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SV: Reckoning
Rewatching "Reckoning" last night, I had a few additional thoughts on it.
First of all, I went back and reread all four of the reviews I posted on this episode, just to make sure I wasn't being repetitive, and I hereby make a new rule for myself: no parentheses! Geez! What is it with me and parentheses?
I remember, vaguely, when this episode first came out there was a lot of discussion about destiny and choice and the extent to which Clark's choice was responsible for Jonathan's death. As I watched it this time, though, what I was thinking about was how much Jonathan was responsible for Jonathan's death. Here I'm not merely thinking about the deal he made with Jor-El to bring Clark back from Metropolis, but also his lifelong choice not to attempt to reign in his temper. We know, for example, that he alienated Martha from her family by punching out her dad when they first met, an encounter neither side has ever forgiven.
And here he brings on his own fatal heart attack by punching out Lionel. Why?
What on earth could he hope to gain from such a thing? Men like Lionel Luthor aren't intimidated by violence; in fact, punching out Lionel Luthor is more likely to endanger Clark's secret than to save him. If anything, Jonathan's decision to attempt to protect Clark through violence is even more impulsive and ill-considered than Clark's bargain with Jor-El to save Lana--at least in that case Clark knew he'd be saving someone. Even if Jonathan hadn't ended up giving himself a heart attack, though, his attempt to protect Clark by beating down Lionel would have inevitably failed.
I'm not saying this to knock Jonathan, by the way. I wouldn't say he was my favorite character, but I always did respect his genuine love for Clark and Martha. I'm saying this because rewatching this episode in the light of the rest of the season has given me hope that TPTB know that Jonathan was flawed, and though Clark has inherited his moral code, maybe he's supposed to learn that Jonathan's rash impulsiveness and rush to solve things physically isn't the right way to go. Thinking about this has also made me somewhat less irritated at Martha's plot arc. Maybe they're trying to (eventually) make Clark into a golden mean between the extremes of his two parents (especially vis-a-vis Luthors): he needs to avoid Jonathan's extreme judgmentalism and his impulse to solve everything with his fists, AND to avoid Martha's extreme of trusting too soon and making herself too vulnerable because her faith in people swings too much the other way.
Or something like that. I can hope, anyway.
The whole funeral scene, especially the musical montage, still utterly destroys me. Even though I still think this episode should have been a two-parter to fully develop the themes it explores (especially the reveal to Lana), every time I watch this episode I like it more.
First of all, I went back and reread all four of the reviews I posted on this episode, just to make sure I wasn't being repetitive, and I hereby make a new rule for myself: no parentheses! Geez! What is it with me and parentheses?
I remember, vaguely, when this episode first came out there was a lot of discussion about destiny and choice and the extent to which Clark's choice was responsible for Jonathan's death. As I watched it this time, though, what I was thinking about was how much Jonathan was responsible for Jonathan's death. Here I'm not merely thinking about the deal he made with Jor-El to bring Clark back from Metropolis, but also his lifelong choice not to attempt to reign in his temper. We know, for example, that he alienated Martha from her family by punching out her dad when they first met, an encounter neither side has ever forgiven.
And here he brings on his own fatal heart attack by punching out Lionel. Why?
What on earth could he hope to gain from such a thing? Men like Lionel Luthor aren't intimidated by violence; in fact, punching out Lionel Luthor is more likely to endanger Clark's secret than to save him. If anything, Jonathan's decision to attempt to protect Clark through violence is even more impulsive and ill-considered than Clark's bargain with Jor-El to save Lana--at least in that case Clark knew he'd be saving someone. Even if Jonathan hadn't ended up giving himself a heart attack, though, his attempt to protect Clark by beating down Lionel would have inevitably failed.
I'm not saying this to knock Jonathan, by the way. I wouldn't say he was my favorite character, but I always did respect his genuine love for Clark and Martha. I'm saying this because rewatching this episode in the light of the rest of the season has given me hope that TPTB know that Jonathan was flawed, and though Clark has inherited his moral code, maybe he's supposed to learn that Jonathan's rash impulsiveness and rush to solve things physically isn't the right way to go. Thinking about this has also made me somewhat less irritated at Martha's plot arc. Maybe they're trying to (eventually) make Clark into a golden mean between the extremes of his two parents (especially vis-a-vis Luthors): he needs to avoid Jonathan's extreme judgmentalism and his impulse to solve everything with his fists, AND to avoid Martha's extreme of trusting too soon and making herself too vulnerable because her faith in people swings too much the other way.
Or something like that. I can hope, anyway.
The whole funeral scene, especially the musical montage, still utterly destroys me. Even though I still think this episode should have been a two-parter to fully develop the themes it explores (especially the reveal to Lana), every time I watch this episode I like it more.
no subject
Plus playing with the timelines, means we could see season 5 Lex's reaction to Clark's secret. We so briefly get a look at his face as Clark rushed up, and then that's it. Pfft
I wonder at Vengeance with Clark deciding to hold back on violence by thinking of how his dad would have responded. From back in Rogue, Jonathon has always been lashing out with his fists
no subject
Of course, now that Jonathan is dead he's been idealized by Clark. But also, I think Jonathan strongly emphasized that Clark couldn't be violent, because of his strength--even though he himself resorted to violence. (Maybe we're supposed to see Jonathan's violence as a "pushed to the extremes" thing--each time he lashes out someone he loves is being threatened--but that's still not a great model for Superman!)
I'm kind of surprised there hasn't been a lot of post-Reckoning fic, either Clexifying it or doing a kind of "Five Things" revisioning of it. It would be very interesting to explore timeline one further, for example.