Shattered

Season 3, Episode 8, Aired
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Episode Summary

Lex locates Morgan Edge and gets him to admit to dirty dealings with Lionel, but before Lex can take it to the authorities, someone tries to kill him at the mansion. Barely surviving, Lex flees and asks Clark for help. However, when Clark returns to the mansion to investigate he finds nothing amiss, and begins to wonder if it really happened, especially after Lionel announces Lex has had a psychotic break and must be institutionalized.moreless
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Fan Episode Reviews (20)

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  • this was a good ep of smallville

    8.5
    "Great"
    By cube2k8, May 11, 2010 Report Abuse
    in this ep of smallville morgan edge is not dead and we learn that lex knows were he is and gets him to admit to his wrong doing thing is morgan edge does do that and but when lex goes back to the mansion someone is tring to kil him and he excapes through the glass and goes and hides at the kend farm. clark finds him and goes to investgate what lex told him and he does and finds a peice of glass and lionel is trying to tell everyone that he is insaine. this was a good ep i thought .moreless

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    0 0

  • Crimelord Morgan Edge has a new face, and Lex is led to believe he's delusional as he gets closer and closer to discovering the Edge-Lionel conspiracy. Lana is seriously injured when she tries to help Clark protect Lex.moreless

    8.0
    "Great"
    By cxtasy, Sep 04, 2008 Report Abuse
    Mobster Morgan Edge returns to the cast, but Rutger Hauer, who played Edge in "Extinction," and "Phoenix," earlier in the season, apparently could not come to contract terms to continue his role, and he is written out of the series through a "plastic surgery" plot device - a bit of a shame given Hauer's world film-star status. The new Edge (Patrick Bergin) has the new face, and is confronted by Lex about Lionel and Edge causing the death of Lionel's parents - Edge gives a video confession. As Lex opens his safe to secure the video, a ninja-style intruder takes several shots at him, then shoots bodyguard Darius. Lex escapes, taking refuge at the Kent barn and telling Clark of the evidence that could put Lionel and Edge in jail.

    When Clark goes to the mansion, he finds no evidence of the assassination attempt, no debris, nothing, and no video. In the ol' red Dodge pickup, Chloe and Clark return to find Lionel at the farm searching for Lex, who Lionel claims is seriously ill with a psychotic break caused by his time on the island (also in "Phoenix.") We see events as Lex sees them, making us wonder if he's having delusions or not, and Michael Rosenbaum takes the acting kudos in this episode, ranging from singing lullabies to his dead brother Julian, to full-fledged hysteria. Sympathetic Clark decides to help Lex find Edge, and Lex, without shoulder harness and Clark with, drive back to the warehouse where Edge got his new appearance - but it has mysteriously changed overnight into a clothing factory staffed by Asians - so did Lex imagine this too? To add to Lex's anxiety, Darius appears unharmed at the mansion, and Psychiatrist Clare Foster then shows up, offering Lex a sedative, whereupon Lex grabs a gun and confronts all three.

    Clark manages to sequester Lex in the stables, and calls Lana in to watch over Lex - another bad decision, as Lex soon thinks Lana is trying to drug him. He tosses her into a stall, where Clark finds her after a panicked horse seriously injures her - and Lana's back to the hospital yet again. Clark has to admit that Lionel is right about Clark's abortive attempt to help, resulting in Lana's injury. Investigating further at the mansion, Clark forces Darius into a confession that he was in on the conspiracy but doesn't know who the conspirators are.

    Lex heads to Lionel's Metropolis office, armed to the teeth and ready to shoot someone and here, Lionel admits that the slumlord conspired with Edge to blow up the tenement for the insurance money, killing Lionel's parents in the process. When Clark returns to the stables, one of the assassins attempts to shoot him, but he overpowers the goon and learns the location of Edge. Lex gets there first, confronting Edge, who claims that Lionel is behind his drug-induced psychosis. Clark intervenes but Edge comes equipped with kryptonite, and Clark is down. Lex shoots Edge, who tries to escape via Jaguar XJ. Bit of a plot stretch here - why would a trained mobster drive toward an armed psychotic, and why would Lex stand like a statue waiting to be run down? Clark collides with the car to stop it, a feat clearly seen by Lex - now here's a revelation! Lex exclaims, "I was right about you all along, Clark! You're not even human!" The matter of a dead Edge in a demolished car is simply dropped as a plot element - after all, it's only murder. Did Clark dispose of the body?

    Cut away quickly to Lana telling Clark that she finally sees that being around him is too dangerous - she says she must stay away from him, and it's hard to argue with the gal this time. Lex winds up at Belle Reve Sanitarium strait-jacketed in a padded cell, under Dr. Foster's care. This episode is inconclusive and a bit of a downer, what with Lana drawing even further from Clark, and Lex confined for who knows how long? But this is just the first of a two-part episode - we have to wait for the conclusion next week in "Asylum." So "Shattered: is worth seeing again because of the confinement of Lex and it's significance in several succeeding episodes. Re-run rating B.moreless

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  • One of the reasons I'm addicted to Smallville.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By Lasquasho, Jun 28, 2008 Report Abuse
    This is, and will always be my absolute favorite episode of Smallville. I mean the acting is great, the plot is amazing, the action is wonderful, and the suspense is unbearably good! Smallville is just one of those shows that I cannot sit still through cause I'm bouncing of the walls during and this episode was sending me through the roof. The plot was amazing starting off with Lex being hunted down and jumping through the window and us not knowing if that was a hallucination or not because he was going crazy, but it turned out he was being drugged and set up to look crazy so no one would believe his story about the things that happened in the beginning or who was really behind it all which was Morgan Edge (the crime lord) and his father, Lionel. In the end Lex is sent to Belle Reive, after seeing Clark stop car (as if it were a yoyo.)moreless

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  • Insanity Lex

    10
    "Perfect"
    By lenzinoH20, Apr 17, 2008 Report Abuse
    Shattered-Lex locates Morgan Edge and gets him to admit to dirty dealings with Lionel, but before Lex can take it to the authorities, someone tries to kill him at the mansion. Barely surviving, Lex flees and asks Clark for help. However, when Clark returns to the mansion to investigate he finds nothing amiss, and begins to wonder if it really happened, especially after Lionel announces Lex has had a psychotic break and must be institutionalized.

    Arguably the best episode of the series, "Shattered" has everything you could possibilty want from Smallville and more. The whole cast and crew really outdid themselves with this episode. What I love most about this episode is how unusally dark this episode is for Smallville, which is a great thing! But it's too be expected when one of the main characters begins to lose their mind. Lex's descent into madness is one of the most powerful moments of the series. Micheal Rosenbaum not only shines, but steals the show with his stunning performance. Micheal truly conveys a vareity of emotions throughout like Lex's compassion for Clark, his anger toward his father, sadness as he blames himself for his little brother, Jillian's death to straight paranoia. The whole cast is excelelnt as each of them are affected by Lex's condition. The person worst effected by it was Lana, who Lex pushing into a horse's stall as getting almost trampled to death. It's actually unintentionally hilarious the way it looks just cause it's Lana, lol!

    I love the whole cover up angle of the episode is amazing. From Lex's mansion being cleaned up afterwards to Vitnemese sweat shop to Morgan Edge's surprising return with the nex face. While Rutger Hauer was great as the character, Patrick Bergin brings his own style of menace to the character that makes you love to hate him just as much as the original Edge. Other great performances of John Glover, who never been more commanding yet evil on screen. I loved the way he attacked Clark at the hospital about getting Lana by trusting Lex in his state of mind as well as him go behind everyone's back and being invovled in Lex's sudden breakdown.

    The special effects were amazing, especially the scene of Clark pushing Lex out of the way and getting hit by Morgan Edge's car. It's also a suspenseful scene as Lex knows Clark's secret and Clark's reaction to it is priceless. The episode ends sadly yet powerful as Lex is now a patient as Belle Reeve and Lionel has him trapped for good. "Shattered" is a remarkable achievement for the series that is full of intense scenes, suspenseful developments, powerful acting, and probably the finest performance of Micheal Rosenbaum's career, truly showing how immensely talented he is.moreless

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  • Is Lex la-la?

    7.5
    "Good"
    By MovieMark, Apr 12, 2008 Report Abuse
    A little too overcooked, what should have been a real corker of an episode, only manages to be simply better than your average dose of Smallville. There's an interesting premise at the heart of the episode, and props to all involved with the story, as there's genuine sense of is-he-or-isn't-he delusional. Add to that the fact, by the episode's end, there's a dramatic shift in a lot of character positions and you have a meaty hour to the show. It's just not AS good as I was lead to believe from the wave of positive reviews on the site.

    Lex is attacked at his mansion by a ninja-looking assassin. He turns to Clark for help, who investigates things at Lex's home, only to find little evidence of their being an attempt made on his life. Is Lionel behind it all?

    Just a quick observation: Smallville usually makes great use of its orchestra score, but here it's just over done. Every scene is bombarded by unnecessary music - an attempt to create tension, but surely the events onscreen would prove worth in creating the tension. The music just felt too intrusive.

    Lex, on the other hand, is dealt with in a satisfyingly complex way -- the show strips itself of the usual ho-hum, candyfloss storytelling, and goes all out in a gripping piece of character exploration. None of this would have carried any weight if it weren't for Michael, who gives a stunning performance (especially when Lex has reached the height of his deterioration).

    Likewise, Lana's little sub-plot is handled delicately enough, and the attack on her by the horse was actually rather startling TV -- also a cruel one, considering her close ties with the stables and so on. I loved the look on Clark's face when she told him he's too dangerous to be around.

    While all of these elements work, there's the unfortunate reflex of us knowing it'll all be brushed under the rug by the next few episodes: Clark and Lana will be all angst-y again; Lex will be fine; he'll forget about Clark and so on. The trouble with Smallville is that it's afraid to commit, and so in the long run, episodes like these rarely hold any true drama. Still, it was cool watching Clark get all Solid Snake by taking out all of those guards stealth-style, and there's great use of Johnny Cash's "Hurt" at the end - A tormented Lex looking at the shell of a man he once was. Chilling.moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

    ADD TRIVIA
    • What's the point of a padded room if only three of the walls are padded and there are light fixtures about level to the forehead of your patient? Edit
    • The vase that Lex's psychiatrist claimed he threw through the window would not have been in perfect condition. It would have shattered on impact with the ground Edit
    • In the scene where Clark and Chloe drive up to Clark's house to find Lionel with Martha and Jonathan, when they zoom out to behind Chloe and Clark from Lex's point of view from the barn, you can tell that Chloe (or rather, the actress Allison Mack) is laughing, burying her head in Clark's shoulder, something that doesn't seem like a thing she would be doing in that scene. Edit

  • Notes

    ADD NOTES
    • Musical: Hurt (Johnny Cash) Edit
    • Samuel L. Jones doesn't appear in this episode. Edit
    • Belle Reve in the comics is a maximum security prison in Louisiana for super-villains - a hint at the previous bad guys showing up in the next episode, perhaps? A company named Mayfair even put out a Belle Reve Sourcebook in 1988 for their DC Heroes role-playing game. "Belle Reve" is French for "Beautiful Dream," and is Blanche Dubois' plantation in "A Streetcar Named Desire." Edit

  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES
    • Clark: Lex, what are you doing down here? Lex: I had to get the baby, he was crying, my father woke him. Clark: The baby... what baby? Lex: (shows Clark a blanket) My little brother, Julian. Edit
    • Jonathan: So, Morgan Edge is alive and he's had plastic surgery. Clark, don't you think that sounds like another one of Lex's delusions, come on? Edit
    • Lex: What's the price of a Judas kiss these days? Edit

  • Allusions

    ADD ALLUSIONS
    • Clark: I'm telling you Lex, it's like being in the Twilight Zone.
      Referring to the TV show The Twilight Zone, where eerie and unpredictable forces are present and nothing is as it seems. Edit
    • Lex: Let's go on Oprah like normal people. Lex is referring to Oprah Winfrey, the host of the long-running daytime talkshow, simply titled Oprah. Edit

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