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SV "Persona"
Now that I finally had a chance to watch and (hallelujah) have access to the internet again, my "Persona" reactions:
Since I really want to read everyone else's reviews before they get to skip=eleventy billion, I'm just going to comment on the three things I liked best about this episode:
+ The really fascinating parallels between Lana and Lex. All this season, they've made Lana's behavior parallel early Lex, with the obsessiveness and the secret spying and the morally shady behavior to protect Clark, but this is the first episode I can recall that so clearly paralleled Lana with current Lex. I'm sure people are probably coming down hard on Lana for not figuring out Bizarro wasn't Clark, and there is some justice in that--his behavior was altered, and Chloe managed to figure out something was wrong--but on the other hand, I find it hard to blame her for just enjoying the fact that Clark had been making changes she wanted him to make. And more openness and more (any) sex and supporting her on her projects--those were things that were out of character for Clark, but not things that would necessarily make a person think that wasn't Clark.
But I am getting sidetracked from my point, which is that Lana chose not to question Clark's changes, because suddenly she had the boyfriend she had always wanted--just like Lex had the brother he always wanted. In both cases, of course, the relationship was more a fantasy than a reality--and each one of them was shockingly confronted with the reality of the situation, Lex when Grant declared his independence and went to Lionel, and Lana when "Clark" was revealed to be Bizarro, and each had to decide how to respond: hold onto the fantasy despite the consequences, or surrender to reality with its attendant pain. Each makes the superficially parallel choice to kill the one they loved, but Lana killed Bizarro as a way of embracing the truth: the Clark she loved never had existed, never would exist, and for the sake of the real Clark she had to give up the fantasy, even if it meant ultimately being left behind.
Lex killing Grant/Julian is making the opposite choice. He warns Grant what would happen if Grant abandons him, but Grant refuses to listen, so Lex has him killed. I actually do think Lex's grief at his own actions, at the end of the episode, is authentic; he truly regrets having to kill Grant (perhaps more than he regrets killing the other defective clones), because he did, in a way, love Grant before Grant's "betrayal" of going to Lionel. But for Lex, love *is* possession, now, and woe betide any object of his obsession that tries to leave. (Good thing for Lana that he had transferred his obsessions onto Kara and Grant when he found out she was alive....)
Anyway, I loved the parallelism and then divergence, because while I do think Lana does share many personality traits with Lex, and she *is* much more ruthless than Clark, I also think her choice in this episode shows she has the capacity to sacrifice her own happiness for the greater good that is ultimately going to separate her from the path Lex has taken.
+The second thing I loved in this episode is how it so clearly demonstrated that the Lionel-Lex power shift is 98% complete. Lex was literally above his father in their opening confrontation, and he's the one with power. In the past Lionel used many means to separate Lex from forming bonds with other people; now Lex has done the same with Lionel. Rather than let Lionel set Julian up as a rival to him, he has Julian killed. And significantly, just moments after Lionel has declared Julian to be family regardless of how he came to be. (Hmm. It just occurs to me that in doing this, Lex is not only finally committing the crime his father convicted him of years ago, he has actually adopted his mother's tactics. I'm not sure what to make of the Lillian parallels; I'll have to think more about that.
+Third, I just loved the two Clana scenes that bookended the episode, and what they had to say visually about Clark and Lana's relationship. The opening scene was so adorable it just made me happy down to my toes, even though I knew Lana was actually canoodling with Bizarro. When "Clark" and Lana get to be happy and playful and (literally) sunny, I love it. But of course, even internally in the scene it was revealed that the sun can't shine on this relationship--counterfeit or not--because it reveals the ugly hidden truths. That seemed like such a meta comment on Clark and Lana's whole relationship.
And then the ending scene, with rain and darkness and pain on their faces and their isolation, even when they were together: oh yeah. This is the reality of Clark and Lana, the tragedy of it all. And the rather dippy introduction of scientist Kryptonian dude--what was his name, Dax-Tur or something like that--was just the anvilly anvil to reinforce it: no, Clark, even if you gave up your powers, the bad guys would just hunt you down and kill you, so your dreams of a bucolic rural life with Lana have been punctured as thoroughly as Dax-Tur's brain.
+Oh, DUDE, how could I forget I had one other thing I loved about this episode: the return of Brainiac! Yay!
So, this is probably incoherent since I've been on a plane most of the day, but I'm going to post it anyway since I want to read other people's reactions.
Since I really want to read everyone else's reviews before they get to skip=eleventy billion, I'm just going to comment on the three things I liked best about this episode:
+ The really fascinating parallels between Lana and Lex. All this season, they've made Lana's behavior parallel early Lex, with the obsessiveness and the secret spying and the morally shady behavior to protect Clark, but this is the first episode I can recall that so clearly paralleled Lana with current Lex. I'm sure people are probably coming down hard on Lana for not figuring out Bizarro wasn't Clark, and there is some justice in that--his behavior was altered, and Chloe managed to figure out something was wrong--but on the other hand, I find it hard to blame her for just enjoying the fact that Clark had been making changes she wanted him to make. And more openness and more (any) sex and supporting her on her projects--those were things that were out of character for Clark, but not things that would necessarily make a person think that wasn't Clark.
But I am getting sidetracked from my point, which is that Lana chose not to question Clark's changes, because suddenly she had the boyfriend she had always wanted--just like Lex had the brother he always wanted. In both cases, of course, the relationship was more a fantasy than a reality--and each one of them was shockingly confronted with the reality of the situation, Lex when Grant declared his independence and went to Lionel, and Lana when "Clark" was revealed to be Bizarro, and each had to decide how to respond: hold onto the fantasy despite the consequences, or surrender to reality with its attendant pain. Each makes the superficially parallel choice to kill the one they loved, but Lana killed Bizarro as a way of embracing the truth: the Clark she loved never had existed, never would exist, and for the sake of the real Clark she had to give up the fantasy, even if it meant ultimately being left behind.
Lex killing Grant/Julian is making the opposite choice. He warns Grant what would happen if Grant abandons him, but Grant refuses to listen, so Lex has him killed. I actually do think Lex's grief at his own actions, at the end of the episode, is authentic; he truly regrets having to kill Grant (perhaps more than he regrets killing the other defective clones), because he did, in a way, love Grant before Grant's "betrayal" of going to Lionel. But for Lex, love *is* possession, now, and woe betide any object of his obsession that tries to leave. (Good thing for Lana that he had transferred his obsessions onto Kara and Grant when he found out she was alive....)
Anyway, I loved the parallelism and then divergence, because while I do think Lana does share many personality traits with Lex, and she *is* much more ruthless than Clark, I also think her choice in this episode shows she has the capacity to sacrifice her own happiness for the greater good that is ultimately going to separate her from the path Lex has taken.
+The second thing I loved in this episode is how it so clearly demonstrated that the Lionel-Lex power shift is 98% complete. Lex was literally above his father in their opening confrontation, and he's the one with power. In the past Lionel used many means to separate Lex from forming bonds with other people; now Lex has done the same with Lionel. Rather than let Lionel set Julian up as a rival to him, he has Julian killed. And significantly, just moments after Lionel has declared Julian to be family regardless of how he came to be. (Hmm. It just occurs to me that in doing this, Lex is not only finally committing the crime his father convicted him of years ago, he has actually adopted his mother's tactics. I'm not sure what to make of the Lillian parallels; I'll have to think more about that.
+Third, I just loved the two Clana scenes that bookended the episode, and what they had to say visually about Clark and Lana's relationship. The opening scene was so adorable it just made me happy down to my toes, even though I knew Lana was actually canoodling with Bizarro. When "Clark" and Lana get to be happy and playful and (literally) sunny, I love it. But of course, even internally in the scene it was revealed that the sun can't shine on this relationship--counterfeit or not--because it reveals the ugly hidden truths. That seemed like such a meta comment on Clark and Lana's whole relationship.
And then the ending scene, with rain and darkness and pain on their faces and their isolation, even when they were together: oh yeah. This is the reality of Clark and Lana, the tragedy of it all. And the rather dippy introduction of scientist Kryptonian dude--what was his name, Dax-Tur or something like that--was just the anvilly anvil to reinforce it: no, Clark, even if you gave up your powers, the bad guys would just hunt you down and kill you, so your dreams of a bucolic rural life with Lana have been punctured as thoroughly as Dax-Tur's brain.
+Oh, DUDE, how could I forget I had one other thing I loved about this episode: the return of Brainiac! Yay!
So, this is probably incoherent since I've been on a plane most of the day, but I'm going to post it anyway since I want to read other people's reactions.
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As for Lionel--yeah. I mean, I'm a Lionel lover and his total hypocrisy makes even me gnash my teeth.
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Good to have you back, Nora. :)
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In addition to the parallels with Lex, Lana's dispatch of Bizarro was a great bit of foreshadowing: she's going to stand at that crossroad one more significant time before all is said and done, and now we know she really does have the strength to let go of the man she loves for the sake of the greater good. For all that Lana can be legitimately dinged for how some things went down with Bizarro, in that moment in the Clocktower he was her dry run. And she passed the test with flying, if bittersweet colors, just like she will when Clark finally decides to embrace his destiny.
The second thing I loved in this episode is how it so clearly demonstrated that the Lionel-Lex power shift is 98% complete. Lex was literally above his father in their opening confrontation, and he's the one with power. In the past Lionel used many means to separate Lex from forming bonds with other people; now Lex has done the same with Lionel. Rather than let Lionel set Julian up as a rival to him, he has Julian killed. And significantly, just moments after Lionel has declared Julian to be family regardless of how he came to be. (Hmm. It just occurs to me that in doing this, Lex is not only finally committing the crime his father convicted him of years ago, he has actually adopted his mother's tactics.
What's also interesting is that Lionel actually proves that Lillian was right: he would have pitted Lex and Julian against each other had Julian lived. It's the first thing he does in the Lex/Lionel scene -- ensure that Lex knows he already prefers Grant. I've seen criticism that this episode somehow does a disservice to Memoria, but I think it's an interesting bookend, because so much of the dynamic Lillian feared came into play and because Lex actually committed the crime of which he was falsely accused all those years before.
And yay for Brainiac! He really was one of the best things about the episode.
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Yeah, I agree. That's definitely one of my favorite revelations of the episode.
What's also interesting is that Lionel actually proves that Lillian was right: he would have pitted Lex and Julian against each other had Julian lived. It's the first thing he does in the Lex/Lionel scene .
That's a really good point. I'm almost sad they killed off Grant so quickly, actually, because it would have been interesting to see that rivalry play out a little bit longer.
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I find it hard to blame her
Me too--I can really see why she ran with it.
hold onto the fantasy despite the consequences, or surrender to reality with its attendant pain. Each makes the superficially parallel choice to kill the one they loved, but Lana killed Bizarro as a way of embracing the truth
Oh my god, absolutely! I love the way you've drawn out the parallel--but the way they do it is so critical. I really felt that Lana's acknowledgement of her feelings for Bizarro was very important, even though I know lots of people will dismiss it.
It just occurs to me that in doing this, Lex is not only finally committing the crime his father convicted him of years ago, he has actually adopted his mother's tactics.
Mmm, I think Lillian's act is particularly disturbing in view of the fact that she's the one that gave Julian life. So yes, Lex has taken on his mother's act completely there. And it's just as disturbing if not more so. From my perspective, I see Lex as very frustrated with the mother figures in his life (Clark included) and so I see him subsuming their role. Lex's response to things that threaten him is to gain ultimate control over them, to make them part of his own identity (thus his development of weaponry based on Kryptonite and other alien technology).
the scene it was revealed that the sun can't shine on this relationship--counterfeit or not--because it reveals the ugly hidden truths.
Oh I love the observation! The sunlight and its affect on Bizarro is definitely a very powerful metaphor for SV to play with.
Brainiac wheeee!
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I really felt that Lana's acknowledgement of her feelings for Bizarro was very important, even though I know lots of people will dismiss it.
Oh, I do too. I actually felt really bad for her in that scene (and it kind of pushed me in a Lana/Bizarro shipper direction).
I think Lillian's act is particularly disturbing in view of the fact that she's the one that gave Julian life.
Did you read Romany's review? I loved her particular take on Lillian's motives (and the parallels with Lex).