Lana Lang and Whitney Fordman had a relationship that lasted during Lana's freshman year of high school.
Their relationship was known as Whitana by fans.[citation needed]
Season One[]
Lana and Whitney, the King and Queen of the dance
Lana and Whitney began their relationship through the typical story of the football star and the cheerleader. They dated for most of his senior year at Smallville High and when Lana started to forge a friendship with her lifelong neighbor Clark Kent, who had always been in love with her, Whitney’s became increasingly concerned as he began viewing Clark as a potential rival for the affections of Lana.
Lana continued dating Whitney but their relationship weakened over time due to increasing lack of communication and Lana’s growing friendship and attraction for Clark. Whitney’s father’s became seriously ill and he didn’t tell Lana for several weeks. His intention was to protect her mentally as she had already suffered great loss with the deaths of her own parents. When he lost his scholarship to Kansas State, he also did not tell Lana and instead resorted to participating in vandalism to try to find a way out of his mild depression. Although Lana was disturbed by the lies, she gave him support and understanding.
Whitney sees a "new" Lana
As time passed, Lana’s attraction to Clark grew, at which point she realized her relationship with Whitney was not what she wanted and slowly began to distance herself from him. Lana kept her true feelings for Whitney a secret until she was exposed to the Nicodemus flower. Under the influence of the flower, her inhibitions were diminished and she broke up with him. After she recovered from the exposure to the flower, she reconciled with Whitney due to a feeling of moral obligation since he was facing so much in his life at that time.
Lana realized that staying with Whitney was not fair to him and planned to break up with him. As she proceeded to break up with Whitney, he had a look of intense sadness on his face. Before she could get the words out, she asked what was wrong. He informed her that his father passed away. Lana attended the funeral by Whitney's side, but she seemed clearly emotionally conflicted throughout the scene as Clark was also in attendance.
Lana and Whitney in their last moments
Lana helped Whitney through the hard times that he had to live and Whitney’s sensitivity seemed to at least temporarily relight the old spark of feelings in Lana from earlier in their relationship. At a picnic Whitney had planned for the two of them, he thanked Lana for staying by his side through this difficult year, but also quickly informed her that he had enlisted in the Marine Corps. He couldn’t attend the spring formal as he was scheduled to be shipped out to basic training the same day as the dance. He asked Lana if she would wait for him. She appeared stunned and didn’t give him an answer. At the spring formal, before Lana drove Whitney to the bus station, Whitney asked to speak to Clark alone. He made amends for any confusion between them and explained that Lana was not sure how she felt about their relationship. Whitney stated that he was very sure, and asked Clark to look after her. Clark was visibly taken aback, not keen to comply with this request. However, he agreed reluctantly before Whitney left to get in his truck with Lana. As they arrived at the bus station, Lana gave Whitney her meteorite necklace for luck. She leaped out of the car at the last moment as Whitney glanced back at her in the truck, and they shared a finally kiss. Whitney told her that he loved her the first moment he saw her, and that he would love her when he saw her again.
Season Two[]
Lana remained in contact with Whitney through video letters, but more and more she realized that they could not continue the relationship this way. She admitted to Clark that she was going to tell Whitney the truth, breaking up with Whitney through a video letter.
Lana is happy to see "Whitney" again
Months later, Lana admitted that she was scared because Whitney had been missing for over a month and the military sent back his personal effects, including her meteorite necklace. She was surprised when Whitney returned to Smallville, saying that he came back only for her. Lana realized he never got the video she made and Whitney also explain that some of his memories were completely gone. Lana did not tell him what the video letter said. Whitney proposed to Lana and she was overwhelmed and finally confessed that she broke up with Whitney while he was gone. Lana was shocked to learn that it was not the real Whitney but rather was Tina Greer posing as him. She was later devastated by the news that Whitney had died in action.
Notes[]
- Whitney was Lana's first known boyfriend.
- Whitney was Lana's first of two boyfriends to die in the series. The second was Jason Teague.
Lana Lang in Smallville
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