Dr. Helen Bryce, later Helen Luthor, is a supporting villainess appearing on the WB/CW television series Smallville, appearing in Seasons 2 and 3.
She was portrayed by Emmanuelle Vaugier, who also played Madison in Supernatural and Erica Raines in the CBS' Hawaii Five-0 reboot.
Biography
Early life
Helen is the daughter of Stanley Bryce, a renowned Metropolis plastic surgeon. Helen Bryce was an intern at Metropolis General Hospital when she was assigned to care for a drunken Lex Luthor. Her life over the next few years is shrouded in mystery. She claimed that her father and she stopped talking, after she refused to join his practice.
Season 2
In "Dichotic," Helen treated Jonathan Kent, who gives him a promising prognosis. She met Lex Luthor when he second-guessed her diagnosis but takes it in stride. Helen later met Lex at a court-mandated anger management class since Helen drop-kicked an orderly and Lex used a golf club to hit a meter maid's cart. Lex then asked her out on a date. At first she refused, but Lex managed to convince her.
Helen treated many of Smallville's residents, including members of the Kent family. In "Fever," when Clark Kent was exposed to Kryptonite-irradiated spores through dust and fell ill, Helen collected a blood sample and analyzed it, finding it very unusual and keeping this a secret like a true doctor, which earned Martha's trust. Martha, who had become pregnant as a result of Clark's spaceship curing her infertility, later asked Helen to be her doctor.
In "Prodigal," Helen was being stalked by her ex-boyfriend Paul Hayden, who later attacked Helen, leaving her seriously injured; this prompted a vengeful Lex to pursue Paul. Lex, however, was surprised to find the strength of will to control himself when he cornered Paul and had the opportunity to kill him for what he did to Helen; he then proposed to Helen and she accepted.
In "Exodus," Lex and Helen got married, and left Smallville for their honeymoon in the Caribbean. However, Lex later woke up to find that Helen and the pilot were gone, and the plane was about to crash into the ocean.
Season 3
Helen returned to Smallville and told Lionel Luthor that she and Lex woke up to find the pilot missing and that Lex let her escape when they found out there was only one parachute. Lionel organized a search and couldn't Lex, which prompted him to host a funeral. When Helen arrived at the ceremony, Lionel accused her of murdering Lex and he successfully uncovered her plot with help from Morgan Edge.
When Lex returned to Smallville and confronted her at the Luthor Mansion, Helen apologized for lying to everyone and revealed that she decided to save herself when she couldn't wake Lex up since Lex was drugged by the champagne that the pilot gave him. Helen sold Clark's blood to Edge only to make Lionel get out of their lives, and Lex decided to give her a second chance when Helen offered to divorce him.
On the plane, Lex revealed to Helen that, when they left Smallville, they lacked fuel to reach the island where he was rescued and discovered that the plane landed in St. Croix the night it was assumed to have vanished. Lex deduced that Helen switched the pilots and left when the plane landed.
The pilot then refueled and parachuted away before crashing the plane. Helen then pulled out a gun and revealed she couldn't kill him herself since she really did love Lex. The two of them started to fight, and the gun went off and killed the pilot. Lex rushed over to the cockpit and flew the plane while Helen escaped. Lex organized search parties, but if she survived, he didn't expect to find her before she wants to be found.
Season 10
Years later, Lois Lane asks how Lex was able to clone him and Clark explains that Lex stole a vial of his blood from Helen's office years ago and that he thought Clark's DNA would stop the accelerated mitosis and it worked.
Trivia
- Emmanuelle Vaugier confirmed that she was not informed until filming the season 3 premiere that her character was to be revealed as a villain. This was done so that her portrayal would be honest and likeable, and her villainous reveal would come as a shock to the audience.
