norwich36 | Smallville 8.2

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Smallville 8.2

Spoilers ahoy.

Stuff I liked:

--I actually liked all the Chloe/Davis interactions. I'm spoiled (I think) for Davis' identity, and yet I can't help but think he has a thousand times more chemistry with Chloe than Jimmy does, so I'm kind of hoping this goes somewhere

--Lois giving Clark fashion advice=entirely FTW. I also loved her acting as his reporter-mentor in general. And all the red ink on his first obituary--hee!!!

--Against my will, I also thought Tess and Clark had a wee bit of chemistry, especially when he was carrying her from the bomb site

--Clark telling Chloe her happiness is one of the most important things in the world to him. *Squishes Clark* That was a really sweet scene, despite my general annoyance at the Chimmy wedding plot

--Sorry, but I'm kind of liking Tess. Tellling Clark she was on the bus because she was trying to go green, but don't tell her shareholders. HEE!!!

Also her seduction of Bette was AWESOMESAUCE. They continue to bring on the femslashy vibe with this character. Plus I loved her methods: "We'll make a hero out of you yet." And I liked the greenish lighting in that scene; I was trying to decide if that's going to be the meteor mutant hero color, or the Tess color? (I hope the latter, because that makes the "I'm going green" comment even more appropriate).

--Great Clois banter and discussion overall:
"I'm sorry that you can't keep up!"
"SItting here with you, I'm more proud that we uncovered the truth than getting a headline"

Stuff I didn't really like:

--I honestly don't mind that they're moving Chloe away from journalism, but I wish they'd give her some more character-consistent motivation for it than "it'll be kind of nice to try something new."

--Also, I was underwhelmed, somehow, with her desire to help Bette and the general motivation to reopen Isis. I just found that whole plotline...boring? I guess I was especially kind of annoyed that she kept enough reporter mojo to check out Davis, but she didn't suspect Bette at all until the last minute. I can see how Chloe at Isis helping mutants could, long term, be an interesting plot, but at the moment I'm not really into it.

--Although I am liking Tess, I really wish they didn't have her in the Luthor mansion. I don't mind that she is taking charge of Luthorcorp, but seeing her in front of Lex's fire really felt wrong to me.

--I was really missing all the folks no longer in the cast this week. The plot seemed really thin to me with only three main characters (since I'm not really counting Tess and Davis yet; they haven't established themselves enough.)

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I can't STAND that Tess is in the Luthor mansion ... it's just WRONG!

Very wrong, I agree.

Although I am liking Tess, I really wish they didn't have her in the Luthor mansion. I don't mind that she is taking charge of Luthorcorp, but seeing her in front of Lex's fire really felt wrong to me.

Ditto. She has the right sarcastic bite, I like that she seems to be...omnisexual, she and Clark did have a spark, more spark than he has with Lois sadly, (but not as much as he has with Davis, WTF is up with that kid?) but damn it, get her ass out of the mansion! That's sacrilege! Clark should never come busting through the door to confront her, that will make me so angry.

Thomas did a wonderful job in his scenes with her. He was very kind in his remarks about Lex. He made it seem that underneath it all, he truly, deeply regrets what happened to their friendship. *eyewipey moment for roxy* In fact, he did a great job all the way around.

As for Davis...um. Um-um-um. Helloooo there stranger, new in town? :)

Yeah, I really did love Clark in this episode. (Though, politically? It seemed pretty dumb to me to admit to the new boss of Luthorcorp that he hadn't been friends with Lex for a long time. )

And yeah, Davis is definitely cute, and potentially quite interesting.

I can't help but think he has a thousand times more chemistry with Chloe than Jimmy does, so I'm kind of hoping this goes somewhere

Fie! Couples who actually have chemistry never go anywhere. Hasn't SV taught you that yet?

Actually, *couples* never go anywhere on this show, chemistry or no. The one successful sexual relationship in the whole show ended in death. Couples with chemistry rarely get to even kiss, though. *Pouts*

That... is very true. And somewhat worrying.

In context, Martha and Lionel getting to hug once is probably the show equivalent of a 25-year marriage.

I wanted one kiss--just ONE KISS. They could have been under the influence of something, I wouldn't have cared.

Also, in an entirely separate note, Lana and Lex should have had lots of angry sex.

I found it wrenching that they didn't even get to be with one another in alternate universes... not even the one where they were married.

The Lex/Lana thing was fairly ridiculous too. They were dating and sleeping in different rooms? See: Lana/Jason and Lana/Whitney for further ridiculousness.

please to be excusing my barging in on this thread, but i'd forgotten how much that icon makes me laugh!

Well, I can't take credit for it--the creator's in my icon credits, though I don't remember who it was off the top of my head.

I liked the episode, and made the mistake of going to TWOP where all they did was bitch nonstop about Lois actually being Lois Lane. How dare she...be herself?

*snort* seriously? So instead of bitching that Lois isn't Lois, they are now bitching that Lois IS Lois... wow, is that a step up for them? I guess they can't ignore the fact that Lois finally had an article, front page no less, that was actually talked about ON Screen.. that was one of their criticisms against her and I guess it sucks to be shown up over and over again haha

Well, I'm on record as saying that going to the TWOP Smallville boards is always a mistake, so I am not unbiased here.

I do feel sorry for people who can't enjoy Lois, though, because she's really become the highlight of the show for me.

on reading people's reactions, i'm surprised to find that this season is holding my interest so far. i like the way they're letting clark BE more, instead of just moping and being all depressed. that was a downer for the audience, too.

tess shouldn't be at the mansion, f'real. maybe in the penthouse, all stark and gleamingly modern, but not in the mansion in front of the fire.

Yes, it's great that they're finally letting Clark grow into Superman. About time!!!

I actually liked all the Chloe/Davis interactions. I'm spoiled (I think) for Davis' identity, and yet I can't help but think he has a thousand times more chemistry with Chloe than Jimmy does, so I'm kind of hoping this goes somewhere.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked the Chloe/Davis stuff. I do think it felt a wee bit rushed, but their chemistry is go good that I didn't mind that they were eye-sexin' like crazy during the Isis scene. Clearly, Davis blacking out and waking up naked in alleys means it can't end well, but I'm willing to go along for the ride.

--Lois giving Clark fashion advice=entirely FTW. I also loved her acting as his reporter-mentor in general. And all the red ink on his first obituary--hee!!!

I find it endearing that Lois has taken Clark under her wing and that she's trying to mentor him. She does care about him and she wants him to do well, and I can't help but think that Martha and Jonathan would approve.

--Against my will, I also thought Tess and Clark had a wee bit of chemistry, especially when he was carrying her from the bomb site

I think they had chemistry, too, but I find myself really ambivalent about Tess. I think Cassidy Freeman is capable and has a lot of charisma, and I do like the way she brings the slashy vibe to the yard in her scenes with other actresses. But I feel like I'm watching SV do the story of What If Lex Had Been A Girl with Tess and it's actually bothering me more than I thought it would.

I'm glad that the creative team recognizes that Lex's absence leaves a hole in the canvas and that they at least need to keep the idea of his presence alive (after all, the character isn't dead in the future uber-canon towards which the show is headed). But there's a difference between keeping his presence alive and wholesale trying to replace him. For me right now, Tess is teetering dangerously close to the latter. I think that's why I had a bad reaction to her sitting at Lex's desk last week and a bad reaction to her apparently residing in the mansion this week. I think if Tess hadn't been conceptualized as having such a close tie to Lex himself, I'd be a lot less resistant to her. But I don't like the sense I'm getting that she's a replacement rather than just a stand-in. Even her dynamic with Clark looks like it's going to retread ground they've already walked with Lex and Clark (he saves her, she knows she's lying, she's determined to find out about what, etc.). And there's something about the way CF herself plays Tess ... let's put it this way: If we get some reveal that Tess is really a Lex clone with girl parts or a sekrit!Luthor? I won't be surprised and I won't think it came out of nowhere.

The Chloe/Clark scene at the end was incredibly sweet. I was surprised by how much I liked it, even as I don't like the Chimmy engagement plot.

--I honestly don't mind that they're moving Chloe away from journalism, but I wish they'd give her some more character-consistent motivation for it than "it'll be kind of nice to try something new."

I talked about why I'm okay with Chloe's changed trajectory here (http://canadabear.livejournal.com/302081.html?thread=968705#t968705). In a nutshell, I can see how learning that she's a meteor mutant would send Chloe into an existential crisis of sorts such that I can understand why she's re-evaluating where she is in her life right now.

I really wish they didn't have her in the Luthor mansion.

For the life of me, I don't understand why they didn't just redress the mansion set to turn it into the Luthor penthouse. Not only would it be a more logical use of the space -- because why, exactly, is Tess staying in Smallville? It barely made sense once we got to S6 that Lex stayed there, but at least the argument could be made he just didn't feel like moving because Smallville had been his home for several years, but you can't really do that fanwank with Tess -- but it's also something new for viewers to look at in a show that's all about reinventing itself after seven years. They could have come up with a really sleek, stylish new space for Tess without actually building a whole new set.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked the Chloe/Davis stuff. I do think it felt a wee bit rushed, but their chemistry is go good that I didn't mind that they were eye-sexin' like crazy during the Isis scene.

Oh, stepping back from it I agree that it was rushed, but it didn't feel rushed to me precisely because they had chemistry. And I can certainly see Chloe having an existential crisis especially *because* she just got another meteor (or Brainiac!) power, but I kind of wish they'd explicitly made that textual. Especially since her new power to me made it seem like she'd be an even better reporter, so I just wanted something more than that throwaway comment to Clark at the bus bombing site.

I think they had chemistry, too, but I find myself really ambivalent about Tess. I think Cassidy Freeman is capable and has a lot of charisma, and I do like the way she brings the slashy vibe to the yard in her scenes with other actresses. But I feel like I'm watching SV do the story of What If Lex Had Been A Girl with Tess and it's actually bothering me more than I thought it would.

It's funny--I was arguing with Bop about this last week, since she has a much stronger feeling that they're trying to shoehorn Tess in as a Lex replacement than I did, but after this week I think I see her (and your point) a little more. I like the actress, and I like the way she can flip from ingratiating to menacing on a dime, and she has great chemistry with everyone, but I also got a little of the "what if Lex was a girl" vibe, and also didn't like it.

ESPECIALLY the continual encroachment at the mansion. I agree with you, they should have made a new space for her, because continuing to use the Smallville mansion makes zero sense. And between the fire and someone bursting in (I was terrified for a moment it would be Clark), I had a very real sense of wrongness.

I do love your suggestion that Tess is a Lex clone with girlparts, though. Or heck, maybe even the real Lex, who somehow (handwavy Kryptonian McGuffin explanation) got turned into a girl as part of the explosion of the Fortress. It seems less egregious to me, the way she's being slotted into Lex's place [company, home, relationship with Clark], if she actually *is* Lex. (Though I'm afraid someone's going to officially come and revoke my MR fan membership card, now that I've said that). I don't think CF has MR's acting chops, but I do agree there's something Lexian about the way she's been playing scenes, and Tess as Lex/a Lex clone would be totally cracky fun. I do love me some genderswap.

//--I actually liked all the Chloe/Davis interactions. I'm spoiled (I think) for Davis' identity, and yet I can't help but think he has a thousand times more chemistry with Chloe than Jimmy does, so I'm kind of hoping this goes somewhere//

I agree. Where AM and AA still can't muster up any chemistry even after two seasons, AM and SW just developed an easy one in their very first ep. I'm very intrigued by Davis' character. Looking forward to seeing how it all plays out.

As for Clark, and Lois? Both written amazingly well in this ep.

I'm meh on Tess though, unfortunately. I'm just finding her so---random right now. She's like the veritable Poochie the Dog, ala The Simpsons.

While I'm looking forward to more Chloe/Davis, thinking about it, I'm *not* looking forward to a love triangle. Ugh. I used to like Jimmy, but I feel like I'm pretty over him right now.

I know I'm not the biggest fan of Chloe anyway, but I was also underwhelmed by the new direction for her character... for all the reasons you list. It felt like they were shoehorning her in a new direction but they didn't keep it consistent--she still investigates Davis? Meh.

I was really missing all the folks no longer in the cast this week. The plot seemed really thin to me with only three main characters
Same. There was a lot of time spent on Tess, Davis and Bette. Bette was a one-ep character, and Tess and Davis are finding their feet... it felt strained.

Yeah. I seem to have liked the episode a little more than you did, but clearly not a lot more. (I was just getting ready to reply to your review when this beeped into my inbox). I miss Lex and Lana and Lionel! Come back, L's!!

Yeah, I miss them all! Lana!!! Lionel!! :( I don't know... I'm trying... it took me til about 3/4 of the way through to be truly worn down by the ep, I kept trying to see something interesting, but it just lacked a lot of the old pizzazz with none of the season premiere's promise about a new dynamic fulfilled yet.

I'm a fan of Davis so far. I think mostly, I've grown weary of the Chloe/Jimmy relationship (waaaay too much water under that bridge), so seeing her spark with someone else was fun.

I think it would be easier to handle Tess in the Luthor mansion if she wasn't taking over EVERY SINGLE ASPECT of Lex's life. The major complaint thus far seems to be that they're writing her as Girl!Lex. And while I like her at this point, I totally get that. Taking over Luthorcorp, the Daily Planet, the mansion, gathering up meteor freaks for her own nefarious purposes, suspecting that There Is Something Amiss when it comes to Clark....it's all just WAY too familiar. I get that we need a new villian, but they have to differentiate her from Lex somehow other than "She's got boobs and Lex did not."

And I absolutely agree on missing the former cast members. *sigh*

Oh, I agree that it would be better if they gave Tess her own personality--it's just that certain things make her adoption of Lex traits seem especially egregious.

I'm very interested to see what they do with Davis.

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Smallville 8.2

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