Smallville: Doomsday

[norwich36]

Hmm. For something not billed as a two-parter, that really felt like part one of two.

Things that shocked the hell out of me, part one

I had read that particular Ausiello spoiler, and I was pretty sure that the two people who were going to die were Davis and Tess. I thought there was a very small possibility it would be Davis and Chloe, but decided that was unlikely because (outside my flist, anyway) Chloe is still one of the most popular characters on the show. I never even considered the possibility it would be Jimmy, since he's a DC canon character.

I have to say, I have very mixed emotions about Jimmy's death. I absolutely love Tess, and I'm ecstatic that she's not the one to be killed off. And I haven't been shy about my growing dislike for Jimmy this season--so of course this would be the episode where I started liking him again, both for his investigative prowess (especially working, albeit briefly, with Lois) and for his absolutely wonderful wedding present for Chloe. Wow. I even loved their reconciliation, and I've basically hated their relationship since they got married. I should have guessed right then he was a goner. Heck, I had a moment thinking he would die when he discovered Clark's secret, but once again I thought "they could never kill off Jimmy Olsen."

And speaking of Jimmy finding out Clark's secret: that was a great revelation scene. I think these are my favorite scenes of the whole series, the wonder and awe people experience when they find out Clark's secret. Jimmy's reaction warmed my heart. I was so happy that Clark told him the truth! (Of course, Clark thought he was going to die, so he probably thought he didn't have anything to lose, but still.)I was actually looking forward to next season where Clark had a confidant who was sane not overly invested in him.

I realize that Jimmy's little brother is supposed to now be Jimmy 2.0, who will be the right age, blah blah blah, but it's not the same, and I really feel kind of betrayed. Yet at the same time Jimmy's the character who seems least necessary for most of the major plotlines, so it is logical that he should go. Like I said, I'm very conflicted.

Things that shocked the hell out of me, part 2

So Lois got sucked into Kandor? Is that what we're supposed to think? Holy crap. Not that I'm expecting her to be stuck there for very long, but wow.

On the other hand, unless this is going to lead to another convenient loss of memory, getting sent to Kandor means (a) Lois is going to have incontrovertible proof of alien existence and (b) this is totally setting her up for knowing Clark as Kal-El. In which case I am totally on board with this plot development.

Am I going to have to go do research on Kandor now? All I know is it's a Kryptonian city that somehow got shrunk into miniature. Do you think I need to find out more before next season?

Edited to add *Insert Roseanna Roseanna Danna Voice* Never mind. Um, apparently I totally missed that that was the Legion ring Lois grabbed, because I was thinking Clark had it, when of course he left it in his desk. And something about the pink light made me think Kandor. My bad. Damn, I like my theory better. But if she is in the future, she'll still know about Kal-El, probably (just not connected to Clark), and I'm still sure the Kandor plot is linked to Clark's sudden aversion to humanity, so I'm still ok with this.

Things that didn't upset me as much as I anticipate they upset the rest of fandom

I would be more upset at Clark's loss of self-confidence, his stupid insistence on blaming himself for Jimmy's death, and his wrongheaded decision to abandon human connections and embrace his Kryptonian whateverness (Clark, did you just watch the new Star Trek movie and confuse Kryptonians with Vulcans?), if it weren't clearly setting up what will probably be a really interesting plot arc for the beginning of next season where he explores his Kryptonian heritage via Kandor.

And even though I think he's obviously making a big mistake cutting himself off from everyone, I can understand the emotional place he's coming from. Clark always holds himself responsible for everything, even when it's not his fault. Yes, it was his plan to split Davis and Doomsday, and I still think it was a good one, because Davis (the human) should not have been summarily executed without a trial. It might have been naive of Clark to think Davis once separated from Doomsday would be totally innocent, but he was correct that Davis was not a threat to humanity as a whole, so there was no justification for killing him.

And Chloe made the choice to go along with the plan, and then audibly reconcile with Jimmy when Davis was right there, so she bears a certain amount of responsibility for Jimmy's death. But ultimately it was Davis who made the decision, and he's the one who should be blamed, not Chloe or Clark.

Where the fuck did that sword come from, anyway?

Other random observations

There were several really gorgeously shot scenes: the funeral, of course, but also the scene where Clark is leaving the watchtower, as well as the kind of noirishly lit scene where Clark was working at the Daily Planet.

I also loved that scene with Clark in the phone booth saying what he thought were his goodbyes to Lois. OMG. That was beautiful and heartbreaking. And I love when he's being all self-sacrificing to save the world.

And speaking of Lois: HOW MUCH DO I LOVE that she was totally willing to give up her job because finding Chloe was more important to her? God, her loyalty is amazing. And her throwdown with Tess was also a joy to watch.

I'm sure I'll think of more things I want to talk about later, but I guess that's enough for now.


My SPN review might not happen until tomorrow night, since I'm not watching until the 2 hour Grey's finale is over, and then it will be very late.

Comments

[psychme.livejournal.com]

Just bouncing around LJ reading finale reviews, and I came across your entry.

Just wanted to say: Lois was transported by the Legion ring, so I don't believe she was sucked into Kandor. Rather, she is somewhere in time.

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

*DOH*

Thanks for popping in to point this out. I should have realized the ring was there for a reason; for some reason I forgot Clark put it in his desk, and I was thinking that he had it on his person. In fact, I was half expecting him to go back and save Jimmy with it.

[supercaptain182.livejournal.com]

This reads as if you were in my head!

The same thoughts occurred to me, especially the nod to Vulcans and the irrationality of emotional thinking. On the Chloe front, I was expecting something terrible to happen during the reconciliation scene, because she's standing there, fessing up to having faked the relationship with Davis and he's still in the room, unconscious or otherwise, that didn't seem like a smart move. But I guess we were supposed to see it as Chloe and Jimmy being too caught up in the moment to think about that little detail.

LOVED the fight between Tess and Lois. LOVED It! Oh Clark, you're right. He is making a mistake, however his thinking is valid at the moment. He's grown so much with this season and I love it.

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

Of course I know that compared to humans, Kryptonians are less volatile and publicly expressive, but I couldn't help making the Star Trek reference.

I was expecting Davis to wake up and freak out, but I really didn't expect him to kill Jimmy! And I still want to know where the freaking sword came from!

I'm ok with Clark making this particular mistake, because I'm sure it's connected to the Kandor plot--and really, even non-superhuman people blame themselves when people they love die, so I can see why someone who takes the weight of the world on his shoulders would do so too.

[duskwillow.livejournal.com]

Lois/Clark(RBB) scene and Jimmy finding out scenes were the heart of this episode.
But the episode is still irredeemable for me.
Chloe getting away scot free and Jimmy ending up dead, and not being the real Jimmy, is just too insulting.

And Chloe made the choice to go along with the plan, and then audibly reconcile with Jimmy when Davis was right there, so she bears a certain amount of responsibility for Jimmy's death. But ultimately it was Davis who made the decision, and he's the one who should be blamed, not Chloe or Clark.

I do blame Chloe.
If she didn't manipulate Clark out of sending Davis into the Phantom Zone everyone would have lived.
If she didn't manipulate Davis until he snapped after finding out the truth Jimmy would have been fine.
Davis is a guilty party. But we already knew he's unstable and capable of murder. Chloe knew that too, and she still protected him.
So it was Chloe who set all the parts into motion, and is responsible for what went down in the finale.

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

Ok. I'm not going to argue with you about Chloe. The fact is, the vast anti-Chloe sentiment on my flist over the last 6 months or so has almost driven me out of the fandom, so if I'm actually going to keep watching and reviewing next season, I just have to stay out of these debates. Sorry.

[bop-radar.livejournal.com]

of course this would be the episode where I started liking him again
I see why: he was back to the character we once knew and loved. It was so weird to have him written as an obsessive, crazy drug addict. And I never felt he was at his best in a relationship with Chloe--I liked his investigative side, and I agree: the scene where he found out about Clark was beautiful.

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

Yes. This, exactly. And that's why I was so upset they killed him, because they finally had the seeds of a plot arc with him I would actually love, and then he was dead.

Damn you, Smallville writers! If you really want to explore Clark's literal alienation, you could have come up with a better way. Finales don't always mean someone has to die!

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

Yes, it was his plan to split Davis and Doomsday, and I still think it was a good one, because Davis (the human) should not have been summarily executed without a trial. It might have been naive of Clark to think Davis once separated from Doomsday would be totally innocent, but he was correct that Davis was not a threat to humanity as a whole, so there was no justification for killing him.

:nods:


I thought the biggest failure of the finale was bringing Chimmy back when it felt so out of the blue. Last few episodes haven't even hinted at Chloe pinning for Jimmy, she actually got a lot of raised eyebrows for having dinner with Davis in Eternal right after Jimmy dumped her, and then Beast phone call set up Chloe being torn between protecting Clark and saving Davis. Introducing Chimmy back into it just to get the maximum angst from his death was short-sighted IMO, they could have easily had Chloe mourn over his dying to protect her without having to insert the moment of her kissing him. And for Chloe to now have no feelings for Davis was also a disappointing decision for me as it doesn't tie in with recent episodes at all, and makes it really confusing to connect with her characters decisions. I never believed that an attraction to Davis was her primary reason for wanting to save the man/believing there was still good in him, but for Davis to kill while free of Doomsday and for Chloe to not even have any moment of reflection after all of the build-up in episodes like Prey and Eternal????

Really I'm most annoyed that the Chloom connection was build up all year, and there was zero emotional pay-off. I had been anticipating Sam getting a moment to tug at the audiences heartstrings, and for Chloe to cry over her failure to save Davis. It felt incredibly anticlimactic to bring it back to Chloe loving Jimmy, and the whole Davis storyline meaning very little to her



I realize that Jimmy's little brother is supposed to now be Jimmy 2.0, who will be the right age, blah blah blah, but it's not the same, and I really feel kind of betrayed.


I think that was their mistake. If they were going to kill Jimmy Olsen, they should have had the guts to actually kill Jimmy Olsen y'know? It felt really contrived and insulting to suddenly claim his real name was Henry just in order to preserve the mythos.

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

Well, they couldn't have had quite the dramatic death scene they apparently wanted without bringing Chimmy back. (And it worked for me just because one of the hugest obstacles to their relationship has always been Clark's secret, so once Jimmy knew it made a little more sense).

I really don't like the way they handled the Davis arc at all , since if they were trying to make Chloe appear sympathetic in doing it for Clark they failed massively. And I agree that the ending of Chloe-Davis was a horrible letdown.

[jlvsclrk.livejournal.com]

I thought from the moment I heard the spoiler that it would be Jimmy or Ollie who bit the dust, and I guess the writers think there's more story to be told with Ollie. I'm at the stage where I kind of wish Ollie and Chloe had left the show, because I really found this whole arc extremely problematic with all too few moments of enjoyment. Here's hoping for more Clois next year, and for the show runners to remember that Clark is a figure of hope and deserves some happiness.

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

You guess better than me. I never thought Ollie or Jimmy could even be considered, since they're both DC canon characers.

[awehla.livejournal.com]

I think Clark will come back as a nerd so people won't recognise him when he's Superman.

Lisa
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[norwich36.livejournal.com]

Hmm. That would certainly be an interesting plot development!

[awehla.livejournal.com]

It's what they did in the comics, he put glasses on, slouched and wore sweaters to make him look fat as well as acting like a bit of a weakling. In "Lois & Clark" though he was just himself and people still didn't recognise him so we shall see what Smallville decided to do.

Lisa
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