We have a future together, Rivka: Smallville as destiny

[rivkat]

I've been thinking about a certain sentiment I've seen expressed here and there. Caricatured, it goes like this: You guys who complain that Lex just can't catch a break (and makes really stupid choices on occasion, though so far those are less in evidence this season – I know, I know, give him time) should shut up, because you knew what you were signing on for from the get-go. I mean, come on, fifty years of canon has got to count as fair warning, right? It's not as if the end was unwritten.

I see the justice in this point, and yet I can't help but feel that there's another side: from my perspective, I didn't "sign on"; I got drafted. I wasn't looking for a new fandom and I most assuredly wasn't looking to fall in love with the bad-guy-to-be. Yes, I knew all along that it would end badly for the character I care most about. And yes, perhaps a stronger person than I am would have resisted. But I didn't know when I fell in love how much it would hurt, and I didn't experience the process as a choice. So when I talk about how my heart is being put through the juicer every time Lex steps or is pushed closer to the darkness, it's not because I expected different or thought the show owed me better. (The show owes me better continuity and characterization, but that's a separate issue.) It's because my heart is being put through the juicer, and I wish things were different. That's why I write fan fiction, after all – because in my dreams, sometimes things work out differently.

Why we end up with one fandom over another is often a mysterious process. By all rights, I should be far more fond of Daniel Jackson and (early) Willow Rosenberg than I in fact am, though I like them fine. My appreciation of John Crichton, while robust, is not as knee-jerk as my feelings for Scully and Lex. I suppose the reason the criticism "it's silly to complain when you knew what was coming" stings so much is precisely that, because I don't feel that I chose my allegiances, it feels like my personality is being criticized – whatever it is about me that led me to glom on to Lex – and not just my view of my show.

Comments

[svilleficrecs.livejournal.com]

I'm with you on the whole "being drafted" thing. Every season, some of these shows you've been attached to die. And every season, one or two tiny baby new shows catch my eye. After the Smallville pilot, even though I'd enjoyed parts of it, the cheese factor disuaded me. I was busy, didn't pick up till the middle/late first season, at a couple of fellow ex-buffy fans' advice.

And just... got hooked. I fully admit that the embarassment of clex slash fic riches helped the addiction. But you never can tell what's gonna connect w/ you. Both Lex and Clark separately as characters, their slashy fic permutations, and their on screen canon relationship kept me coming back. I've fallen hard. And even when my baby backhands me with shitty characterazation and continuity...I know he still loves me. And he'll say sorry with some terrific romp, or scene, or twist.

Unfortunately, unless a show just batters the fuck out of you like Dawson's Creek's seasons 4-7 did with it's suckiness, you'll probably always give one more chance once you fall for a character, or a ship. This is how I think it will be for Smallville. Despite the bruises that are coming, I have to have faith it'll be worth it.

While I know that Smallville is not going to end with hugs and kisses, I'm fairly sure it'll leave us with a live Lex. He can't be his arch enemy later on if he dies, right? Superman isn't dying. So... I try to be hopeful. Even though I know what's coming. I just they have some good writing when they get there, because if you're gonna stomp on my heart, do it like you mean it, and wear some spikes.

Which makes me scared about Lost. ;) J.J. Abrams, you've been known to tear my heart to shreds, and I need to remember that. It's not always good to let yourself "glom on to" a show, or a set of characters.

Half of the quirky genre shows you love are quite likely to be canceled by the end of the season. Firefly? Farewell.

But Lost? Lost has legs, ratings speaking, and for the first time, like, ever, there's been a challenger for Gayest look of the Night when I'm watching Smallville. And pretty... what's his face? God I wish Young Americans would come out on DVD. My point is, though, that we've pretty much been guaranteed a high body count in Lost, by producers in printed interviews. They will fuck with us. And if the ratings so far are any indication, they'll be fucking with us for a couple of years.

Anyway, long comment short, you're right. You can't choose who you fall in love with, especially in good television shows.

Oh, and I just read "Genesis".

Great, great fucking story. ;)

Gonna go read again, tommorow. Your damn story kept me up till 4!

[rivkat.livejournal.com]

For me, the abusive fandom was X-Files, and I didn't really give up until it was over, after which I got really mad.

I'm okay with Lost so far, and intrigued by Locke in particular. As I said, fannish love is about as mysterious as romantic love, so I just can't predict. For example, Desperate Housewives has me now, and it's not even genre.

Thanks for the kind words about Genesis!