We were getting actual dialogue about character, interestingly written, that seemed to imply two smart characters locked in a political chess match. It set up the potential for wonderful conflict throughout.

Then, of course, that storyline gets blown up (tee hee), and we realize that literally all of that was pointless and could've been cut with zero impact on the "story." And Luthor's character changes from scene to scene and certainly doesn't behave intelligently.

But hey! Good scene tho!