BkWurm1 September 11, 2014 Share September 11, 2014 (edited) Oh, season eight. You hurt me more than I can explain. You made me fall in love with Davis Bloome and worse yet, made me believe you understood that he wasn’t a mindless killer. I thought you crafted a complicated and thought provoking storyline and character but you were so set on being clever you didn’t even realize what you had. This was a season of constant potential never realized sprinkled with an abundance of WTH? Starting with Lois dressed as a French maid breaking in the Luthor Manor (Why in the hell did she think a French maid’s outfit would make her blend in?) Tess Mercer catches her but somehow in the course of a few months Lois went from never being seen in print in the DP to being too important to fire or kill. Later she dresses up in black pleather and fakes a story so she can get back on the front page. (There’s the Lois I know!) Chloe is infected with a mind controlling alien computer and is seen acting out of character (even Jimmy doesn’t understand why she married him) Clark first ignores the problem but then goes against her wishes and gives her the gift of a lobotomy which oops, actually lets Brainiac completely take over AND infect the fortress. Lana’s return should have FINALLY ended Clana. but instead it is encased it in amber, forever preserving their tragic, undying love. Not-Lex is too embarrassing to think about. Jimmy is a pill popping, Facebook bashing, petty thief…but he shakes that off in the space of an episode (along with his name) and dies protecting Chloe from the 100% evil Davis (RETCONNNN!!!) Tess is Lex’s voyeuristic eyes and ears turned nut job zealot. And Oliver’s ex. Oliver gets revenge on Lionel for killing his parents by “killing” Lex. How can we blame him? He was trapped on an Island and there were mosquitoes!. Once Chloe carries out Clark’s plan to split Davis from his monster, Clark for some completely unknown reason blames Chloe for everything (even though he’s said she had been right in stopping him from sending Davis to the phantom zone), renounces all of his humanity (even though Davis was never human) and abandons his best friend when she’s at her lowest and has absolutely lost everyone. What a hero! I’m not going to spend much time talking about the bone deep disappointment that was the season long built up epic fight to end all fights between Clark and Doomsday. You know the one that Clark never could explain how it ended. As it is, I’m pretty sure I just spent more time talking about it than it took to play out on screen. I conclude with one final observation. The sum of these parts cannot do justice to the spectacular suckitude of that final episode. It retroactively obliterated not just season eight, but IMO eight seasons of Smallville. Edited September 11, 2014 by BkWurm1 3 Link to comment
pootlus September 12, 2014 Share September 12, 2014 I've never been given a more solid feeling of "We just plain ran out of fucking money" than the cop-out non-fight between Clark and Doomsday. Season eight - FINALLY Clana is over, except it's only over because they can't be together - not that they grew apart like every single other incarnation of Superman ever. Never really got that fond of Davis - would have liked it a whole lot more if he'd cropped up the previous year, but I was binge-watching so that might have had something to do with it. Lost all sympathy for him when he started covering up killing people and frankly just wanted to knock some sense into Chloe, whom I normally like. Clark was a sanctimonious dick (I mean when is he not?) but he did kind of have a point. Then he changed his mind, of course. Immortal god's prerogative. This is definitely the season where I just started trying to spot all the different ways that Y-shaped street set got used again, and again, and again. Link to comment
Bitterswete September 12, 2014 Share September 12, 2014 (edited) Lost all sympathy for him when he started covering up killing people When this topic comes up, I always wonder what people expected Davis to do instead. I mean, he tried to kill himself so he wouldn't be a danger to anyone else, but that didn't work. He knew he was going to Doom out and kill people no matter what. And he only had two options really. Try to fight the urge to kill, totally lose control, on go on bloody killing sprees in which he killed dozens of innocent people, or satisfy his urge to kill by targeting people he considered bad. As for hiding bodies, what else was he supposed to do? Leave them exposed so someone could figure out he was the killer, at which point the police would try to arrest him, and he'd Doom out and kill them all in a bloody massacre? Strange as it sounds, what I liked about the storyline was seeing someone try to deal when all of his options pretty much sucked. just wanted to knock some sense into Chloe, My thoughts are pretty much the same when it comes to Chloe. I've seen a lot of disapproval when it comes to what she did in season 8, but I've never seen really satisfactory answers about what she was supposed to do instead. To me, Chloe was doing the best she could in a situation where all of the options sucked, pretty much like Davis was. There were things she could've done that might have seemed more "acceptable" to some, but the actual consequences would've been disastrous. Edited September 12, 2014 by Bitterswete 4 Link to comment
BkWurm1 September 16, 2014 Author Share September 16, 2014 When this topic comes up, I always wonder what people expected Davis to do instead. Yes this. I feel like a lot of viewers just brushed passed the fact that Davis had no way out. If was only after Davis thought he'd found a way to control Doomsday (being around Chloe) that he resisted sacrificing himself in the phantom zone and is that really so hard to understand? Davis had done bad things but they were the least bad and it could be argued that he was not acting of HIS own free will but forced by the real evil. Here he thinks he's found a solution, going away with Chloe, and he wanted that life. He wanted life. As for Chloe. The only place I feel where Chloe went astray was in keeping Clark in the loop. Even while she was "protecting" Davis, she should kept Clark in the know because frankly, Davis was dangerous, but even that I understood. Clark himself really made it impossible for Chloe to tell him. It was a problem that Clark brought on himself. He'd been systematically pulling back from Chloe since he returned. He was pushing her away in an attempt to stand on his own since he would have to pull back once she and Jimmy were married, but he even in that he was going about it in the worst possible way. He didn't just try to do things on his own, but he shut her out even when stuff directly involved her. Add to that his willful refusal to deal with her Brainiac infection. I mean, really the last thing that Clark should have been doing while Chloe was under that influence of Brainiac is pull back from her. But he did. He really did his best to undermine Chloe's trust in him. He over and over ignored her feelings and advice. (well that was going on a lot in season seven too but mostly cause he couldn't get his head out of Lana's ass) In the end she didn't tell him about Davis hiding in her basement because she knew he would do something reckless and life threatening and she was right. The last time he'd messed with the Phantom Zone, he'd unleashed a year's worth of monsters plus Bizarro which actually brought back Brainiac and ended up setting Davis and Doomsday and the whole future Zod problem. Until all options were exhausted, Clark had no right to risk exposing the world to the Zone again. Of course that's a side point to Chloe rushing in to both stop Clark from risking himself and to stop Clark from condemning Davis to Kryptonian Hell. She says that Clark would never have been able to live with himself and eventually Clark agreed though he only told that to the fake Chloe, but still, we know he agreed with her so how then can anyone condemn her for intervening? Link to comment
pootlus September 22, 2014 Share September 22, 2014 I wasn't aware that I had to have an alternate strategy for Davis and Chloe to be irritated/not be sympathetic to them, and I don't like the season enough to marathon through it again to come up with one. It's not unique to them - Smallville excels at not making any of its characters particularly sympathetic - I'm here for the odd moments of snark and the superhero moments. Link to comment
Bitterswete September 23, 2014 Share September 23, 2014 I wasn't aware that I had to have an alternate strategy for Davis and Chloe to be irritated/not be sympathetic to them, and I don't like the season enough to marathon through it again to come up with one. Wasn't saying you had to. Your comments just made me remember some thoughts and discussions I had during the season. Someone would criticize something Chloe or Davis did, but couldn't really come up with what they should've done instead. And, like I said, I kind of liked the fact that both characters usually had nothing but bad options, and were left to try to pick the one that was the least bad. As for not sympathizing with either character, that's a subjective thing. There have been plenty of character that I knew, intellectually, I was supposed to be sympathizing with but didn't for whatever reason. So I wasn't trying to tell anybody else how to feel, just explaining why I saw things differently. 1 Link to comment
DigitalCount January 22, 2015 Share January 22, 2015 One of the biggest problems I had this season in particular was how fast and loose they played with terminology and consistency. Things like calling Davis a human or a Kryptonian when he wasn't really either bugged, but more so when they affected the story. Clark lost his faith in humanity because of Davis? How did that work? I won't get into the rushed and shoddy resolution where Davis is suddenly evil, but using black kryptonite to split him had some serious boundaries that weren't respected. Both times it was used, it broke the person in question into an amoral, selfish and violent form and a moral, caring form. Neither side had any other traits that didn't get shared. Yet somehow, it split Davis into Doomsday, the powerful killing machine, and Davis, the depowered... killing machine? Not two Davises, both with powers but opposing moral viewpoints? So, Lana becomes a green lightning bug and can't be around Clark. But then it wasn't a good idea for her to fight Davis? I get that this is an actress limitation, but she really could have helped. Although it would be dumb for Clark to endanger her when he could have just sent Doomsday to the future. I never understood why that option was off the table anyway. Other than Clark's pride, of course. 2 Link to comment
BkWurm1 January 23, 2015 Author Share January 23, 2015 So, Lana becomes a green lightning bug and can't be around Clark. But then it wasn't a good idea for her to fight Davis? I get that this is an actress limitation, but she really could have helped. I think I know what you meant to say. Davis did get that immunity to kryptonite so Lana couldn't have helped but the very next season we had oodles of Kryptonians, yeah, she would have been VERY helpful that day. That they never even brought her up was as glaring as her not being there. he could have just sent Doomsday to the future. I never understood why that option was off the table anyway. Other than Clark's pride, of course. It really did feel like a pride thing. I mean, they had the entire future league waiting for him to show up vs just Clark. We even know that Kara would have been waiting to help. They were soooo much more prepared for him than Clark. The fallout from Doomsday made no sense. Not only did the Black K thing not follow the rules but he was never human, so how can Davis going bad rob Clark of his humanity? I can't let myself think on it too long or I get ragey. 3 Link to comment
DigitalCount January 23, 2015 Share January 23, 2015 In my head, poor Clark is still in that hole under the rubble. "How did you survive?" "I don't know" somehow still has the power to tick me off something fierce. 1 Link to comment
BkWurm1 January 23, 2015 Author Share January 23, 2015 In my head, poor Clark is still in that hole under the rubble. "How did you survive?" "I don't know" somehow still has the power to tick me off something fierce. So, so, much!! That's part of my rage problem. It really boggles my mind that they NEVER explained it. They just barreled ahead with all their changes and retcons, pretending like the audience wouldn't notice. I noticed!!! :[ 3 Link to comment
BkWurm1 August 24, 2015 Author Share August 24, 2015 I am so ready to start rating again. But I'll be patient until our poor blissful in their ignorance new viewers have viewed the season. 2 Link to comment
DigitalCount August 26, 2015 Share August 26, 2015 There's so much to screech about, but hopefully this isn't too spoilery. The ending to Toxic was one of the funniest things on earth. "There were MOSQUITOS EATING ME ALIVE!" Why would anyone think that line was a good idea? My sister and I nearly died laughing, and I'm pretty sure that was the last episode she watched. 1 Link to comment
farrah August 30, 2015 Share August 30, 2015 (edited) I am terribly conflicted about this season!! There are SO many parts that I absolutely loved while there were other parts that I hated the way the way I've hated NOTHING else up till now. But first, let me admit. I missed Lex. SO much. :( The Lex this season? Yeah, right. If it's not Michael Rosenbaum, I 'aint buyin'. They killed Jimmy?! I'm just in shock. I really am. Why?! Ok, I never liked the character all that much and I hated him and Chloe together but now all I can remember is stuff I liked about him. Go figure! Like his figuring out Clark's identity, and everytime he tried to scoop out a story with Lois. And that was such an awful way to die. Can't believe I'm saying it but poor Jimmy. Clark. Lana. OMG. Someone please tell me this is IT?! I've never hated Lana nor Clark or Lana together. The contrary in fact. Sure I've had big problems with the way their relationship was sometimes just never ending yo-yo and the way Lana was written at times but this. This feeling in season 8 was just new. I have to say hate because I never want to see Lana again. Ever. All those five (ok not five, I only hated Power and Requiem, but it was big hate) episodes did was make me hate Lana, hate Clark a little but too actually for being such a dumbass and the hate the writers for thinking this storyline was in any way a good idea. They resurrected Lex for this? They had Clark completely ditch his brains and not question Lana at all on her taking the super suit. And they turned Lana into a borderline, powers obsessed psycho. And then the ending?! They are not the forever love in comics or any other incarnation so what was that crap? I especially hated them saying I love you as their parting words. So basically leaving neither fit to have any other kind of relationship. Just awful. I have no idea what they're doing with Oliver. He's the same guy who selflessly like a true friend rescues Clark in Odyssey and helps him out and takes his advice in Identity, and sweetly lends an ear to Lois in Bride who also KILLS 'Lex' and shoots Clark in the back and basically constantly berates him for having an ego. Seriously, am I just not following something here? This season also made my Clark-Chloe love a little dented and I HATE that. While there was still a TON to love about them this season, I really didn't like that whole stretch of Beast, Injustice and Doomsday. Because I just got this really weird vibe. I don't know, like I feel that Chloe took some definite missteps in the Davis debacle and it was this shady kind of stuff while I think we were supposed to hate Clark for walking away at the end, but I didn't. I couldn't! Because I couldn't shake that feeling when I heard Chloe tell Jimmy in the finale that only reason she ever was with Davis was to protect Clark. Or when she told Clark that too, for that matter. Because Chloe had real feelings for Davis. She had a sexy dream about him, she was gazing upon looking up at the starry sky with him. She liked that he needed her. She always took his side against Jimmy's. Which is another thing that bothered me. God help me I hated her relationship with Jimmy but if you married him, then he ought to be the guy. No-one else. She tasered Jimmy and then went to soothe Davis. I really couldn't understand Chloe as she was written here. Up till Eternal, I could see Davis agreeing willingly to go with any plan but once Chloe started aiding and abetting him, it's like the beast side became more confident and unwilling to be reined in. I can't believe that they had Bart and Dinah and Oliver stand over Clark like that in the finale. Were they trying to make me hate them?? The character of Davis ultimately went no where. Sad. Lost potential. I thought Doomsday was supposed to be a big deal. So, wow. Had to get all that out of the way. It sounds like I hated everything but there was so much to love too. Like, ironically, despite my issues with Chloe in those stretch of episodes with regards to Davis, boy did they have some smokin' hot chemistry! It was all twinkly one moment, sexy next minute. Amazing. And up until Eternal, I actually thought they were written really well. I even understood her siding with Davis over Jimmy if it meant showing how wrong her and Jimmy were, although I'll admit that never in a million years did I think I'd be siding with Jimmy over Chloe, but that's another matter. But they hit gold, chemistry wise with Chloe and Davis. I also loved so much Chloe's watchtower status. How kickass that she gets to do what she does. She was truly meant to do this, you can so tell how she's in her element. I hated seeing everything fall to pieces at the end. All the Clark and Chloe scenes up until Beast were just so wonderful, just *love* Allison Mack as Brainiac was chilling! What a great season for her in terms of acting. She really got to do it all. I've never been more impressed. Clark was simply magnificent this season. Barring Power and Requiem! And I can't say enough good things about Tom Welling. He was born to play this role. He's earnest, kind, yet confident and heroic. I was so happy to see him at the Daily Planet and saving lives and being there for his friends. Even when not everyone was always there for him this season. I was really happy with Lois this season. Not since her first four episodes in season 4 did I like her so much. I was saying in my last season thoughts that it seemed like Lois was in love or on her way in love with Clark and I was right. I don't think he feels that way about her but he's definitely drawn to her more than he probably realizes. I thought all their scenes were lovely, be it comedy, dramatic or the romantic ones. You could tell that everything episode 1 onwards was this wonderful build up to the climax in Bride, when everything changed forever. I could understand Lois putting her walls up a bit later in Infamous and Hex. She still loves him but doesn't want to deal with his mixed signals and she's got the Red-blue-blur fascination too now. Tess Mercer is a great addition to the show! At first I thought, huh, female Lex replacement, I shall neverrr like you! But she really grew on me and has such terrific chemistry with all the cast members. She's completely insane but in such a fun way. I'm really looking forward to more of her in season 9. I really liked that there were more Chloe and Lois scenes this season. These two are very believable as loving cousins. Episodes I loved? So many. Odyssey, Plastique, Instinct, Committed, Prey, Identity, Bloodline, Abyss, Bride, Legion and Hex. I hated Power, Requeim, Doomsday and parts of Beast. I was pretty indifferent about Toxic, Eternal and Injustice. I liked Bulletproof, Infamous, Turbulence and Stiletto but not love. On to season 9. Two more to go! Editing to add, is it just me or did I notice some really great chemistry between Chloe and Oliver! Now that's something I wouldn't mind seeing.... Edited August 30, 2015 by farrah Link to comment
Bitterswete August 30, 2015 Share August 30, 2015 (edited) This season also made my Clark-Chloe love a little dented and I HATE that. While there was still a TON to love about them this season, I really didn't like that whole stretch of Beast, Injustice and Doomsday. Because I just got this really weird vibe. I don't know, like I feel that Chloe took some definite missteps in the Davis debacle and it was this shady kind of stuff while I think we were supposed to hate Clark for walking away at the end, but I didn't. I couldn't! And I absolutely loathed Clark in that scene. To me, it wasn't even about whatever had gone on between him and Chloe that season. There are just compassionate, kind, decent ways to act towards other people, especially when they're going through something like Chloe was going through. And Clark (who the show like to tell me was so kind and compassion) acted like a complete and total jackass. And I might have bought it if they'd actually set it up well. Some of my favorite TV moments have been characters doing pretty awful things, but I got it because the writing really planted the seeds for them to act that way. But the reasons Clark supposedly had for acting the way he did were so weak and selfish, all I could think was, "Man, what an asswipe." She always took his side against Jimmy's. Which is another thing that bothered me. God help me I hated her relationship with Jimmy but if you married him, then he ought to be the guy. No-one else. She tasered Jimmy and then went to soothe Davis. I really couldn't understand Chloe as she was written here. And I had no problem with how Chloe was acting there. At the time, Chloe knew that Jimmy was suffering from PTSD and abusing drugs that were known to mess with peoples' heads. Then she sees him about to attack someone who was (as far as she knew) totally innocent. And she was supposed to stand there and watch it happen? No way. It's one thing to be supportive. It's another to stand by and watch a loved one (who you have reason to believe is off their rocker at the time) hurt someone and just hope they have a good reason. Then, later, I didn't see Chloe "siding" with Davis. She didn't believe what Jimmy was saying about Davis, but that because Jimmy was acting like a ranting loon at the time. (And, of course, Davis was "framing" him, but she didn't know that.) I guess I have no trouble looking at things from Chloe's point of view, and remembering that I, as a viewer, knew things she didn't. Given what she knew, I think her actions made sense under the circumstances. Edited August 30, 2015 by Bitterswete 2 Link to comment
farrah August 31, 2015 Share August 31, 2015 I see things from Chloe's perspective too. Also Clark's. I love them together as individuals and together but I've been saying since season 3 that I think a good part of what makes them so wonderful as individuals even is that bond they share together. I don't mind their ups and downs this season, it can happen in a situation where there is this level of intense closeness. They are more than just friends, they are each other's closes family, I think. Still, as a viewer, and as a total new viewer who never watched anything before, since I love their friendship so much, I was just uncomfortable because I felt the show was forcing me to pick a side in their comflict, where I've never felt that before. And I hated that simply because I love them both so much. I can see what you're saying about Clark in that scene, but I felt nothing but sympathy. He had just been betrayed in the worst way by Oliver, Bart and Dinah. He couldn't find Lois anywhere. And Jimmy's death was the culmination of everything that went wrong with Davis. I could totally see him being broken the way he was. He's always there for Chloe, as sje is for him, but his actions made sense to me. My problem with Chloe in the Davis this was a bit of, I suppose she had such strong feelings towards Davis, I wish she was more honest about that and admit it to Clark. After all, if Clark is dumb enough to have feelings for superpowered Lana then he can surely sympathize with Chloe. But she never acknowledged that. Even right up to the end in assuring Jimmy that she was only ever with Davis to protect Clark. It felt false to me because I thought, wait, then what about the sexy dream and the glances and the star gazing. And the problem also was that I loved her for stopping Clark from sending Davis to the Phantom Zone because she knows him so well and she knows that he would feel guilty about it. Because no-one knows Clark like she does. So I guess I was just taken aback when knowing how well he tends to take heaps of guilt on him, she told him that everuthing she did right or wrong including condemning herself to a life with Davis on the run was for Clark. I just thought she would get how that would make Clark feel ten times more guilty than the Phantom Zone even because here he actually truly loves the person involved, Chloe. I saw the Jimmy thing differently not because I wanted Chloe to take his side or be with him. I've been hoping for the end of this relationship since it began. And in a weird way I was really enjoying the Chloe and Davis chemistry even though I knew it was going to end badly. But if she married Jimmy, then he should have been the one she believes, she is with, feels romantic towards, and all that. It just made Chloe seem, almost a bit Lana like, when she was with Whitney and had feelings for Clark or when she was with Adam, and again Clark, lol. I didn't like Clark during Power and Requiem and I had problems with Chloe during Beast to Doomsday. But I still love them and am rooting for them to get back to each other. Maybe build something stronger even, after the terrible tragedy. Link to comment
BkWurm1 August 31, 2015 Author Share August 31, 2015 And I absolutely loathed Clark in that scene. To me, it wasn't even about whatever had gone on between him and Chloe that season. There are just compassionate, kind, decent ways to act towards other people, especially when they're going through something like Chloe was going through. And Clark (who the show like to tell me was so kind and compassion) acted like a complete and total jackass. The moment Chloe on her own figured out Clark's plan and split Davis from Doomsday only for Clark to act like she had done something awful "What did you do?!!" , yeah from then on the entire season just imploded. Sure, the Lana stuff was horrendous but it turned out to be so much easier to shake than my burning loathing toward Clark. Hatred is too weak a word. I'm not even sure what the show intended for me to feel. Actually I'm fairly certain they thought they were being clever and justified in Clark's actions but it made me quit the show. His treatment of Chloe is the epitome of selfish and cruel. The ONE time she ever asks for emotional support, he not only walks away, but he places the blame on her. So much for all those hollow promises of being there to talk or being her bomb squad. It's her cousin that's missing. It's the man she cared enough about to marry that she saw die trying to save her by killing the friend that she had tried to save. She's the one that had sacrificed her life in order to save Clark's. Clark even tells her imposter that she was right not to let him send Davis to to Zone. It's Oliver and Bart and Dinah that decided to undermine Clark's plan (a dumb ass non plan since it ended with him dead when he had an entire legion who had studied the problem for eons and we're ready and waiting to take him on in the future and Clark's reaction is no, it's my problem? So Clark's team tranq him and kidnap Chloe and Davis only to sit around and do nothing until Davis is awake? And let's talk Davis, the man still willing to die for all of them even when kidnapped and bound, he apparently was always a monster? Yeah I don't think so. Let's get back to Clark's plan to split Davis. Chloe figures it out. Davis is in the middle of turning into Doomsday. Why the hell shouldn't she use the blackK? Davis just confesses he no longer had any control over the beast. There was no up side to not trying to save him. But when she gets Clarks plan back on track, she gets blamed when the Kyptonian monster still exists inside of Davis. He was NEVER human so then Clark renouncing his humanity based on Davis not working out right is so wrong on so many levels. Chloe is now totally alone, everyone she loves or knows has run away because they hurt too much. But only Chloe, the one that actually is hurt the most stays and tries to rebuild. This was the moment I discovered who the real hero of the story was. Clark proved himself a coward and selfish on a level I had never imagined. The opening of season nine only makes it worse. 1 Link to comment
BkWurm1 August 31, 2015 Author Share August 31, 2015 My problem with Chloe in the Davis this was a bit of, I suppose she had such strong feelings towards Davis, I wish she was more honest about that and admit it to Clark. After all, if Clark is dumb enough to have feelings for superpowered Lana then he can surely sympathize with Chloe. But she never acknowledged that. Even right up to the end in assuring Jimmy that she was only ever with Davis to protect Clark. It felt false to me because I thought, wait, then what about the sexy dream and the glances and the star gazing. She was attracted to Davis but when she realized her relationship with him could be a threat to her relationship with Jimmy, she stopped even talking to him. I had no trouble believing that while she cared about Davis, she was not in love with him and was telling the absolute truth about why she was running. She'd already gone so far as to try to kill him. He was unstoppable. Her plan to run wasn't a good one but it was the only one on the table. The dream she can't control, the sexy glances came before she knew the truth and the stargazing was keeping Davis happy. And the problem also was that I loved her for stopping Clark from sending Davis to the Phantom Zone because she knows him so well and she knows that he would feel guilty about it. Because no-one knows Clark like she does. So I guess I was just taken aback when knowing how well he tends to take heaps of guilt on him, she told him that everuthing she did right or wrong including condemning herself to a life with Davis on the run was for Clark. I just thought she would get how that would make Clark feel ten times more guilty than the Phantom Zone even because here he actually truly loves the person involved, Chloe. Clark feeling guilty and yet being alive, that's a trade she was willing to make. Part of the reason she stopped Clark from dragging Davis in the PZ was the risk of Clark too being stuck there. She'd voiced her objection before but this was the season when Clark stopped listening to reason. He shut her out for most of the season. Actually, I can trace it back to the moment she just about begged him to give her a reason why she shouldn't marry Jimmy. After that he left her out what he was doing or planning or she would tell him something and immediately rush off or overreact. And then there is the mind rape he put her through. He steals from her the exact thing she'd said to his face she wouldn't trade for the world and he just ripped them away because he felt guilty already and decided to give her a gift. Oh my goodness I'd forgotten how much I hated him before Doomsday. I was willing to give him some slack while we waited for it all to get worked out but knowing what he stole from her only for him to turn his back and literally walk away leaving her with no one....I just ....Urggggggg!!! At least the rest had the decency to show up at the funeral. Nope, Clark not only did show, he didn't even let Chloe know he was alive until he came to tell her everything was her fault. His mother raised him better than that. Knowing what I know about season nine...yeah I am still not over it. They killed Jimmy?! I'm just in shock. I really am. Why?! Ok, I never liked the character all that much and I hated him and Chloe together but now all I can remember is stuff I liked about him. Go figure! Like his figuring out Clark's identity, and everytime he tried to scoop out a story with Lois. And that was such an awful way to die. Can't believe I'm saying it but poor Jimmy. You missed the memo. Jimmy Olsen, Superman's pal, didn't die. Only his non canon older brother Henry James Olsen died. No big deal. He wasn't even in the comics or anything. The real Jimmy Olsen made a brief cameo at his brothers funeral and Chloe gave him a camera. Oh how I hate Failsday. 1 Link to comment
Bitterswete August 31, 2015 Share August 31, 2015 (edited) I can see what you're saying about Clark in that scene, but I felt nothing but sympathy. He had just been betrayed in the worst way by Oliver, Bart and Dinah. He couldn't find Lois anywhere. And Jimmy's death was the culmination of everything that went wrong with Davis. I could totally see him being broken the way he was. He's always there for Chloe, as sje is for him, but his actions made sense to me. If the writers wanted me to sympathize with Clark, and somehow see his treatment of Chloe (who had just watched someone she cared about get murdered in front of her) as justified, they did it wrong. Very, very wrong. Yeah, Clark had gone through some stuff. But it wasn't anywhere near what Chloe (the person he was kicking in the teeth) had gone through. So for him to be so caught up in his issues that he didn't seem to care about what his best friend (supposedly) was going through made him look like a world class jerk. Also, Clark being so broken up over Davis makes no sense. The only way it would make sense is if Clark had been the one who fought so hard for Davis, and had believed so deeply in Davis's innate goodness that what Davis ended up doing was like a deep, personal betrayal of Clark's belief in him. But that's not what happened. Clark barely knew Davis. And I sure don't buy that Clark had some deep belief in Davis's innate goodness. In fact, there was a point when Clark pretty much thought he was a lost cause. Eventually, Clark decides to try to save Davis, but it was actually pretty impersonal. It was like something he'd do for a virtual stranger (which Davis really was to him), rather than being about some deep bond they shared. So them trying to say Davis's actions could leave Clark so crushed and devastated was kind of ridiculous. And since I couldn't buy what happened with Davis could possibly be so emotionally devastating to Clark, all I saw was a jackass walking out on a friend in her time of need, and using a flimsy excuse to justify doing it. And writing this is making those feelings of loathing come back. Because I truly did despise Clark by the end of that episode. Oh my goodness I'd forgotten how much I hated him before Doomsday. Yeah, Clark had done plenty (like implying Lionel's abuse was kind of Lex's fault) to make me start disliking him. And I always wonder what the heck the writers were thinking when they had him do and say some of this stuff. (Something that continues in later seasons.) Edited August 31, 2015 by Bitterswete 3 Link to comment
BkWurm1 September 1, 2015 Author Share September 1, 2015 And writing this is making those feelings of loathing come back. Because I truly did despise Clark by the end of that episode. Oh my this. I was seething with rage all over again reading and writing the posts. I had no idea I could feel that way about a fictional character until watching that episode. The rage, it just simmered and boiled and kept percolating. I think it took me a full eight months before I could even comment about Clark without also making sure to include my need for him to undergo continual kryptonite enemas. Still another year or so before I could remember him as a character I liked without doing massive fan fix corrections and another year before I could talk about Smallville without sounding like a complete lunatic. Not really sure I've actually achieved that last goal. Link to comment
DigitalCount September 4, 2015 Share September 4, 2015 (edited) Going into the finale I actually thought they would kill off Oliver, because his conversation with Clark in Injustice is very similar to Lionel's in Traveler. I also remember when he looked bizarrely like Rosenbaum in Injustice and some of us thought he'd been replaced by Lex in Requiem. Man, this year was the year of theories. Is Ollie Lex? Is Lana a freak? Is Clark the Eradicator? Requiem, Power and Doomsday are easily my least favorite episodes that I watched out of the entire series. Watching Prey and then Doomsday is hilarious and dumb simultaneously. And I'll never forgive them for having Jimmy grow a brain just in time to make him not Jimmy and then dead. That's almost as bad as the tarnishing they did to the JLA, which is tainted and then some. Clark was mixed for me. Watching him land on the scene in Prey was so boss, or when he regained his memory in Hex (the only part I enjoyed). But his interactions with Lois and Chloe were almost criminal, and now it's my turn to rant. Farrah, if you saw something between Clark and Lois before, that's great, and I'm glad you could enjoy the season. I personally didn't buy it, since just one season prior she was still in love with Oliver and considered Clark her annoying brother. I saw a light switch for Lois in her romantic feelings. But even worse was the freaking parade of side characters who just would. not. shut. up. about this epic love between them. Maxima, Wilson, the deranged jeweler, even Chloe on occasion. And making the episode where Chloe gets married an episode about Lois panting for Clark was unbelievable. Contrast this with Promise, which was about how Lana was a saintly Mary Sue and everyone else was morally compromised. One of the best parts of Prey for me was how Lois was not in it, and the Side Character Cheerleading Squad was nowhere to be found. And then there's Stiletto. BLUR-ETTO? Really? Meanwhile, forget the woman you called the best sidekick in town, ignore her except when you need her for some techno magic, then when she loses everything, just abandon her! Am I talking about Chloe, or Bonnie Bennett on the Vampire Diaries? Season 8 is two different shows for me. One is a wacky comedy involving the Cloisana triangle that came from nowhere, and the other is a layered tale of betrayal and deception that ends in one of the worst episodes of television. Oddly enough, both elevated kick-the-Chloe to an art form. EDIT: Injustice, not Beast. Ollie uses the ring in Injustice, which is the penultimate episode, and Clark confronts him at the end of that same episode. Edited September 4, 2015 by DigitalCount 2 Link to comment
screamin September 7, 2015 Share September 7, 2015 Like, ironically, despite my issues with Chloe in those stretch of episodes with regards to Davis, boy did they have some smokin' hot chemistry! ITA. Which was why I was so pissed off with the season ending, that was so botched it drove Sam Witwer right off the show when he had pretty explicitly been supposed to play Zod the next season. All I could think of was all the weird wrong places that chemistry could have gone. 1 Link to comment
BkWurm1 September 7, 2015 Author Share September 7, 2015 ITA. Which was why I was so pissed off with the season ending, that was so botched it drove Sam Witwer right off the show when he had pretty explicitly been supposed to play Zod the next season. All I could think of was all the weird wrong places that chemistry could have gone. Season nine would have been something completely different. I will say, I was so pissed over what happened that I was very happy that Witwer refused to come back. Season nine would have been infinitely better but since my voice and my anger over what they did to Davis and characterization in general was never going to be listened to, I took a lot of solace in Witwer being able to speak for the fans. 1 Link to comment
Bitterswete September 7, 2015 Share September 7, 2015 (edited) Like, ironically, despite my issues with Chloe in those stretch of episodes with regards to Davis, boy did they have some smokin' hot chemistry! ITA. Which was why I was so pissed off with the season ending, that was so botched it drove Sam Witwer right off the show when he had pretty explicitly been supposed to play Zod the next season. All I could think of was all the weird wrong places that chemistry could have gone. I would've been interested to see how Chloe would've reacted to a Zod that looked just like Davis. (I remember hearing that she would've played a bigger part in that storyline if SW had returned for exactly that reason.) But even without the "he looks just like Davis" thing, I just wish we could've seen SW in the part. Not to put down the guy they ended up getting to play the part, but I just think SW would've been awesome as Zod. I will say, I was so pissed over what happened that I was very happy that Witwer refused to come back. Season nine would have been infinitely better but since my voice and my anger over what they did to Davis and characterization in general was never going to be listened to, I took a lot of solace in Witwer being able to speak for the fans. As sad as I am that we didn't get to see SW play Zod, I didn't blame him at all for not wanting to come back. I blamed the writing for making him not want to come back. Giving me another reason not to like that finale. Edited September 7, 2015 by Bitterswete 3 Link to comment
DigitalCount September 30, 2015 Share September 30, 2015 (edited) It's been addressed how Chloe shouldn't have had reason to believe Jimmy about Davis being a killer. What I want to touch on is that Jimmy, especially as written this season as much more capable and intelligent, should have doubted himself further. There were no reasons beyond plot that Jimmy should have assumed that THIS hallucination was real. I mean, he was given proof that he was seeing things when Chloe "died" and then walked up fine and dandy. So why didn't he relent then? Why did he leave her at the end? It's just so unbelievable that he didn't second-guess what he was seeing even when he knew he was wrong at least once. Really, Jimmy should have been kissing Chloe's feet for saving him from doing anything long-term that he'd have regretted later. If Davis wasn't Doomsday and Jimmy killed him, it would have wrecked him. If Chloe hadn't tased him, he'd have been ripped apart by Davis. Even as Jimmy was trying to hurt Davis, Davis still didn't want to hurt Jimmy. In conclusion, wtf Edited September 30, 2015 by DigitalCount 2 Link to comment
BkWurm1 October 1, 2015 Author Share October 1, 2015 And then Jimmy turned not only into an addict but a criminal and just a ass. If he loved Chloe so much and was soooo sure that she was friends with a murderous monster, why wouldn't he fight for her? Why would he abandon her? And in the meanest most public way. I hated that all the crap that Jimmy was pulling from his addiction to being Lois's shill for fake photos to stealing from a mob boss and trying to steal from Chloe (and being a whining weenie and trashing Chloe on Facebook) was ignored and magically wiped clean with one little job offer from Oliver who decided that Jimmy's paranoid drug addicted mind getting it right, pretty much out of luck and insecure jealousy, meant he was secretly smarter than them all. 4 Link to comment
Gilmorefan October 4, 2015 Share October 4, 2015 Just saw the first episode, and was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. Clark's finally at the daily planet! The justice league scenes were good. I have high hopes for this season (please please don't let me be disappointed) Link to comment
BkWurm1 October 4, 2015 Author Share October 4, 2015 (edited) I can honestly say I thought most of this season was well done. But the bad. Oh my dear and fluffy lord. I'll say no more for now. Actually you saw the first episode so I can complain about the painful awfulness of Lois in a French Maids outfit and the fact that while last season we saw exactly zero articles of Lois's even in the paper but magically over the hiatus she suddenly became the bestest and most prolific and followed reporter (while still hanging in the basement) that though Tess would prefer just to kill her, it would hurt the bottom line she doesn't dare. Did I mention that new show runners took over as of season eight? Smallville was never great at continuity, but I think the opener of season 8 and 9 too were deliberate character development adjustment resets, meaning I felt they deliberately pretended the new characterization had proper build and didn't care if everyone knew it really hadn't. Actually, they were still doing that in the early episodes of season 10 with certain characters. Made for some very frustrating watching. Some viewers were fine with the "tweaks" but for me It made them stating three different ages when Chloe's mom left ( 5 and 8 and 12.) and deaging Clark's so that he was still 17 when he married Alicia and not explaining why a bunch of 14-15 year old freshmen were driving cars in season one (driving age is 16) feel like feel petty concerns. Edited October 4, 2015 by BkWurm1 2 Link to comment
Gilmorefan October 4, 2015 Share October 4, 2015 Yeah, Lois's disguise was really stupid. I can agree that her becoming the best reporter ever was kind of random, but I'll accept it, if only because I like her. I like this Davis guy (so far, but him being on the show kind of makes Chloe look bad). I'm not sure what I think of Tess yet, but her relationship with Oliver is something I'm looking forward to learning more about. I'm glad Oliver is a main character now. It took me a while to like him, but now that I do I'm glad to see more of him. Link to comment
BkWurm1 October 4, 2015 Author Share October 4, 2015 (edited) By season eight I was fully aware of who I was watching the show for and Jimmy did not make the list. In the same way that Clark's attempt at "normal" with Lana only held him back from his potential (and was clear how much they both were only in love with the fantasy) so too was Jimmy Chloe's attempt at "normal" and it also held her back. He's the guy she is constantly telling herself is a good guy, a sweet guy, trusting and loyal and look how much he loves me, so she also tells herself she should want him and be with him and that he's earned her love by still wanting her after she's had to keep him in the dark about so much. So she ignores his constant insecurities and that he's supportive in all the wrong ways or that she can't be herself with him because it gets in the way of his ego. Not to mention that she doesn't trust him in her gut and only turns to him when she is feeling defeated, worn down and weary and then on uses their relationship to hide from her real problems. (Frankly, I think he frequently bored her but she had enough excitement and demands in her real life and he was the only guy at that point she ever seriously dated, the only one to show interest in her that didn't want to also kill her. This is the only guy she's ever slept with and despite the fact when we meet him he owns up to having taken her virginity and then never even called her back, she's so eager not to be IMO pining after Clark, that she ignores the past and dives in. ) But Chloe never behaves like she feels anything past mild amusement. Nothing comes naturally. Nothing's easy. Every expression of appressiation for him for anything big he's done come with a pause and then her deciding how she should be reacting. Her go to reaction is a variation of aww! The kind of brief platitude or reaction you give to anything cute or sweet before you turn your attention to something more interesting. Every time he does something "good" she gives him the same kind of proud look look you would give a puppy that manages to pee on the papers. Exaggerated praise. Affectionate, indulgent, but not overwhelmed with real feeling. She IMO thinks she should react in a certain way, so she does. I will swear up and down at the end of season seven when Jimmy asked her to marry him she looked sick to her stomach and was trying to figure out how to let this guy down when she got hauled away. Then she comes back from a nightmare and he is still this harmless safe thing and that's what I think she said yes to. Some security. But she still doesn't share anything real or deep about herself with him and instead of being happy and wanting to share her news, she hides it from those that are important to her and when she has the conversation with Clark, she seems to be nearly begging him to give her a reason not to marry Jimmy. I think she genuinely loves Jimmy and doesn't think there's anyone else she could be with but I don't think the love she has for Jimmy is the same as being in love with him and it's certainly proved she doesn't trust or our out her faith in him. For most of season eight I was sure that Brainiac was influencing her decision making ability in regards to Jimmy and the proposal. He definitely takes control at times. And there's a good case to be made that Brainiac needed to make Chloe more unattainable. I won't go into that now. Spoilers. :) Edited October 4, 2015 by BkWurm1 4 Link to comment
Gilmorefan October 4, 2015 Share October 4, 2015 A lot of that makes sense. I think you're right about Jimmy being something safe and secure for her, which she likes. After reading your analysis, the Chimmy relationship makes me kind of sad. Jimmy is getting stuck with someone who doesn't love him as much as she should, and Chloe is getting stuck with a guy she doesn't truly love. As a side note, I'd love to read any other theories/interpretations of pretty much any other character/relationship in Smallville that you'd be willing to write. Link to comment
BkWurm1 October 4, 2015 Author Share October 4, 2015 I watched the show with the constant belief that Chloe never stopped being in love with Clark. Its always there on her face. The longing looks, the forced cheerfulness, the lengths she's willing to go. The desire for his happiness above her own. She did stop believing anything would ever come of it and probably because she was so sure it could never be, she dismissed that epic kiss at the end of season five and thus pushed the nervous Clark away when he would have actually wanted a relationship but both were too afraid of losing what they had in their friendship to push the issue. I honestly believed Jimmy was brought in as a relationship stall in season six. They wrote Clark as jealous of Jimmy and even framed camera shots of him as the head of the triangle and Jimmy wasn't blind, he saw it too. I really think it was one of those things they changed their mind on, like the fake baby. They had to get rid of the Lexana baby if Clark and Lana were to ever get back together. There was also a scene written where Jimmy does break up with Chloe but then weirdly though the show spent weeks building up to it, they do a quick fix and gloss over the issue and move on. Yet that just made it feel like they were pushing Chloe and Clark getting together back while they swung back to give Lana and Clark their "real chance". When the show creators talked about Clark and Lana's relationship, they explained they were writing a tragedy so it makes perfect sense to me that Chloe's safe normal was also not a good thing. Chloe and Clark have a lot of parallel storylines actually which was something that kept my hope in that ship alive for a long time. I swear the show wanted to naturally move in a direction that put Chloe and Clark together but instead of embracing it, the show runners fought hard against it and yes the show kept naturally swinging back to them. Like how in seven we saw Lana happy with the fake Clark but Chloe knowing it wasn't him. And Chloe vowing not to let Lana bring down Clark accidentally. And her proclaiming her love to Jor- El and him actually listening to her. Just think of Chloe's rescue at the start of eight. The hug when they found each other. Her total break down when she couldn't save him. And yet supposedly it was Jimmy she thought of every day? Does anyone even remember Lois randomly showing up? Sadly, the only reason she was around was because of the power of her name. But it was a lot of power. Clark acknowledged when Chloe told him about her engagement that they were more than friends and on any other show stuff like that and past things like "you mean more to me than you know" and all the looks and risks taken would have ended In something sweeping and wonderful and even though by season nine I 100 percent knew they were NOT going to go there, the existing relationship already built kept popping up right to the finale and it was impossible not to judge other "real" ones as wanting. If Clark hadn't had a comic destiny he had to fulfill or if the show runners had a bit more daring and creativity, I think for sure Chloe and Clark would have been the end game relationship. As it was, the show had to fight against itself not to go there. 3 Link to comment
Gilmorefan October 4, 2015 Share October 4, 2015 Yeah, I think Chloe is definitely still in love with Clark, whether or not she actually knows. I don't think Clark has ever been in love with her, and the only times I saw him having feelings for her were at the end of season one and the first few episodes of season six. I was pretty surprised when they dropped Clark wanting Chloe and deciding that he actually loved Lana. If the show had ever explored Chlark, it should have been then. If they had done that though, I feel like Clark and Lois still would have been the endgame. What are your thoughts on Lex/Lana, Clark/Lois, and Clark and Lex's friendship? You totally don't have to write your awesome long posts on all of them, but id love to read anything you had to say about them. Sorry if I'm annoying, it's just really cool to have someone to discuss all of this with :) Link to comment
BkWurm1 October 5, 2015 Author Share October 5, 2015 (edited) Yeah, I think Chloe is definitely still in love with Clark, whether or not she actually knows. I don't think Clark has ever been in love with her, and the only times I saw him having feelings for her were at the end of season one and the first few episodes of season six. I was pretty surprised when they dropped Clark wanting Chloe and deciding that he actually loved Lana. If the show had ever explored Chlark, it should have been then.Clark had strong feelings for Chloe throughout the show. Season one transitioned from seeing her as just a friend but then between his powers almost being exposed, his father nearly not only almost dying but coming this close to killing a man to protect his secrets, and discovering a weird new uncontrollable power when saving Lana, it wasn’t surprising that Clark was ok when Chloe played the lets just be friends card. Fast forward to the end of season five. Yeah, the set up was perfect in the beginning of season six for exploring Chlark (right up until the last ten minutes of Labyrinth when instead of noticing he gave up all hope when he lost Chloe, he decided that he was still in love with Lana despite her being a stunted caricature of the perfect princess he’d imagined when he didn’t know her and she literally was trying to lure him to his death.) Still, I disagree that there weren’t other times Chloe and Clark could have happened. Season seven despite having Lana and Clark living together, half way through it I was positive that was what the show was building toward as it constantly and negatively compared Lana to Chloe. Things like who Clark would talk to vs who he chose to avoid, who spent five minutes in his presence and figured out something was wrong with him vs who spent weeks and was more in love with the fake version. There was a confrontation between Chloe and Lana where Chloe pulled the plug on her spy network and warned Lana she wouldn’t let her ruin Clark. There also was a scene when Clark was kidnapped and Chloe vowed to go to the ends of the earth for Clark vs Lana who vowed to kill for him and then Chloe actually went to the ends of the earth and vowed her love to the same artificial intelligence that had tried to kill her – and he listened to her. And a scene were Lana was in that blank coma and Clark was kneeling at her feet, overwhelmed with guilt and Chloe is there to watch from afar and cry his tears. I REALY thought that was what the season was building to. I mean, Jimmy was off doing stuff behind Chloe’s back for Lex and Lois was sleeping with Lex’s specially planted cloned brother/editor and Chloe kept warning her how doing so could ruin her career and then Lex bought the Planet and was corrupting it so when he unjustly fired Chloe, I really thought it was setting it up for some big return for next season when she gets rid of the corruption and gets her dreams back. Oh, have you ever heard of the Chlois Theory? I feel like Clark and Lois still would have been the endgame.Clark Kent falling for Lois Lane, it’s been one of my favorite romances since I was a kid. Clark Kent has to fall for Lois…but what if it turned out that the character that got the name wasn’t the Lois of the story? Back in season three Chloe suggested to her editor to print her article using a pseudonym and what was that name? Lois Lane. Within the name Chloe Sullivan are all the letters needed to spell Lois Lane. In season two she wrote a letter to Clark telling him a secret, that she was the woman of his dreams masquerading as his best friend. Just because in season four, her cousin that had zero interest in journalism showed up in the flesh, well, the theory died down for maybe Lois’s first two episodes but by the time she was kicked out of college, the theory had more believers than before Lois drove into town. She made the ultimate red herring. All Chloe needed to do was be publishing using the pseudonym of Lois Lane. And by that time, she would have put her crush on Clark behind her but the tables would have turned and then I thought we’d see Clark pining for her, having finally woke up to how awesome and amazing she was but now Chloe/Lois (Chlois) would need to be convinced why she should risk her heart again. That was my dream season eight. That didn’t happen. Did I mention we got new show runners for season eight? Not saying that Chlois would have happened if the original show runner had stuck around but I think as long as they did, it was a real possibility. They’ve admitted the idea was discussed at some point. Not having them see the show to the end means to me that anything could have happened. STILL!!! Season eight also felt like it was totally leading up to Clark having a major realization about his feelings for Chloe. Which I will go over once you are done with the season. What are your thoughts on Lex/Lana, Clark/Lois, and Clark and Lex's friendship? You totally don't have to write your awesome long posts on all of them, but id love to read anything you had to say about them. Sorry if I'm annoying, it's just really cool to have someone to discuss all of this with :)Your requests are not annoying in the least. This is my Smallville therapy. Therefore you may regret your request. That said, I don’t’ think season eight is the right time for my view on Clark and Lois’s whole relationship. Stuff happens that you don’t know about that influences my final opinion. I will say that they sold the sibling vibe between them well enough that when Lois kissed Clark while he was pretending to be the Green Arrow, it grossed me out. (Just to continue to support the possibility of Chlois being intended as endgame, originally the Green Arrow romance was supposed to belong to Chloe. It was only when suddenly they got use of Jimmy Olsen that they changed everything up) The less said about Crimson the better. I thought that in Lois’s first appearance on the show that she as the real Lois Lane had a lot of possibilities. But she stayed around and became this sham of a character. She had the attitude and swagger of Lois but no credentials to back it up and it made me despise her in those moments. I was able to find continued enjoyment between her and Chloe’s relationship and found the brother sister vibe between her and Clark amusing, but otherwise she grated. She was almost never a part of the main plot and she had no intellectual ambition. She was loud, shrill, frequently horribly ignorant, had no respect for journalistic ethics, was handed her whole career on a silver platter. Frankly if she hadn’t come with the name Lois Lane, I might have not have come to hate her but she did and I did. I had for a long time kept myself from hating her by telling myself it didn’t matter if the best known fictional reporter had never heard of Edward R Murrow or hadn’t even finished a single semester of college (I’m not even sure she graduated high school, after all, Lex pulled strings to get her into college – she didn’t complete her credits) because she was just the red herring. I reassured myself that I wasn’t crazy because they always played tinkly, goofy music when she showed up since she was the comic relief and there to be the joke. Also after the way the show took care and time to show every single big moment in Chloe’s career, I was sure that them never even bothering to show Lois accomplishing anything at the Daily Planet just supported her being there as a ruse. She had her Inquisitor front pages but every other character of personal integrity found that tabloid vile. Even the Luthors. The way they used her character supported the idea that it was ok for her to be a joke since they had the character I’d put on a pedestal covered in Chloe. But anytime my hopes faltered, Lois’s awfulness just crept in. (FYI, they stop writing her as a shrill know it all in season ten but by never explain the change in her demeanor, they just wrote her with a different personality and directed her to act differently. Too late then. ) I couldn't help comparing her to the many years of Chloe struggling to go after her dreams and how Chloe had to fight for respect and advancement and that she made big mistakes but learned from them and let them shape her in a profound way. Lois never learned or never for long. And she didn't earn her place. She literally walked in and was handed every journalistic related job She ever had. Hey do you want a job? Here take it. So I had this really big epic journey from the first season with a character that had a rich and complicated history with the main character and so much potential for more or something that popped up late in the game, was fundamentally flawed and lacked the needed time and care to explain how she got where she was going to the point where they just started skipping steps and just saying, yeah, she’s a good reporter now. Yeah, she’s suddenly seen Clark in a new light, ha, ha, a lunitic from another planet says she has feelings for Clark, It must be true! Laziest writing ever for a relationship. After spending years really believing I was watching this really clever and complex and well planned show full of parallels and clues and hints, I was very much let down to discover nope, what you see is what you get. I’d best leave Lex and Lana for another day. Edited October 5, 2015 by BkWurm1 2 Link to comment
Gilmorefan October 5, 2015 Share October 5, 2015 After thinking about it, I think you're right about season seven. They seemed to be laying out a Chloe is better for Clark storyline, but for some reason, they dropped it. It says a lot this season that the only person Chloe remembers is Clark. Is it possible that Lois got journalist jobs because of Chloe using her name? People remembered reading her column and then hired Lois because that was who had, allegedly, written them. Of course, Lois was also a talented journalist, so she kept the jobs on her own merit. I never really saw a sibling relationship between Clark and Lois, but chemistry is subjective. They've been building the relationship between them for a while, but the way it went from good friends at the end of seven to everyone commenting on their special bond in the beginning of season eight was too fast, even for a shipper like me. But that's the way almost all of the relationships in Smallville are, the one standout exception being Lex and Lana, which was developed through the first five seasons. Yeah, Lois should have had some kind of career journey. I like her, so I'm willing to gloss over it, but you're right. Seeing Chloe's journey was great, I loved the end of Thirst (?) with Chloe's narration, where she says "I had no place to go but up, up, and away". We should have seen something like that with Lois. Whenever you want to discuss Lex/Lana, I'm all ears. They were one of my favorites ships, and I'd love to hear other thoughts. Link to comment
BkWurm1 October 5, 2015 Author Share October 5, 2015 First though, what are your thoughts on what Clark has the fortress do to Chloe's memories? 1 Link to comment
Gilmorefan October 5, 2015 Share October 5, 2015 I see why he did it, but it was a violation of Chloe. She obviously didn't want any of her memories gone, but he decided to take them away anyways. He had good motives, but he crossed a line there. Link to comment
Gilmorefan October 7, 2015 Share October 7, 2015 (edited) I thought I was done with Clana :( Lana's mini arc this season sucks. This is honestly one of the worst storylines Smallville has done. Edited October 8, 2015 by Gilmorefan 2 Link to comment
BkWurm1 October 8, 2015 Author Share October 8, 2015 I thought I was done with Clana :( Lana's mini arc this season sucks. This is honestly one of the worst storylines Smallville has done. I should not laugh at your pain but as I just posted over in season seven, misery is pathetically grateful for the company. The Clana. It can never die. Now I can explain another reason why I never was able to really get behind the Clois relationship. (And there are more to come) Whenever you want to discuss Lex/Lana, I'm all ears. They were one of my favorites ships, and I'd love to hear other thoughts. I don't think I was a fan of the idea of Lex and Lana initially but I was pretty much rooting for them by the end of season five. Full disclosure, part of that was due to the way the finale in five seemed to pit Lex and Lana vs Clark and Chloe and I could only have one with the other so I was fully supportive of anything that moved Clark away from Lana. Retroactively rewatching a number of the earlier episodes knowing that Clana was coming made me more positive toward the Lexana. Initially they had a benign friendship. He was interested in her, I think, partly because he wanted to help his new bud out but I also think he related to her missing her parents since he also suffered the lose of his mother (in a terrible way - I am almost always a good fan fic away from letting Lex be redeemed and get a happy ending) I think Lex was one to value the people around him that weren't trying to profit from him and so I think by the end of season three, he had a genuine fondness for Lana. Nothing icky, but he was pleased with the idea of keeping her as a friend even if she moved off to Paris. In season four, he kind of stuck his nose in her business when he got all pissy that she was dating Jason, an assistant coach at school. It felt like more than just an act of a concerned adult. Retroactively, I see it as a sign that he was jealous of her relationship but a jealously that was deeply buried since I don't think he thought of her in that way at that point at all. All the stuff with the stones and the witch make their relationship very confusing but by the time Lana had killed Dr. Quinn, I don't think he saw her as a little girl anymore. I should take a step back and address the relationship from Lana's perspective. I think Lana was used to Lex being around. She was comfortable around him since apparently they had monthly meetings back when they were partners at the Talon. At some point in their relationship, Lana started turning to Lex with her problems. Maybe originally they were business related problems but eventually if Lana had something she wanted "fixed", she went to Lex whether it was learning self defense or getting rid of an unwanted tenant or deciding her roommate should be put in psychiatric lockdown. Lana would whisper her concerns and Lex would take care of her worries. (Even if Chloe did not want to be locked up in a loony bin) I honestly think there was a component of entitlement to their relationship where Lana felt Lex owed her. After all, she'd been trying to look out for Lex while he was having a mental break down when she got stomped on by that horse. (Oddly, I think she avoided Clark more than she did Lex after that.) I'm not saying she was a gold digger, no, but just that her expectations of Lex led her to turn to him more and more to make things better that allowed him to get close to her and gradually change the nature of their relationship. I'm saying that she was no victim seduced by Lex though sometimes that's the part she played like after the stones and Gertrude's death (now I remember Jane Seymour's name). All this stuff was the foundation and history to their relationship, one that had Lex treating her like an equal in many ways but also her fairy godmother. The big change in their relationship happened after his dream in Lexmas. Dream, vision, his subconscious desires - maybe all three - whatever his "dream" was, it made him see Lana in a romantic light IMO for the first time. He'd been able to imagine her that way for others but not for himself and then he couldn't stop thinking about her. Some say and even later Lex claimed that he used Lana to get to Clark but while I think that was true in season four, it wasn't true again until after Lana framed him for her murder and later returned from the dead and even then, I think he could have used her against Clark, but didn't . But I'm getting ahead of myself. In season five, Lex brought her in on the spaceship studies, first because she was an eyewitness but then later because he wanted to make his dreams come true, the ones that said someone would love him and he would have a family of his own. I really find Lex very tragic because he has a lot of good reasons for behaving in a shady manner, not sharing what he was thinking, keeping his secrets close and not trusting those around him. He's the kind of character that you can't help wonder if Clark had been a better more forgiving and open friend to him if Lex wouldn't have turned out to be the best of humanity instead of the worst. Lex loved Lana but he also was in love with the vision of his future that he saw and was trying to unnaturally force it to come true which IMO is the perfect recipe for disaster and disappointment. So there was an element of fantasy in Lex's feelings for Lana. He didn't trust their love. I think he did a good job of not forcing their relationship through early season six. And then he started hedging his bets and scheming and hiding things and no longer doing the very things that made her fall for him. He stopped being open with her. There were the clones yes but also the meteor freaks he collected. The odd thing is I think Lex could have explained what he was doing to Lana in such a way that she would have a agreed with him. Lana was not open to the plight of the meteor infected until being so was an act of defiance of Lex. Her personal opinions always far more closely aligned with Lex's (they are dangerous and should be locked up and studied) than Clark's or Chloe's (some are dangerous and should be locked up but you can't prejudge them all and those not causing problems should be left alone until they do cause problems). Had Lex not tried to manipulate things in his favor with the fake baby I think Lana would have stayed with him and stayed in love with him. The fake baby manipulations are a broad subject matter. I don't really think it was a fake pregnancy (thought that was later retconned) This post is getting very long. I need to pause but I will be back to link this whole post to relevant stuff in season eight. 3 Link to comment
Bitterswete October 9, 2015 Share October 9, 2015 (edited) The big change in their relationship happened after his dream in Lexmas. Dream, vision, his subconscious desires - maybe all three - whatever his "dream" was, it made him see Lana in a romantic light IMO for the first time. One of the Powers That Be actually said that the "Lexmas" stuff was real. That really was Lillian showing Lex what his life would actually be like if he gave up the wealth and power and decided to live a different life. Unfortunately, Lillian sucked as a guardian angel, and showed Lex something that pretty much guaranteed he'd do the opposite of what she wanted. So what we saw in that episode wasn't generated by some subconscious desire on Lex's part. Not to say those desires weren't there already to one degree or another. (Although, never being a fan of Lex/Lana, my mind doesn't want to go there.) Just that the events of the ep weren't all in Lex's head. Edited October 9, 2015 by Bitterswete 1 Link to comment
Gilmorefan October 9, 2015 Share October 9, 2015 (edited) I agree with all of that BKWurm. Lana was at her best with Lex, and on occasion he was at his best. You're so right about her agreeing with the meteor freak stuff, she was very anti-alien at first. She knew that meteor freaks had hurt her, and she wanted to get rid of them. It was only after she suspected Clark was a meteor freak that she started to "like" them. I would have loved an evil Lexana power couple. How awesome would that have been? (Although I guess the creators could never make precious Lana evil) Lana also seems to flip flop on her feelings for Lex, what they were. Some episodes she claims that she never loved him, that it was all for Clark, and other episodes she basically admits to having loved him and having been hurt that he had lied to her. The show was inconsistent on that, but I choose to believe that she did love him, but would never admit that to Clark. About Lexmas, I think that Lillian was really dumb in showing him what she did. What other conclusion was Lex supposed to draw from that? Almost done with season eight. Poor Davis. Poor Jimmy. Poor Chloe. Oddly, I kind of like Chloe and Davis together, cause Chimmy kind of imploded. I understand why they did though. Clark and Lois are being ridiculous about their feelings for each other. Why did he leave her at the coffee shop??? I like the Tess/Oliver moments, but I doubt anything will come of it. All of my ships are doomed (except Clois ;) ) Edited October 9, 2015 by Gilmorefan 2 Link to comment
GHScorpiosRule October 9, 2015 Share October 9, 2015 I think that I am the only one out there that got squicked out over Lex and Lana. She looked like such a child with him. I mean, I've mentioned how icky Lana and Whitney were--what with her being 14 to his 17 or 15 to his 18 and made me wonder when they started dating. But that's better suited for the season five and six threads instead of here, so I'll go back and write in there. Link to comment
BkWurm1 October 9, 2015 Author Share October 9, 2015 I think that I am the only one out there that got squicked out over Lex and Lana. She looked like such a child with him. I mean, I've mentioned how icky Lana and Whitney were--what with her being 14 to his 17 or 15 to his 18 and made me wonder when they started dating. But that's better suited for the season five and six threads instead of here, so I'll go back and write in there. Whitney and Lana was way worse for me than lex Lana since the gulf between 14 and 17 is Bigger than 19-20 and 28. Still a gulf in life experience but at lest physical developmental stuff is more in line. 1 Link to comment
Gilmorefan October 9, 2015 Share October 9, 2015 Was Lex really 28? I thought he was only six years older then Lana, from a line in season one where she talks about catching him skinny dipping when she was ten and he was sixteen. I might be wrong, but that's what I thought their age difference was Link to comment
Gilmorefan October 10, 2015 Share October 10, 2015 Finally finished this season. Very sad/depressing ending. Poor Jimmy. Poor Chloe. Poor Davis. The last episode was awful for all three of them, and none of them deserved what they got. I think Clark likes keeping one friend around that he can lie and be mean to. First it was Lex, then Chloe, and now Oliver. Speaking of Oliver, does anything ever come of him and Tess? I liked their scenes in Injustice. Link to comment
BkWurm1 October 10, 2015 Author Share October 10, 2015 Was Lex really 28? I thought he was only six years older then Lana, from a line in season one where she talks about catching him skinny dipping when she was ten and he was sixteen. I might be wrong, but that's what I thought their age difference was I'm sure your number is more accurate. I didn't check. 28 is the age of the main character on my current obsession. :) Link to comment
BkWurm1 October 10, 2015 Author Share October 10, 2015 (edited) Finally finished this season. Very sad/depressing ending. Poor Jimmy. Poor Chloe. Poor Davis. The last episode was awful for all three of them, and none of them deserved what they got. I think Clark likes keeping one friend around that he can lie and be mean to. First it was Lex, then Chloe, and now Oliver. Speaking of Oliver, does anything ever come of him and Tess? I liked their scenes in Injustice. Clark is making an exception and manages to be a shit friend to both Chloe and Oliver at the same time. Doomsday made me quit Smallville. Watched only Chloe's scenes on YouTube the following season until the winter hiatus after which I got lured back for the rest of the year for the Justice Society of America (including Hawkman played by Michael Shanks. I have a serious Michael Shank weakness. I also later wrote a fan fic where Hawkman smacks Clark for being such a crap friend. That eased some sting) In season ten I only watched the Chloe, Hawkman and ...well, that's a spoiler, but it was worth coming back for. It was only a couple years later that I could stomach watching the episodes I skipped (for research for fan fic fixes, lol) I have never loathed any character before or since as much as I came to loath Clark from the last ten minutes of season eight through way too much of season nine. FYI, I'm working on finishing my Lexana analysis. Its coming soon. There is more history with Oliver and Tess but no big romance. Really interesting and surprising stuff coming for Tess though. Edited October 10, 2015 by BkWurm1 1 Link to comment
BkWurm1 October 10, 2015 Author Share October 10, 2015 I would have loved an evil Lexana power couple. How awesome would that have been? (Although I guess the creators could never make precious Lana evil) Lana also seems to flip flop on her feelings for Lex, what they were. Some episodes she claims that she never loved him, that it was all for Clark, and other episodes she basically admits to having loved him and having been hurt that he had lied to her. The show was inconsistent on that, but I choose to believe that she did love him, but would never admit that to Clark. I absolutely believe that Lana loved Lex, or at least the Lex she'd built up in her head. She was good at doing that, creating the perfect guy and then eventually figuring out he had imperfections and not being able to live with the reality. Whitney, Jason, Clark (a few times), and of course Lex. I don't think she had a totally honest relationship with any of them. In the case of Lex, I think what she ended up not being honest about was herself. She liked the life she could have with Lex and as long as he gave her enough attention and treated her like an equal partner and was honest, she loved him. To deny all that was to deny those parts of herself that had responded to him. (Probably because she couldn't be the girl Clark loved if she was also the girl that had been in love with Lex) Finding out about the fake baby turned her love to hate but I think we all know that the opposite of love is not hate, but indifference so the mere fact that she remained obsessed about Lex after he'd let her go, proves to me that she had deep feelings for him. But I'm not Lana's biggest fan. (Though when she started owning up to her darker side I liked her more for her honesty) I think she's very focused on herself (she was three when she lost her parents but she never managed to let her Aunt off the hook for not being people she probably couldn't even remember) and part of that was denying the less savory aspects of her personality. I guess trying to be better than your instincts is a good thing but IMO translated as very manipulative and goal oriented, like she went after things to get them without really thinking if they would make her happy. For a long time Clark was a fantasy just out of her reach (and for him as well) and when they actually did get together, they played parts for each other and lied to themselves about it working. I don't think Lana is a bad person, I'd even say she's generally kind and thoughtful, but I don't think she's empathetic. She saves her big emotions for things that are about herself. What she's going through, her losses, her triumphs and joys. She was a crap friend to Chloe (who never tried to pretend she was perfect but was loyal to the point of misery to the ones she loved - which is also a reason I will never say she truly loved Jimmy because he never elicited the level of emotions that Lana or Clark or Lois or even Davis did) Theirs was a friendship that as far as I can tell only benefitted Lana so when there seemed to be a build up of Lex and Lana vs Clark and Chloe, it felt really earned iMO. But I'm getting off topic of Lex and Lana. I brought up Lana's lack of empathy and her low tolerance for her boyfriends when they stopped meeting her expectations because despite Lex faking the baby (so we are told) it seems unimaginable that Lana wouldn't have tried to ever talk to Lex about it. With all the weird stuff in Smallville it really wouldn't have been unheard of for some one or some outside reason being behind her "pregnancy" rather than Lex. Also, how could she never want answers as to why? I'm not letting Lex off the hook. His visions should have at least let him not worry about the first pregnancy so all the weird cloning stuff was such an over reaction but I can't help wish that Lana could have been to Lex that person that seeks to understand why he's done what he's done and then tried to see if there was anything between them they could save. Just make the effort at least to get him to tell her the truth at least rather than let Lex think she was in love with him while secretly his enemy. Maybe he would have lied to her and denied everything but maybe he would have confessed. It might have been too late to save their engagement or maybe they could have started over. It's all pie in the sky but I so wish that there had been at least one person that had extended Lex some understanding and a chance to do better, yes as the show went on it implied he was messed up from childhood but no one ever tried with Lex, even the ones that said they loved him, he was betrayed again and again. Again, I regress. With so much material to analyze it's hard not to wander off topic. So season six had Lex in love with Lana but then so distracted by his fear what they'd found together would go away that he started making sure it would last and his very attempts to make sure they stayed together is what pushed them apart. I have no idea what Lionel's plan was because he both ridicules Lex and covers up for him and makes Lana turn spy. It's one thing to get dumped, but to have a love turn into a double agent leading to framing him for her own murder...that's got to sting. In season seven Lana was with Clark but clearly he was her rebound, safety guy. She was NOT over Lex. She stalked him and probably collected his urine in water bottles. She wanted to hurt him for hurting her. Then there was Lex. He didn't have to find her to get out of jail, his lawyers took care of that (though that make Lana accessory to framing that dude for her murder) Lex went looking for her to let her know she was free and he wouldn't hurt her and she could have her life back. He even let her have the ten million she stole. Lex, even betrayed in a pretty awful way, he loved her. He was putting her happiness over his. Or he was repenting for his new goddess Kara. Honestly, it might be a bit of both. I don't think that he thought about Lana a lot after he made his peace with her or at least he pushed her into his subconscious. We saw when Clark took a stroll in Lex's brain that he does think about Lana and he does relish knowing that even if at that moment Lana and Clark were together, HE had been with Lana and that was something Clark couldn't erase. Still, he was way too busy with his other projects to spend too much time thinking about Lana. Perhaps to stop thinking about her? I do think though that part of losing Lana is what pushed forward his clone brother. He was still looking for some kind of family. We did see that Lex never really stops being invested in people he's been close to - even when he considers them an enemy. (He wanted to use his resources to ensure Lana had the best care while in that coma). Lex being able to view people on different levels simultaneously caring for them and destroying them, is what made him so fascinating. The end of season seven Lex goes down with Clark, the only one left he considered family. (Lana was AWOL and this time he wasn't looking for her). But by the time Lex and Lana and season eight intersect, it seems he's had this big plan that makes sure that Lana and Clark could never be together, bwahahahhahahaa! I don't buy it. Not REAL Lex. Now the Lex that had an ice fortress drop on his head and went nuts since he's immobile and in constant agony (I assume), well that guy might have decided to put a spy cam in his "protégé's" eye (It's even creepier than you know) and come up with the ultimate cock block between his ex wife and his ex friend. Still not convinced the dude in the van that Oliver blew up was the original Lex. Too blunt. Too inelegant a plan. I will promise you a better ending for Lex at the end of the series. Lana never returns. Even when the plot would have made a lot of sense for her to return, lol. 1 Link to comment
Gilmorefan October 11, 2015 Share October 11, 2015 I think Lex and Lana would have had a better chance together if they had just gotten out of Smallville. I still have no idea why either of them stayed there. I also thought it was weird that Lana just assumed it was Lex that faked the baby, but I think at that point she just wanted a way out to be with Clark again. Lex loved the fact that she was obsessed with him still. He saw it as some place that he had actually beaten Clark. Doesn't he say something to that effect after Lana attacks him? The whole Kara thing never made sense to me. If she and Lex had ever been together, it would have just been a rebound for him. I wasn't a fan of that storyline. Lex is definitely one of (if not the most) complex characters on Smallville. His interaction with Clark as Lex brought the fortress down was very interesting. Yeah, Lex would have some masterful manipulative plan. Better then relying on Lana being power hungry and nuts. I can't wait till Lex gets his real ending. I did like that when he died, Clark sprinkled dirt over the wreckage. That said to me that Clark never stopped caring about him, and since their friendship was one of my favorite things on the show, it was a bright spot in that very bad episode 1 Link to comment
GHScorpiosRule October 20, 2015 Share October 20, 2015 EEIAGH. Where do I start? I'll start with my favorite episode=="Legion." Yes? Yes? I mean, Garth/LIghtening Lad! Imra/Saturn Girl! And ROKK/Cosmic Boy! I loved Rokk the best and Ryan Kennedy was soooo cute! More retcon fuckery with when Chloe's mother left. In the first season, we learned it was when she was 12, but by last season and even here, it was when she was 8, which whatever. And last I checked, Mr. Sullivan was still alive so why didn't he give Chloe away? And just SHUT UP, Jimmy about wishing that Chloe would have written the words she wrote to Clark when she was 15 to you! A dude that slept with her and never called her back and never looked her up until after Zod took over Smallville for a bit, and decided Chloe was now your "woman." And I noticed, between seasons five through eight, when Clark was with Lana, then Chloe didn't have anyone; once Lana was out of the picture, then Chloe had Jimmy, and then when Jimmy got all drugged up and divorced Chloe, then Clark was developing feelings for Lois, but that got the kibosh when fucking Lana showed up again. And now we have two obsessions: Tess with Clark, and I mean, really? Show expected us me to believe that any of Clark's personal business was any fucking business of that fanatic? And then we've got Davis, who was obsessed with Chloe. It was difficult to watch. But not as difficult as Jimmy's neediness and insecurity. I did love "Abyss" and the casting of tween Chloe and Clark and their first kiss. Allison Mack really showed her acting chops in "Legion" as Braniac. She scared the bejesus out of me. Up until the last two minutes of the finale, I really enjoyed and loved the friendship of Clark and Chloe, which I knew was going to implode next season and just makes me sad and bitter. And I really, really, and I mean, really hated the dumbing down of Clark so that Lois could look smarter. First of all, sure, Clark didn't write all those articles and exposés in high school for The Torch, but he did write good artlcles; well, he did good research. Remember Chloe's line to him about it feeling great to "be Woodward to his Bernstein again"? So to have this idiot Lois, write down fucking rules for Clark to follow as if he doesn't know the first thing about journalism was an insult. Yeah, yeah, he's a college dropout, but I handwave that shit away, because he is familiar with the subject. And it continues to next season. Irks the shit out of me. The less said about "Doomsday" the better. And the retcon of who Jimmy was/wasn't. Link to comment
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