Smallville: Fanatic

[norwich36]

Hmm. There were some very good bits in that episode, several things that didn't really make character sense but I liked them anyway, and a number of things that fell really flat for me.



Let me start out with things that were lame, to get them out of the way:

The whole "I need better security" thing is SO old! Lexfan was willing to kill her buddies when they didn't live up to her expectations, so couldn't she just have killed some of Lex's security guards, or done something else that didn't make it look like Lex, once again, was completely incompetent in securing his home? And I have a hard time believing Lex would turn his back while in the process of making a threat to a crazy stalker.

Second, Lex's rallying the youth workers speech was WAY lame. It didn't really even make sense as a speech, and it seemed way too "Fuhrer addressing the Hitler youth" for me to buy it as a real Lex speech. (Hey, Almiles, most Lex fans are not Nazis, thank you very much. I realize we were supposed to think Samantha or whatever-her-name-was was insane, and that Lex's other followers were pretty crazy fanatics as well, but they were over the top even for that. I mean, Samantha traded her crucifix for a Lex necklace--so what, now Lex is the antiChrist? And Lois explicitly calls her "Campus Gestapo" and "Fascist," so I don't think I'm going to far in the Hitler youth anaolgy).

Third, just when I thought they had found the *perfect* job for Bo Kent and his platitudes-- "put the heart back in heartland" indeed-- they go and attribute that particularly lame one to Martha! Say it isn't so, Martha!

And speaking of Martha, let me move on to "things that were somewhat out of character but that I liked anyway":

Ok, I love Mionel, I have to admit it. I was so psyched that Martha and Lionel got not just one but two scenes together. And I completely love pseudo-sincere manipulative sexy Lionel. Guh. (I can't help it! I have a thing for bad guys and I've been a John Glover fan since way before Smallville). I have to admit it, even knowing that he is evil incarnate, I would have a really hard time not being seduced by Lionel myself, so I cut Martha a *little* slack here. He's playing her very well, too, by suggesting that she really *doesn't* want him to win (which is true), and therefore maneuvering her into a position where she accepts his help, ironically, to prove to herself that she really is loyal to him. But honestly, she should know better.

I really hope this is all positioning for a Lionel/Martha affair after Jonathan dies, presuming he is the one to die in the 100th episode. That would seriously rock!

Oh, and is anyone else REALLY curious about what the picture was that Lionel burned?

Ok, moving on to "things I really, really loved."

I loved the Clark/Lana fight. I *really* loved that she recognized his deflection and called him on it. And frankly, I think her interest in astronomy is organic to her character and an actual interesting piece of character development, unlike the whole witch story arc. And while I think it's doubtful that a first-semester astronomy student could do what she's doing, again, I love the fact that she's investigating the meteors because it makes Clark's lies even more stupid and self-destructive, which means when it all blows up in his face the alliance between Lana and Lex is going to be more interesting. (And they are just taunting us with that promo about Lana being the one to die. Though actually I want her to die less this season than every before, ironically.)

I loved Lois in this. Thank goodness they are finding things for her to do that are in keeping with the relationships she's established on the show and her character development. I think when I didn't like Lois in the past it was because I thought she was shoe-horned into a role that Chloe or some pre-existing character ought to be fitting, which is why I didn't like her last season, but now I'm beginning to like her a lot. I especially liked her takedown of Lexfan.

I hate the whole election storyline, but I have to say that Martha in that green suit looked very hot, and I really loved that scene of her gazing through the Talon window at a poster of Jonathan, and then Lionel's reflection appearing. And I also really liked the Lex/Lionel art of war discussion at the end. I'm so *glad* to have multilayered villainous Lionel back again--it's always fun trying to guess his agenda, and I'm pretty sure Lex og going to very soon.

And of course, with everyone else, my favorite scene was the Chloe/Clark conversation about sex. "Your krypto-hag!" Hee! Talk about acknowledging that the hiding your powers/hiding your homosexuality parallels are deliberate! "Awkward factor 8"! "Please don't make me finish this sentence!" Oh my god, they cannot kill Chloe--she's the best thing about this show! She and Clark as buddies are the cutest thing ever! Ok, I'm abusing the exclamation point now and must stop, but great gods of television, I beg you, do not let Almiles sacrifice Chloe on the altar of stupid plot conventions, please!

God, I wish the 100th episode were already here so I could stop living in terror!

Comments

[prim-rose-etta.livejournal.com]

I really hope this is all positioning for a Lionel/Martha affair after Jonathan dies, presuming he is the one to die in the 100th episode. That would seriously rock!

o..m..g..

this must be!!!!!!! or I will cry!!!


Re: Glover, then you've seen his film where he plays twin gay brothers and he's just incredible?? If not, I'll post the link to imdb tomorrow - I just can't recal the name now.

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

Oh yes! I can't think of the name of the movie either, but that was what made me fall in love with JG!

And yay! Glad to find someone else who loves the Mionel! (Or were you just rooting for Jonathan to be the one to die?)

[(Anonymous)]

Well, my every-day prayer is for Jonathan to croak, but Martha has always been way too good for him and I know Lionel would light up her day and I believe, if JK dies, they may show Lionel falling in love with her and then haha Lex can laugh at his father being so weak.

[fleegull.livejournal.com]

I have to admit it, even knowing that he is evil incarnate, I would have a really hard time not being seduced by Lionel myself, so I cut Martha a *little* slack here. He's playing her very well, too, by suggesting that she really *doesn't* want him to win (which is true), and therefore maneuvering her into a position where she accepts his help, ironically, to prove to herself that she really is loyal to him. But honestly, she should know better.


I like this development for Martha! Every powerful person has the guy (or girl) in the back who does the dirty work, the stuff that the golden boy doesn't want to be associated with. MArtha comes from Metropolis, she knows how this stuff works, sometimes you have to get in bed with the bad guys in order to get ahead. I've always seen as conventioanlly tougher than Jonathan and he needs that because otherwise he'd float away on a cloud of idealism. So, Martha is Jonathan's Sammy the Bull Gravano - and that is very cool to me.

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

Oh, sure, I like Martha as the pragmatic one, but I would like this development better if I weren't sure that she was going to be the one punished for it, in the long run. I was just speculating over at beeej's journal that Lionel's strategy here may be trying to take down Jonathan's campaign. I mean, imagine the scandal if the week before the election it comes out that Jonathan "I stand for the common man" Kent is being funded by Luthor money! Lex would win the election (and be indebted to Lionel for it), Jonathan (who Lionel has never liked) would lose, and presumably be furious at Martha.

For Lionel, this would be win-win all around, especially if he makes it look like *Lex* is the one who leaked the information about the funding. I imagine in Lionel's best case scenario, Jonathan's anger at Martha over the deception leads to divorce, and Martha turns to him for comfort, since she doesn't suspect that Lionel has engineered the whole situation.

[bop-radar.livejournal.com]

Ha! LOL about your first ranty bit. I skipped doing that myself, although I SO could have, so it's been cathartic to read you and LaT on these issues.

My personal rant? The flippy skirt and knee-boots that Martha was wearing. Could she *be* any girlier in this ep? It irked me A LOT.

I do hope it's not Chloe that dies. *has a bullet with Jonathan's name on it* But I also love Lois and I'm glad you're getting into her/seeing her potential. I always had faith that A&M would work her in well as they are such Lois fanboys. She's a lot less threatening and disruptive in this season than she was last season, and while I liked her from the start, I'm glad of this because I think it means more people will warm to her and see the subtelties and interesting aspects of her character.

The suspense... the suspense... *bites fingernails*

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

But I also love Lois and I'm glad you're getting into her/seeing her potential. I always had faith that A&M would work her in well as they are such Lois fanboys. She's a lot less threatening and disruptive in this season than she was last season, and while I liked her from the start, I'm glad of this because I think it means more people will warm to her and see the subtelties and interesting aspects of her character.

Well, they're doing much better with her this season. And also, it doesn't hurt that both you and estrella30 love Lois and point out the good things about her in your reviews, which made me think "Hmm, people I respect like this character, maybe I should re-evaluate her." I would advise you to steer clear of the Television without Pity boards, though. LJ was so dead today I went there and read all the commentary on Fanatic, and while there was some interesting stuff, the Lois hate there almost exceeds the Lana hate, which I didn't even think was possible!

[bop-radar.livejournal.com]

Ah yes. I steer well clear of TWOP and the crazies over there. I get very angry when people slag Lois off. I don't mind if you don't like her, but all that 'omg she's such a disgusting slag' type stuff really really upsets me.

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

Well, I think it is one part crazy Chloe=the true Lois people (which was a theory than only worked *before* the introduction of ED, hello!), one part people who had a different mental picture of Lois and who still haven't gotten over it, one part people who hate it when any new character is introduced to a show, and one part misogyny, frankly. People haven't been sane on the TWOP boards since season 1, honestly.

See, last year I did have a defensive reaction against Lois because of Chloe, who as I am sure you can tell occasionally even replaces Lex for me as the heart of the show. (I'm really honestly not sure if I can keep watching if they kill her off). I was afraid they were grooming Lois to take Chloe's spot. But this year that doesn't really seems to be the case (she said, crossing fingers, touching wood, and doing everything else possible to stave off the potential Chloe death).

[bop-radar.livejournal.com]

Yes--this is why I stay away from the Lois-haters. It's because I feel that for most of the extremists that hold this viewpoint, their arguments are not grounded in something I can respect (e.g. misogyny).

I can understand people feeling defensive about Lois's arrival. Perhaps it was different for me because I loved her character before SV. But even I had fears about what it would mean for Chloe. Instead I've been delighted to find that Chloe has been crafted into a role that is not Lois, but something distinctive in her own right. To me, that's better than Chloe-as-Lois. But if they kill Chloe, it will bother me again, because I think that would create a reductive reading of BOTH characters--Lois becomes who she is because of Chloe's death/Chloe was only ever there to create Lois. Bluch! If that happens, there will be rage...

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

Oh, there's definitely no point trying to argue with people who have irrational character hate.

And you make a good point--Lois needs her own independent path to her future, not just one piggybacked on Chloe (or Chloe's death).