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Meteor mutants: good or evil?
Some additional thoughts on meteor mutants and the SV-verse, based on some discussions in various reviews of "Freak." Spoilers up through Freak behind the cut.
So I've been having some passionate discussions with some folks in the comments on my review of Freak, as well as in response to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
bop_radar's review , about the retcon in which Chloe is now a meteor mutant, and how that's going to affect the canonical representation of mutants in the SV-verse. My initial thought on this issue echoed Chloe: all the meteor mutants in SV seem to end up dead or going psychotic, or both. serenography persuaded me that there have actually been a number of mutants who don't fit that profile: Kyle Tippet from "Hug," for one, and Kevin from "Blank," and Maddie from "Fragile." latxcvi pointed out that we could add Tobias from "Freak" to the list. And while it's true that a number of mutants have ended up dead, this has not always been because they were evil or psychotic: Ryan (if he was indeed a mutant) died of a brain tumor; Cassandra from Hourglass presumably lived for 13 years as a basically sane person, before the vision of Lex gave her a heart attack; the baby in "Ageless" was essentially innocent; and there may be others I am forgetting.
bop_radar's review raises concerns that, among other things, the retcon of Chloe as a mutant is signalling a serious change in the show's depiction of mutation. In the past, Clark's violence toward mutants has been excused because the general show assumption seems to have been that mutants were irredeemable; if the Chloe plotline shows this is not true, then doesn't that retroactively cast Clark's actions vis-a-vis mutants in a bad light?
I think that is a very compelling question, and I was actually trying to remember how frequently Clark had been responsible (directly OR inadvertantly) for the death of a meteor mutant. I remember there is some very angry male reviewer who keeps a running list of this, but I couldn't find it by googling around--does anyone know the list that I mean? ETA:mobiusklein found it here: http://www.supermanhomepage.com/tv/tv.php?topic=reviews/smallville-knockout It does not, as I remembered, list the specific people who Clark killed, but it's still fairly helpful, even though it doesn't distinguish between the meteor-affected and people whose powers come from other sources.
So I started just going through episode titles trying to make a list of mutants for myself, but I can't *remember* the endings of all these episodes, so I'm looking for some help. I'm only including mutants whose abilities were a result of inadvertant exposure, not those who experimented with meteor rocks themselves (e.g. the jocks with the Kryptonite tattoos) or who were the product of Luthorian experimentation (e.g. Emily). I'm also trying to keep a count of their relative murderousness. So here's my list so far. Please let me know if I should correct anything. It's kind of sad how often I *couldn't* remember what happened to the mutant at the end of the episode.
Edited to add: I'm italicizing the mutants who were unambiguously good, helpful or at least non-harmful .
Mutants who end up dead:
--Greg Arkin (season 1) killed his mom
--Sean Kelvin (season 1) killed ex-girlfriend; Clark threw him in the lake which froze over him
--Coach Firestarter, whatever his name was (season 1): burned himself to death
--Harry Bollston from Hourglass--the de-aging guy (season 1): drowns in grain after trying to kill Martha that way; did he kill anyone else along the way? I think he did.
--Cassandra (season 1): died of a heart attack
--Tina Greer (season 1&2): killed her mom and an army guy; died in fight with CLark though he didn't actually kill her
--Bob Rickman (season 1) can't remember if we saw him actually kill anyone; killed by Kyle Tippet
--Tyler from Reaper (season 1); kills his mother, kills a couple other random extras, tries to kill Whitney's dad; kills himself
--Kyla (season 2) from Skinwalker: died due to injuries sustained in wolf form while attacking Lionel
--Chrissy Woodman (season 2)from Redux, the one who sucks youth out of people--she kills several people and then dies when she is unsuccesful in finding someone to suck the youth out of
--Alicia (seasons 3-4): I don't think she actually killed anyone, but she pushed her dad down the stairs, tried to kill Lana and did something mysterious to her first boyfriend. She was the first murderous mutant we see formally reform
--Kara (season 3): Mutant? Or just kept in suspended animation by Jor-El? Killed by Jor-El, but she may have already been dead
--"Ageless" baby (season 4)
--Asian bowling guy from Freak (season 6): eliminated by the doctor, probably ordered by Lex or Lionel
Mutants who end up NOT dead--possibly in Belle Reve
--Jeremy Creek (season 1): even though he killed several of the men who scarecrowed him and almost torched the high school, I don't think he even goes to prison at the end up the ep; he wakes up as if he didn't know what was going on
--Jodi (season 1): she killed a deer and injured someone by sucking out his fat; not intentionally evil
--Sasha Woodman (season 1): injured opponent with bees and tries to kill Martha with bees, but Clark still saves her life when the bees come to attack her.
--Justin Gaines (season 1): He killed a sadistic doctor and tried to kill Chloe with a chainsaw; ends up in a psychiatric hospital
--Desiree Atkins (season 2): killed her first husband, tried to kill Lex--is imprisoned in the end
--Byron from Nocturne (season 2): only violent when exposed to light.[Technically I probably shouldn't list him since he was experimented on by Luthorcorp, and I'm excluding most of the artificially-induced mutations]
--Ian (season 2) from Dichotic--killed his shop teacher, tried to kill Chloe and Lana
--Cyrus from Visitor (season 2): he's a good guy and a healer; ends up catatonic
--That kid from Magnetic (season 3) who got Lana to be a bad girl; ends up in a coma
--The coma girl from Slumber (season 3): no malevolent intentions at all; she's looking for Clark's help. I think she had mutant powers to enter Clark's dream, but I could be misremembering.
--Jordan from Hereafter (season 3) who can see how people are going to die: it seems to be suggested that he loses his powers at the end of the episode
--Jed McNally (season 6) from Subterranean: killed several migrant workers, ended up in 33.1
--Tobias from Freak (season 6): no violent intentions
I honestly can't remember if these folks end up dead or alive:
--Geoff from "Recruit" (season 4)--He kills one of the football players and almost kills Lois. Does he end up dying after he almost kills Lois? I can't remember. But he wasn't murderous because of his power, but because Lois threatened his football career
--Linda Lake, "Hydro" (season 6): I don't actually think she *is* dead--I think that was deliberately left ambiguous in the episode. She was definitely murderous, but I would link it more to her ambition than her mutation.
Special cases
--Eric Summers (season1): not really a mutant, but he did end up in Belle Reve because of Clark
--Jeff Palmer (season 1): not a mutant, just used meteor-enhanced flowers to make himself invisible; tried to kill Victoria and Lex
--Van McNulty: not a mutant, but ended up in Belle Reve because Clark foiled his mutant genocide plot
--Dawn the prom queen from "Spirit" (season 4) was technically already dead when she possessed people
--The spirit/ghost in "Tomb" (season 5)--was she already dead? I think she was, but I've never rewatched that
Others I'm not considering, since their powers aren't derived from meteors, or else they were experimented on/experimented on themselves with Kryptonite, so their mutations aren't accidental, which may make a difference in the meteor effects
--Ryan (seasons 1 and 2): I believe we learned that his powers came from his brain tumor
--Earl Jenkins from Jitters (season 1)--still alive, as far as we know
--the tattooed gang from Kinetic (season 1)--alive, in prison
--the Kryptopowered thieves from Witness (season 2)--I don't remember what happened to them
--Emily from "Accelerate" (season 2)--in 33.1 if she hasn't aged to death
--Mxy from Jinx (season 4)--in level 33.1
--Abby from Facade (season 4)--nothing happens to her; her mom goes to jail
--Duncan from "Reunion" (season 6)--dies after prolonged coma/meteor experimentation.
--Molly from Delete (I don't think--was she a mutant? Wasn't she a product of Summerholt?) I think she's currently in 33.1
One thing compiling this list made clear to me was that there has been an ongoing re-evaluation of the dangers posed by meteor mutants going all the way back to "Extinction" in season 3 (the episode where Van McNulty was hunting mutants), and definitely picking up steam in season 4. In all of season 4, there are only I think three mutants who are actually murderous, and one of those is already dead (Dawn in Spirit) and the another one only becomes murderous when his future is being attacked (Geoff in Recruit). And the third is, I believe, the mutant (Tim Wescott) who kills Alicia in "Pariah." It's true that lots of people in S4 are experimenting in very dangerous ways with Kryptonite (e.g.Facade, Devoted), but from the Alicia arc onward, all the mutants are portrayed as innocent (the baby in Ageless) or else malevolent spirits, not living people (Dawn in Spirit). Combine that with the fact that one of the early episodes of season five, "Hidden," has someone whose paranoia about mutants have him almost nuke the whole town, and I think it's clear that the retcon of mutant behavior has been going on for a couple of seasons now.
There were very few murderous mutants in season 5. The three thugs in "Mortal" were presumably motivated by Lex, not their mutation; the hit man in "Fade" obviously *chose* his career path, he wasn't compelled to it by meteor powers; and in "Fragile," the villainy of Maddie's dad was balanced by the fact that Maddie was shown as pretty clearly choosing not to use her powers for evil. Similarly, in season 6 we've only seen, I believe, two cases of mutants with murderous intentions, and in both cases (Jed McNally and Linda Lake), they were shown as murdering out of their own greed/ambition, not because they were driven crazy by their mutation.
So I'm starting to think that they've been setting up a re-evaluation of the prejudice against meteor-infected individuals for a while now, and this isn't coming nearly as out of left field as I thought it was. What do other people think about this?
So I've been having some passionate discussions with some folks in the comments on my review of Freak, as well as in response to
bop_radar's review , about the retcon in which Chloe is now a meteor mutant, and how that's going to affect the canonical representation of mutants in the SV-verse. My initial thought on this issue echoed Chloe: all the meteor mutants in SV seem to end up dead or going psychotic, or both. serenography persuaded me that there have actually been a number of mutants who don't fit that profile: Kyle Tippet from "Hug," for one, and Kevin from "Blank," and Maddie from "Fragile." latxcvi pointed out that we could add Tobias from "Freak" to the list. And while it's true that a number of mutants have ended up dead, this has not always been because they were evil or psychotic: Ryan (if he was indeed a mutant) died of a brain tumor; Cassandra from Hourglass presumably lived for 13 years as a basically sane person, before the vision of Lex gave her a heart attack; the baby in "Ageless" was essentially innocent; and there may be others I am forgetting. bop_radar's review raises concerns that, among other things, the retcon of Chloe as a mutant is signalling a serious change in the show's depiction of mutation. In the past, Clark's violence toward mutants has been excused because the general show assumption seems to have been that mutants were irredeemable; if the Chloe plotline shows this is not true, then doesn't that retroactively cast Clark's actions vis-a-vis mutants in a bad light?I think that is a very compelling question, and I was actually trying to remember how frequently Clark had been responsible (directly OR inadvertantly) for the death of a meteor mutant. I remember there is some very angry male reviewer who keeps a running list of this, but I couldn't find it by googling around--does anyone know the list that I mean? ETA:
mobiusklein found it here: http://www.supermanhomepage.com/tv/tv.php?topic=reviews/smallville-knockout It does not, as I remembered, list the specific people who Clark killed, but it's still fairly helpful, even though it doesn't distinguish between the meteor-affected and people whose powers come from other sources.So I started just going through episode titles trying to make a list of mutants for myself, but I can't *remember* the endings of all these episodes, so I'm looking for some help. I'm only including mutants whose abilities were a result of inadvertant exposure, not those who experimented with meteor rocks themselves (e.g. the jocks with the Kryptonite tattoos) or who were the product of Luthorian experimentation (e.g. Emily). I'm also trying to keep a count of their relative murderousness. So here's my list so far. Please let me know if I should correct anything. It's kind of sad how often I *couldn't* remember what happened to the mutant at the end of the episode.
Edited to add: I'm italicizing the mutants who were unambiguously good, helpful or at least non-harmful .
Mutants who end up dead:
--Greg Arkin (season 1) killed his mom
--Sean Kelvin (season 1) killed ex-girlfriend; Clark threw him in the lake which froze over him
--Coach Firestarter, whatever his name was (season 1): burned himself to death
--Harry Bollston from Hourglass--the de-aging guy (season 1): drowns in grain after trying to kill Martha that way; did he kill anyone else along the way? I think he did.
--Cassandra (season 1): died of a heart attack
--Tina Greer (season 1&2): killed her mom and an army guy; died in fight with CLark though he didn't actually kill her
--Bob Rickman (season 1) can't remember if we saw him actually kill anyone; killed by Kyle Tippet
--Tyler from Reaper (season 1); kills his mother, kills a couple other random extras, tries to kill Whitney's dad; kills himself
--Kyla (season 2) from Skinwalker: died due to injuries sustained in wolf form while attacking Lionel
--Chrissy Woodman (season 2)from Redux, the one who sucks youth out of people--she kills several people and then dies when she is unsuccesful in finding someone to suck the youth out of
--Alicia (seasons 3-4): I don't think she actually killed anyone, but she pushed her dad down the stairs, tried to kill Lana and did something mysterious to her first boyfriend. She was the first murderous mutant we see formally reform
--Kara (season 3): Mutant? Or just kept in suspended animation by Jor-El? Killed by Jor-El, but she may have already been dead
--"Ageless" baby (season 4)
--Asian bowling guy from Freak (season 6): eliminated by the doctor, probably ordered by Lex or Lionel
Mutants who end up NOT dead--possibly in Belle Reve
--Jeremy Creek (season 1): even though he killed several of the men who scarecrowed him and almost torched the high school, I don't think he even goes to prison at the end up the ep; he wakes up as if he didn't know what was going on
--Jodi (season 1): she killed a deer and injured someone by sucking out his fat; not intentionally evil
--Sasha Woodman (season 1): injured opponent with bees and tries to kill Martha with bees, but Clark still saves her life when the bees come to attack her.
--Justin Gaines (season 1): He killed a sadistic doctor and tried to kill Chloe with a chainsaw; ends up in a psychiatric hospital
--Desiree Atkins (season 2): killed her first husband, tried to kill Lex--is imprisoned in the end
--Byron from Nocturne (season 2): only violent when exposed to light.[Technically I probably shouldn't list him since he was experimented on by Luthorcorp, and I'm excluding most of the artificially-induced mutations]
--Ian (season 2) from Dichotic--killed his shop teacher, tried to kill Chloe and Lana
--Cyrus from Visitor (season 2): he's a good guy and a healer; ends up catatonic
--That kid from Magnetic (season 3) who got Lana to be a bad girl; ends up in a coma
--The coma girl from Slumber (season 3): no malevolent intentions at all; she's looking for Clark's help. I think she had mutant powers to enter Clark's dream, but I could be misremembering.
--Jordan from Hereafter (season 3) who can see how people are going to die: it seems to be suggested that he loses his powers at the end of the episode
--Jed McNally (season 6) from Subterranean: killed several migrant workers, ended up in 33.1
--Tobias from Freak (season 6): no violent intentions
I honestly can't remember if these folks end up dead or alive:
--Geoff from "Recruit" (season 4)--He kills one of the football players and almost kills Lois. Does he end up dying after he almost kills Lois? I can't remember. But he wasn't murderous because of his power, but because Lois threatened his football career
--Linda Lake, "Hydro" (season 6): I don't actually think she *is* dead--I think that was deliberately left ambiguous in the episode. She was definitely murderous, but I would link it more to her ambition than her mutation.
Special cases
--Eric Summers (season1): not really a mutant, but he did end up in Belle Reve because of Clark
--Jeff Palmer (season 1): not a mutant, just used meteor-enhanced flowers to make himself invisible; tried to kill Victoria and Lex
--Van McNulty: not a mutant, but ended up in Belle Reve because Clark foiled his mutant genocide plot
--Dawn the prom queen from "Spirit" (season 4) was technically already dead when she possessed people
--The spirit/ghost in "Tomb" (season 5)--was she already dead? I think she was, but I've never rewatched that
Others I'm not considering, since their powers aren't derived from meteors, or else they were experimented on/experimented on themselves with Kryptonite, so their mutations aren't accidental, which may make a difference in the meteor effects
--Ryan (seasons 1 and 2): I believe we learned that his powers came from his brain tumor
--Earl Jenkins from Jitters (season 1)--still alive, as far as we know
--the tattooed gang from Kinetic (season 1)--alive, in prison
--the Kryptopowered thieves from Witness (season 2)--I don't remember what happened to them
--Emily from "Accelerate" (season 2)--in 33.1 if she hasn't aged to death
--Mxy from Jinx (season 4)--in level 33.1
--Abby from Facade (season 4)--nothing happens to her; her mom goes to jail
--Duncan from "Reunion" (season 6)--dies after prolonged coma/meteor experimentation.
--Molly from Delete (I don't think--was she a mutant? Wasn't she a product of Summerholt?) I think she's currently in 33.1
One thing compiling this list made clear to me was that there has been an ongoing re-evaluation of the dangers posed by meteor mutants going all the way back to "Extinction" in season 3 (the episode where Van McNulty was hunting mutants), and definitely picking up steam in season 4. In all of season 4, there are only I think three mutants who are actually murderous, and one of those is already dead (Dawn in Spirit) and the another one only becomes murderous when his future is being attacked (Geoff in Recruit). And the third is, I believe, the mutant (Tim Wescott) who kills Alicia in "Pariah." It's true that lots of people in S4 are experimenting in very dangerous ways with Kryptonite (e.g.Facade, Devoted), but from the Alicia arc onward, all the mutants are portrayed as innocent (the baby in Ageless) or else malevolent spirits, not living people (Dawn in Spirit). Combine that with the fact that one of the early episodes of season five, "Hidden," has someone whose paranoia about mutants have him almost nuke the whole town, and I think it's clear that the retcon of mutant behavior has been going on for a couple of seasons now.
There were very few murderous mutants in season 5. The three thugs in "Mortal" were presumably motivated by Lex, not their mutation; the hit man in "Fade" obviously *chose* his career path, he wasn't compelled to it by meteor powers; and in "Fragile," the villainy of Maddie's dad was balanced by the fact that Maddie was shown as pretty clearly choosing not to use her powers for evil. Similarly, in season 6 we've only seen, I believe, two cases of mutants with murderous intentions, and in both cases (Jed McNally and Linda Lake), they were shown as murdering out of their own greed/ambition, not because they were driven crazy by their mutation.
So I'm starting to think that they've been setting up a re-evaluation of the prejudice against meteor-infected individuals for a while now, and this isn't coming nearly as out of left field as I thought it was. What do other people think about this?
no subject
When I don't have an editing deadline, I'm going to come back and clarify/nitpick a few of those mutants, and also to drill down into this shift a little further because it's really interesting territory. Thank you for putting this together!
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I don't have much to add, except that it might be worth noting that the new lingo isn't all that new — Clark, for one, never used the "freak" terminology. I'm pretty sure that he has always used "PC" language... which might be another argument for the position that it's not really a retcon, but a part of the show's structure from quite early on. I could be wrong, though — my memory's not what it used to be!
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And I'll still answer your other comment too because it's an interesting discussion!
no subject
Kyla (season 2) from Skinwalker: shot by Lionel, I believe, when in wolf form, after trying to kill him
Alicia (seasons 3-4): I don't think she actually killed anyone, and of course she was the first one we see formally reform
Kara (season 3): I'm not sure if she was really a mutant or transformed by Jor-El, but she was killed by Jor-El.
*Kyla died from her injuries after jumping through the window in Lex's study. Did she really try to kill anyone, or just scare them? It's debatable.
*Alicia attempted to kill her father by pushing him down the stairs. And, the father made that comment about how things went "badly" with Alicia's previous boy interest. I have always questioned whether or not Alicia was completely reformed or not, but that's a whole 'nuther discussion.
*Kara was an exceptional case because she was involved in that car accident which may or may not have killed her. What we do know is that Jor-El kept her in suspension until he needed to use her, then he simply shut her off when he was done with her. (and sent her on to FNL).
Jodi (season 1): she killed a deer and injured someone by sucking out his fat; not intentionally evilJeff Palmer (season 1): tried to kill Victoria and Lex
Ian (season 2) from Dichotic--doesn't he try to kill Chloe and Lana?
The coma girl from Slumber (season 3): no malevolent intentions at all; she's looking for Clark's help
*I believe Jodi did kill someone, and would have killed Pete. The ingestion of the meteor rock powder did make her insane in her quest for food. She had major body image issues before that.
*Ian and his meteor induced twin did indeed try to kill Chloe and Lana because they knew his secret.
*Was Slumber girl meteor exposed? I don't recall that.
Cyrus from Visitor (did he have a meteor power?)
He healed Whitneys' horse, and he either healed or brought back to life the bully that had been picking on him. It took a huge toll on him and he ended up catatonic.
Byron from Nocturne
Byron was alive at then end of the episode.
Chrissy Woodman (season 2)from Redux, the one who sucks youth out of people
*Iz ded*
And you're right about Mxy - Not a mutant.
As I said previously, I think that the very existence of all the exceptions to the Mutant=Bad rule makes that rule void. So, I don't see any of this as retconning in the slightest. True, most of the mutants we've seen have been evilbad, but that's the reason we saw them. There wasn't going to be entire shows featuring the harmless bowling alley guy who happens to have telekinesis. Now, if he was out murdering people by having bowling balls drop on their heads :D, then we would have met him sooner. I guess what I'm struggling to say is that it makes sense that we would have seen more bad mutants than good ones. The good ones are living normal lives, or trying to at least. But we certainly have met enough good ones to rule out their existence as any sort of retconning. I don't think having an ability will make Chloe suddenly become evil or crazy. I think that potential for bad behavior was already in place for the mutants who did go bad.
It's late, I hope some of that made sense. I may read this in the morning and *facepalm*.
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Love that icon, btw. That's one of my favorite shoots of hers.
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I am starting to become persuaded by your argument that this isn't a retcon so much as drawing more attention to something the show has been saying for a while--maybe all along?
THanks. I just love that picture of her.
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Ah, Kyla. A member of that class of Villains/Anti-heroes Who Drive LaT Nuts -- The Incompetent. She mostly wanted to scare everyone off from digging at/near the caves -- but still managed to set off an explosion that accidentally killed a man and then accidentally got herself killed by jumping through a glass window. Now, for the sake of being fair, it's entirely possible she didn't have control over what form she morphed into when she shape-shifted, but honestly, if she did have control over that? It would have made a lot more sense -- and been a lot more effective -- to reaching her goal of halting construction had she shape-shifted into, I don't know, a sentient being.
*Alicia attempted to kill her father by pushing him down the stairs. And, the father made that comment about how things went "badly" with Alicia's previous boy interest. I have always questioned whether or not Alicia was completely reformed or not, but that's a whole 'nuther discussion.
*clutches you*
'Cause let me say, I felt like the Voice of One, Crying In the Wilderness back when Pariah aired and I argued that Alicia was probably the worst spokesperson for the idea that the town was being unfair to mutants because (a) she was a member of the subclass of them that actually did hurt people and (b) it couldn't be said that she had reformed. Sure, she wasn't homicidal any more (and remember, in addition to trying to kill her own father, she also tried to kill Lana, too, and it's arguable that because she didn't know what prolonged exposure to green meteor rock would do to Clark, she at least acted with reckless disregard for his life when she left him alone with that piece of green k), but it was clear that she was still capable of extremely questionable judgment and tendencies. Drugging Clark to make him do her bidding didn't argue in favor of the idea that she'd learned how to process her feelings for him -- and threats to those feelings -- in a normative way. I think it's more likely than not that with time Alicia would have been able to live out a normal life where she didn't actively hurt others when she didn't get her way, but the very short arc of her recovery that we were shown suggested to me that she wasn't there yet (and let's not forget that despite her promise in the immediately preceding episode to protect Clark's secret no matter what, she shared it with a journalist just to make a point she thought was important).
The good ones are living normal lives, or trying to at least. But we certainly have met enough good ones to rule out their existence as any sort of retconning.
I actually agree that the idea that there are good mutants isn't an instance of retroactive continuity in the usual sense of that term. Cassandra Carver is a S1 character, so as far back as the first season we were given the possibility that someone could have a meteor-related ability and be a decent, good human being. By the same token, though, there's something about this Chloe reveal that feels like the mythology is nevertheless being re-written to accomodate the decision to make her a meteor mutant; I don't think people having that visceral reaction are being at all unreasonable or irrational. Maybe it's the fact that she's never exhibited any signs of having an ability (I come down on the side that being able to hack computers isn't outside the realm of ordinary human capacity, certainly not the way being telekinetic or telepathic or able to turn oneself invisible is) and prior to Freak, it's never been suggested that abilities can latently manifest. IOW, it's not ... the most graceful revelation the show's ever done, arguably because it hasn't really been foreshadowed in any of the ways SV excels when it comes to foreshadowing.
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*snort* Good point.
'Cause let me say, I felt like the Voice of One, Crying In the Wilderness back when Pariah aired and I argued that Alicia was probably the worst spokesperson for the idea that the town was being unfair to mutants because (a) she was a member of the subclass of them that actually did hurt people and (b) it couldn't be said that she had reformed. Sure, she wasn't homicidal any more (and remember, in addition to trying to kill her own father, she also tried to kill Lana, too, and it's arguable that because she didn't know what prolonged exposure to green meteor rock would do to Clark, she at least acted with reckless disregard for his life when she left him alone with that piece of green k), but it was clear that she was still capable of extremely questionable judgment and tendencies. Drugging Clark to make him do her bidding didn't argue in favor of the idea that she'd learned how to process her feelings for him -- and threats to those feelings -- in a normative way. I think it's more likely than not that with time Alicia would have been able to live out a normal life where she didn't actively hurt others when she didn't get her way, but the very short arc of her recovery that we were shown suggested to me that she wasn't there yet (and let's not forget that despite her promise in the immediately preceding episode to protect Clark's secret no matter what, she shared it with a journalist just to make a point she thought was important).
Omg.. YES. Your explanation is actually just a tad nicer than mine would be regarding that homicidal nutjob. I liked the Alicia episodes (for shallow, and otherwise, reasons), but that doesn't extend to believing that she was reformed, or a contrite victim of her ability, for all those reasons you stated above. I still grind my teeth when I see people bitch about Clark not mourning long enough for her. She was a selfish brat who revealed Clark's secret as soon she didn't get her way. To be fair though, she was victimized by that pervy doctor when she was supposed to be getting treatment. But my cynical side says that there's a good chance that she may have played him too. Glad to know I'm not the only one with Alicia issues.
But we digress.... *g*
alicia
Oh! You know what drove me nuts about Dr. McBride? Sure, his apparent attachment to Alicia was inappropriate, but he wasn't actually wrong that she needed to stay away from Clark! Her behavior in Unsafe/Pariah pretty much proved he was right that Alicia couldn't process her feelings for Clark in a way that was not harmful to either of them. But I get the feeling that the audience is just supposed to write off McBride's legitimate concerns simply because his attachment to Alicia might have been hinky (it's been a while since I've watched Unsafe, but while I remember getting an odd vibe from McBride, I also remember thinking that what he said was right on-point -- it was too soon after Alicia's release for her to jump right back into interaction with the object of her obsession).
But my cynical side says that there's a good chance that she may have played him too.
And there's that possibility as well. Alicia was a manipulator, pure and simple. I have little difficulty believing that she may have played McBride to some degree to get out of Belle Reve sooner than she should have and that she naturally panicked when his interest in her didn't abate after her release. It doesn't absolve McBride of his responsibility to maintain an appropriate professional and emotional distance from her, but Alicia was just that clever and crafty: she wouldn't have been above manipulating McBride if it meant she'd get out of Belle Reve ASAP.
Glad to know I'm not the only one with Alicia issues.
I think I even said on TWoP, back when Unsafe first aired, that Alicia creeped me out and it worried me that Clark kept giving her chance after predatory, dangerous chance. On one hand, the Alicia arc worked to demonstrate that once Clark cares about someone, it's very hard for him to completely write them off; Alicia was a good Lex stand-in in that regard. OTOH, there's being willing to give people a chance/wanting to believe the best of people, then there's being foolish. Clark hooking back up with Alicia so quickly after her release was kind of foolish. It annoyed me that Martha's end speech in Unsafe focused on the "sanctity of marriage," because it distraced from what her actual point was: Clark never would have been in the position to run off to Vegas and marry Alicia if he'd exercised better judgment in letting her back into his life.
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Could she shape-shift into anything, or just into a wolf? I feel no qualms saying I have *never* rewatched that lameass episode.
On Alicia: Thinking about actual canon (and trying to remember when I first watched that episode, unfiltered by lots of later fanfic), I think I also doubted Alicia's reform at the time. I mean, she basically roofied Clark to get him to run away with her, and the fact that it stopped short of rape is only a marginal point in her favor. Certainly the town was not wrong to be suspicious of her.
However, she's been so rehabilitated for me in fanon that I have trouble remembering I didn't trust her when the eps originally aired--and of course now I watch those episodes with different lenses.
I kind of like
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On Alicia: Thinking about actual canon (and trying to remember when I first watched that episode, unfiltered by lots of later fanfic), I think I also doubted Alicia's reform at the time.
Sarah Carter was a good actor and she had excellent chemistry with Tom Welling, but Alicia was always problematic for me. Her use of red kryptonite on Clark (even if canon never bothered to explain how or why she knew what its effects on him were) was indefensible, IMO, and she totally negated her willingness to take a bullet for him in Unsafe by turning around in Pariah and revealing him to a journalist. Even though that journalist was Chloe and Alicia assumed she'd write a responsible and sympathetic piece, the point is -- she still expected Chloe to out Clark. Nevermind that Clark had expressed a desire to keep his secret private; it wasn't up to Alicia to make the choice for him. As long as Clark did what Alicia wanted, she was sweet as pie, but every single time he didn't, she took matters into her own hands in ways that were ultimately damaging or potentially damaging to him. Her 'love' for him was toxic to both of them. I'm sorry she died, but I'm not sorry she isn't in Clark's life any more.
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Yup, the car crash that caused her parents' death and her coma was into a known meteor-infected stream.
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A couple things I happen to know off the top of my head:
Desiree Atkins (season 2): killed her first husband, tried to kill Lex--is imprisoned in the end (?)
Yup, she was alive and in prison at the end. Although I'm not really sure that helps your case. 'In jail' seems just as bad as 'dead' or 'in Belle Reve'. :P
Byron from Nocturne
He did, indeed, survive.
Jed McNally (season 6) from Subterranean: again, I can't remember: does he die? He was pretty murderous to the migrant workers, but I don't know I would attribute that to his mutation
Last we saw him, he was indeed alive and being operated on by Lex's scientists in 33.1. Then, Lex did that cool pimp walk away from him, with the hands reaching out for him. :P
Linda Lake, "Hydro" (season 6): I don't actually think she *is* dead--she was definitely murderous, but I would link it more to her ambition than her mutation
I really do think we're supposed to think that she died, so I would put her on the dead list.
And I'm really trying to remember now whether this is canon or fanon, but isn't the theory that Kryptonite exposure causes insanity (as well as your usual mutations)? So even if people might seem to have other reasons for killing, the Kryptonite could still be taken as what makes them bonkers enough to actually go that extra mile and kill.
In the 'meteor mutants: evil vs. not?' argument, you might also want to consider the various mutants McNulty offed in "Extinction". We didn't see all of them, but Chloe runs through a list at one point, and I remember a couple getting mentioned who were completely harmless. That episode seemed to prove that there were definitely meteor mutants around who pretended to be normal and weren't psychotic.
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Thank you for your corrections--I'll amend the list. And I would rewatch "Extinction" right away had I not stupidly lent out all my SV DVDs for pimping purposes. Though hopefully someone else will happen along who knows that stuff off the top of their head.
And I'm really trying to remember now whether this is canon or fanon, but isn't the theory that Kryptonite exposure causes insanity (as well as your usual mutations)? So even if people might seem to have other reasons for killing, the Kryptonite could still be taken as what makes them bonkers enough to actually go that extra mile and kill.
Yeah, that was my general feeling too, but like you I can't figure out if it was canon or fanon. God knows I've read a ton of stories that speculate exactly that, but I'm becoming increasingly convinced by
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And I'm in the Linda Lake - still alive - corner. They purposely inserted that scene of her in water form draining into the gutter (or whatever) at the end. I don't think we'll see her again *hopes* but I do think they left it open, or why insert that scene at all?
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this website might be of help.
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Here:
(K • [(P • T) v H v A] -> S)
If K (a kryptonite induced power) is in the presence of P (psychological predisposition) and T (sufficient power to Tempt and corrupt) or H (a change in Health or physiological needs) or A (an additional mind altering agent), then the Kryptofreak will commit sociopathic or destructive behavior (S).
Greg Arkin (P • T), Coach Arnold (P • T), Tina Greer (P • T), Nicodemus (A), Jodi Melville [(P • T) • H], Byron Moore (A), Rush (A), Eric Summers (P • T)
~(K • ~[(P • T) v H v A] -> S)
It is not the case that if K (a kryptonite induced power) is not in the presence of P(psychological predisposition) and T (sufficient power to Tempt and corrupt) or H (a change in Health or physiological needs) or A (an additional mind altering Agent), then the Kryptofreak will commit sociopathic or destructive behavior (S).
Ryan, Cassandra, Jordan Cross
(X • [(P • T) v H v A] -> S)
If X (a power induced by unknown substance X) is in the presence of P (psychological predisposition) and T (sufficient power to Tempt and corrupt) or H (a change in Health or physiological needs) or A (an additional mind altering agent), then the individual will commit sociopathic or destructive behavior (S).
Krissy [(P • T) • H], Bart (P • T)
~(K <-> S)
It is not the case that K (a kryptonite induced power) is necessary for S (sociopathic or destructive behavior) to present.
Krissy, Bart, Dr. Garner, Morgan Edge, Helen Bryce
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I have two questions about your examples: do we have any evidence Ryan's power was kryptonite-induced? I thought in "Ryan" his mind-reading ability was produced by his brain tumor. And is Krissy's power not meteor induced? I don't remember that episode clearly--did her power precede the arrival of the meteors?
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Damn, girl. I had to go drink a few cups of coffee before I could make any sense of that. My rusty old brain requires a bit more fuel than your brilliant young one. I love that you did that.
Question though: Which "Bart" are you referring to in your 3rd and 4th proofs? Not Bart from Run? He wasn't meteor affected - but I can't remember another Bart right now.
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Perhaps he's picking up residue from her temporary powers in Truth. Or maybe the
frivolitytruth gas made permanent changes to her system.As for the high rate of death of mutants, in most cases I can remember it's clearly self-defense on Clark's part. I think that Clark did his level best to save mutants who weren't actively threatening his own life (i.e. Jody).
Linda Lake, "Hydro" (season 6): I don't actually think she *is* dead--I think that was deliberately left ambiguous in the episode. She was definitely murderous, but I would link it more to her ambition than her mutation.
I'd put Greg in that category, too, and for much the same reason. Didn't Linda get run over by Lana's car and splash all over the windshield?
Something metal squashed Greg and hundreds of beetles streamed out from underneath it. Sounds like a similar fate to me.
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I agree that the way Greg died was ambiguous, but I think he is actually dead, or he would have reappeared by now, while I suspect they are actually planning on bringing Linda Lake back.
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I adore your icon!
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bop_radar's recommendation. Good job! The season companions have a list compiled of the FOTW's, so if you need any further clarification, let me know.
I dont believe the boy that received the electro shock treatment in Asylum was Byron from Nocturne, he was just one of Dr. Foster's failed treatments.
Also in your original list you have Jeff Palmer from Shimmer. He wasnt actually meteor infected, but he used the oils from green roses on the Luthor estate to make himself invisible. So I guess he doesnt fall under the same category as your other mutants.
Like Serenography, I also dont think the bad/good mutants is a retcon for the reasons that she has explained.
I guess the only aspect we can consider to be retcon is the latent powers, but ..... and here's the but, does the fact that its not been mentioned before mean that such a thing never existed. Has there been a compelling enough reason so far, storywise, to show us that latent mutation exists. However, having watched Phantom I'm not sure that Chloe's power was actually latent but moreso that she's never been in a position where she could use it before.
It will be interesting to see where they take her storyline and powers next season.
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I think at this point we don't know enough about Chloe's power, having only seen it once, to draw conclusions. I'm certain she's not dead, and I assume they introduced the power to start some new arc for her next season, so I'm curious to see what, exactly, they'll be retconning, if anything. I expect we'll find out a lot more, including whether other mutants have latent powers, or if Chloe's power was not, as you suggest, really latent so much as dormant.
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