Season Nine: Black is the New Red; aka Chokeholds are Fun!

[BkWurm1]

Season Nine:  Black is the New Red; aka Chokeholds are Fun!

Also to be subtitled:  Who the Hell are these people???

 

Yeah, there will be bitterness in this synopsis. 

 

This was my breaking point and I flat out quit Smallvile only to relapse for reasons.  I think at this point I’ve seen all the episodes but I’m not going back to check. 

 

My first draft of the season nine summary consisted of two sentences:  I can't.  I just can't.  I've expanded on that below. ;)

 

New show runners again.  More retcons.

 

Suddenly Clark was in love with Lois?  Well, there was that half second where he almost danced with her at a wedding but didn’t because a) he heard Chloe’s voice, and b) Lana showed up.  He did talk to her a couple times as the Blur but once was to get her to stop faking stories in order to get his attention and the other was so she’d print a letter to the citizens of Metropolis if he didn’t survive that fight he had with Doomsday that neither he nor the show ever bothered to explain how he did survive.  I mentioned the bitter thing already and yet at the same time, I mostly don’t give a flying fig. 

 

I learned to hate Clark in this season.  Well, the end of eight did most of the work, but nine just kept on trucking.  Not love to hate but a full on hate and despise.  I stayed away from the show until after the winter break but they lured me back with the promise of the Justice Society and specifically Michael Shanks as Hawkman.  I’d caught the Chloe bits on YouTube (and I do mean bits since they practically wrote her out the first half of the season).  

 

Even my return only happened after I purged some of the poison by writing an AU where it turned out the dude walking around for the first half of season nine (and the one that abandoned Chloe at the end of eight) wasn’t the real Clark. 

 

I’m still not convinced Clark’s behavior can be explained any other way.  When he accused Chloe of kidnapping and hurting Lois, her cousin that she loved like a sister…I just can’t. 

 

It was fan fiction research that forced me to watch most of the episodes I’d missed since I could only undo every awful thing if I first knew every awful thing.  There was sooo much awful.  I think the one where I had Hawkman  wallop Clark upside the head for ignoring Chloe’s calls helped the most to reduce the sting

. 
I think one of the things I still resent to this day is that gradually over the course of season nine Clark admits that he was wrong in everything and that Chloe was the real hero but not only was that too little too late, he also seemed to have never admitted any of that to any of the other people that they worked with. 

 

Also, how bitter am I that Waller had to be the one to point out he just left his best asset (so cold a term) completely vulnerable and on her own?  Or how about the part where Clark on RedK shoved Chloe around and eye ejaculated his name all over Watchtower?  And despite all the attempts the show did to destroy Chloe’s character, they just never could.  Smallville becomes much more watchable if I accept it as Chloe’s hero journey rather than Clarks

. 
The Chlollie was a pretty thing I played with in the shallow end of the pool, though what it really did was  make me resentful of all the wasted Chlark potential that could have been.  Plus Oliver never apologized for the blackmail thing in season 8.  Chloe was too good for all of them.  I’m sure in some universe Bruce Wayne snatched her up and never let her go. 

 

Other things of interest.  Tess welcomes Zod and the rest of the Kandorians as her future overlords.  In one timeline she assists them in destroying most of humanity but that’s ok because they were bound to be more environmentally friendly.  In the same universe, Chloe leads mankind’s best hope to survive and she makes sure Tess does not (survive). 

 

Despite knowing  the real threat of the Kandorians,  Clark is still really huffy when he finds out Chloe is stockpiling weapons.  He also brings down a huge skyscraper in a move that can only remind me of terrorists at their worst.  He also is a big fan of the chokehold. And Black.  And defacing public and personal property.     

 

Basically most of season 9 Clark is an absolute dick – except with Lois.   Maybe I should take that back, even the maple donut he got for her had already been chewed on by some stranger.  You couldn't zip down and fetch a fresh one?

 

Time has lessened my hatred of Clark, but not erased it.  I can’t even express how wrong and horrid his characterization is this season.  He’s all “only Zod and my peeps can understand me”.  “Is killing really so bad?”  “Obey me!”  “No, I don’t need anyone, oh hey Chloe?”  “Stop thinking or talking to me and just do exactly what I say and spend your entire existence looking out for me but no, we are not friends!  I like Lois now because you make me feel guilty. “

 

At least J’onn cares.

 

I know there is more but I can't.  I just can't. 

Edited September 15, 2014 by BkWurm1

[BkWurm1]

So here's a question, is it black out rage that has kept anyone from commenting on season 9 or a lack of familiarity? ;)

[wingster55]

Rage...or simply not being here after you posted it.

 

Remember Warrior? Where SV's version of Shazam appears (a small kid gets turned into an adult)?

And then Chloe tries to have sex with him. ....

[BkWurm1]

Remember Warrior? Where SV's version of Shazam appears (a small kid gets turned into an adult)?

And then Chloe tries to have sex with him. ....

 

Technically she only tried to date him. 

 

Yes after a lot of asking she agreed to let him come up to her apartment, and yes she looked more than a little surprised that he just wanted to play video games but that's not trying to have sex with him, that's just not being completely closed to the possibility if that's where the night took them.  ;P

Rage...or simply not being here after you posted it.

 

Lol, I honestly wasn't sure. There seem to be an awful lot of people who have never made it as far as season 9 (good on them)

[GHScorpiosRule]

So here's a question, is it black out rage that has kept anyone from commenting on season 9 or a lack of familiarity? ;)

 

Put me in the rage camp...no, really...busy at work...and other personal shit...but didn't someone coin for this season, back on the other board, something like Zodhug thingamajig or something, since Clark's STOOPID ASS was thinking and saying the Kandorians weren't that bad, they needed wuv and understanding and to be welcomed to Earth or some such nonsense and couldn't see that just because they were of the same race as him, they weren't as good stupid as he was or something.  And he discovered it too late...

Edited September 17, 2014 by GHScorpiosRule

[BkWurm1]

That rings a bell.  Something about Zod just needing a hug or fixing the Kandorian problem by hugging it out. 

 

It was a stupid plan (see who decided to use it) made worse by Clark constantly lying to Zod and the Kandorians.  Still, I had actual hopes for a new and original take on Zod's story once Jor-El begged him to save Zod.  Actually redeeming him would have made a far more interesting story than yep, evil, evil, evil. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

There was also a...disconnect between the Faora played by Erica Durance in Season 8, who was cold...psychotic and murderous...and the one who was the clone (because, weren't they all Clones?), who was preggers with Doomsday...and played her softer, more maternal...and it just made my head spin. Not that that was difficult to do after Season 7, but still.

[BkWurm1]

because, weren't they all Clones?),

 

Yep!

There was also a...disconnect between the Faora played by Erica Durance in Season 8, who was cold...psychotic and murderous...and the one who was the clone (because, weren't they all Clones?), who was preggers with Doomsday...and played her softer, more maternal..

 

Yeah, EDFaora couldn't have real children for some reason and thought of Davis/Doomsday as she and Zod's child but Clone Faora wasn't cold, crazy or a killer AND she did get pregnant.  If whatever happened to make Faora go off the deep end hadn't yet happened, it stood to reason that Zod too wasn't yet a lost cause.  They could have left their story line intact and just have Zod find out she was pregnant before he acts against her, have the news stagger him and since it was the loss of his son that started to unhinge him, gaining the new child could have brought him redemption.

 

My fanwank ended up being that like Jor-El said, the cloning process was only meant for healing applications, it was never meant to recreate the whole person and the risks and dangers he talked about in my mind translated into out of character actions and motives in some of the clones.

 

So maybe Faora also was a flawed clone but it worked to fix her mental instability rather than fan the flames.  I also used the flaw in the cloning process as an excuse to explain how the number of Kandorians went from thousands all over the world to just a handful on the top of a building. 

[Bitterswete]

I wonder if season 9 would've been different (and maybe better) if Sam Witwer had played Zod as originally intended. Was the storyline they were going to do with SW-as-Zod drastically different? Or would the storyline have been more or less the same, just with SW playing Zod? If nothing else, you'd think they'd have the characters dealing with the fact that Zod looked just like Davis.

Edited September 18, 2014 by Bitterswete

[wingster55]

Man..clone or not Faora was one of the bright spots of s9 I think.

[BkWurm1]

If Sam Witwer had played Zod...well for one I probably would have watched just for him. Witwer brings a great complexity to even the darkest of characters. I think more people would have been rooting for the bad guy again. I also am sure I would have wept over the final scene between Faora and Zod.

That storyline would have killed me if not for feeling pretty much nothing from the actor who did play Zod. He wasn't terrible, I just found him hard to connect to and frequently just plain hard to understand. He had that garbled swallowing of his words thing. I think I actually resorted to closed captioning a few times.

Edited September 18, 2014 by BkWurm1

[GHScorpiosRule]

The only good thing I can say about season 9...no wait, that happened in the last season...never mind.

 

But since it could apply to any and all seasons, I'll put it here as well: Tom Welling never failed to turn me into a pile of goo, whenever his Clark, would get all sweaty, hair mussed and bloody. I think it's chemical or something...because I didn't like Clark after season 7.

 

I think I mentioned this over on TWoP, and Tippi Blevins who was recapping the last couple seasons, agreed with me!

[Flyingwoman]

Oh, Season 9. I think k I watched maybe 40% of it and I still hated it. I blame it for my inability to enjoy Man of Steel - in spite of the spectacular cast and the cinematography and everything MOS had going for it, I still kept having these terrible flashbacks.

What's sad, as with so many things Smallville-related, was that the concept was solid: force Clark to deal with his difference. Force him to face life without the fantasy of "normal" with Lana. Force him to do the work of defining who he really is. In other words, everything that should have happened years before, back when MR was still around to give us Lex's perspective on the impending invasion., and they had a Kara (or keep Raya on) to give us a counter-perspective on Kryptonian culture and politics, and the show still had a semblance of a budget. In other words, I think Season 9 would have made an awesome Season 6.

As it was? I thought Checkmate was fun. That would be about it.

[pootlus]

I hated the arc for this season, and normally the standalones save it for me but they really didn't this year.  Callum Blue was hopelessly miscast as Zod (and I loved him on Dead Like Me) and the snark of Oliver was pretty much the only watchable part of the show.

 

Did not give a crap about the Kandorians either as potential allies or as antagonists.  And Clark's 'journey' of not caring about anyone was just such bullshit it's no wonder Tom Welling couldn't be bothered to sell it.

[BkWurm1]

Did not give a crap about the Kandorians either as potential allies or as antagonists.

 

They did a terrible job making anyone besides Zod stand out.  Even the ones that Clark did interact with were completely forgettable to me (proven as such since I can't remember their names or faces). It was just Zod and a bunch or red shirts. 

 

I blame it for my inability to enjoy Man of Steel

 

I was a fan before the movie ever hit the screens just because I wanted it to obliterate the memory of anything Smallville when people mentioned Superman, but yeah, I worked hard to find a way back to not hating Clark.  It's still hit or miss some days. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

I was a fan before the movie ever hit the screens just because I wanted it to obliterate the memory of anything Smallville when people mentioned Superman, but yeah, I worked hard to find a way back to not hating Clark.  It's still hit or miss some days. 

 

It's very simple. Just watch season one Clark. You know, when he was charming, sweet, endearing...could speed read, was adorkable. And he, Pete and Cloe were like the Scooby Doo gang with their investigations until the Pink pwincess just HAD to invade.

[Writing Wrongs]

I just started a re-watch of Seasons 6-10, because I kind of quit during Season 8 or so. I've been enjoying it. I'm not as invested as I was during the original run, so that makes it easier.

 

I agree with what people are saying about the Kandorian storyline. Clark frustrates the hell out of me. Every season he chooses to ignore Jor-El or Chloe or whoever and ends up screwing things up. Yeah, Chloe and Oliver had the foresight to stockpile Kryptonite, because every time you get a whiff of RedK you turn psycho, you ass. He couldn't figure out that the fact that Zod kept harping about wanting powers was a sign of him not caring about peace with humans? Ugh.

 

WTF things like him and Lois so in love all of a sudden and Martha as the Red Queen. Sigh.

[BkWurm1]

WTF things like him and Lois so in love all of a sudden and Martha as the Red Queen. Sigh.

 

Even years later with a low level of investment, the WTF comes shining through.  In some ways I'm fiercely glad they put so little effort into their "epic" romance.  I still find Ma Kent as Red Queen far more believably developed. 

[screamin]

Put me in the rage camp...no, really...busy at work...and other personal shit...but didn't someone coin for this season, back on the other board, something like Zodhug thingamajig or something, since Clark's STOOPID ASS was thinking and saying the Kandorians weren't that bad, they needed wuv and understanding and to be welcomed to Earth or some such nonsense...

 

Operation Hug Zod. I think I said it first (forgive my putting my ego in here, but it was the only phrase I ever tm'd and I'm shamefacedly proud of it).

 

If SW had played Zod this season, I think it would've gone somewhere entirely different, as I'm still halfway convinced (based on little to no evidence) that Chloe would've been pregnant by Davis Bloome and the storyline was junked when SW refused to come back.

[BkWurm1]

Operation Hug Zod.

 

It was a great phrase.  :)

 

I am so bitter that it never went anywhere.  I mean, it was a crappy storyline but it was made even crappier by never following through. 

 

I loved Witwer so I probably would have been watching but I know I would hated a pregnant Chloe storyline and yet it might have been one of those things that you just can't look away from.  I know I would have been invested since AM could sell anything.  As it is, I fall back on Apeygirl's fanfic "Restless Nights" to redo that season (and yes it includes Doomsbaby)

[Gilmorefan]

I'm liking this season so far. I just finished Pandora, and right now, imo, all of the characters are at their best.

I'm loving Oliver right now. I don't understand how he's simultaneously pining over Lois and Tess, but I like him nonetheless.

[BkWurm1]

All the characters are at their best?  Sigh.  Pandora is the one where Clark accuses Chloe of kidnapping Lois and like performing experiment or something on her.  Clark is still an absolute ass.  What in the world would EVER make him think that Chloe would EVER do anything to hurt Lois?  He threw his accusation at her like she was Lex with a history of evil projects and human testing.  

 

Chloe is the one that would have saved the world and spoiler alert, Clark never gives her proper credit and when he finds out about the weapons, again, is an absolute ass. And even though eventually he admits to her that he was wrong about how he treats her and what she's done was important and absolutely needed, he never says so to the rest of the team so even in season ten they are under the belief that Chloe somehow betrayed him with Davis even though Clark admitted in season eight that she was right to stop him from putting him in the PZ.  GRRRRR!!!!  OMG, I HATE this Clark.  I keep calling him an ass mostly because I am trying to remain a lady. 

 

As for Oliver, I think with Tess, he's pining more for the possibilities that he threw away than anything.  

 

The second half of the season is IMO much stronger.     Clark is still an ass most of the time but he starts to get better. 

Edited October 14, 2015 by BkWurm1

[Gilmorefan]

Eh, I take it back. What I meant was that I like most of the characters now, and they're better then they have been. I guess I didn't really notice Clark being a jerk to Chloe, because he usually treats his friends that way. In my opinion (which will be unpopular) the person who's character has suffered the most this season (so far! I know what Smallville usually does in the last half of seasons) is Chloe. I still like her, but I find myself getting annoyed with her or questioning the things she does.

You're probably right about Oliver and Tess. I would have liked to see them as a couple, they had chemistry in their scenes. I think Tess may still have feelings for him, but is repressing them because of what he did in the past. Which is a shame, because if she would have admitted it to him earlier when he was still pining for her and not just the possibilities, they could have been a couple. (Yeah I have no idea why I latched onto them. It's pretty weird. Lol)

ETA: I despise Zatanna.

Edited October 19, 2015 by Gilmorefan

[BkWurm1]

I'm very curious about your reactions once you get into the back half of the season. Surprising stuff happens.

[Gilmorefan]

Chloe and Ollie? Tess and Zod? What?

I've liked the past couple of episodes though. The one where Lois acted like a traditional house wife was funny. The silver banshee one was weird, but I liked the Clark and Lois plot. I even liked Warrior, just not horrible awful Zatanna.

[BkWurm1]

What I wanted to rant about was Clark bringing down the towers.  I still can't believe they had him destroy it like that.  Some said, cool awesome but all I could see was something that looked waaaaaay to much like the Twin Towers coming down.  And no one gave Clark crap about it!  Just nuts. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

Except for the premiere, "Absolute Justice" and "Warrior", Chloe is a very angry, almost militant character this season. I'm so not a fan. And I'm positive it was all done so that Lois would look better. Yeah, I'm not dropping that line/stance.  Like in "Upgrade" when Clark apologizes to Chloe, and she says something like it's "too little too late" or maybe it was in a different episode. By now, they're all blurring together.  And if it weren't for Callum Blue, chewing each word and scene he was in, I wouldn't have fast forwarded most of his scenes!

 

And yeah, Clark loses it and disappears and fights Zod, to cause him to take over because Lois disappeared and it was the WORST thing to happen to Clark and he thought he'd "lost her forever" took some MAJOR suspension of disbelief, considering "Power" from last season, when we ALL know the only thing that kept Clark and Lana apart was that she was now filled with Kryptonite.

 

Martha!!!!!! But Boo, to her not having her red hair! I remember the many speculations we all had over at TWoP, when The Red Queen was being bandied about, how it had to be Martha, heh.

 

And boo-hoo-hoo, cry me a fucking river that that murderous fanatic is all butthurt and has the sads, because Martha gave her some home truths. Though I hated her, I think Cassidy Freeman was AWESOME in this role and so very very beautiful. Not classically, but those cheekbones, that voice and her eyes. Great make-up.

 

I gotta hand it to this show, though; we had some very great strong women, even if one of them was a damsel during most of her run.

 

And I'm confused as to why Al and Miles's names don't show up as Executive Producers after they left as show runners. Other shows that I've watched, after a show runner was ousted, his name still showed up as executive producer. Maybe to tell us, they had nothing to do with them and all the hackery was due to Souders and Peterson?

 

And I just realized, it's not so much chemistry between Tom and Erica that gets me all a flutter, but the hawtness of Tom and those scenes where he's kissing Erica, well, they're hot. Hee.

[BkWurm1]

I wouldn't call Chloe militant except in the flashback (that are actually flash forwards). She was very angry in the first episode but girl had a right to be. After that though, I saw her as very even extremely guarded around Clark. He burned her badly in the friendship department and was not even pretending to listen to her warnings anymore. She had to do things on her own because Clark's version of handling her new database was to bitch at her for it but use it the whole time or at least the last minute while telling her what a horrible person she was but still insisting she helps and when finally it blew up she admits she's afraid she'll get trapped in it again, then he makes her go back to it anyway.

Even Waller was shocked at how badly he treated her and Waller is never known for fuzzy feelings.

Oh, I hated season nine. It has still has the power to make me practically tear up over the injustice

[GHScorpiosRule]

Heh. So do I. hate this season for the most part. Okay, for the majority part, for the reasons you stated. How basically, Clark is a major ARSEHOLE to Chloe, sacrifices or ignores whatever feelings he has shown up to this point for her, to put fucking LOIS in her place for these feelings. UGH.

 

Though I did love "Pandora's Box" and grinned I think at Clark's line to Ollie about how Chloe has been hurt and deserves to be happy. Not grinning at the actual words, but that Welling said it reallyfast, like he was trying to get them all out before Ollie could cut him off. At the same time, I'm yelling that CLARK has played a major role in being among one who has hurt Chloe.

 

I did love the shower scene when Chloe was possessed by the Banshee, though.

 

And was it the writers way of saying that Clark really didn't reciprocate Chloe's feelings, or that if he did, he didn't "get her" but that Ollie does?

 

Me: Whatever you assholes. I know what I saw on my screen for the first 7.99 seasons of the show.

 

So like, was Carter Hall supposed to take the place of Bats? Down to Shanks (who I LOVE) trying to do the godawful Christian Bale Batman voice for Hawkman?

 

I don't think Chloe got really angry (and I agree, she had EVERY right to do so) until the middle or end of the premiere, I think. After Clark said that Clark Kent was dead and he refused to resurrect Jimmy. But oh noooo, he goes back to his training and he's fucking distracted by Lois???!!!!! What the fuck ever show.

 

Aha! It was Ollie's line to Clark about Zod and Kandorians, with his sarcastic, what are you going to do "hug it out?" which had all of us at TWoP coin the phrase for Clark's "brilliant" plan to avoid Zod taking over the planet.

[Gilmorefan]

Finished this season. Overall, I liked it a lot. The characters were enjoyable for the most part, but Chloe wasn't at her best this season. The finales last scene was good, very dramatic.

One thing I didn't like was how rough Clark was this season. I lost count of the amount of times he like threw Tess or held her up by the neck. Poor Tess. The last four episodes she was on the verge of tears all of the time. Martha's reappearance was nice, but her and perry white? Weird.

Only one more season. I'm going to miss it :(

[BkWurm1]

One thing I didn't like was how rough Clark was this season. I lost count of the amount of times he like threw Tess or held her up by the neck. Poor Tess. The last four episodes she was on the verge of tears all of the time. Martha's reappearance was nice, but her and perry white? Weird.

 

Yup, there's a reason why this thread mentions the fun of chokeholds.   THIS Clark was no hero. 

 

You'll be fine though.  He stops being such an asshat in season 10, I mean at least as much as he can help it.  He's always been a bit of an idiot. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

Yup, there's a reason why this thread mentions the fun of chokeholds.   THIS Clark was no hero.

And I remember, for at least, the first third of the season, a lot of us were speculating that this wasn't Clark, but Eradicator.  That the Clark that turned up after his "fight" with Doomsday, wasn't Clark at all.  It would have been so much better if that had been the case.  At lest for me.

 

Sigh. And I know I've said it in other threads, but it bears repeating. Fro someone who is supposed to be the star of the show, there is hardly any interviews with Tom Welling!

 

we I don't get see or hear his thoughts about "Absolute Justice" as he directed the second part of it; or his thoughts about Zod.  Instead, I'm stuck with having to listen to Souders and Peterson blather on and on, and I'm rolling my eyes, and telling them I don't give a shit about their thoughts.

 

I did love Ollie and Carter/Hawkman's bitching and sniping at each other.

 

And now in the shallow end, Tom Welling looks really hawt when he's wet--all that "rain" and plastered down hair, with the t-shirt stuck to his body, delineating that gorgeous body.

 

[GHScorpiosRule]

Martha's reappearance was nice, but her and perry white? Weird.

This was probably done because in real life, Annette O'Toole and Michael McKean, who played Perry, are married in real life.

Edited October 25, 2015 by GHScorpiosRule

[Gilmorefan]

He's always been a bit of an idiot.

Lol, very true!

I didn't know that about Martha and Perry's actors, but that makes more sense

[GHScorpiosRule]

EGADS.

 

Here it is. I loathe Clark now. Well, the Clark I loved is gone. I mean, not a single hug between him and Chloe, after she's hurt or been hurt, like he has in the past, even when he was with Lana. It's as if even touching another female, and I mean just putting a hand on Chloe's shoulder, is now considered cheating.

 

Massive eye rolling at Clark's sudden and undying Luuuuuuurve for Lois. Even when he thought he lost Lana, someone he's been obsessed with, in love with, moping and schmooping over, he never turned away from Ollie or Chloe. So much fucking bullshit.

 

And Clark just looks so miserable. Gone is the charming and endearing smile and grin. Tom tries, he really does when he's looking into Lois's eyes, and his eyes sparkle, but it's just not the same.

 

And I fucking hate what this show turned Zatana into. She's Batman's/Bruce's teen crush. She has no business being on this show, and turning her into what they did and her putting the whammy on Clark in "Warrior" not cool.

 

And I knew the actor who played Chloe's fiancee in "Apocalypse" looked familiar! He was Stephen Swift/Warrior in..."Warrior"!

 

And there's no point in my bitching over how they dumbed Clark down when it comes to being a journalist, considering how Lois got her start, which seems to have been washed away and we, the viewers, were treated as if we're fucking stupid, and don't remember. And it wasn't her being a brilliant reporter, either. Bleah.

 

But I do love "Absolute Justice." Even though I hate that they killed off three of the JSA members, one of which I know shows up when Clark is Superman. One Kent Nelson, aka Dr. Fate. Who, by the way was awesome! But Oded Fehr will ALWAYS be Dr. Fate for me.

 

That said, I love the music to "Justice" much better. It was so much more, I don't know, better and hearing it, you knew the good guys weren't backing down and were coming for the bad guys. I wish I knew what it was called and could download it.

[DisneyBoy]

I completely hated Clark in Season Nine too.

This season seems even darker than the previous one, but it also felt less justified. The Kryptonians that showed up were given little of any substance to do and with everyone dressed in black and that bizarre alternate reality/premonition of what was to come just felt like Doomsday Redux and it was way too soon. I think after Season 8 the show needed to think about ways to make it fun again. They had quite a bit of fun getting Clark and Lois into each other's orbits at the start of Season 8. Why couldn't they continue to play out that relationship? Why make Clark mopey and more emo than ever?

And going through the trouble of setting Chloe up with a decent resolution to all of the grief she went through the previous year would have also been appreciated. But of course, it was time to prop up Lois *eyeroll*

I checked out of the show in Season 9 and I don't regret it. I think the only redeemable things were the inclusion of Hawkman, who I think looked pretty darn good considering the budget, and Amanda Waller and Checkmate. I don't remember if it made any sense that Tess was part of Checkmate, though. Could someone refresh me on that?

I have still yet to see the episode where Tess and Chloe find themselves locked in the Watchtower together. If I were to watch that episode on its own would I be able to follow any of the plot, or would it be all about the stupid Kandorians and whatever object du jour the team was trying to get?

Callum Blue was terrific on Dead Like Me, but was no Zod. I'm really glad in the end that Sam Witwer got to originate the role of Davis Bloome, which I think was much more interesting and fresh, rather than having to step into the role of Zod and make it his own. And this wasn't even Zod! It was a clone! Why would the show waste our time with a clone of Zod? Oh right, because its Smallville.

I still remember watching the season premiere and all of us commenting on TWOP about how strange Erica Durance suddenly looked. I think she was wearing a wig of some kind and an insane push-up bra just to drive home the point that she was now the leading love interest for Superman. I'm sorry... The Blur. The fact that she could even fall in love with him as The Blur speaks volumes. Gosh, just remembering all this makes me so angry...

Remember how he used his heat vision to vandalize all of Metropolis!?

I remain stunned by the whole Twin Towers move. He had HOW MANY episodes to intervene in the construction of those buildings??!

GAH!!!

Edited December 8, 2015 by DisneyBoy

[BkWurm1]

Gosh, just remembering all this makes me so angry...

 

It just starts creeping up on you, getting worse and worse as you remember one thing after the other. 

 

I don't remember if it made any sense that Tess was part of Checkmate, though. Could someone refresh me on that?

 

No, pretty sure suddenly in one episode Tess got a call and she pushed a button and a secret panel opened in her office (which she snuck out of).  Honestly though, Tess and Checkmate was low on the list of things wrong with season nine. 

 

I have still yet to see the episode where Tess and Chloe find themselves locked in the Watchtower together. If I were to watch that episode on its own would I be able to follow any of the plot, or would it be all about the stupid Kandorians and whatever object du jour the team was trying to get?

 

Yes, you should be able to.  Most of the weird Kandorian stuff was new in the episode anyway.  Watch the "previously on Smallville" and you'll be all good.  ;)

[Bitterswete]

I checked out of the show in Season 9 and I don't regret it.

 

I hadn't completely checked out, but I'd stopped expecting the show to be in any way good or satisfying. Mostly, I was just happy when they turned out a scene I could enjoy all on it's own, without worrying about whatever else was going on on the show (because most of it didn't interest me), and rarely were any of those scenes about Clark, Lois, or Clois.

 

I'm really glad in the end that Sam Witwer got to originate the role of Davis Bloome, which I think was much more interesting and fresh, rather than having to step into the role of Zod and make it his own.

 

Of course I'm glad SW got to play Davis, because he turned out to be one of my favorite characters. But I still would like to have seen him play Zod, because I think he would've been great in the part.

 

I've seen plenty of actors take on roles that have been played by other people, and manage to make those roles their own, and I think SW could've done the same thing.

 

In fact, I think Clark Kent, for example, is way more familiar to people than Zod, who I don't think most people are nearly as familiar with. But plenty of actors managed to convince me they were CK, including TW. (I never had a problem buying him as CK. He was just a CK I wanted to smack a lot. Which is more the fault of the writers than TW.)

Edited December 15, 2015 by Bitterswete

[DittyDotDot]

Awww..."Powers unite!!"

I was not expecting to see the Wonder Twins. I got a warm fuzzy nostalgia feeling for Saturday morning cartoons of my childhood there. Was a bit of a lazily written episode overall, but can't help but smile anyway.

Backtracking to the start of the season, though...should I find the new dark and gritty look and tone of the show so humorous? I don't know, that yuck green lighting they were doing in the first couple episodes just didn't do it for me--it was so severe that I thought most of the first couple episodes weren't real or something. It's gotten better now, but still isn't quite palatable for me. And, Clark is now the black leather bur rather than the farm boy red/blue blur makes me laugh really hard. Seems like the show's trying to be something they're not. Ah well, whatcha gonna do?

Interesting choice of casting with Callum Blue there, not sure it was the best choice, but interesting none-the-less. Oh, and Chloe's getting a bit creepy with her Watchtower spying, isn't she?

 

ETA: Wow, apparently Clark really, really hearts Lois. Who knew? I certainly didn't until the season opener told me so.

Edited January 24, 2016 by DittyDotDot

[BkWurm1]

And now you know why we constantly refer to season nine and ten like it's a different show. 

 

How far along are you?  Clark is such an ass this season, dressing like he's obsessed with the Matrix and eye-jaculating his symbol all over the city in what has to be the town's worst case of vandalism in years.  And then there's that icky maple donut incident.  Not exactly  "dark" but notably gross IMO.  Can't wait until you see how he deals with the Towers. 

 

Wow, apparently Clark really, really hearts Lois. Who knew? I certainly didn't until the season opener told me so

 

You're in good company.  If I recall, Tom Welling's reaction was along the lines of "When did that happen?"  Lol, seriously. 

 

Interesting choice of casting with Callum Blue there, not sure it was the best choice, but interesting none-the-less. Oh, and Chloe's getting a bit creepy with her Watchtower spying, isn't she?

 

Such a frustrating story line.  Clark doesn't hesitate to tell her she needs to get out more (I believe I'm quoting him verbatim) but he's not willing to hang or talk or be a friend anymore and yet he sure as hell never hesitates to make use of her compulsive need to watch over everyone.  It gets really bad as the season goes on.  He blatantly treats her like his employee - worse since she doesn't get paid and yet she still has his back.  Such a hypocrite this season. 

 

Tess is all over the place this season. By next season they just ignore a great deal of her previous characterization to a pretty unbelievable extent but I liked the actress and was ready to stop caring about little details like that by season ten (At least with her character). 

 

Callum Blue - I didn't hate him but he mangles so many of his words.  It's like they get stuck in in mouth. 

 

Edited January 26, 2016 by BkWurm1

[DittyDotDot]

And now you know why we constantly refer to season nine and ten like it's a different show. 

 

How far along are you?  Clark is such an ass this season, dressing like he's obsessed with the Matrix and eye-jaculating his symbol all over the city in what has to be the town's worst case of vandalism in years.  And then there's that icky maple donut incident.  Not exactly  "dark" but notably gross IMO.  Can't wait until you see how he deals with the Towers. 

 

Yeah, Clark is a bit of a glory-hound this season, which is puzzling considering how he's been so paranoid about his "secret" getting out the previous eight seasons. I also didn't really care for some of what they did with Oliver. I mean, I don't mind they broke him down a bit so they could build him back up, but it was somewhat inconsistently done, IMO. 

 

Anyhoo, I'm now up to the Justice Society of America episode...Absolute Justice? I got the feeling that episode was an attempt to do a soft restart of the show. Or were they planning a spin-off or something? This episode really feels like it's out of step with the rest of the season, somehow--although the whole season has felt out of step with the show, so I maybe it's in-step, I don't know--so, depending on what they do with it going forward, it could be brilliant or a big smash and burn. Hard to call at this point.

 

And now you know why we constantly refer to season nine and ten like it's a different show. 

Such a frustrating story line.  Clark doesn't hesitate to tell her she needs to get out more (I believe I'm quoting him verbatim) but he's not willing to hang or talk or be a friend anymore and yet he sure as hell never hesitates to make use of her compulsive need to watch over everyone.  It gets really bad as the season goes on.  He blatantly treats her like his employee - worse since she doesn't get paid and yet she still has his back.  Such a hypocrite this season.  

 

Yeah, I don't know what's Clark's deal this season. He's very self-absorbed. He's always been prone to self-righteous speeches, but he's usually backed them up with investing himself into helping solve the problem. I think part of what's going on with Chloe is she still hasn't dealt with her anger over Jimmy's death. I figure that's why she's so obsessed with watching people and keeping them safe. 

 

My biggest confusion, though, has been: where's Chloe getting all this money to run Watchtower? Is Oliver bankrolling this for her and I just missed that part?

 

You're in good company.  If I recall, Tom Welling's reaction was along the lines of "When did that happen?"  Lol, seriously. 

 

It's so weird because I know where the story is going and I've always seen an attraction between them, but I didn't think we had reached that place of Clark needing Lois so much that he couldn't let go of his former life. I was also amused by a commentary track for the Wonder Twins episode where one of the writer's said fans had been waiting for that moment Clark first kisses Lois. I don't know if fans were clamoring for this at the time, but it felt like TPTB were awaiting that moment, not-so-much the fans. It's just too bad they didn't lay the foundation for this better is all.

 

Tess is all over the place this season. By next season they just ignore a great deal of her previous characterization to a pretty unbelievable extent but I liked the actress and was ready to stop caring about little details like that by season ten (At least with her character). 

 

OMG, yes! First she's trying to save the planet by releasing the clones and all and now it's revealed she's an agent with Waller? She must have become an agent in her free time between partying-down with Ollie after escaping the island and working her way up the Luthor Corp ladder. It's pretty impressive time management on her part. ;)

 

Callum Blue - I didn't hate him but he mangles so many of his words.  It's like they get stuck in in mouth. 

 

You know, I have a soft spot in my heart for the guy after Dead Like Me, but he just doesn't seem to fit the role, in my mind. Plus, I can't shake this feeling that he's trying too hard. Unfortunately, I keep seeing Callum Blue acting like Zod rather than Zod. 

[BkWurm1]

 Absolute Justice is the episode(s) that managed to lure me back after having quit the show at the end of season eight.  At the time, I watched the Chloe parts on YouTube and read the episode recaps so I knew what was going on, sort of like stalking an ex on Facebook but then I found out that Michael Shanks was cast as Hawkman and I knew I was going to watch so over the winter hiatus I watched part of a few more episodes and then after the hiatus just started watching full time and by then Chloe was actually getting some screen time so I kept watching the rest of the season (I also wrote a season nine fix that began at the mid season break and explained away all the crap I couldn't deal with, very cathartic)

 

I enjoyed Absolute Justice probably because most of it actually felt like Smallville again.  Clark took the douche down a few notches too.  Didn't stay down yet but it helped.  Geoff Johns wrote it and I enjoyed how he treated Chloe.  Clark is still an isolated dolt but the rest of the team was finally giving her the credit she deserved (Think about it, Chloe basically is responsible for the existence of the Justice League - she put all the broken pieces back together and set up procedures and practices to organize and optimize all that they were doing)  Even J'onn was kind and appreciative around her.  Clark - still not so much. At least not yet.  He eventually figures out he's been an ass but it's really too late at that point.  (From my standpoint at least - takes Chloe a bit as well) 

OMG, yes! First she's trying to save the planet by releasing the clones and all and now it's revealed she's an agent with Waller? She must have become an agent in her free time between partying-down with Ollie after escaping the island and working her way up the Luthor Corp ladder. It's pretty impressive time management on her part. ;)

 

You've seen the episode that deals with the alternate time line so you know that the first time around she was all for the Kandorians showing up and making the humans obey because at least then they could get a handle on green house gases (insert eye roll)  So first she sells out the human race (on top of being the Lex stand in (and the Lionel "Clark is a savior" stand in) who forced the Doomsday confrontation in the first place.  But all that?  Nope, doesn't matter next season.  I still can't believe they

flipped a switch and made her a "good " guy and Chloe's replacement.

in season 10.  But like I said, I liked the actress and I just couldn't bring myself to really care at that point.  Season ten she's almost IMO a different character and I enjoyed her storyline.  So that's my advice on Tess, just go with it. 

 

My biggest confusion, though, has been: where's Chloe getting all this money to run Watchtower? Is Oliver bankrolling this for her and I just missed that part?

 

At the start of the season while Oliver was MIA for some reason Dr. Emil had control of his money and he had Chloe use it to buy all her computers and stuff so yeah, Oliver technically bankrolled it.  Later in the season there is a controversial thing involving Oliver's money again.  When it comes up, I have a viewpoint to share.  :D

 

one of the writer's said fans had been waiting for that moment Clark first kisses Lois. I don't know if fans were clamoring for this at the time, but it felt like TPTB were awaiting that moment, not-so-much the fans.

 

Well, by that time all the Lana fans had quit and a huge percentage of Chloe fans as well.   Season 9 also had two of the original four replacements for the original show runners getting to take over control and yeah, you could tell they were excited to push forward their agenda. Once they got Lois and Clark together as a couple they finally backed off their need to marginalize Chloe on the show. (They still treated the actress poorly enough in the first half of the season that she wasn't that interested in EVER returning but was able to negotiate a decent deal for herself to return the following season for a limited number of episodes - yeah, I pretty much only watched those in season ten even if since then I've caught up on just about everything. ) 

 

Season ten in some ways is a vastly superior season to 9 but you have to really stop caring about past characterization.  I was able to do that with Tess but I couldn't with Lois.  Not only did they totally start writing Lois differently in season 10, the actress majorly pulled back from her dramatics. I probably wouldn't have hated her if I'd not known what had come before in all the previous seasons.  I say this and yet they still managed to write for Lois and Clark a horribly flawed relationship and with that I'll dropped the subject until season 10, lol. 

 

Yeah, I don't know what's Clark's deal this season. He's very self-absorbed. He's always been prone to self-righteous speeches, but he's usually backed them up with investing himself into helping solve the problem. I think part of what's going on with Chloe is she still hasn't dealt with her anger over Jimmy's death. I figure that's why she's so obsessed with watching people and keeping them safe.

 

Sure, part of it was grief and anger over Jimmy's death but it seemed just as equally her reaction to having EVERYONE she knew and loved abandon her either by dying, going missing or declaring themselves "dead" or skulking away out of guilt and regret.  EVERYONE left.  Only Chloe stayed to rebuild.  She reached out and tracked everyone down.  She rehabbed Oliver.  She kept track of Clark even while he was only blurring around the city (and feeding Shelby) and yeah, she was mad when he refused to use the ring and save Jimmy (which I'm sure SHE feels guilty over him dying) but I still am furious about Clark's treatment of her. 

 

I'm fine with him saying no to Jimmy (even if we know he's a hypocrite and probably would have used the ring if it was someone HE loved - he already did it with Lana and would have done it for his Dad if he'd had the chance) but I couldn't forgive him for not even talking to Chloe anymore and blaming it all on their history and baggage.  He was such a coward for the greater part of season nine.  So incredibly self absorbed and self centered and really lacking empathy for anyone except Lois (and even she had to eat a maple donut with a bite out of it - you couldn't zip down to the bakery to get her a fresh one?)  And the hypocrisy just grated.  He complains about Chloe spying but he tags Lois and gets Chloe to do his spying for him.  He complains about her tapping phone calls but is fine when it throws Lois off his secret which he is still unwilling to tell her despite the fact that he supposedly couldn't go on without her in his world.  

 

And then when Lois is kidnapped he has the gall to accost Chloe and accuse her of not only doing it but to hurt her cousin?  What the Fuck???   For the first half of the season a lot of us sincerely believed it was going to be revealed that it wasn't really Clark running around but the Eradicator (or Smallville's version of it). 

 

If you recall, Clark could never explain how he survived after his fight with Doomsday.  A lot of us thought the REAL Clark was off healing in the fortress while the copy was out there keeping the city safe but not interacting with the humans anymore since only the real Clark cared about them.  Either that or Jor-El had taken control of Clark when he was in a weakened state and eradicated the human weaknesses that he'd always complained about. 

 

I was deeply saddened when none of those theories panned out.  Nope, it was just another season of Clark not having learned the lessons we thought he'd already learned many many times over in many many previous seasons.  Oh, Clark.  You chokeholding fool. 

 

Anyhoo, I'm now up to the Justice Society of America episode...Absolute Justice? I got the feeling that episode was an attempt to do a soft restart of the show. Or were they planning a spin-off or something? This episode really feels like it's out of step with the rest of the season, somehow--although the whole season has felt out of step with the show, so I maybe it's in-step, I don't know--so, depending on what they do with it going forward, it could be brilliant or a big smash and burn. Hard to call at this point.

 

I really liked Carter Hall in these episodes (yes I had/have a thing for the actor) so I liked it.  I don't think they were trying to reboot the show or do a spin off but they wanted to create a TV event.  Season Eight's Legion episode got good ratings and good buzz so they were trying to repeat themselves.  You are kind of right though, as the show went on, it dipped into using a lot of the other superheroes on a regular basis.  They dived head first into the comic toybox. 

 

I think it's fair to say that there are some very worthy episodes coming up.  I was equally incensed too half the time but like I said earlier, they actually let Chloe have some screen time and they stumbled onto something surprising with her and Oliver.  I still hated most of the Clark stuff - he continued to be both and idiot and an ass most of the time - but I was hating him too much that season to really care what he was doing.  I was only interested in Chloe at this point. 

 

After you watch Warrior come discuss!

[Chloe]

 

He was such a coward for the greater part of season nine.  So incredibly self absorbed and self centered and really lacking empathy for anyone except Lois (and even she had to eat a maple donut with a bite out of it - you couldn't zip down to the bakery to get her a fresh one?)  And the hypocrisy just grated

Couldn't agree with you more.

A friend is watching season 9 now for the 1st time (Absolute Justice to be precise) and says that if it was not for the action, or Chloe (or season 10 that I've prmised it's much better)  it would not be the same. 

It's a pitty that I barely remember s9, only if someone recalls me the scenes, and that's because they destroyed the relationship between Chloe and Clark,

Edited January 27, 2016 by Chloe

[DittyDotDot]

You've seen the episode that deals with the alternate time line so you know that the first time around she was all for the Kandorians showing up and making the humans obey because at least then they could get a handle on green house gases (insert eye roll) 

 

I forgot to mention how basically pointless and utterly ridiculous I found this whole episode. Sure, Clark learns about the towers and all, but did it have to be quite so nonsensical?

 

 Absolute Justice is the episode(s) that managed to lure me back after having quit the show at the end of season eight.  At the time, I watched the Chloe parts on YouTube and read the episode recaps so I knew what was going on, sort of like stalking an ex on Facebook but then I found out that Michael Shanks was cast as Hawkman and I knew I was going to watch so over the winter hiatus I watched part of a few more episodes and then after the hiatus just started watching full time and by then Chloe was actually getting some screen time so I kept watching the rest of the season (I also wrote a season nine fix that began at the mid season break and explained away all the crap I couldn't deal with, very cathartic)

 

I enjoyed Absolute Justice probably because most of it actually felt like Smallville again.  Clark took the douche down a few notches too.  Didn't stay down yet but it helped.  Geoff Johns wrote it and I enjoyed how he treated Chloe.  Clark is still an isolated dolt but the rest of the team was finally giving her the credit she deserved (Think about it, Chloe basically is responsible for the existence of the Justice League - she put all the broken pieces back together and set up procedures and practices to organize and optimize all that they were doing)  Even J'onn was kind and appreciative around her.  Clark - still not so much. At least not yet.  He eventually figures out he's been an ass but it's really too late at that point.  (From my standpoint at least - takes Chloe a bit as well) 

 

[...]

 

I really liked Carter Hall in these episodes (yes I had/have a thing for the actor) so I liked it.  I don't think they were trying to reboot the show or do a spin off but they wanted to create a TV event.  Season Eight's Legion episode got good ratings and good buzz so they were trying to repeat themselves.  You are kind of right though, as the show went on, it dipped into using a lot of the other superheroes on a regular basis.  They dived head first into the comic toybox. 

 

I really liked Absolute Justice, as well. It felt like the old show, but also expanded the show's universe a bit in such a way that felt natural.  And, yeah, it doesn't hurt that Michael Shanks was in it. When I finished watching it my first thought was: that was a season opener. They set up some new characters, showcased this beautiful new set piece and it feels like the beginning of something. I'm not sure if I'm disappointed they didn't use the opportunity or happy they didn't run something I liked into the ground. 

 

 

For the first half of the season a lot of us sincerely believed it was going to be revealed that it wasn't really Clark running around but the Eradicator (or Smallville's version of it). 

 

If you recall, Clark could never explain how he survived after his fight with Doomsday.  A lot of us thought the REAL Clark was off healing in the fortress while the copy was out there keeping the city safe but not interacting with the humans anymore since only the real Clark cared about them.  Either that or Jor-El had taken control of Clark when he was in a weakened state and eradicated the human weaknesses that he'd always complained about. 

 

I was deeply saddened when none of those theories panned out.  Nope, it was just another season of Clark not having learned the lessons we thought he'd already learned many many times over in many many previous seasons.  Oh, Clark.  You chokeholding fool. 

 

That's interesting because I was convinced the first couple episodes weren't real...like it was a dream or something. Mostly due to the darker lighting and the heavy icky-green tinting to it all--and, of course, that it didn't entirely make sense or feel much like Smallville--but by the third episode I came to the conclusion it was real and they were just trying something on for size, even though it didn't appear like it would fit when I saw it in the window. 

 

 

It's a pitty that I barely remember s9, only if someone recalls me the scenes, and that's because they destroyed the relationship between Chloe and Clark,

 

I've had that problem for a couple seasons now--not really remembering the episodes, but can recall scenes when something is mentioned--but it's been really hard remembering stuff from episode to episode this season. And I'm binge-watching, more or less. Other than the Wonder Twins episode and the Justice Society episode, there's really not been much that engaged me so far. It's interesting because the show's finally grown up (I was never too fond of the high school-ness of the early seasons); Clark finally has shut up about his secret and stopped moaning about his destiny; and they finally stopped the on again/off again with Lana, but there seems to be a lack of spark to the episodes to engage me. Ah well, I'm on the homeward stretch now... .

[BkWurm1]

I really liked Absolute Justice, as well. It felt like the old show, but also expanded the show's universe a bit in such a way that felt natural.  And, yeah, it doesn't hurt that Michael Shanks was in it

 

I mentioned I had a thing for Michael Shanks, right?  The episode inspired what might be the most unexpected pairing of the show.  I originally posted it on LJ but transferred it over to AO3 for ease of viewing. 

http://archiveofourown.org/works/3386528/chapters/7408862

 

Yep, a bit of shameless self pimping. ( FYI NSFW.)  I apologize for the title being a tad on the nose.  It did though win in 2010 for Best "Other Pairing" in the Smallville Fandom Awards.

[DittyDotDot]

Welp, apparently I did finish watching S9 even though I don't remember doing so. I mean, I remember everything that was shown in the previouslies for the first episode of S10, but for some reason I thought I had a couple more episodes to finish the season. Weird. I guess it was a mostly forgettable season?

 

In the end, I found the Kandorian-plot to be rather lack-luster and wish they'd developed the Justice Society stuff a bit better. Really didn't understand all the hoopla with the towers in the first half of the season since Clark could just destroy them so easily. And, I felt like the Checkmate stuff was far too underdeveloped to take up so much screen time. I did love to see Martha again--and Perry White, too--but, I suspected her being the Red Queen at least an episode before she showed up.

 

I don't know, thinking back on it now, I think there may have been too much going on and not enough care given to each storyline in S9?

 

 

After you watch Warrior come discuss!

 

Was that the one with the hexed comic book? I don't have much to say about that one. I mean, it was fine, but it didn't stand out to me as either egregious or fantastic. I thought the actor who played the "adult" version of that kid was pretty charming and I liked Chloe's reactions to him, but found the Clark/Zatana stuff odd. It just didn't really engage me, I guess.

 

He was such a coward for the greater part of season nine.  So incredibly self absorbed and self centered and really lacking empathy for anyone except Lois (and even she had to eat a maple donut with a bite out of it - you couldn't zip down to the bakery to get her a fresh one?)  And the hypocrisy just grated.  He complains about Chloe spying but he tags Lois and gets Chloe to do his spying for him.  He complains about her tapping phone calls but is fine when it throws Lois off his secret which he is still unwilling to tell her despite the fact that he supposedly couldn't go on without her in his world.  

 

I agree that Clark was very hypocritical in S9, especially with Chloe, but what is this maple donut incident you speak of? Seriously, I think I must have slept through S9.

[GHScorpiosRule]

The guy who played the comic book hero in "Warrior" was the same guy who played Chloe's fiance in the previous season's version of "It's a Wonderful Life" where Jor-El took Clark back and showed him what Smallville would have been like if he'd never been found by the Kents, never known Lana or Chloe, blah, blah blah. Or was it in Season 7? We had Rosenbaum as the EVULH Prezzzident, with the black glove, and Kara as his security whatever?

 

The bitten off maple donut--Lois was going on about how she was jonesing for a maple donut when they were at the Daily Planet, and instead of superspeeding and getting her a fresh one, Clark nabbed it from the guy who had just taken a bite out of it. Gross.

 

Yup, instead of destroying the Kandorians, knowing what the future held after his trip into the dystopian future with a red sun, Clark's great idea is to burn down the towers (which, okay, good), but then Hug it Out™ with Zod, because why again? It totally failed and he ends up sacrificing himself to rid himself of Zod.

 

™ credit goes to Ollie!

[DittyDotDot]

Yup, instead of destroying the Kandorians, knowing what the future held after his trip into the dystopian future with a red sun, Clark's great idea is to burn down the towers (which, okay, good), but then Hug it Out™ with Zod, because why again? It totally failed and he ends up sacrificing himself to rid himself of Zod.

 

The thing that I just found stupid about the towers was that Clark knew what they were building and what they were going to use it for and was searching for a way to stop the towers being built, but in the end all he did was shoot fire from his eyes and blow it up. Like he couldn't have done that two episodes earlier? I just didn't get the point of all the angst about the towers if all Clark had to do was stand on a roof-top and look at the towers to get rid of them.

 

I get Clark was trying to work with the Kandorians instead of out-right against them and that he really wanted to find a kinship with them. It's just the way it was written was so sloppy, if you ask me.

 

The bitten off maple donut--Lois was going on about how she was jonesing for a maple donut when they were at the Daily Planet, and instead of superspeeding and getting her a fresh one, Clark nabbed it from the guy who had just taken a bite out of it. Gross.

 

Eww, that is gross. Still though, I don't remember a thing about it. Weird. 

[BkWurm1]

 

 

 

Was that the one with the hexed comic book? I don't have much to say about that one. I mean, it was fine, but it didn't stand out to me as either egregious or fantastic. I thought the actor who played the "adult" version of that kid was pretty charming and I liked Chloe's reactions to him, but found the Clark/Zatana stuff odd. It just didn't really engage me, I guess.

 

 

.

The only thing I thought might be of note in Warrior was the very end where Chloe knocks back some whiskey in a surprisingly sexy way and gets an even sexier lesson in archery. I was just curious about your response to the Chloe/Oliver pairing surprise. I remained a Chlark fan but there wasn't much to cheer about Chlark related in S9 so I splashed around in the shallow end of the Chlollie pool.

[DittyDotDot]

The only thing I thought might be of note in Warrior was the very end where Chloe knocks back some whiskey in a surprisingly sexy way and gets an even sexier lesson in archery. I was just curious about your response to the Chloe/Oliver pairing surprise. I remained a Chlark fan but there wasn't much to cheer about Chlark related in S9 so I splashed around in the shallow end of the Chlollie pool.

 

Oh, I'm not a shipper much at all. I pretty much take what a show gives me on that front and go with it as long as it makes a certain amount of sense. But, I do think it might be the one paring on the show for Ollie that did make sense to me. Oliver and Lois, I knew wasn't going to work, same with Oliver and Tess. So, yeah, I was fine with Chloe and Oliver.

 

I didn't realized that was at the end of that episode, though. I swear I saw all the episodes. I looked it up on IMDb and I remember them all....just not all of them do I remember. ;)