Visage musings

[serafina20]

I'm mixed on my feelings about tonight's Smallville episode. On the one hand, there was some great acting moments. Eric Johnson did wonderfully as a teenage girl posing as a man. He was down right frightening sometimes the way he'd look at people. And there were fun moments that happened.

I was very glad that when Clark told Chloe and Pete that something weird was going on, he wasn't shut down right away. The only thing that happened was Chloe brought up Tina's suicide, but listened to him when he asked about the dental records. The fact that Chloe always shoots Clark down when he has a theory and she can come up with anything has always annoyed me, so I was glad to see her listen for once.

On Clark:
The first scene after Whitney came home bothered me. It was very selfish and very un-Clark-like to be so callous. Well, my interpretation of the character. The only thing I can come up with is the writers intended it to be played that if Whitney had never come home, Clark would never have thought of the 'downside' of his return. He would have wanted Whitney to come home because it's What is Right and Clark Does What is Right. But, when it became reality and Whitney was ok, feelings that Clark didn't realize were there came to the surface and he expressed them to his parents.

Not that I liked that scene at all. I'm just wondering if that's what they were going for.

However, at the end, I don't feel that Clark made it all about him as people are saying on the TWOP boards. I think it was a natural thing for anyone to feel. He was sad that Whitney was dead, admiring for what he did, and had a moment of self-doubt. And that one thing wasn't indicative of how Clark was feeling; it's just one of the first things that came to his mind. When you're upset (and he'd been through a lot right then) you feel what you feel. He'd never say that to anyone but his parents, because he's safe with them. I think the caves are where Clark grieves. He was reflecting on his life, and probably Whitney's as well.

The subplot with Lex and Helen is poorly handled. They should have been going out longer--that we say--before this was brought up.

I wish I was caught up here with Corner of the World. I don't know what I'm going to do with the series. I still have things to write, but a) I'm not writing fast enough and b) a beta is getting things back very slowly. *sigh* Maybe I should give up and just write them for myself.

Comments

Funny...

[reccea.livejournal.com]

I thought of you during the "chloe"/lana scenes, I will say. Thought you probably enjoyed them.

I'm a little pissed that they killed Whitney off but *shrug* what are you going to do, right?

[rhiannonhero.livejournal.com]

I liked the episode. I agree that the scene with Clark was upsetting...but it seemed to me to be very in character with the way they have been writing him of late. Part of the reason I'm always in the midst of Clark crisis. *sigh* Grrr.

Thanks for these thoughts. Interesting take. *g*

Re:

[serafina20.livejournal.com]

I've never had very many Clark issues. I can see where they come from, but I'm living with a 14 year old. I can see daily where Clark's reactions come from. That scene was over and above selfish and self absorbed; the closest to it was when Clark went to Lex for the bail money, and I'm choosing to look at that as Clark being so driven by the need to preserve a part of his heritage and find out about himself that he wasn't thinking, and less to do with Kylia.

Over all, I think I enjoyed the episode. It hit me in the gut when they said Whitney was dead. I was still holding out hope that the officer was there to tell his mother that Whitney was in a military hospital, in bad shape but was going to make it. That shock took away anything else that i was feeling, so I need to rewatch.