The writing staff wanted to touch on the fact that even though Clark has all of these powers he cannot save everyone, as well as expanding on the idea of Clark's continual feeling of isolation. "Asylum" served to remind Clark that he cannot save everyone when he fails to stop Lionel from giving Lex electric shock therapy, which ultimately erases seven weeks of Lex's memory that includes his knowledge that Lionel murdered his own parents. Like season two's "Ryan", Clark is faced with the reality that he is not "God", and that he will fail to save people from time to time.