The sad thing is it's been 20 years and people still don't understand grooming, gaslighting, abuse, or manipulation. They just make excuses to blame everything on either her or him and hate one or the other. Now I know I didn't have to. But I've read so much on Lana deserved Lex to hit her or the phantom pregnancy because she didn't realize he was evil. Or she allowed Lex to manipulate her for all those years they were friends. But if someone has known you since you were 14, and is seemingly a decent person, of course you aren't going to think them capable of certain behaviors. Especially if they go out of their way to be overly affectionate or gentle with you.

I’m surprised the alien research is read as evil at all after the events of the episodes Zod and Arrival, especially. Victim shaming/ blaming is the worst IRL and in forums. No, going after someone evil doesn't make you evil if they kill innocent people. And if you think aliens are going to invade, because you saw them massacre and heard their plans to take over the world, of course you will make a threat on someone's job if they get the property destroyed. Threatening the man's job and financial stability was an empty threat, but not out of evil intention or malice.

Yet no one trashed Lionel who took pleasure in abusing his son and wife or getting away with the murder of his parents. The fact that he's taken pleasure and malice in strangling his son. Along with poisoning him to cover up a murder. Even forcing drugs into his food to get him institutionalized and brainwashed. Lionel pretends like Lex and Lillian were crazy and he had to prevent them at all costs, but originally he goaded Lex into being evil. On purpose, for pleasure. He's never told off by anyone for these things. And people like to say he was never evil and only misunderstood. Some people also victim shame Lex, saying he deserved the abuse because he's going to turn out evil anyway.

Then there's people who are Lex-apologists and blame Lionel, Clark, and specifically Lana for Lex's descent to evil. While experiences shape someone, in the end they have the decision to change. And Lex knows what he's doing is wrong, and has no intention of stopping. He begins to take pleasure in watching the experiments and torturing the subjects. He could try to change, but doesn't want to. In Freak, Lana becomes suspicious when meteor-freaks are being killed off. She knows Lex studies meteor-freaks, but doesn't think he's the one kidnapping them. Until the end of the episode, when he makes an obvious deflection and swear. Because it's become his nature to be this way.

Or that Lana was the most despicable for trying to stop Lex in season 7. He gave her hcg (human chorionic hormones) which are real by the way, because she was suspicious of whether or not his projects were really to help people or had ulterior motives. His goading Lana into trusting him, and constant need to compare himself to Clark is all to distract her and bring her closer to him. She's trusted this man with personal problems and her economics since she was 14. And that's part of her character too. Even in a deleted scene from 3.16 she tells the FBI Lex isn't capable of money-laundering. It's important to remember Lex isn't the victim here. Lex who's become someone that locks people in cages to experiment, then kills them after.

These views are forceful in not trying to understand the character's situations. I know women who have been abused by a partner they thought they could trust, because they knew them for years. It leads to a mental breakdown, which is what the character is meant to be going through and what people mock. Just like I know children who are spiteful because they've been abused by their father or mother. People either change and decide to help others- (Lana's decision not to kill Lex and become a hero in 8) or stay in their depression and cannot change (Lex's decision to not change). It's not their true nature, it's a bi-product of abuse. Lex's destiny represents continuing the cycle which is why he kills his father. Compassion and context is really important when watching this show.