Smallville Season 5: Actively Helping People

The moral case for actively helping people.

How do you actually help someone?

A lot of people have a lot of ideas about how to help another person when they need it. Some believe that it's important to push them to do better, others think that compassion and understanding are the way to go. When dealing with a person or people in crisis, there are all kinds of things you can do to help them. You can provide them with shelter if their homes were destroyed and help them rebuild. You can give them food when they're hungry and clothes when the ones they have get torn. In dealing with a problem like crime or some kind of harm being done, it's important to intervene where possible and maybe stop whoever is stealing or hurting another person. These all seem like perfectly reasonable things to do in order to make things better for others.

Especially when you know that there are people out there who might want to hurt others rather than help them. The reverse is also true, you can take things from people who need them, like their homes or their clothes or food. You can choose to commit crime rather than solve it. At the very least, you can simply walk away when you see a crime and not do anything to stop a tragedy from happening. While there are those who would see this as a bad thing, not everyone would. Some would prefer to be the type of person who inflicts harm rather than helps people when something's been done to them.

Previously in this space, we've looked at the idea of fitting in with those around you, as well as the idea of doing your best to stand out from the crowd and make yourself known. More recently we've looked at how trying to fit in or stand out can make you insane and want to be the kind of person who would actively harm other people. We also looked at the idea that these experiences can expand your world view and give you a better perspective on humanity, including the idea that some people like to hurt others. But this is far from the end of the story. Once you recognize that other people might hurt you or people you care about, you face the problem of what to do when you know that. Where do you draw the line between wanting to help people and having your own life?

“Clark I... I think you're so amazing. You save people's lives and take zero credit for it. To me you're more than just a hero... you're a superhero. I'm serious Clark, if more humans were like you the world would be a better place.”

This is where we find Clark in season 5 of Smallville. He has come to terms with many of the problems of being a teenager. Clark understands the benefits and drawbacks of showing who he is and what he can do to the world. More than that he recognizes the fact that he can't just assume nothing but good intentions on the part of other people. There are those who would and can do terrible things if given the opportunity. Some of them are insane but a lot of them are just selfish people who like to hurt others for the sake of it. Up until this point, he's mostly just reacted to bad situations as they've come up. Some meteor freak decides to use their powers to hurt Lana or someone else he loves and he takes it on himself to stop it when things get bad. What he doesn't do is try to stop problems before they come about.

Reacting to situations as they come up is a good idea generally. We have whole groups of people dedicated to running into burning buildings or stopping crime as it happens. These are the fire fighters and police officers which exist in our world. Although some of them will come across as super human at times when they do incredible things to help save a life, they're just regular people like anybody else. They have their limits and they can't do everything for everybody. Other people have to do something when the crisis is over. If you're lucky though, you actually can do something before things get to a crisis point. You can talk an arsonist down from setting a fire or convince the CEO of a corporation not to develop weapons. Maybe you can do something like convince them not to dump toxic chemicals in the ocean so those drinking the water don't get sick. These are what ordinary people can do.

“This is not the time to be a hero.”

“I'm not... look, I'm just a normal guy who doesn't want to see everyone he loves die.”

Clark is no normal person though. Who he is and the abilities he has gives him a greater responsibility than any regular person like you or me. He has to be more than just reacting to whatever crisis comes up. To be bigger than what we might want or need. As a result, he has to be willing to give up things which most of us need to be even halfway decent. Most of us need other people to keep us sane, with the biggest of these being the love of someone else. Yet Clark's responsibility means that he has to face the possibility that he can never have a normal life. That he will never have a wife or children or even family and friends to rely on in his darkest moments. He has to overcome those by himself.

“I've known a lot of guys who want to own the world. I haven't met very many who actually want to save it.”

Thankfully, Clark isn't alone in his fight to do good and help other people. While he might be unique in terms of his powers, there are people he knows and those he meets along the way who want the same thing he does. To actually fix the problems of the world. People like Arthur Curry and Victor Stone have a genuine desire to fight back against criminals and destructive forces. They might not go about it the right way, in Arthur's case because he's willing to hurt human beings in order to protect fish and other water life. However, Clark is able to set them straight so they can find a better way to do things. He helps them choose a less destructive path.

“Come on Superboy, with you on the turf and me in the surf we could stop this thing cold.”

“By blowing up his lab?”

“Well I'm not going to sit back and let this happen Clark. I was born with an amazing gift and I plan to use it to protect this planet.”

It's not just the people who have powers that are able to save people and help make the world better. Chloe, Lana and even Jonathan can do things to not only help Clark but also rescue people themselves. More often than not, the person they're saving is Clark himself who has gotten himself into trouble because of his various needs to save other people. Although they are in a lot more danger than Clark is himself. Clark has the benefit of powers which protects him from some of the worst things people can do to him. Whereas his friends and family don't have this. They can end up hurting themselves and potentially even dying in the hope that they can protect others.

“We didn't ask for a world that needs heroes, but the truth is we do. Now more than ever Clark.”

Examples of these types of people do exist in real life too. People who despite the most horrific circumstances like slavery or a tyrannical government, they will stand up to such terrible forces. They know this probably won't end well and yet they do it anyway. In the firm belief that standing up will make a difference. That whatever small part they play will be worth it in the end. Those people however, are few and far between. Sadly, more often than not you encounter people who give in to their darkest impulses and beliefs about the world.

“I don't even know if you can hear me, but... I need you to know that... from the first moment that I saw you, I knew that no one could make me happier than you. But I also knew that you'd never change. You'd always be running around trying to save the day. All those times I pulled away, it's because I knew this day would come.”

People like Lex Luthor and Milton Fine. They don't see the world as something worth saving or protecting. They don't like how the world works and they view the only solution is to bring the world and the people living in it under their heel. To gain power and do things which hurt other people just to achieve their goals. While it could be argued that at one point Lex actually wanted to do good and help people, things have obviously changed. Having been beaten down by so many other people who had bad intentions, not the least of which was his father, he no longer sees himself as someone that wants to help others. He has embraced the worst parts of himself, though to some extent he still has good aspects to him. It makes him very dangerous.

“It's a complicated world Clark. Only the naive view it in black and white.”

Milton Fine on the other hand is a different form of terrible. There was never a point where he had redeeming qualities. He never believed in the goodness of people and their potential. Milton Fine doesn't care what he has to do or who he has to hurt. Yet it's on a whole other level than anything Lex Luthor experiences. He's also different from anyone Clark has ever dealt with as well. There's no redemption possible for Milton Fine, in large part because he's a living computer, but also because of what he's programmed to think and believe about the world.

“The real test of a hero is knowing when the greater good will be served by an evil act.”

Of course, dealing with people like that means doing everything you can to keep yourself and the people around you safe. Especially if you're going to go around trying to stop those with power and the willingness to use it. Giving them any kind of power over you might allow them to stop you. It only makes sense to try and keep as many secrets as possible from someone like that. The problem though is that lies have their own consequences. To some extent, people are willing to forgive the keeping of secrets from others. But more often that not, when people realize that you've been keeping secrets and you refuse to tell them what it is, things don't go very well. It usually depends on how big of a secret they're ultimately trying to keep from you and how long it's been that you've kept it.

“The lessons that we learn from pain are the ones that make us the strongest.”

Clark is someone who has done a fair bit of lying in the past 5 seasons. Ways in which he's at the very least kept the truth from people he cares about. Always with a good reason but never without any serious consequence. Usually he finds a way out of having to tell people the truth. As things move along, those lies start to catch up to him and cause more problems than they would if he'd only just told the truth.

“We all need to believe in heroes Clark, and even the best ones are far from perfect.”

But we'll get to that when we dive into season 6.

Smallville is available on Max and Hulu in the United States and Amazon Prime.