime I've been imprisoned for but...so many other crimes which should have landed me in here years ago. Edit
- Lex: Clark... how the hell did you get in here? Clark: The gate was open. Your security seems a little MIA lately. Edit
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