I really enjoyed the episode, too. I was fascinated by the clearly deliberate contrast between Lana at the start of the episode and Lana at the end, at the way her dealings with Lex are so very Luthorian, and by the fact that she deliberately lied to Clark. I am worried, though, that the show might not go with the follow-through; its track record of holding Lana accountable for things is so poor that right now, I'm just content to enjoy her Luthorness for its own sake. If it pans out that they're going for moral disalignment of the Clana, I'll be thrilled, but I'm not going to hold my breath for it. But Lana Luthor is made of total awesome, though. As is her ex-husband.
Clark and Lex. My god, two scenes together--that's the most since Nemesis, isn't it? And really good scenes together, too. Clark knows perfectly well Lex is covering up for 33.1; Lex knows Lana is feeding Clark information, and drops revelations about Lana and money in a way that manages to sow doubt without sounding like he's deliberately attacking her. Damn. It's so much fun to watch them really go up against each other even as they (kind of) end up working together.
I really love how cool Lex plays things these days. From his attitude of "Mussolini failed, bitch. Step off," with Knox when Knox oh-so-subtly tried to intimidate to his attitude of "Knox is immortal, bitch. Step off," when Clark got all sanctimonious with him in the hospital*, to not even blinking as he unloaded all six bullets into Knox, he rocked my sox. His screentime is so quality these days; it feels like he's stretching his iconic muscles every time he has a scene.
The whole A plot. I really love that they're addressing the issue of mutants--how Lex is looking for a cure, but one that erases their memories of captivity. SMART, albeit pretty damn creepy.
Right. That's what I'm talking about: his motives are explained and even reasonable if one ignores the truly questionable means by which he attains his ends, and he's done trying to get the other characters to see his point of view; he'll bend the world to his will, Clark and everyone else's opinions be damned. And that's Lex Luthor, baby.
And it's really interesting to watch Chloe struggling with her own mutation. I like that she is trying to get Jimmy to stop saying "meteor freaks," but clearly she does still think of them as freaks--that's what she labels herself when she visits Dr. Knox, and her reaction to Sasha being out of Belle Reve clearly indicates she thinks the meteor-infected are dangerous. And the fact that she's willing to potentially give up her past to preserve her future clearly shows how scared she is.
*nodnodnod* I like what this storyline has done for Chloe's character. It's made her more accessible to me than she's been, gosh, probably since she learned Clark's secret. Now that she's doing more than being his Trusted & Wise Confidante, I'm interested in her for herself again, rather than her as an extension of Clark.
part I
Clark and Lex. My god, two scenes together--that's the most since Nemesis, isn't it? And really good scenes together, too. Clark knows perfectly well Lex is covering up for 33.1; Lex knows Lana is feeding Clark information, and drops revelations about Lana and money in a way that manages to sow doubt without sounding like he's deliberately attacking her. Damn. It's so much fun to watch them really go up against each other even as they (kind of) end up working together.
I really love how cool Lex plays things these days. From his attitude of "Mussolini failed, bitch. Step off," with Knox when Knox oh-so-subtly tried to intimidate to his attitude of "Knox is immortal, bitch. Step off," when Clark got all sanctimonious with him in the hospital*, to not even blinking as he unloaded all six bullets into Knox, he rocked my sox. His screentime is so quality these days; it feels like he's stretching his iconic muscles every time he has a scene.
The whole A plot. I really love that they're addressing the issue of mutants--how Lex is looking for a cure, but one that erases their memories of captivity. SMART, albeit pretty damn creepy.
Right. That's what I'm talking about: his motives are explained and even reasonable if one ignores the truly questionable means by which he attains his ends, and he's done trying to get the other characters to see his point of view; he'll bend the world to his will, Clark and everyone else's opinions be damned. And that's Lex Luthor, baby.
And it's really interesting to watch Chloe struggling with her own mutation. I like that she is trying to get Jimmy to stop saying "meteor freaks," but clearly she does still think of them as freaks--that's what she labels herself when she visits Dr. Knox, and her reaction to Sasha being out of Belle Reve clearly indicates she thinks the meteor-infected are dangerous. And the fact that she's willing to potentially give up her past to preserve her future clearly shows how scared she is.
*nodnodnod* I like what this storyline has done for Chloe's character. It's made her more accessible to me than she's been, gosh, probably since she learned Clark's secret. Now that she's doing more than being his Trusted & Wise Confidante, I'm interested in her for herself again, rather than her as an extension of Clark.