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SV: Nemesis
Also known as the BEST EPISODE EVER.
Ok, I had a meeting that ran very late, and then watching the recording of the ep took about two hours because I kept rewinding and watching certain scenes over and over, and now it is very very late, so I think the heavy analysis will come later. This is all just total SQUEE at the BEST EPISODE EVER. Warning: extreme abuse of exclamation points. Proceed at your own risk.
--Clark and Lex's conversations in the tunnels=completely made of win. EVERYTHING we've ever wanted to see, other than actual kissage, right? I mean, Lex is not stupid--he know's Clark's invulnerable, even though he's now confronting disconfirming evidence. And that amazing line about how he NEEDED to believe Clark was special. And they actually have the "secrets" conversation! And instead of denying, Clark practically confirms it by accusing him of just looking for new ways to exploit people with special abilities. And later on, Clark feels guilty because maybe he's made Lex who he is! And he doesn't want to give up on Lex!
--And Lex saves him! Even after Clark thinks he has abandoned him (Lex! Lex!) Thank goodness, by the way, because I really needed to see some humanity in Lex again after last week, and we got that in spades. Yay! He saves Clark, and then Clark saves him--very reminiscent of Jitters, actually, only this time Lex actually is responsible for the crazy person taking him hostage--but I thought Clark having to hold him as they're climbing the ladders, even though he only has human strength, was a direct callback to Jitters.
--And yet, though Lex has been rehumanized for the audience (and Clark), he's still doing the master villain stuff, too, as we see at the end of the ep, which is the best of both worlds, as far as I'm concerned.
--And omigod, Lana completely kicked ass in this episode. I LOVE that she's completely gotten her Luthor on: threatening Lionel, and then coolly acquiring the suitcase, and shooting off the locks, and finding the tunnels, and then DOING NOTHING (and omg, the look on Chloe's face when she realized what Lana had been doing, or more accurately not doing, was priceless), and then BLACKMAILING Lionel, and then--that scene with Lex--just insert gibbering noises. I was absolutely screaming with glee at how well she played Lex in that scene, how every single thing she said was a dagger deliberately aimed at him, and a couple of them apparently struck home. I guess Lionel convinced her that Lex is a threat to Clark so she's going to continue playing him? And as far as I'm concerned, she can Lady MacBeth her way through all of next season, because I completely love this incarnation of Lana.
--And Martha! Finally we got to hear what she was thinking about Lionel, and I have to say I'm very glad she's not trusting him. And thank goodness Clark brought up the Lex-Lionel parallels in that conversation, because it was really about time.
--Oh, I almost forgot about Chloe, and that priceless bit where she's calling Clark "like a stalker ex-girlfriend, not that I was ever your girlfriend, it was just an analogy." Hee hee hee! I thought that was hilarious.
I love my show SO VERY MUCH. And next week looks fabulous too.
Ok, I had a meeting that ran very late, and then watching the recording of the ep took about two hours because I kept rewinding and watching certain scenes over and over, and now it is very very late, so I think the heavy analysis will come later. This is all just total SQUEE at the BEST EPISODE EVER. Warning: extreme abuse of exclamation points. Proceed at your own risk.
--Clark and Lex's conversations in the tunnels=completely made of win. EVERYTHING we've ever wanted to see, other than actual kissage, right? I mean, Lex is not stupid--he know's Clark's invulnerable, even though he's now confronting disconfirming evidence. And that amazing line about how he NEEDED to believe Clark was special. And they actually have the "secrets" conversation! And instead of denying, Clark practically confirms it by accusing him of just looking for new ways to exploit people with special abilities. And later on, Clark feels guilty because maybe he's made Lex who he is! And he doesn't want to give up on Lex!
--And Lex saves him! Even after Clark thinks he has abandoned him (Lex! Lex!) Thank goodness, by the way, because I really needed to see some humanity in Lex again after last week, and we got that in spades. Yay! He saves Clark, and then Clark saves him--very reminiscent of Jitters, actually, only this time Lex actually is responsible for the crazy person taking him hostage--but I thought Clark having to hold him as they're climbing the ladders, even though he only has human strength, was a direct callback to Jitters.
--And yet, though Lex has been rehumanized for the audience (and Clark), he's still doing the master villain stuff, too, as we see at the end of the ep, which is the best of both worlds, as far as I'm concerned.
--And omigod, Lana completely kicked ass in this episode. I LOVE that she's completely gotten her Luthor on: threatening Lionel, and then coolly acquiring the suitcase, and shooting off the locks, and finding the tunnels, and then DOING NOTHING (and omg, the look on Chloe's face when she realized what Lana had been doing, or more accurately not doing, was priceless), and then BLACKMAILING Lionel, and then--that scene with Lex--just insert gibbering noises. I was absolutely screaming with glee at how well she played Lex in that scene, how every single thing she said was a dagger deliberately aimed at him, and a couple of them apparently struck home. I guess Lionel convinced her that Lex is a threat to Clark so she's going to continue playing him? And as far as I'm concerned, she can Lady MacBeth her way through all of next season, because I completely love this incarnation of Lana.
--And Martha! Finally we got to hear what she was thinking about Lionel, and I have to say I'm very glad she's not trusting him. And thank goodness Clark brought up the Lex-Lionel parallels in that conversation, because it was really about time.
--Oh, I almost forgot about Chloe, and that priceless bit where she's calling Clark "like a stalker ex-girlfriend, not that I was ever your girlfriend, it was just an analogy." Hee hee hee! I thought that was hilarious.
I love my show SO VERY MUCH. And next week looks fabulous too.
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Word to your SQUEE! Yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes.
Hee! Your squee is so much more articulate than mine. :-)
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All of these Lana converts make me giddy. KK is so amazing at doing evil Lana, and this is the Lana I've wanted to see all season long, so I was in heaven. And the Clex! And John Glover, looking hot even while in a hospital bed, and Lionel once again straddling the line between potentially good guy and puppetmaster!
Incoherent gibbering noises, I swear.
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And totally, fanfic come to life and lo, it was of the awesome!
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Really, I can't imagine a way that last night's ep could possibly have been better--or given us better character stuff from *everybody*--unless there had been actual sex involved. Or nudity. :D
Well, I guess maybe they could have fixed the timeline problem (this episode reminded me of "Hidden," where we had the longest hour in world history, only in this case it was the longest 20 minutes in world history--but otherwise, a completely perfect episode.
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Lana was outstanding! I loved Chloe's and Clark's faces when they found out about her not lifting a finger to help Lex. *squeeeeee* The Clex was wonderful, too. A very well-paced, well-controlled episode.
If this is hints at the quality of the last episodes of the season, it's going to be quite a ride:)
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But nothing can diminish how great this episode was!!
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And I loved seeing the difference between Clark and Lana/Chloe's morality. Chloe brings up the idea of maybe not saving Lex. Lana sits on the info to save Lex until she needs it to save Clark. Neither of these things thrill Clark. This is a very good, solid reason why Clark and Lana could never actually work out in the end -- Clark couldn't live with the things that Lana would be willing to do.
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Oh yes! This reminds me of a conversation I had after last week's episode, I think maybe with
And I loved seeing the difference between Clark and Lana/Chloe's morality. Chloe brings up the idea of maybe not saving Lex. Lana sits on the info to save Lex until she needs it to save Clark. Neither of these things thrill Clark. This is a very good, solid reason why Clark and Lana could never actually work out in the end -- Clark couldn't live with the things that Lana would be willing to do.
Yes, and those scenes were interesting, because both Chloe and Lana had very valid reasons to be angry with Lex this week, so they were actually I think representing the more human perspective and Clark got to present the heroic perspective, which is always nice to see. Though I've seen a certain amount of criticism of Lana for sitting on the plans while just waiting for Lex to die, and while that certainly seems to be what that scene with Chloe was implying, if you actually do the math with the timeline (that bomb timer was set for 20 minutes, wasn't it?) or even just watch onscreen, Lana had *just* discovered the schematics to the tunnels right before Chloe walked in, so it's not like she had even really had time to make a definite decision to leave Lex there.
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No, she's always been able to do this -- it's how she made off with a $160,000 car of Lex's in Void last season and it's what she used against the stalker in Trespass. This is just the first time where she's done it multiple times in one episode and with an array of people.
Lana had *just* discovered the schematics to the tunnels right before Chloe walked in, so it's not like she had even really had time to make a definite decision to leave Lex there.
You know, I actually thought it was odd that Chloe characterized it that way to Clark, to the point that I just read it as Chloe projecting her own feelings onto Lana, because you're right about the timeline. But then I decided to give it a pass because while I knew that Lana had only discovered the schematics right before Chloe walked in, Chloe didn't necessarily know that. From her perspective, it could have looked like Lana'd been ruminating over them for a while.
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I didn't mean to sound pedantic, btw. I was just noting that Lana's always had this capacity and she has used it in the past. This is just the first time we've really seen her use it a lot in one ep and with many different people (Lionel, the doctor, the two deputies, Lex).
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Oh, no worries--that's actually a very good point. We've definitely seen her manipulate other folks with her own pain before; just never quite so effectively, I think. Really, my favorite part about this whole storyline, long may it continue, is that it is actually building on organic components of Lana's character, just changing her motivations a little bit and amping up her reasons to draw more on the less savory parts of her character.
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My question is, is Clark going to try to regain his friendship with Lex or will he take Martha's advice of water under the bridge.
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She really, really did. I had so much fun watching her. I COULD NOT BELIEVE IT. And I loved how everything she said to Lex at the end were truths that were just twisted to mean something else -- that she was lying with the truth. It dovetails so beautifully with all the other truths and lies in this episode. They're playing around a lot with secrets and revelations this season, esp. with all the Luthors where you can't tell exactly who is the puppetmaster anymore (versus the earlier seasons where it was so obviously Lionel). I'm loving every minutes of it.
You know, a woman wrote this epsiode. AN OBVIOUS SLASHER. *g*
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My love for Lana in this episode cannot be textually rendered. The fact that she's adopted my favorite Lex (and Lionel) technique of lying by telling the truth is awesome.
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*glee!*
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Is it next Thursday yet? *bounces*
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*Squees with you*
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Lana was super cool and *quite scary*. I'm not sure whether she was considering letting Lex die, but I AM sure that she *hates him now*. Last week I said that I wanted to see how Lana would exact her revenge but this was WAY BETTER THAN I WAS EXPECTING.
Loved it loved it loved it.
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*TWIRLS YOU AROUND*
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EVERYTHING we've ever wanted to see, other than actual kissage, right?
YUP!
I have to say I'm very glad she's not trusting him. And thank goodness Clark brought up the Lex-Lionel parallels in that conversation, because it was really about time
Yup! I loved that heaps. It was a huge relief to hear that from Martha about Lionel. I really needed to know how she saw their friendship and how she justified it, and this has put me at ease. And I agree about Clark FINALLY raising the Lex-Lionel parallel--though in another way, how major is it that he does so?! Yeah, Lionel courting Martha is exactly like Clark's friendship with... Lex. The subtext ain't so SUB.
I'm sure I'll also have a lot more to say later. But I just found out that the auction's been cancelled (?! but yay!) so I'm off to celebrate. Whee!
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Oh, totally! I meant to comment about that on your review, but I had meetings all day yesterday so I was composing comments very, very quickly in breaks in between. :D But yeah, making that parallel explicit is very slashy. But it also makes me very happy about Lionel--I like wariness combined with hope for *Mionel* reasons, because, dammit, if Clexers can hold out hope for Lex, at least fanonically, I don't have to feel guilty about doing the same with Mionel.
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