A lot of sub and a lot of text

[rivkat]

Why I'm somewhat less thrilled than many others on LJ about this episode: We learned what we knew already -- Lex doesn't need the Kryptojuice to be hopelessly in love with Clark, willing to abase himself and give up his really big picture of Clark to woo Clark back, which must make jerking off a lot less fun. So, a lot of sub and a lot of text; not so much of the subtext, really.

See, I already knew that Lex was a hopeless romantic looking for a hopeless romance, and I sort of want to slap him and say -- "Lex, the big dumb alien is not good enough for you; he will never love you the way you love him; get over it, because pining becomes pathetic after a while and you're a lot sexier when you're angry than when you're abasing yourself."

In other words, what about Clark's side? Accepting worship (and being saved from a major beat-down) does not make Clark a good, or even a tolerant, person. And "in the spirit of friendship, can I ask you for a(nother) favor?" as the followup left a bitter taste in my mouth. I can only hope that at the very least Lex had a bitter taste in his afterwards. If you know what I mean, and I think you do.

It's just that -- Lex is never going to be good enough to pass Clark's tests, and this is a tragic combination of Lex's flaws and Clark's. This is not to say that Clark is the bad guy, but he is the immature guy, and Lex's mistake is in part hanging his self-worth on somebody who's not certain of his own worth and is very willing to project those uncertainties on Lex -- who makes himself a really good target with his manipulations and sly secrets. Half of me wants Lex to get his evil mastermind on now, to end the ongoing humiliation and blunt the force of the blow when Clark's ultimate lack of belief in him really sinks in.

As story, however, the episode was well done. Chloe and Clark got great comic moments, even if I had to fast forward past the worst of the humiliations; yay Martha; Lex's devotion really did work well with the monsters of the week plot; Lois got another reason to think of Clark as a wimp and thus to be ready to ignore that he's really Superman later on; and I like that Chloe has matured enough to say what she thinks about her personal life with the same courage she brings to reporting. Jason is good, though there's still this weird dark blob that shows up on my screen and sucks the life out of scenes, and the fact that the blob is black instead of pink this year is only a moderate improvement.

Overall, strong story, marred by weird antifeminist stuff (that I hardly notice any more because it's the background hum of SV until voiced by one of the "spunky" female characters) and by the slow-motion breaking of my heart on Lex's behalf.

Comments

[latxcvi.livejournal.com]

It's just that -- Lex is never going to be good enough to pass Clark's tests, and this is a tragic combination of Lex's flaws and Clark's. This is not to say that Clark is the bad guy, but he is the immature guy, and Lex's mistake is in part hanging his self-worth on somebody who's not certain of his own worth and is very willing to project those uncertainties on Lex -- who makes himself a really good target with his manipulations and sly secrets. Half of me wants Lex to get his evil mastermind on now, to end the ongoing humiliation and blunt the force of the blow when Clark's ultimate lack of belief in him really sinks in.

See, what I keep hoping is that when Lex finally comes to this realization and in a great symbolic "fuck you" to Clark gets rid of the Porsche once and for all, that's when *Clark* finally realizes the role he himself played in the creation of Lex As His Enemy. Because I really do think that it's not mere narcissism on Clark's part that made him respond to Lex's entreaties last night; the exact point of Clark's softening came right after Lex told Clark that Clark is what helps keep his darkness at bay.

For all of Clark's immaturity, for all his bratty pettiness and sometimes hypocritical rigidity, I really do think that at the end of the day, he values his role as a protector and savior to others (frankly, he can't NOT value it yet still go on to become Superman) and I think that he is eventually going to realize the ways in which he himself failed on that score vis-a-vis Lex because of all the times he didn't trust Lex, didn't believe in him, didn't ever do much to make Lex understand that Lex had what it took to stave off the darkness. I mean, on one hand, it's not fair to expect such a thing as Clark; ultimately, Lex is responsible for his own choices. *OTOH*, though, if Clark's actually going to accept the role that Lex has assigned him - and not ever saying to Lex "Look, I don't *want* to be your moral barometer and you really shouldn't hold me up as one because I'm not as good as you think I am" or something along those lines pretty much IS Clark accepting that assigned role - then Clark ultimately has to bear responsibility for the consequences of falling down on the job. By the time Clark realizes he *created* his own enemy in Lex, it'll be too late, probably, to undo it and that's when it will hit Clark that there *was* a point, once upon a time, when he *could* have prevented that outcome simply by being a better friend.

No, in the end, it doesn't make the eventual breaking of Lex's heart hurt less, but I don't think Clark's getting out of this unscathed either.

[latxcvi.livejournal.com]

I mean, on one hand, it's not fair to expect such a thing as Clark;

Er, that should have read I mean, on one hand, it's not fair to expect such a thing from Clark ...

[rivkat.livejournal.com]

That's an excellent way of putting it -- both are responsible for their own choices, and one of Clark's choices is not calling Lex on his responsibility-shifting when it's so clear that Lex is desperately searching for someone, anyone, to give himself to.

If it does go down that way, the show will be as satisfying for me as it is painful. I'm just afraid, given what SV has done so far, that I'm going to get all the pain and not all of the satisfaction.

[harriet-spy.livejournal.com]

you're a lot sexier when you're angry than when you're abasing yourself

*nods* I was really hoping for a couple of months of sweet, sweet spine before sweeps-time reconciliation. There's such a thing as being overly responsive to fan readings of a character.

[rivkat.livejournal.com]

I want the friendship of legend to continue -- Lord knows we don't see enough of them together as it is -- but I would have preferred if Clark had not been written to be such a major-league user. If they'd had a bit of re-bonding, platonically even -- even, horrors, discussing the charms of Miss Lang -- I wouldn't have been so mad. I worry that I'm losing respect for Lex, in that "why doesn't she just leave her abusive husband?" sort of way.