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Smallville: Fanatic
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!
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!
no subject
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.
no subject
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.