Originally aired December 3, 2004
Written by Brian Peterson & Kelly Souders
Directed by David Carson
A LuthorCorp project goes awry when an explosion occurs and causes a toxin to be released into the air, causing the townspeople of Smallville to hallucinate their worst fears. Lionel is freed from prison.
Tropes present in the episode:
- Death from Above: Under the effects of the fear toxin, Clark hallucinates another meteor shower striking Smallville. It proves to be
Harsher in Hindsight, given what happens in the Season 4 finale... - Gone Horribly Right: The fear toxin developed by LuthorCorp has the intended effect (it causes anyone exposed to it to hallucinate their worst fears). Shame it ends up being released upon the entire town.
- Nightmare Sequence: The fear toxin has this effect on those it infects.
- Jason sees Lana making out with Clark and then stabbing him (Jason). Also, that Lana suspects that Jason is hiding something (that part is true).
- Chloe hallucinates meeting a crazed version of herself with her mother's voice.
- Lana hallucinates seeing her loved ones and then herself dead.
- Clark hallucinates another meteor shower hitting Smallville, and then Lana finding out his secret, blames him for her parents' deaths, and coming at him with a shard of Kryptonite.
- Lex hallucinates himself bringing about a nuclear war. Alternate scene is his mother in a wedding dress telling him he'll bring destruction to everyone.
- Nuke 'em: Lex hallucinates himself bringing about a nuclear conflict after being injected with the cure for the fear toxin.
- President Evil: Lex in his hallucination.
- Stock Footage: The episode re-uses clips from Season 1's "Hourglass" for Lex's hallucination.
- Villain in a White Suit: Lex is wearing a white suit in his hallucination of being President of the United States and causing a nuclear conflict.
