I forgot something

[hils]

The moment Clex changed for me was Asylum, or when the episode ended anyway. I don't think I've found a storyline as raw and emotionally painful as Shattered and Asylum. I was in tears for hours after the episodes ended and to me that's when it all changed. The hug between Clark and Lex at the end of Asylum was like the closing of a chapter for me, ready to move into a new state of relationship between Clark and Lex

I don't know what it was but to me things after that were different between them. Maybe because the ordeal had aged them both. Lex endured weeks of what was essentially torture at the hands of his father, only to have the whole thing literally burned out of his brain. Clark is swamped by the guilt of not only leaving Lex to be taken away to Belle Reve in the first place but also failing to rescue him in time

Gone is the sweet, innocent and almost childish relationship that the boys had in the early seasons and it's replaced with something gritty and more raw. Lex goes to work for his father (I think, my memory is a bit shakey here) and begins his journey into supervillainry. Clark finds out about the investigation and his guilt turns to anger and thus begins the rift

That's how I see it anyway