norwich36 | SV 6.13 Crimson

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smallville meta

SV 6.13 Crimson

Spoilers ahoy!

I don't have any real analysis of this episode, just a bunch of disconnected reactions to the plot.

This is another episode which I was a little spoiled for and I was kind of dreading, so once again I was pleasantly surprised. Normally I cringe when redK!Clark acts like a jerk, but I actually really loved that confrontation scene at the engagement dinner. It was fun to hear Clark saying stuff we've been saying all season.

I also really, really loved the Clois--both the humor and the more serious stuff. Nitroglycerin and peroxide! Hot fudge and halibut! [And could the Talon have looked ANY tackier? OMG!] That whole scene the next morning when Lois came to the house was *priceless*--Martha's reaction to the way she was dressed, Clark's reaction to her attraction, the CD, Clark running like hell--absolute comedy gold, I thought. I also liked the little iconic bits they stuck in--that Lois and Clark's first kiss was in a phone booth (hee hee!), the fact that Jimmy was the one who could see they would be good together, the flight across the moon. And I loved that Lois recognized Clark's kiss, and that Clark had apparently been jealous enough of Ollie to feel the need to stake his claim on Lois on Ollie's turf. And that scene in Ollie's loft was just *hot*--though poor Lois! She never gets any on this show. And ok, I know it was anvilly times a billion, but I liked the New Age potions woman saying she could sense they had a real connection in the future.

Hey,

mahaliem, you got your bare-chested Clark!

The Chloe-Lana scene just confirmed for me the pacing problem of this show. Sigh. It's always two steps forward, one step back--I can't decide if it's just bad writing, or part of the network pressure to have stand alone episodes, that we have to have Chloe and Lana be friends again just to confirm to the viewers that Lex is, in fact, isolating Lana and that Lana knows Chloe is hiding Clark's secret. I mean, I continue to think Lana and Chloe are cute in scenes together, and my Chlana-hopeful heart thinks Lana making Chloe her maid of honor at least creates good fodder for fic, but I do find it kind of implausible that Lana would reconcile with Chloe after that fight they had in "Hydro". Unless of course Lana thinks that getting Chloe to acknowledge there *is* a secret is one step along the road of actually learning the secret. But my joy in the possibility of Lana being that devious and underhanded was undercut by the fact that she actually found out Clark's secret by the end of the episode. (Ok, she doesn't know everything, but she has more evidence than she ever had before). I assume that the way they're going to show Lana is not completely corrupted by Lex is to show that she keeps Clark's secret, regardless of how involved she gets with Lex's other evil schemes.

The Lana-Lex stuff was very, very interesting. Can I just say, I love the Lexana best when it's so complicated and multilayered, like it was today? For example, I loved that we got several scenes that on the surface were sweet, happy Lexana (which I think they need to continue to show to justify why the *hell* Lana is staying in this relationship), but when you examine them they become really creepy.

The nursery scene is a great example of that. On the one hand, it starts out with Lex playfully jumping Lana (playful, but also a little disturbing, to me--in some ways it almost seemed more threateningly possessive than Clark actually kidnapping her, because at least I knew Clark had the redK excuse) and taking her to see the nursery. It's kind of sweet to think of Lex picking nursery decorations and furniture, at least on the surface, even though Lana is obviously still somewhat in denial of the pregnancy, as Lex obviously knows--so it's a bit of a loaded gesture. It has even stronger overtones of creepy, though, because I *swear* that nursery is decorated almost identically to the one we saw Lionel and Lillian standing in front of in--um, it might have been Memoria? I can't remember the episode, but I was looking at screencaps of it earlier this season, and the visual stuck in my head. So we definitely have overtones of Lionel-Lillian, not the least in Lex's apparent enthusiasm for a pregnancy that Lana is clearly ambivalent about (just as Lillian was ambivalent about her pregnancy with Julian).

Then we have the engagement toast/dinner, which although sweet on the surface, takes place at the dinner table of extreme separation. Oh, anvilly symbolism, we must love you or gouge our eyes out. Maybe I should retract my suspicions regarding Lana's reconciliation with Chloe--I'd want someone I actually knew and who was marginally on my side at an event like that, too. (What an odd toast Lex made, too, one that completely erases his two earlier marriages.)

Skipping ahead, we have Lex concealing a sinister secret about Lana's pregnancy (which I am dying to know--though don't spoil me, please! Did he engineer it with the aid of mutant semen or something? Does he know it's Zod's child? Unspoiled speculation in comments is highly encouraged). Meanwhile, Lana is keeping her own secret about Clark. Ah, I love this relationship in all its fucked up glory.

Of course, the highlight of the whole Clexana triangle was the barn confrontation scene. Did I say last week I didn't like the Clexana triangle? I lied. When none of them are pulling their punches, it's actually a lot of fun. I had a little joygasm when Clark openly told Lana that Lex only wanted her because she had been his. DAMN. Slashers, start your engines. And wow, Lex didn't deny that very convincingly, did he? His denial was almost as lame as Lana's protestations. And ouch, Clark telling Lex he wished he hadn't saved him was painful, but seriously--could that have been any more bitter ex-boyfriend? The slash in that scene just writes itself.

And Martha coolly taking down Clark with the kryptonite while letting Lex think he had actually injured Clark--damn, that was just the icing on the cake of the BEST SCENE EVER. I'm kind of surprised Clark's completely escaping the consequences for kidnapping Lana, though--I half expected Lex to press charges.

I was also spoiled about the Chloe-Jimmy breakup, so it had less of an impact on me than it might have otherwise--but damn, Jimmy actually made me feel really sorry for him, despite the fact that I'm usually more of a Chloe defender. But I definitely can see his perspective--how can he feel anything other than a third wheel, when his girl is spending all her time with Clark, or helping Clark, or defending Clark. And Chloe really is the queen of mixed messages, which is too bad, because the fact that she got him his first bow tie was too cute for words.

I'm actually wondering, now, if the Chimmy breakup is not so much part of a long-term arc where Chloe suffers for being Clark's secret keeper (which is where I thought this plot was going) as it is foreshadowing what Lana's knowledge of the secret is going to do to her relationship with Lex.

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Well, I must say, you're breakdown talk delighted me, Nor.

I half expected Lex to press charges.
I would anticipate crossing with local loyalties with that action, and Lex would lose too much to indulge himself, imo.

I never liked Jimmy -- imo the actor was very well picked for the Jimmy role but was significantly 'off' for the role of Chloe-boyfriend. Even Alison Mack couldn't even convince me of her desire to kiss him.

Yeah, loved the spider-jumping-from-the-shadows!Lex making Lana jump and gasp -- "Surprise!" har what a wierdo heheheh I'd be seriously reconsidering my marriage committment. *snicker*

I'm glad you're here right now for the speculation on the 'special circumstances' for the Luthorette. I've just queued it up to buzz through to see the good stuff again, and I'll have let that question steeped a bit more, but all I can figure this minute is that it has to do with science and Kryptonite.

I go back and forth on the Jimmy-Chloe. I really wanted Chloe to be completely over Clark and have a relationship of her own, but I agree with you that it's been a bit lacking in chemistry, though I adore Ashmore's Jimmy.

I like the theories I've seen floating around that Lana is carrying some hybrid Lex created of his and Clark's genes, but honestly I think a Zod baby is more likely.

My SV Pal likes that Zod idea very much, citing the many times Lana's been hospitalized and remember when Clark came around to say hi to Lana at the SV Hospital and Lex kept him away, out front, saying, "She's fine!" with hostility to Clark.

He threw out there that Lex did something to his sperm with Green-K and he then said, maybe he put a little piece of Kryptonite in his sperm."

omg that is so mannish.

Just see all these Honchos elbow-up to the oyster bar, the delctables all slightly green-glowing, cuz the men had heard it surpasses powdered rhino horn. NY Minute.

Hey, I have been loving the scene of aphrodesiac!Lois hunting-down Clark at Chloe's Planet desk. dude I'm telling you, Tom plays his ass off, when Chloe takes a powder and he freaks and turns to pursue, going, "Chloe!" he has the lifted-eye mugging, stiff body-stance, and a characteristic hand motion that I felt was an homage as well as an excellent integration of Chris Reeves' 70's CK. I keep replaying it. *little sigh*

oh, that icon! hahaha! i'm sorry, i had to laugh at "bend over boyfriend" even before reading the post. *g*

Thanks! I should probably get another Clois icon, but that one cracks me up.

good post. i agree about comedy gold in the first part of the show. lois's advance on clark was hilarious. the thought of their dancing to white snake cracked me up, and then he was gone! whizzzzz! :D

lex is confusing me like crazy. the stegosaurus vs. mr. duck thing made me feel sad for him, but the creepy vibes with the doctor, brrrr.

i like chloe and feel for her, but she handled the last scene with jimmy rather badly. they've contrived it so that she's boxed in from every angle, unable to be honest fully with anyone. it's an unenviable situation for her.

I just saw someone (I think maybe

dawnybee say that Chloe is treating Jimmy just like Clark used to treat her, and a lightbulb went on for me, because that's a perfect description of their relationship--though it doesn't give me a lot of hope for their future.

And yeah, most of the Clark-Lois scenes were just hilarious. I forgot to mention one of my favorites: in the barn at the end where Lois is trying to ask Clark if they actually had sex, and Clark is just too amused.

Re, the “did we have sex?” I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. I’d laugh because it was so so so amusing but I’d cry because my Clois would never ever ever baby dance to Whitesnake.

I was definitely laughing in the first part of that scene, but I liked the more serious turn it took at the end.

Whitesnake carries neither positive nor negative resonances for me, so that part didn't bother me.

I just thought of something. If Chloe/Jimmy parallels Clark/Chloe, then it maybe says a little something of what could have been for Jimmy to (IMO") healthily break up with Chloe where Chloe, has tried but never really could get past Clark.

Yeah, but that's assuming that they're not going to get back together. I predict they will, just because the producers really like Aaron Ashmore, but there's not really a spot for him on the show if he's not dating Chloe.

YES! I thought I was the only one that thought the nursery looked like Julian's. It really disturbed me, but in a good way...if that makes sense. But once again, I agree with your initial analysis. This episode was fun and the Clois rocked, and when Clark said that Lex only wanted Lana because she was Clark's?...*loves*

But the thing about Lana knowing at least part of Clark's secret, while it makes most of us cringe, actually...it doesn't bother me because what I'm "hoping" it leads to is not only Lana keeping it from Lex, but Lex finding out that Lana knows Clark's secret, like in Reckoning, and showing just how much he ISN'T over his obsession with Clark. But I can only hope.

On some level it makes sense to me that Lex would decorate the nursery like Julian's--I doubt it was a conscious decision, but that event was so crucial to his childhood, and it's clear that the part of him that is still good really wants a child to replace the sense of family he only had when Julian was alive.

Lex? Over his obsession with Clark? I don't think that's actually possible, so I suspect your prediction is correct.

Martha has perfect timing!!!

I totally enjoyed the Clois, and that last scene between the two of them was classic ... and all the iconic stuff between the two of them was just perfect!!!

//Slashers, start your engines.// HELL YES!!

The Clois stuff was really so much better than I imagined it could be.

I loved Lex's spider jump. Maybe it was a little creepy... but it's all a part of the way he treats Lana, including making her eat brains without knowing it. Guys DO wicked things like that. Scaring the girl and grossing her out. It's like he's her big brother sometimes. Lex never gets to be playful with people.

I enjoyed the Clois stuff too, as much as I complained about the inconsistancy in this episode. And I was just disheartened by Chloe and Jimmy's breakup. It blindsided me because they seemed like the healthiest couple on the show.

But Jimmy being a healthy person is exactly why he broke up with Chloe. Granted that even though we know what Clark’s secret is, Clark’s behavior at the party was utterly reprehensible and I say this as a huge Clark fan. So for Jimmy to call Chloe out on her not calling Clark out — especially when we see that when Martha in her gentle way did — Jimmy was in the right to see that he’d only be the third wheel and — as good as it would have been for Chloe — that wouldn’t have been a healthy situation for him to stay in.

Would Jimmy have stayed with Chloe if Chloe had instead of “You don’t know him like I do,” rather said, “Yes, Clark was a jerk. But he’s not always and he is devastated and doesn’t want to be”? Well, we won’t know but I’d bet that it would have made for a harder decision for Jimmy.

Oh, I've been anticipating Chloe and Jimmy's breakup for a while, because it seemed like they've been setting that up for several episodes. I just don't know if it's going to stick, or if they're going to get back together.

I understand your point about Lex teasing Lana, but I honestly have a hard time thinking Lex is not playing Lana at this point, especially given the hinting about the baby, which makes gestures like that carry a different resonance for me.

I love RedK Clark! He never makes me squirm--I revel in all that stuff. I guess I find it ok because I know he's uninhibited--I find normal Clark's crap behaviour more squirm-enducing, perversely!

could the Talon have looked ANY tackier? OMG
OMG, that WAS the Talon! *lol* That's hilarious! I didn't recognise it! My first thought on opening the file and seeing that first panning shot was 'OMG, this is SO GAY' and thankfully the ep continued in that vein! ;-)

Great unpacking of the Lexana stuff in this episode! And yes, it's Memoria we see the nursery in and it's sooooo similar.

Did I say last week I didn't like the Clexana triangle? I lied.
Hee! I understand. I'm sure I've made many a rash statement like that too...

His denial was almost as lame as Lana's protestations.
His denial was SO LAME! As was his face!wobble after the 'tell me you don't love me' line. I know we were supposed to think it was Lex worrying about what Lana would say. But it could so easily be read slashily!

Oh, I like your thought about the Chimmy break-up, but being unspoiled from here on, I was rather hoping she might realise her mistake and try and get him back. I like Jimmy, and I'd been enjoying their cuteness earlier in the ep. :-(

Now it's me that needs to crash into bed, but I'll definitely have more meta thoughts later...

I would really like the Chimmy to recover, because I think Jimmy is pretty much the cutest thing ever--especially in this episode!--but I do think Chloe has been treating him pretty badly (though I'm not sure she *realizes* she is. Maybe this breakup is the jolt she needs to re-evaluate her behavior?)

Since I'm 99% convinced they're not going anywhere with the Chlark (especially now that Clois is in play, even though I expect that to go back on the back burner for a while), I really want Chloe to focus on Jimmy, because he is adorable and I think they could actually have a healthy relationship. (A first on this show!)

Yes, I was hoping for that too. My thinking was that if this, or an even in the near-future, could act as the jolt to Chloe to re-evaluate her priorities it could prove to be a really great arc of growing into maturity for her. Because as you say, it would be a first to see someone opt for a healthy relationship over some idealised vision of perfection (that ignores the abuse contained within it). Fingers crossed!

It's the weekend, so I'm taking a break from my self-imposed LJ hiatus to read Crimson comments!

I do find it kind of implausible that Lana would reconcile with Chloe after that fight they had in "Hydro".

I actually thought that scene represented a nice bit of growth from Lana, rather than any kind of deviousness, and I can easily see why she wouldn't want to cut herself off from Chloe completely: for all intents and purposes, Chloe really is the only friend Lana's got right now. Although, like Boppy, I think Chloe's suggestion that it's because Lex has isolated Lana is misplaced. Lana is responsible for her relationships outside of Lex. She could have made more of an effort to remain close to Chloe, Clark and/or Lois. Lex didn't make Lana alienate Chloe in Hydro; Lana did that all on her own.

The reason I wanted to shake Lana so badly during that last scene with Chloe in Hydro was because she was being such a hypocrite: she expected Chloe to keep her confidences and not divulge them to mutual friends simply because those mutual friends might have wanted to know them, but she wouldn't/couldn't understand that Chloe was doing the same thing for Clark. To me, their Crimson scene was Lana acknowledging this. She even said she understands that she is not considered by Clark to be one of his confidantes and that she can't put that on Chloe. It's certainly more mature than how Lana acted at the end of Hydro. Also, it's reminiscent of a similar moment between Clark and Chloe back in S3. In either Truth or Delete, Clark basically said to Chloe something along the lines of "If I acknowledge that there is something to know, will you back off on trying to learn what the something is?" And Chloe accepted that as one of the terms of their continued friendship.

I thought Lana's similar position here was reasonable. It doesn't make sense to keep pretending there's nothing to know; there clearly is. But what she's saying there -- and what she didn't seem to understand in Hydro -- is that she understands that it's not Chloe's secret to tell. As long as Chloe stops acting like there's no secret at all, then Lana will stop pushing Chloe about it. It doesn't mean that Lana will stop investigating or stop trying to get it out of Clark and that's fair. But she'll respect Chloe's friendship with Clark enough to not ask Chloe to betray it by telling her information that Clark clearly doesn't want her to know.

I assume that the way they're going to show Lana is not completely corrupted by Lex is to show that she keeps Clark's secret, regardless of how involved she gets with Lex's other evil schemes.

Hmm. I'd still think Lana was corrupt if she condoned Lex's other evil schemes, like 33.1, but protected Clark. I mean, that's nothing more than rank moral relativism: Clark doesn't deserve to be held prisoner and experimented on or whatever because he matters to her, but it's fair game for anyone else. It's still an indefensible position to believe that something like 33.1 is Okay as long as no one you like is being held there.

I think it's more likely that they'll show Lana hasn't been corrupted by Lex because she'll go further than she did in Extinction in her tolerance for mutants. In other words, if Lana now believes that Clark is a mutant (and I think that's what she probably believes), then she'll realize that (1) if Clark could be a mutant and Clark could still be a good, decent person that means (2) other mutants could be good, decent people. She'll reject the line of thinking that holds that mutants are automatically bad/less deserving of basic human consideration (she wasn't able to do this in Extinction; her acceptance of the possibility of decent mutants stopped at Clark).

Well, I hope your reading of Lana in that scene is correct, because I definitely would like to think Lana has moved past her hypocrisy in Hydro, and I actually like Chloe and Lana as friends, even as that becomes more unlikely and fraught the more Lana gets entwined in Lex's world.

It's funny because this is honestly the first season since S2 where I've really felt the Chlana friendship. Ironically, the very fact that they keep holding on to each other despite the way that Lana's deepening involvement with Lex should arguably be pushing them further apart is what makes me think the relationship matters to both of them. Before, after S2, it felt like Chloe was more emotionally invested in it than Lana was and that's why I couldn't get into it. This season, though, even though it's still often framed as Lana Goes To Chloe For Advice And Help, it feels like that's important to Lana, that she knows Chloe won't judge her and will listen and she (Lana) doesn't take it for granted.

On the other hand, I *do* think they are setting up a trajectory where Lex will be isolating her from her old contacts (e.g. not letting Clark see her in "Hydro")

See, I think Clark is a special case, though. Lex is threatened by Lana and Clark's connection to each other, so of course he's going to be underhanded whenever he can re: keeping them out of each other's 'line of sight'. But he didn't seem troubled by Chloe being at the engagement party or being Lana's Maid of Honor (or rather, if he was troubled by it, that wasn't shown to us). Lex keeping Clark from Lana in Hydro wasn't cool, but I guess I need to see more of that iron hand with people who aren't her ex-boyfriend that she's still kind of in love with before I'll be persuaded that Lex really is, actively or otherwise, isolating her from everyone**.

and I can't figure out why else they would introduce this plot line for Lana unless they were trying to use that shorthand

Oh, I totally agree that it fits with the show's moral economy that Protecting Clark's Secret = Inherently Good Person. I think I was commenting more on the fact that I ... really can't imagine them letting Lana truly be Lex's evil queen. I think that would be fantastic, but I've never really believed in the show's capacity to truly go there, largely because part of Lana's iconic destiny is to be one of Clark's inner circle. I just don't think that can be sustained if she ever truly threw her lot in with Lex. So I'm expecting her to not only protect Clark, but to eventually repudiate 33.1 (to keep my examples consistent) if/when she finds out it truly exists. Despite some of the radical and inventive ways the series has departed from the uber-canon (Chloe and Lionel's existences, Lois being in Smallville while Clark still lived there, Alicia being the first woman Clark ever married), I still can't imagine them departing from it enough for Lex to ... essentially get Lana in the Clark/Lex divorce. *g*

** Part of the problem is SV's longstanding failure at effectively using what I call "background continuity characters", the tertiary players who add depth and a sense of an actual living, breathing community to a TV show's texture (Sheriffs Ethan and Adams were such characters until they were written off; ditto the likes of Gabe and Nell). There are only, like, ten people in Smallville and seven of them are the credited cast members. So if Lana doesn't regularly have scenes with Chloe or Clark or Lois, then yeah, it looks like she's being totally isolated even though that's not really the case because they're three of the only nine other people she could talk to. If the series had more background continuity characters, people who regularly interact with the main cast from ep-to-ep, then it would be a lot easier to put across the idea that Lana's being cut off from a thriving social life. But if she only ever has Chloe, Clark or Lex to talk to to begin with, and she regularly talks to Chloe and Lex and frequently runs into Clark, then it's harder to buy the idea that she's somehow being isolated.

I ... really can't imagine them letting Lana truly be Lex's evil queen. I think that would be fantastic, but I've never really believed in the show's capacity to truly go there
*nods* I fear that's true and while I'm not madly excited about the prospect of Lana doing a backflip on her hatred of mutants when she finds out Clark is one, I think that's definitely a strong possibility in terms of where this plot goes from here.

I really, really wish they would let Lana be Lex's evil queen, but I think you're right.

But I was thinking about this last night:
t's funny because this is honestly the first season since S2 where I've really felt the Chlana friendship. Ironically, the very fact that they keep holding on to each other despite the way that Lana's deepening involvement with Lex should arguably be pushing them further apart is what makes me think the relationship matters to both of them. Before, after S2, it felt like Chloe was more emotionally invested in it than Lana was and that's why I couldn't get into it. This season, though, even though it's still often framed as Lana Goes To Chloe For Advice And Help, it feels like that's important to Lana, that she knows Chloe won't judge her and will listen and she (Lana) doesn't take it for granted.

I was thinking of the parallels between Chloe-Lana this season and season 2-3 Clark-Lex, in terms of the way the friendship keeps "breaking up" and then being repaired, though the cracks are only lightly spackled over, not really addressed. And now we have another parallel, with Lana asking Chloe to stand up for her just as Lex asked Clark to stand up for him when he married Helen. (Well, and also Desiree, if that counts). If it weren't for the fact that the writers seem to be ignoring the existence of any season prior to season 5 (e.g. Lex's toast to Lana, which was an odd one for someone who's been married twice), I'd think they were setting up a deliberate parallel and wonder if Chloe's actually going to end up missing the wedding because of some crisis.

Oops, I seem to have accidentally omitted the quote I was responding to at the beginning of my comment. "you reading of Lana in that scene" refers to the scene in Crimson where Lana tells Chloe she won't ask about the secret if Chloe acknowledges there is a secret.

I have nothing but "Word" to say to your comments about Clois. I loved them in Crimson. Lllllloved them.

It's kind of sweet to think of Lex picking nursery decorations and furniture, at least on the surface, even though Lana is obviously still somewhat in denial of the pregnancy, as Lex obviously knows--so it's a bit of a loaded gesture.

Oh, absolutely. And it's not just that Lana's still kind of in denial about the pregnancy. I think it's also about the fact that he did this big thing around something on which she clearly and unquestionably should have had some input without consulting with her at all. As I said elsewhere, it's not like this was some business deal where he could be expected to have sole purview and it's not even like the big deal he made of the proposal, where you'd expect that degree of intrigue/surprise. This is their kid. She gets to have a say and he essentially took that away from her completely. Given Lana's earlier-voiced concerns (in Wither) about losing herself/losing control if she gets involved with/moved in with Lex, I can easily see how her visceral, immediate reaction to that room was ... less-than-enthused.

Skipping ahead, we have Lex concealing a sinister secret about Lana's pregnancy (which I am dying to know--though don't spoil me, please! Did he engineer it with the aid of mutant semen or something? Does he know it's Zod's child? Unspoiled speculation in comments is highly encouraged)

I don't think it could be Zod's because they didn't have sex while he was Zodified (or at least, I've always assumed Wither was the first time they had sex). The conversation with the doctor certainly suggested that Lex may have engineered the pregnancy somehow (poking holes in the condoms, replacing her birth-contol pills with placebos, etc.) in addition to him knowing there's something unusual about it (IOW, why would he know there was something unusual if he didn't have a hand in bringing it about).

I wonder if we're not headed for a reveal that Lex's DNA was irrevocably altered thanks to Fine "prepping" him to be overtaken by Zod and Lex deliberately got Lana pregnant to see what would happen. By a similar token, there's always been the vague suggestion floating throughout the series that Lex himself is a meteor mutant. Maybe he somehow knows he is for sure and, again, he deliberately got Lana pregnant to see if the mutation could be passed on.

Jimmy actually made me feel really sorry for him, despite the fact that I'm usually more of a Chloe defender. But I definitely can see his perspective--how can he feel anything other than a third wheel, when his girl is spending all her time with Clark, or helping Clark, or defending Clark.

What really struck me was how badly Chloe mishandled that. Maybe she's forgotten just how much of an asshole Clark seems when he acts out like that and you don't know his secrets (remember the way she lit into him at the end of Transference?). So she was lacking the necessary psychological wherewithal to spin that conversation in a way that fairly acknowledged Jimmy's POV while still protecting Clark's secrets. I can understand her not wanting to actively lie to Jimmy. But it would have been so easy to spin that as being a by-product of what affected Lois reaching Clark because he was in proximity to her, or even to attribute it to general Smallville weirdness. Chloe was too dismissive of the fact that from Jimmy's perspective and precisely because he does not know the truth about Clark, Clark really looked like a jackass. Had she finessed that a little better, she might have been able to salvage things between herself and Jimmy.

Oh, absolutely. And it's not just that Lana's still kind of in denial about the pregnancy. I think it's also about the fact that he did this big thing around something on which she clearly and unquestionably should have had some input without consulting with her at all. As I said elsewhere, it's not like this was some business deal where he could be expected to have sole purview and it's not even like the big deal he made of the proposal, where you'd expect that degree of intrigue/surprise. This is their kid. She gets to have a say and he essentially took that away from her completely. Given Lana's earlier-voiced concerns (in Wither) about losing herself/losing control if she gets involved with/moved in with Lex, I can easily see how her visceral, immediate reaction to that room was ... less-than-enthused.

Oh, yes, totally--those are great observations. In fact, before I noticed the uber-creepy comparisons to Julian's room in "Memoria" (the crib is the same, the mobile is the same, and the color of the room is the same), my first thought was--Lex, you don't decorate the baby's room as a surprise! That's something the new mother wants to do! Even without all the identity issues Lana has, I think she would have objected to that.

And I had a hard time deciding if Lex really *is* that clueless, or if he was deliberately being manipulative in that scene. Maybe we're supposed to read clueless? His enthusiasm is damn cute, and he is known for making huge but clumsy gestures, like giving the truck to Clark--it's just hard for me to read that scene as cluelessness given the suggestion that he's manipulating the pregnancy at the end.

I love all your pregnancy theories, btw.

Actually, thinking about Lex's enthusiasm for the pregnancy some more--I do think he has always wanted to create the family he never got to have, so even if he is manipulating Lana I'm sure on some level his enthusiasm for the baby is real. I just remembered how ebulliant Lionel was about the baby in "Memoria," so I guess we have precedence for Luthor men and their multiple motivations about babies.

But it would have been so easy to spin that as being a by-product of what affected Lois reaching Clark because he was in proximity to her, or even to attribute it to general Smallville weirdness. Chloe was too dismissive of the fact that from Jimmy's perspective and precisely because he does not know the truth about Clark, Clark really looked like a jackass. Had she finessed that a little better, she might have been able to salvage things between herself and Jimmy.

Yes, and it's hard for me to read that scene as anything other than she's so identifying herself as Clark's defender that she's not even doing a very good job of being his secret-keeper, there, much less being Jimmy's girlfriend. As his secret-keeper, not just as Jimmy's girlfriend, she should really been spinning better excuses for him. Saying he, too, was affected by the lipstick seems like the obvious explanation--but I think you're right that she's now so far on the inside of Clark's inner circle she's forgotten what it feels like to be on the outside.

In fact, before I noticed the uber-creepy comparisons to Julian's room in "Memoria" (the crib is the same, the mobile is the same, and the color of the room is the same)

I went back and looked at the ep when I initially read your review and girl ... I think uber-creepy might be an understatement. I mean, I can believe that Lex has never seen another nursery in his life except for Julian's, but still. I'm not even a particularly superstitious person and I wouldn't contemplate decorating my nursery in a substantially similar manner to that of a baby that I knew had been murdered!

my first thought was--Lex, you don't decorate the baby's room as a surprise!

Right! Seriously, this would be on par with him choosing and buying her wedding dress without any input from her. It's just not done.

And I had a hard time deciding if Lex really *is* that clueless, or if he was deliberately being manipulative in that scene.

ITA. If I'm being charitable, I'd say clueless because he IS canonically given to the Really Big Gesture and, well, he's a guy. You and I know that you don't decorate the baby's room as a surprise, but we're also women. I can see where a man would only focus on the "whee! surprise!" part but not be mindful that this really is one of those areas where you just don't make those choices without consulting with your woman first.

OTOH ... Lex is also canonically very controlling about all aspects of his life and I can just as easily see him barreling ahead because it's what he wants and it's important to him and assuming that Lana would be disinclined to be 'ingracious' enough to say, "Dude! You don't decorate the baby's room as a surprise!"** Also, yeah, the reveal at the end about him possibility manipulating the pregnancy makes it very difficult to subsquently watch the episode and view those earlier scenes as innocuous.

** I don't think that would be ingracious at all, but I can see where Lex would think that Lana might think that's how he'd perceive it and she'd be hesitant to give offense.

I do think he has always wanted to create the family he never got to have, so even if he is manipulating Lana I'm sure on some level his enthusiasm for the baby is real.

Again, agreed. And I have to say that while I may have misgivings re: the ultimate playing out of the Lexana, I think this episode, at least, did a good job of portraying it as multi-layered and complex, with all sorts of hidden (and not-so-hidden) motivations on both sides.

Also, I don't think Lex's dream in Lexmas can be understated either. He saw a possible future where he and Lana were happy with a little family, so I can imagine there's a part of him that really wants that, too.

As his secret-keeper, not just as Jimmy's girlfriend, she should really been spinning better excuses for him.

*nod* That stood out to me as well. She was just ... wholly unmindful of the fact that Clark's behavior did require some explanation to anyone who's not privy to his secret, even if that explanation was untrue or partially untrue (because "Clark is affected by meteor rock" is actually a true statement; the lie there would be one of omission because she's not disclosing why it affects him the way it does). Chloe made the mistake of assuming that Jimmy extends to or should extend to Clark the same goodwill/benefit of the doubt that everyone else does merely because he's Clark. She didn't take Jimmy's literal outsider status -- in that he's not from Smallville, he hasn't known Clark for several years -- into account at all.

I'd say clueless because he IS canonically given to the Really Big Gesture and, well, he's a guy.
Jumping in to say, yes, I agree! ;-) It's consistent with Lex's cluelessness about people not actually always appreciating the Really Big Gesture. He doesn't see how controlling it is, or he just dismisses that because he's comfortable with being controlling!

I really like your ideas about the pregnancy--I'd love to see some follow-up on the effect on Lex of being possessed by Zod, and I'd also love to see a mention of his healing powers again. Though they were oddly absent recently--Oliver's arrow scratch wasn't that deep and it didn't heal fast. Sloppy writing or have they dropped that line with Lex? This baby things gives me hope that we'll learn a little more about his status re. powers. And I just adore the creepiness of Lex taking control of Lana's pregnancy. *shudders*

's consistent with Lex's cluelessness about people not actually always appreciating the Really Big Gesture. He doesn't see how controlling it is, or he just dismisses that because he's comfortable with being controlling!

Yeah--thinking about this some more, as I said downthread in response to LaT, if he had a clue he could have manipulated her more *effectively* by just engaging her in the nursery planning, rather than doing it all himself. He really is all about the Big Gestures, sometimes--like that completely awful proposal to her in the room of excessive floral arrangements.

Yes--exactly! It was so over the top! I don't think those gestures are what really sways Lana. Sure, she's flattered by them, but I think it's more important to her that Lex is honest with her, for example, than that the gestures are this ostentatious.

I can believe that Lex has never seen another nursery in his life except for Julian's, but still. I'm not even a particularly superstitious person and I wouldn't contemplate decorating my nursery in a substantially similar manner to that of a baby that I knew had been murdered!

Seriously! Though perhaps he doesn't even realize he's doing it? I think a lot of his Julian issues are still probably unconscious.

my first thought was--Lex, you don't decorate the baby's room as a surprise!

Right! Seriously, this would be on par with him choosing and buying her wedding dress without any input from her. It's just not done.... If I'm being charitable, I'd say clueless because he IS canonically given to the Really Big Gesture and, well, he's a guy. You and I know that you don't decorate the baby's room as a surprise, but we're also women. I can see where a man would only focus on the "whee! surprise!" part but not be mindful that this really is one of those areas where you just don't make those choices without consulting with your woman first.

Thinking about it some more, I think I am willing to put this down to male cluelessness and the Lexian big gesture--because if he's manipulating her by decorating the room, it's because he wants her to publically acknowledge the pregnancy, or because he wants his enthusiasm for the pregnancy to cancel out any suspicion she may develop about his machinations with the doctors. But he could have manipulated her about that a lot more effectively by engaging her in the process of decorating the nursery; as manipulation, it's not likely to be effective if he starts out by offending her.

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SV 6.13 Crimson

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forgot the footnote

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part II

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