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Smallville: Static
Spoilers behind the cut. [Edited to add: after a quick skim of the f-list, I feel it necessary to warn you that I liked the episode a lot, so if you're feeling the hate, you might want to skip this.]
I only have one complaint about this episode. It seemed like cheating to have Clark get to avoid the decision about whether or not to kill Mr. Bone Eater (in self-defense or to save all the innocent people he would munch on) in the same episode that Lex deliberately kills a guy to save himself and Lana. (Was Clark saved by that DC guy from Mars whose name I can't remember, btw?)
Otherwise, I completely loved this episode. I thought the Lexana was beautifully done--even though I found it hard to believe, in the very beginning, that Lex and Lana aren't sharing a bed. (Who knocks on their own bedroom door? But if they're living together and sleeping together, why aren't they sleeping together?)
I especially appreciated the metaphorical aspect of them being in different dimensions when they first confessed their love for each other: nice symbolism! And I actually find it persuasive that the threat of losing Lex entirely would make Lana reconsider their doubts. And really, I found both of their confessions very moving--I totally enjoy the Lexana when there's some actual passion going on between them; it's just when they're being all cold and distant (like last week) that it really annoyed me. And I'll confess that Lex' reaction to finding out Lana was pregnant made me a little weak in the knees. I have a *major* weakness for daddy Lex, so I am unlikely to be completely rational about this storyline, even though I know it is doomed (the baby and the relationship, I mean). I guess I'm just happy we're getting some passion again; it was way to early for the relationship to be going south. And I loved the proposal, though when they first walked into the room I was half expecting the Chamber of Clark Kent, or maybe the Chamber of Lana Lang.
I'm trying to decide what to make of Lana's declaration to Lex that she understands about level 33.1. It reminds me of what she said about aliens in "Arrow," where she turned out to be dissembling--but I actually *believed* her this time, and what's more, I felt like she really was completely throwing her lot in with Lex in a way she did not with "Arrow," possibly because of the baby. The scene with Chloe--especially if she was consciously lying since she really believed level 33.1 existed--somehow convinced me. Though I suppose she could be trying to deceive Lex AGAIN, but I tend to believe her this time.
And speaking of deceiving Lex: what game IS Lionel playing? Why even tell Lex where level 33.1 is? Clearly evil!Lionel is back (let the cheering begin!), and I totally loved that scene where he was basically just gloating at Chloe for giving her a computer virus, but what game is he playing with Lex? Regain control of 33.1 while attempting to completely blame it on Lex? Something else? I'm not sure, but I'm very happy he's revealed his true colors at last.
I also loved the Jimmy subplot in this episode. Clearly he is feeling undervalued by Chloe in comparison to Clark, and I really love how he's stepped up to prove himself. It was actually very nice of him to save Lex, considering his feelings about Lex; Chloe was clearly doing it for Lana, but Jimmy was doing it for Chloe. It seems fitting, somehow, that he should have arcane, old-tech knowledge, and I love that he got to save the day.
And that fit very well with Clark being gone. I know that the fact that Clark was willing to abandon Lex is going to make some people upset, I think with a certain amount of cause, but on the other hand it's a step toward the kind of decisions Superman is going to have to make all the time: save the one person he is personally connected to, or hundreds of innocent people. And it's nice to see Clark working on his own, faking his way through the crime scene to investigate rather than letting Chloe do it all for him. It's true that he was overconfident in his ability to save himself with the crystal, but I'm not sure he actually needed to be rescued by the mystery man. And to end where I began, I thought that was cheating. If you're going to show Lex's descent in an episode by having him kill, even in self-defense, you should contrast that by showing Clark choose NOT to kill in self-defense, not have someone else do his killing for him.
I only have one complaint about this episode. It seemed like cheating to have Clark get to avoid the decision about whether or not to kill Mr. Bone Eater (in self-defense or to save all the innocent people he would munch on) in the same episode that Lex deliberately kills a guy to save himself and Lana. (Was Clark saved by that DC guy from Mars whose name I can't remember, btw?)
Otherwise, I completely loved this episode. I thought the Lexana was beautifully done--even though I found it hard to believe, in the very beginning, that Lex and Lana aren't sharing a bed. (Who knocks on their own bedroom door? But if they're living together and sleeping together, why aren't they sleeping together?)
I especially appreciated the metaphorical aspect of them being in different dimensions when they first confessed their love for each other: nice symbolism! And I actually find it persuasive that the threat of losing Lex entirely would make Lana reconsider their doubts. And really, I found both of their confessions very moving--I totally enjoy the Lexana when there's some actual passion going on between them; it's just when they're being all cold and distant (like last week) that it really annoyed me. And I'll confess that Lex' reaction to finding out Lana was pregnant made me a little weak in the knees. I have a *major* weakness for daddy Lex, so I am unlikely to be completely rational about this storyline, even though I know it is doomed (the baby and the relationship, I mean). I guess I'm just happy we're getting some passion again; it was way to early for the relationship to be going south. And I loved the proposal, though when they first walked into the room I was half expecting the Chamber of Clark Kent, or maybe the Chamber of Lana Lang.
I'm trying to decide what to make of Lana's declaration to Lex that she understands about level 33.1. It reminds me of what she said about aliens in "Arrow," where she turned out to be dissembling--but I actually *believed* her this time, and what's more, I felt like she really was completely throwing her lot in with Lex in a way she did not with "Arrow," possibly because of the baby. The scene with Chloe--especially if she was consciously lying since she really believed level 33.1 existed--somehow convinced me. Though I suppose she could be trying to deceive Lex AGAIN, but I tend to believe her this time.
And speaking of deceiving Lex: what game IS Lionel playing? Why even tell Lex where level 33.1 is? Clearly evil!Lionel is back (let the cheering begin!), and I totally loved that scene where he was basically just gloating at Chloe for giving her a computer virus, but what game is he playing with Lex? Regain control of 33.1 while attempting to completely blame it on Lex? Something else? I'm not sure, but I'm very happy he's revealed his true colors at last.
I also loved the Jimmy subplot in this episode. Clearly he is feeling undervalued by Chloe in comparison to Clark, and I really love how he's stepped up to prove himself. It was actually very nice of him to save Lex, considering his feelings about Lex; Chloe was clearly doing it for Lana, but Jimmy was doing it for Chloe. It seems fitting, somehow, that he should have arcane, old-tech knowledge, and I love that he got to save the day.
And that fit very well with Clark being gone. I know that the fact that Clark was willing to abandon Lex is going to make some people upset, I think with a certain amount of cause, but on the other hand it's a step toward the kind of decisions Superman is going to have to make all the time: save the one person he is personally connected to, or hundreds of innocent people. And it's nice to see Clark working on his own, faking his way through the crime scene to investigate rather than letting Chloe do it all for him. It's true that he was overconfident in his ability to save himself with the crystal, but I'm not sure he actually needed to be rescued by the mystery man. And to end where I began, I thought that was cheating. If you're going to show Lex's descent in an episode by having him kill, even in self-defense, you should contrast that by showing Clark choose NOT to kill in self-defense, not have someone else do his killing for him.
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I have to think that that room still exists. It has to. (I demand that it does, and that Lana find it...)
what game is he playing with Lex? Regain control of 33.1 while attempting to completely blame it on Lex? Something else?
I think Lex was on-target in a lot of his early rants against Lionel — that he can't bear for Lex to be outside of his control. I suspect that this is Lionel's way of pulling Lex back into the fold — and on his own terms. I'm still fixated on Lana possessing Grohl's research, so it's fascinating to me that Lionel now possesses 33.1. So Lex is stranded between them, not in control of the information source of either of his major interests.
And that fit very well with Clark being gone.
I missed the first 15 minutes — business dinner, yuck! — so I have it on tape. So when I started watching, I couldn't figure out where Clark was. Wait... wasn't there a tall, dark-haired guy on this show? I could've sworn...
it's a step toward the kind of decisions Superman is going to have to make all the time: save the one person he is personally connected to, or hundreds of innocent people.
And very much what Ollie (and the audience) have been telling him — that there's a world beyond his immediate circle. Love that he's stepping out into it.
I'm not sure he actually needed to be rescued by the mystery man. And to end where I began, I thought that was cheating. If you're going to show Lex's descent in an episode by having him kill, even in self-defense, you should contrast that by showing Clark choose NOT to kill in self-defense, not have someone else do his killing for him.
I felt cheated by the fact that we never got a head-on fight between Clark and the Bone Eater... it wasn't really a test of Clark's strength, so there's no way to know if he would have come out on top. (Although c'mon, he's Superman...)
What was significant about the Lex scene to me was that I don't think he had to kll him. Disabling him was an option, once Lex had gained the upper hand, and an option that Lex didn't take — didn't even attempt. It seemed to me to be less of a contrast between someone who killed and someone who didn't (because yeah, someone else did the dirty work), but between the villains... the opponent that Lex faced wasn't the same physical threat, didn't have to be killed, and was in fact the victim.
I'm really curious to know what was going through Clark's head at the end, and it annoyed me that it was left so unclear. When Clark didn't talk to Chloe, it effectively shut the audience out of his head, too. Was it the ugliness and death he'd seen? Was he protecting the apparently new hero on the scene from discovery (obviously MM is very shy, in the way he ran away from Clark)? Was he thinking about the fact that it was necessary to kill the Bone Eater to stop him, and contemplating having to take that action himself? Talk about black boxes — they shut us out of Clark's thought process, and it really annoyed me.
no subject
Yes, I agree--I just think Lionel is mistaken if he thinks he can actually maintain control in a season where Lex is becoming Lex Luthor, villain. I don't think either Lana or Lionel are going to be in control of those information sources for long. :D
when I started watching, I couldn't figure out where Clark was. Wait... wasn't there a tall, dark-haired guy on this show? I could've sworn...
Logistically, I believe TW is directing an episode (either this one or the next one, I'm not sure) which is why he had so little screentime. Though (since I've seen this complaint in a lot of reviews), there are three leads on this show, not just one--and he got more screentime than Lex did in a lot of season 4 eps. And basically I prefer Clark to have less screentime doing more advance-toward-Superman type things, rather than more screentime when he's not. And it's possible I should have directed this mini-rant at other people, not you, sorry!
What was significant about the Lex scene to me was that I don't think he had to kll him. Disabling him was an option, once Lex had gained the upper hand, and an option that Lex didn't take — didn't even attempt. It seemed to me to be less of a contrast between someone who killed and someone who didn't (because yeah, someone else did the dirty work), but between the villains... the opponent that Lex faced wasn't the same physical threat, didn't have to be killed, and was in fact the victim.
Yes and no. I agree, Lex probably didn't have to kill that guy, and he had been someone Lex had experimented on (though to be honest, I want to know what the guy did to end up in Belle Reve--normally mutants who don't go crazy don't end up there). I actually think it's the threat to Lana that pushed Lex over the line on that one. (It was sort of bizarre that the death wasn't commented on by ANYONE, not even Chloe and Jimmy who you would have expected to have been taken aback).
I'm not sure Bone Eating guy is necessarily less innocent, though. One could argue that he was just following a natural imperative, so there's no actual moral culpability, though of course he had to be stopped. And I'm not really convinced he was more of a threat to Clark than frequency-shifting guy was to Lex. It's true that Clark didn't falsely imprison him, unlike Lex and frequency-shifting guy, but Mr. Bone-Eater probably thought Jor-El had falsely imprisoned him.
I'm really curious to know what was going through Clark's head at the end, and it annoyed me that it was left so unclear.
Me too. My guess is that he's feeling guilty about all the people that died--Mr. Bone Eater racked up quite a high score on the carnage scale--since he actually mentioned the new hero to Chloe, which he didn't have to do if he was really protecting him like he protected Green Arrow.
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Oh, no, don't worry! I'm so pleased with the storyline and character work for Clark this season that I'm not counting screentime minutes at all. It was just weird this week because I missed the narrative set-up for Clark being out of town... and tuning in at the 15-minute mark meant that I didn't see him until about the 40-minute mark, which was just... like he'd suddenly dropped out of existence. Which wouldn't have been the case if I'd watched from the beginning. It wasn't until the last scene that I found out he was in Seattle.
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