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Smallville: Lockdown
Wow, that episode *rocked*.
So much to love about this episode, that I'll just start that the one thing that made me sad: Sheriff Adams! I never thought I'd like you when you were first introduced, but you really grew on me, and I was very sorry that you died in such a senseless way. So much so that I'll forgive you praising Clark for his ingenuity and encouraging him to go into law enforcement(now that I know that was just so you could leave a positive message with him before you died) when he fucked up your crime scene! Hello, don't they get CSI in Smallville? Or any cop show whatsoever? Can we say destroying fingerprint evidence?
I really don't think there was a character interaction in this episode that didn't make me go "YES!" at some point. I loved the opening interaction with between Clark and Lana ("am I your cousin?") and how, continuing last week's parallels between Lex and Lana's quest, Clark finds out that she (a) is keeping real secrets from him and (b) has joined Lex to find out the truth. (All of this talk about the quest for "the truth" was giving me X-files flashbacks, for some reason: Lex and Lana as the new Mulder and Scully, though I can't really decide who is Mulder and who is Scully in this quest for alien life. Though I guess the pair of sheriff hostage takers are the real Mulder and Scully of the episode, coming to a much more tragic end).
Let me talk a little about the Lana-Lex interactions, because they're what I loved *most* about the episode. Frankly, if this is the way they're going to do Lexana, I'll take it. I *loved* that scene in the panic room--from Lex's deathbed confession, in all its pathos and humor ("Clark has very nice hair--hee!)to the confrontation over Lex lying to Lana. I wouldn't be at all surprised if he didn't keep that promise (although lies by omission and misdirection wouldn't necessarily be covered), which would be a great way to bind her to him in ways Clark could not.
And I was equally thrilled with the Chloe-Clark scenes. Yay for Chloe refusing to get in the middle of Clark's fight with Lana, and continuosly calling him on the consequences of his own actions, *even* while she's clearly not 100% over him (as that little flinch when he said he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her showed). I loved them investigating (and very interesting, too, the parallels the show is drawing here between Chloe-Clark and Lana-Lex, each forming an investigative team. If I wasn't desparately afraid they are killing off Chloe next week, I'd wonder if they are, after all, going to go for the Chlark (either that, or if they're going to keep the Lexana at the level of investigative buddies), because the parallels they are drawing between the two couples seem so deliberate.
Hmm. If that's true, I wonder if the sheriff couple is the third parallel and therefore foreshadowing something. Does this mean Lana will be driven to kill for Lex? (Good use of action!Lana in this episode, btw). Or Chloe for Clark? Or maybe Chloe won't actually die, she'll end being locked up in an asylum (like the male sheriff), as was foreshadowed by her mother's insanity?
Ok, onto the third part of the plot: the election storyline. Oh, I forgot to mention in things I didn't like this magically appearing back forty, which presumably Jonathan should have sold BEFORE THEY LOST THE FARM at the end of season 2/beginning of season 3????? Since he was losing the whole of the farm that had been in his family for generations? Ok, I get the fact that they are focusing their continuity on things that happened this season, and are doing a fairly good job within the season itself, but damn...I was really hoping the check Jonathan was going to pull out would be from Martha's dad. It would have been such a lovely grace note to that whole conflict he's had with her dad (and also show that he is willing to make certain kinds of important compromises, without making the kind that actually threaten his own values).
I really loved how Lois was willing to take the fall for Martha in this (and she's right, as campaign manager it *was* ultimately her responsibility, but still, I admired that. And I like her enthusiasm and efficiency in this. Although in general I hated, last year, the way Lois got sort of randomly shoehorned into the Kent home, if Martha or Jonathan is going to be the one that dies, I'm kind of glad SV canon gave Lois this opportunity to get to know them and be part of the family before that happened.
The Martha-Jonathan encounter was not as dramatic as I was expecting, actually, but Jonathan is absolutely right that Lionel is going to want something (coughMarthacough) for that money. I did like the way the scene reinforced the fanonical image of Martha as pragmatist and Jonathan as idealist, though.
Ok, now I'm going to go read everyone else's reviews and probably formulate even more reflections, since this was such an excellent episode!!!
Oh: please please please please please do not spoil me in the comments! All I know about episode 100 is that someone Clark loves will die, and that's all I want to know!
So much to love about this episode, that I'll just start that the one thing that made me sad: Sheriff Adams! I never thought I'd like you when you were first introduced, but you really grew on me, and I was very sorry that you died in such a senseless way. So much so that I'll forgive you praising Clark for his ingenuity and encouraging him to go into law enforcement(now that I know that was just so you could leave a positive message with him before you died) when he fucked up your crime scene! Hello, don't they get CSI in Smallville? Or any cop show whatsoever? Can we say destroying fingerprint evidence?
I really don't think there was a character interaction in this episode that didn't make me go "YES!" at some point. I loved the opening interaction with between Clark and Lana ("am I your cousin?") and how, continuing last week's parallels between Lex and Lana's quest, Clark finds out that she (a) is keeping real secrets from him and (b) has joined Lex to find out the truth. (All of this talk about the quest for "the truth" was giving me X-files flashbacks, for some reason: Lex and Lana as the new Mulder and Scully, though I can't really decide who is Mulder and who is Scully in this quest for alien life. Though I guess the pair of sheriff hostage takers are the real Mulder and Scully of the episode, coming to a much more tragic end).
Let me talk a little about the Lana-Lex interactions, because they're what I loved *most* about the episode. Frankly, if this is the way they're going to do Lexana, I'll take it. I *loved* that scene in the panic room--from Lex's deathbed confession, in all its pathos and humor ("Clark has very nice hair--hee!)to the confrontation over Lex lying to Lana. I wouldn't be at all surprised if he didn't keep that promise (although lies by omission and misdirection wouldn't necessarily be covered), which would be a great way to bind her to him in ways Clark could not.
And I was equally thrilled with the Chloe-Clark scenes. Yay for Chloe refusing to get in the middle of Clark's fight with Lana, and continuosly calling him on the consequences of his own actions, *even* while she's clearly not 100% over him (as that little flinch when he said he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her showed). I loved them investigating (and very interesting, too, the parallels the show is drawing here between Chloe-Clark and Lana-Lex, each forming an investigative team. If I wasn't desparately afraid they are killing off Chloe next week, I'd wonder if they are, after all, going to go for the Chlark (either that, or if they're going to keep the Lexana at the level of investigative buddies), because the parallels they are drawing between the two couples seem so deliberate.
Hmm. If that's true, I wonder if the sheriff couple is the third parallel and therefore foreshadowing something. Does this mean Lana will be driven to kill for Lex? (Good use of action!Lana in this episode, btw). Or Chloe for Clark? Or maybe Chloe won't actually die, she'll end being locked up in an asylum (like the male sheriff), as was foreshadowed by her mother's insanity?
Ok, onto the third part of the plot: the election storyline. Oh, I forgot to mention in things I didn't like this magically appearing back forty, which presumably Jonathan should have sold BEFORE THEY LOST THE FARM at the end of season 2/beginning of season 3????? Since he was losing the whole of the farm that had been in his family for generations? Ok, I get the fact that they are focusing their continuity on things that happened this season, and are doing a fairly good job within the season itself, but damn...I was really hoping the check Jonathan was going to pull out would be from Martha's dad. It would have been such a lovely grace note to that whole conflict he's had with her dad (and also show that he is willing to make certain kinds of important compromises, without making the kind that actually threaten his own values).
I really loved how Lois was willing to take the fall for Martha in this (and she's right, as campaign manager it *was* ultimately her responsibility, but still, I admired that. And I like her enthusiasm and efficiency in this. Although in general I hated, last year, the way Lois got sort of randomly shoehorned into the Kent home, if Martha or Jonathan is going to be the one that dies, I'm kind of glad SV canon gave Lois this opportunity to get to know them and be part of the family before that happened.
The Martha-Jonathan encounter was not as dramatic as I was expecting, actually, but Jonathan is absolutely right that Lionel is going to want something (coughMarthacough) for that money. I did like the way the scene reinforced the fanonical image of Martha as pragmatist and Jonathan as idealist, though.
Ok, now I'm going to go read everyone else's reviews and probably formulate even more reflections, since this was such an excellent episode!!!
Oh: please please please please please do not spoil me in the comments! All I know about episode 100 is that someone Clark loves will die, and that's all I want to know!
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I'll miss Sherrif Adams, especially with it being so pointless her death, not saving anyone, or doing anything and right in front of Lana too. Who was safe because she was with Lex. Stuff like thats gotta play on a girls mind right?
I agree with much of what you have said. And I was totally expecting Jon to be more annoyed about Lionel, I can only assume, (hey, its fun being spoiler free! I can assume things!), that theres going to be something more to it, because after the tense drama of Lionel in Fanatic, I wanted something *more*.
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coughMarthacough
Ex.Act.Ly.
And, yeah, the "magically-appearing Back Forty?" Definitely a deus ex machina.
I hope to rewatch this a.m. and do a post sometime today, too.
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Great observation about the parallels between Lex-Lana and Chloe-Clark. I didn't really pick up on that.
Poor sheriff! Yes!
I was really hoping the check Jonathan was going to pull out would be from Martha's dad. It would have been such a lovely grace note to that whole conflict he's had with her dad (and also show that he is willing to make certain kinds of important compromises, without making the kind that actually threaten his own values).
I love you for believing this was ever a possibility! I am afraid I am far more cynical about Jonathan!
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Well, what can I say, sometimes the better fanonical Jonathan (e.g. Lanning's Identical series Jonathan) makes me think he has possibilities in canon, too. And the fact that he has permanently alienated Martha from her family has always *really* bugged me. (I mean, I know he couldn't do it without Martha's consent, and they both probably thought it was safer to keep Clark away from prying eyes when he was little and didn't know to control his strength,but it still bothers me.) And if he *is* going to be the one to die, it would have been nice to have some sort of resolution to that.
I wish I could figure out where they're going with the Lex-Lana/ Chloe-Clark parallels.It's hard to speculate on *anything* before the 100th episode. (How many more days, now?)
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I'm wondering if it might be Martha just *because* of her almost-death, before--it makes the audience think she's safe now, and since most of the audience thinks it's going to be Jonathan or Chloe, Martha would be an actual surprise. Plus, she's the only mother left on the show, and Almiles have always been all about the fathers. (Of course, that may be another reason it would be Jonathan, but if he dies, then Lionel Luthor cannot be long for this world either.)
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Yeah... maybe they were just double bluffing with Martha. I'm at least seventy per cent sure it's going to be Jonathan. There's been a lot of set up that seems to point to him.
I would love the show to surprise me though!
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I agree with you that they've been setting up hints that Jonathan would die for years, actually--and I think in this I hope I am *not* surprised, because he's definitely the character I am least invested in. (Though when I think of how Martha and Clark are going to respond to his death, I admit to getting all sniffly).
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Yes, I want Jonathan to die. I admit it. Of all the characters he's the most unlikeable to me. I'll feel for Martha though.
So many mixed emotions in this lead-up period. I feel all at odds!
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I'm with you on the mixed emotions, and kind of glad this is going to be such a busy week for me, or else I'd be dwelling on it constantly.