Smallville

[Ginny1976]

I'm still mad at the writers for bringing Lana back, but at least the next one will be her last.
But still, how could they do that to Clark? They were off to a perfect start with he and Lois, now....I just have no idea how they can keep that going with out making him look like a pig.
Over at Kryptonsite, everyone is pretty mad. There's quite a few who may not finish the series because of it. I just want to know why. And after Lana is gone, it had better be OUTSTANDING!!

[LaDonna]

I see no reasonable way that Clois won't be tarnished. While they may still have Clark be the one to realize he is no longer in love with her, it isn't likely given the trailers and DC. It looks like they will be forced apart because of an outside force. The trailer for next week shows a krypto-bomb and Lana preparing to "handle it" and sending Clark away so that the kryptonite doesn't hurt him. Many speculate that she will become radioactive with kryptonite and thus, can't be with Clark without hurting him. And so, they make a decision to live separate lives (or just Lana makes the decision) only because they can't physically be together without hurting Clark. If this happens, then forever Lana will be seen as his true love who he would have spent his life with if he had his way, and forever it will a what if. Clois will look like a rebound, plain and simple. It will seem as though he's only with her because he can't have Lana. In my mind, that ruins anything they do with Clois for the other episodes.

I've been posting a lot over at K-site, mostly about Power and the arc of Lana. Usually, I do a review, then post it here and there. This time, I did a review over there, and then was too depressed to discuss it further. It also seemed way to long for you guys, since you're all quick and to the point. I wanted to wait and see what you guys thought, anyways.

I really thought, at least for a moment, that the Clana would end well. I feel so betrayed by that faith. The two different trailers made me flat out angry. The one that showed Clark and Lana in bed endlessly happy after, well, you know, was the worst. I swear if they have an earthquake in Smallville on thursday I may throw up. I do want to quit the show, but it's hard to do. It's like the showrunners are incapable of writing any other character in a good light when Lana's on the show. Did you guys see Chloe? She acted like another person. I'm calling this Chloe fake Chloe, because this was not my Chloe. It would have taken 5 seconds for Chloe to say something about Jimmy. In Bulletproof, we got a line of why Chloe isn't in Star City with Jimmy. She only rushed back to town for a short moment to help Clark and then she was rushing back before he woke up. That made sense and was showing she was still a nice and caring person. Then, in this episode, no mention of Jimmy or what she's doing in town, and not only that, but we see her casual and laughing, sipping coffee as though she doesn't have a care in the world. How on Earth could AM have allowed that as she was the director and she knows Chloe inside and out. She wasn't even wearing her wedding ring! I was so sad that Chloe came across that way in this episdoe. And then, why the heck wasn't Lois back? She's apparently still in Star City taking care of Jimmy, since we've heard nothing to the contrary. Which makes Chloe look even worse for allowing her cousin to miss work to take care of her husband while she's spending time in Smallville/Metropolis.

I better just stop myself right now before I don't stop

[crookshanks1177]

I'm glad this next episode is Lana's last episode. I'm hating that they even brought her back in the first place. And I agree with those that are saying Chloe is acting out of character. I can only hope they can get everyone back on track after Lana's departure.

[Ginny1976]

Are we all ready to get rid of Lana for ever??!! I almost don't' care that her leaving may be done badly, so long as she's gone forever. Almost.

[LaDonna]

I've received a happy gift today to prepare for Requiem (tonight's Smallville episode title). I just discovered Joan of Arcadia is airing on the sci-fi channel. I haven't seen it since the series originally ran, and I really loved that show. It was a wonderful little gift to find these episodes airing today. I've been worried about whether I will be able to ever enjoy Smallville again, and my answer will surely come in about, ohhhhhh, I don't know, I guess in about 7 hours. That gives me a good five to ten minutes after Requiem airs to know for sure whether the show can continue and whether or not every future episode has been ruined simply by Lana's ending.

And Ginny, I feel torn. I feel like a bad Lana ending will ruin this Clark for me no matter where they go from here, but I also can't wait until some of these future episodes. I just don't want them ruined because poor Clark and Lana were kept apart because of some evil outside force, and they will always wish they could have been together.

MAN!!! I'm very torn! I've been waiting for weeks to get to the end of this story arc with Lana, so I'm excited, but NERVOUS............. I'm very mixed up here

Edit:
If it goes well tonight, and I'm not too sick, I'm going to spoiler tag a few upcoming episode descriptions so you guys can start to get really excited, for those of you who don't go to k-site. But, I've been pretty sick for the past day, so I may not feel well enough to do those tonight, and since Smallville's not even returning until March 5th I think, we've got time

[Ginny1976]

Yeah, I know what you mean LaDonna. I'm torn too. I'm just hoping it's not irreparable. No matter what, it's now tainted forever as an otherwise great season. The only thing I can think of is if they are able to pull something way out that outshines this deep, dark blemish. Last season I would have though it impossible, but since we had such a great first part of this season, almost like none we've seen before, I still have hope.

[LaDonna]

Well, then I will try to cling to your hope, Ginny, and enjoy my Joan of Arcadia, and perhaps that will help me not only feel better physically but keep up my interest while waiting for tonight's episode.

[Ginny1976]

Um...at least they're back to a normal Smallville-type episode? No soft camera and elevator music.

Lana is finally gone. FOREVER!!!
but it ended just as you feared, LaDonna. I'm sickened that Lana is now a superhero. It's just wrong. AH! There were just so many things wrong with that plot! Why writers, why?!

And Lex? They supposedly killed off Lex? Of course he's not dead.

Again, no mention of Jimmy or Lois. Maybe they're doing it on purpose to create a rift between Chloe and Jimmy? If they are than that stinks too. That's not the Chloe we know.

Clark. Since they made him do it, I won't hold it against him, but it just seems that Tom wasn't that into this episode and it showed. He wasn't that great. And he's either gaining weight or his age is starting to show.

I'll still watch it, but it's just not the same anymore.

[jordmundt6]

He is in his early 30s after all. Lana as a superhero? AARGH! I really wish we had the rage and banging head emoticons from back in '03, they're soo appropriate here.

Y'know, I recorded the last two episodes and haven't gotten around to watching more than maybe four minutes of them. Should I just bin them?

Frankly, a rift between Jimmy and Chloe is inevitable. In spite of the fact that he's arguably the best Jimmy Olsen on TV or in films, and certainly the best long-term Jimmy ever, there's just not enough there there. She's too much woman for him. They wrote themselves into a corner with "Bride" and have been stumbling and fumbling around in the dark trying to get their bearings and move forward. It's as if Al and Miles managed to remotely hijack the brains of the writing staff.

[Ginny1976]

Bin it. You'll just get angry. The only plots that might matter are Ollie taking control of Luthercorp from Tess' help and Lex being apparently dead. Toy maker was lame. The Lex body double was good though.

[LaDonna]

I can't even describe it. I haven't written anything about it yet, or posted anything about it (which usually I do on K-site right after an episode airs). I needed a day to let it sink in, and since I'm still a bit under the weather, I'll probably wait to really post until tomorrow, but it just saddened me. I'm going to be talking about what happened in this episode, so if anyone hasn't seen it yet and doesn't want to know what happens yet, just skip this whole post.

Oliver's a murderer, and acted more like Lex in this episode. There's even several theories at K-site that somehow Lex is in an Olliver body (via transference or cloning) and the sad thing is it would explain Olliver's behavior in this episode better than any other explanation. They hinted that Chloe was the one to kill that guy back in episode 7, and that it wasn't Brainiac's decision. They gave several lines to Clark that made me want to punch something. He acted like all he's ever thought about is having a partner who has superpowers, even though we know that all he wanted for years was to lose his powers and be normal.

If you had never seen any other Smallville episode, and only this one, then you would be left with:

1. The view that Lana is the ultimate hero (which seems to be the point that some of the writers and showrunners wanted to stress).
2. Clark is a nice guy who wants to help, but would sacrifice that to be with Lana.
3. That Jimmy Olson, Lois Lane, and Doomsday don't exist. In fact, you'd be wondering who half the people in the credits are).
4. That Lex's big time evil ultimate plan was simply to separate Clark and Lana because of his jealousy and anger. Oh ya, and that he seems to have the most advanced technology in the freaking universe, so why not put that on before you trek to the artic!!!!!!!
5. That the Green Arrow has serious value issues and is responsible for murder. And of course, that Lana was trying her best to show him the light, but Olliver just refused to see it.
6. That Chloe is someone who wants to be good but has some serious moral issues and has committed murder.
7. That when Chloe and Olliver tried to talk Clark into maybe taking out Lex in order to save mankind we got the boyscout speech from Clark that he would never kill anyone (which would usually be a glimmer of hope that a Superman may be hiding in there somewhere).... except that when he found out Lex's ultimate plan was to have Clark and Lana not be able to be intimate anymore, he decided he'd go ahead and take him out.

And jeez, that's just for starters. Seriously, if I hadn't known who Lana has been up until this episode, I would have been able to see her as the ultimate hero, as apparently the writers have always seen her. And I'll admit, even though this kills me to say, I was almost crying at the end. Not because of Clana ending, but KK's acting really sold me to this persons emotions. It felt heartbreaking. Tom's acting was okay. The last shot of his face was pretty emotional.

But here's the thing, we have 8 seasons of who Lana is, and I think they wanted us to forget who every single character was.

I don't know. What the freak are they going to do in Infamous (the next episode that we couldn't even get a freaking preview for so that the mood wasn't ruined) through to the end to explain how Clark moves on to Lois? I mean there are spoilers

Spoiler: show

that he's in love with her by episode 17 as evidenced by a look that leads Chloe to the realization of Clark's falling for Lois

. That's three episodes away!! I think they may just act as if we've gone from Legion to Infamous, and not mention too much of the other ones in between. Honestly, wouldn't this Clark Kent vow to spend the rest of his life looking for a cure for Lana? He wouldn't just say "Hey, Lois is back. Oh ya, I kinda liked her too. Let's see if there may be a future there". This Clark Kent wouldn't say that. But, I think it's exactly what's going to happen.

Now, maybe this is good so that Lana can be forgotten and we can just pretend that Clark didn't reject Lois completely (what I mean by that is that as of Legion/Bulletproof, Clark was made aware of Lois's feelings for him, which means he had a choice between Lois and Lana, and as we all know, he choose Lana without even a look back or second thought. In fact, in this episode, he wanted to run away with Lana to an island and that his priority was simply keeping him and Lana together forever. Ouch Lois!). But, while they may not write romance in the best way, we still have to receive the new storylines based on what we know of the characters so far, and so far, we have all had it ingrained over and over and over that Clark would do anything to be with Lana, and that Lana is the dream he's always had. How are we supposed to believe that he would jump on over to Lois within and episode or two? He was going to KILL Lex not because he's a danger to the world, but simply because he prevented Clark from every kissing and sleeping with Lana again! And let's be honest, Lana was alive, well, and had a future, as did Clark, just apparently not within touching distance if Clark was to maintain his health. And for that, Clark was thinking murder. COME ON!

Man, this was just going to be a small paragraph post since I haven't reviewed it yet, but I can't fathom this. I just can't. Thinking of all of the spoilers of episodes 15 on, there is some awesome moments to come, but how can this not taint who Clark is as a hero and who he chooses to be with romantically? I can't believe I'm saying this, but ditch the romance for the rest of the season since it's so tainted, and try to salvage Clark as someone who becomes Superman. That's what these last 7 episodes should focus on. There look to be some great moments coming up, but can I continue? I guess that's the question. However, since Chloe is one of my favorite characters, and with the spoilers for her starting in 16 on through at least 19, I don't know if I can stomach where they are taking her character. They pooped on Clark, Ollie, and Chloe in this episode big time, and I see no spoilers that Ollie is going to redeem himself, and I see Chloe going down hill big time. How can this be happening!!!!

Just in case no one knows, I get most of my info on upcoming episodes from Kryptonsite in case anyone wants to head of over and see all of the spoilers for themselves. I was just giving my take on the spoilers, and I didn't mention the Chloe ones outright so others may view the spoilers and get a different take on it. Anyways, just head on over there if you want to know what coming. I might spoiler tag some in my posts later on in order to make my point, but I'll warn you ahead of time so you can skip if you don't want to know what's coming.

[jordmundt6]

LaDonna and Ginny--I haven't binned them yet. I did watch the first 10 minutes of "Power" and made it about halfway through Mercy's confessional. I thought I was going to throw up. They made Power a full-on Joey Potter/Pink Ranger lovefest. Plus, as you warned me earlier, they basically undermined all the personal progress Clark had made and stripped away any credibility that this Clark-Lois relationship has at the moment (though, as you know, I didn't think it had much in the first place). It's as if Al & Miles are ghostwriting their obsession with Lana or have somehow taken control of the writing room through nefarious means.

LaDonna--about your list.

I agree with you on most of it. However, I have issue with #5 and #6. Particularly #6 but let's start with #5.

I claim, I believe with good reason, that in spite of his growth experiences on the island, Oliver has always been a lot closer to the edge than Clark (well, the Clark I'm familiar with) and that painful revelations (like Lionel's part in his parents' murder) can and have pushed him over the edge and he needs someone actively reminding him who he really wants to be. With Clark turned to Jell-O, nobody exists who he'll listen to (he doesn't respect Chloe enough, and he doesn't know the Manhunter that well). So, I can see him committing murder and being fine about it (initially), though Lex using a Zod/Brainiac transferance device has serious possibilities.

#6. They were trying to make Chloe a darker character, and frankly I applaud them for making this choice. I would equate this to the end of the Christmas episode on Chuck. Chloe had to choose between scrambling the brain of an unarmed enemy, or letting Tess scoop up both him and his information. She made the only possible choice to protect Clark, and, if they'd done it right (and it initially looked like they did) it would have lent her character more depth than they've been willing to write for her. AM played it well, and as horrifying as it is, it ends up being a signature moment for Chloe.

[LaDonna]

Actually, it's not that I see Chloe as a murderer necessarily, and the emotion on her face when she was speaking about it to Olliver was amazing. It's just that I feel like they are walking a line with her. I don't mind Chloe freaking out every now and then, and having a human moment. That's one thing I love about Chloe. Even when she toes the line, she does it with a humanity I find endearing.

But considering the spoilers coming up, I feel that the writers are disrespecting her as opposed to introducing a brilliant arc.

Why not have her take one second to say something indicating that Jimmy still exists? It could have been "Clark, back off. I've been stressed out and worried about Jimmy, and I still have come back to help you out, so please stop attacking me?". That would have been perfect in Power when Clark basically accused her of being the reason Lana was kidnapped. Or his attack in this episode.

I feel like they are not giving her character any thought in those moments, and as she is one of my favorite characters, it really upsets me. I liked the Davis arc for Chloe in the first ten episodes. But, there's something amiss with what's been happening, and I feel like it's character neglect.

I just don't like how this episode portrayed my lovely lady Chloe. Man, I wish the writers and show runners would come out and answer questions.

[jordmundt6]

One line in three episodes is odd--So, as with everything else, your problem is not with her performing what they give her, but the content of what they deign to write for her. I guess I missed that.

As far as character neglect--well, that was Al & Miles stock in trade--further proof that they're somehow controlling the writers' rooom that had been churning out the best episodes in the series' history right up until Lana resurfaced.

[LaDonna]

Originally Posted by jordmundt6

One line in three episodes is odd--So, as with everything else, your problem is not with her performing what they give her, but the content of what they deign to write for her. I guess I missed that.

As far as character neglect--well, that was Al & Miles stock in trade--further proof that they're somehow controlling the writers' rooom that had been churning out the best episodes in the series' history right up until Lana resurfaced.

Exactly. It just makes me sad because I feel like no one is on Chloe's side in the writers room. How can they sit around the read-through and no one say anything about things like that? There's a scene in Power where Chloe's not wearing her wedding ring. That's just crazy. I'm not saying I see Chloe as a bad wife, because I know she's not, but that sort of negligence to her character frustrates me. Her character is number 2 in the credits, but they can't keep her arc consistent episode to episode? I just wish a Chloe fan could be there at the read through or even in the writers room. Any one who knows Chloe would catch that stuff.

And, as for her behavioral choices, I don't mind as long as they give us a reason, but sometimes I feel like they abuse her and use her as a plot device instead of a character. AM deserves more, and Chloe deserves more.

[jordmundt6]

Agreed that AM deserves much more as an actress and Chloe deserves much more as a character. However, please remember that actually devoting time to the development of an arc for her character was pretty much a brand new thing this season (or maybe last season) because Al & Miles were so fixated on Lana. I swear the last two episodes were written just like their eps--and I have no idea why. Did they have writing credits for those eps?

[Ginny1976]

Unfortunately, we can't post the blame on Al & Miles, although that would be very nice. Maybe the writers were channeling them somehow.

This thought came to me that would solve any problems with Clark looking natural to move on to Lois and get over Lana. It would be perfect, but the only problem is that it's too late already. Just a fantasy that would make everything better. And that is if Lois had never been on this show and they now introduce her. Can't you see it? She walks in the DP and Clark is slowly swept off his feet by her. It would have been perfect. But the writers/producers/creators never had any clear direction with the show and so we've just gotten from episode to episode fluff and fun and little to no substance.
IN fact in an interview with KK, she said that she would do tv again IF her character and the show had a clear vision. Props to her. Her character may have been horrid, but she's smart about that at least. I wonder if she was ever frustrated with what they did to her character. I would have been.

[Black_XY390]

I thought of a way i think that they might be able to fix things with Clark and Lois and not make a completely unbelievable story line. But it might not even work. What they could do is have Clark moping around about Lana, but then have Lois walk in and cheer him up. Drag him out partying or something. If they did that and wrote/directed it right they could probably convincingly show that Lois trumps Lana.

What I worry about if they are going to find a place for SuperLana in the continuum. Is there anyone canon that they could try to turn her into?

[boushh]

LaDonna, I agree with so much of what you've said about this last episode. I almost can't remember when I was excited about this season... It's like Lana came back and things went into a screeching halt and then regressed. I just can't understand how these writers could basically have Lana come back and take over the entire show, much to the detriment of all of the other characters. I'm glad the romance is done, in theory, but the way it was done just seems problematic. It really felt like Clark was moving on prior to a couple of episodes ago and now it seems like they have just been driven apart by circumstance and if he had the chance he'd run off with her. Now if something does happen between him and Lois it may look like it's a rebound situation. Not good. Maybe we can just pretend these last few episodes didn't happen and get back to the regular arc of the show this season...

When does it come back?

[Ginny1976]

It's not back on until March 5th