Episode 2.19
“Precipice”
“Precipice” continues on the coattails of Visitor exploring just where Lex Luthor is on his journey — just how far down the dark path has he gone. Unfortunately it is not as successful as it is evoked with melodrama, cheese, and cliche.
Luckily Michael Rosenbaum’s acting chops are up to the task and save the episode from being a complete failure, like the character of Paul Hayden is.
Paul is an ex boyfriend of Helen’s who just chooses now, years after the relationship and no spoken of contact, to become a stalker.
But not only a stalker, but a psychotic stalker. A psychotic stalker who goes so far as to hurt himself horribly to blame Lex and then attack Helen after she won’t see his point of view. What? Where the hell did this all come from now? This isn’t a recent ex boyfriend. It just doesn’t make sense, except it was needed for the story.
In Clark’s story which coincidentally is more of the sidebar this time around, a college kid hits on and then hits Lana, forcing Clark to knock him around. The thug decides to sue Clark making him realize how important it is to control his powers.
The rest of that story is the cliched Lana learns to protect herself with a little training from Lex and at the end is able to kick the thug’s butt and for some reason forcing the thug to drop the lawsuit against Clark. What?
Ok.
The only point of discussion truly is the ending where after Paul attacks Helen, Lex tracks him down and has the choice whether to give in to his rage and kill Paul or to just keep him for the law. We know that Lex will eventually be willing and able to take a life in such a rage, but he’s not there yet. However knowing where he will go makes this a suspenseful moment and does in fact save the episode from being a complete failure…but not by much.
D+
References:
Nothing out of the ordinary.