However confusion arises as to what degree Jor-El is active in punishing Clark. I maintain there is no evidence to suggest Jor-El can kill people at will and/or control destiny. If he could truly control it, he'd have Clark doing what he wanted already. It seems more like he can see the future and make predictions and can try to guide Clark but he can't control everything. His agency is limited.
I agree that he is not "controlling destiny" (though if Kryptonians have time travel technology, that does seem to make them god-like, from human standards, even though Jor-el specifically told Clark that they weren't gods.) I'm not even completely sure that he can actually forsee the future--because that assumes all choices are fixed. But he still could be manipulating people to try and achieve his desired end goal.
The Jor-El/Lionel connection is a fascinating though ambiguous feature of this season. The theory you mentioned is an interesting one. I doubt the writers will spell it out like that. But the ambiguity is interesting. One thing speaking against that viewing would be that when Jor-El inhabited Lionel last time it was quite spectacularly obvious. But, who knows? Could just be a consistency slip-up!
Well, the other thing is that it was obvious because it was *necessary* (at least when he was speaking with Clark--or are you referring to white-eyed crazy Lionel? My reading of that was it was all just part of Jor-El "rebooting" Lionel until he was ready to serve as his vessel--I'm not sure we have any evidence that Jor-El ever surrendered control of Lionel's body--and I'm sure the writers are leaving that intentionally ambiguous. (That also puts a *very* different spin on the Mionel thing--maybe Jor-El is so put out by Clark's human side he's deliberately taking revenge on his human parents. Though I don't actually think that's what's happening).
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I agree that he is not "controlling destiny" (though if Kryptonians have time travel technology, that does seem to make them god-like, from human standards, even though Jor-el specifically told Clark that they weren't gods.) I'm not even completely sure that he can actually forsee the future--because that assumes all choices are fixed. But he still could be manipulating people to try and achieve his desired end goal.
The Jor-El/Lionel connection is a fascinating though ambiguous feature of this season. The theory you mentioned is an interesting one. I doubt the writers will spell it out like that. But the ambiguity is interesting. One thing speaking against that viewing would be that when Jor-El inhabited Lionel last time it was quite spectacularly obvious. But, who knows? Could just be a consistency slip-up!
Well, the other thing is that it was obvious because it was *necessary* (at least when he was speaking with Clark--or are you referring to white-eyed crazy Lionel? My reading of that was it was all just part of Jor-El "rebooting" Lionel until he was ready to serve as his vessel--I'm not sure we have any evidence that Jor-El ever surrendered control of Lionel's body--and I'm sure the writers are leaving that intentionally ambiguous. (That also puts a *very* different spin on the Mionel thing--maybe Jor-El is so put out by Clark's human side he's deliberately taking revenge on his human parents. Though I don't actually think that's what's happening).