I wear black on the outside ...

[rivkat]

And if I seem a little strange, well ...

Yeah, Smiths lyrics. As the great mustangsally78 might say, bite me.

On the plus side, class today went really well, I thought. Maybe we were all trying to get away from reality, and federal preemption of state laws overlapping the subject matter of copyright fit the bill.

This is probably election hangover, but I thought "Jinx" was a lot like the election: seemed fine for a while, then ended in a big ball of suck. I love that Lana, one of SV's "strongest minds" according to the previews, didn't even interact with Mxy. You mean the SV preview lied? Next you're going to tell me they're going to break the promise about no flights, no tights ... oh, wait. Never mind.

Nice: Lex's cut finger -- healed by his next appearance. Now that we've forgotten the malaria and embraced the popular fan theory re: Lex's mutation, we can look forward to ever more miraculous healing. (I can wank the malaria, too; I just don't need to, since that was a whole year ago.) Still waiting for the creepily Dune-like metal spigots on Lex's chest to reappear, though.

I'm not bothered by Chloe's stupid pills -- she was probably looking for a thrill to make up for the absence of soul-crushing terror in her post-Luthor life, not to mention an escape from the constant anxiety that must be her home situation after Lana turned down Gabe's bid for the Talon. And she did not voluntarily go along with Mxy's plot, as the WB's site summary suggested; she even found a fairly easy way around his poorly phrased edict.

Nope, what gets me is the big ol' friendship of legend problem. Clark and Lex are friends -- no, they're not -- yes, they are -- it's like watching an extended volley in tennis. And I don't like tennis.

Nor will the ultimate breakup make me believe in tragedy if it seems like breakup number 20. More, unless Lex has a better game planned than I can tell -- and I do live in hope -- he took the stupid pills this week. Lex plainly knew about the Jason-Lana fling before he talked to Clark, given that Lex was the one who brought it up, but Clark's anti-logic blaming Lex for breaking a confidence is to be expected by now and Lex's failure to point that out understandable. The underlying issue is Lex's manipulation of Clark's friends, which was going to come out as soon as Clark learned about the firing, and I don't understand why Lex thought he could avoid Clark's condemnation. Perhaps I need to consult my earlier view, which was that Lex is really fucking angry this season, and doesn't care about the friendship so much as he cares about keeping Clark around to punish both Clark and himself. So maybe Lex knew that Clark would be pissy again and wasn't being stupid, merely self- and Clark-loathing. That? Not so much fun to watch. The slow rotting of the relationship, like a reanimated corpse that doesn't know it's dead, is painful for me.

Of course, as I said, I wasn't watching in the best of moods. Chloe got her chance at saving the day and standing up for herself while still trusting that Dr. Clark Jekyll would come through for her! Lana had minimal screen time. And Martha shone, with her faith and her insight and her love for her beautiful, special son. So there's three good points for the episode right there.

ETA, based on stuff that came to mind in response to Sarah T's reply: One source of fascination to me, in a sick sort of way, is that Clark still thinks nothing of barging in and asking for another favor, and Lex also still thinks nothing of providing it, at least if he's not made a better offer by the target of said favor. Fans tend to get mad on Lex's behalf at this exploitation -- I know I did -- but I now think that Lex is so used to paying for his relationships that Clark's friendship, with its comparatively transparent demands, seems above par. Lex never seemed to resent Clark's requests, and I think that's true even now, since it's not as if it's anything he can't afford to give -- even his refusal in Velocity is more about making Clark's friend stand on his own than about being unwilling in the abstract. Both of them are formally working off the proposition, "If we are friends, then material goods don't matter; friendship and gifts are incommensurable." And I'm willing to believe that in this at least, both are sincere, perhaps with Lex wryly realizing that Clark doesn't think he's using the friendship to get things, because Clark would never maintain the friendship in order to get things -- Clark's position is more, "while you're there, will you give me X?" Clark is using Lex's wealth and power, but he's not using it as payment for his friendship, and that's a crucial distinction. I find it fascinating how in this one area Clark's demands/secrets can mesh with Lex's cynicism in a way that's not actually harmful to them. When it gets to the emotional aspects of the friendship, that's where the toxin is. I doubt Lex will ever consider cars and jobs and passport revocations on any tally he makes of what Clark owes him, but he will count a mashed Porsche and a stolen manuscript.

Other than that, outside of fan stuff, as Jon Stewart would say: I got nothin'. I hope to do some book reviews this weekend.

In the meantime, I need beta readers for a SV novella, around 45,000 words, with violence and adult content. Any volunteers? I'll be really appreciative, I promise.

And possibly beta viewers for a SV vid in a day or two. Pretty please?

Comments

[mecurtin.livejournal.com]

I can look at the novella, but won't get back to you until late tomorrow, and that assuming that I don't spend another day crying.

[rivkat.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I was kinda counting on you already, because you're always there for me. There's no big hurry; this thing's been weighing on my neck for zillions of months now.

I almost wish I could cry; I might get it out of my system. Probably not, though.

[jfc013.livejournal.com]

Thank heavens I'm not the only one horrified by this episode. I think the title should have been "Junk". I am just sick of this! (Back to using this icon ironically, or missing the show that used to air in the time slot currently held by this crappy imitation...)

[attolia.livejournal.com]

I can't offer to beta, but I'm thrilled that you have another novella on the way. I reread While the Tempest Hurled a few weeks ago and loved it as much as the first time. There arent that many long plotty SV fics and that one was so well done.

Gee, I just looked at a list of your stories on SSA and many of my favorites are there: Incarnadine, Switch, Golden Rule. There are so many. Maybe I should just list all of them.

[rivkat.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I'm glad you liked Tempest. This next one, sadly, is not an alien invasion story, but at least it will be done soon.

[linabean.livejournal.com]

Clark and Lex are friends -- no, they're not -- yes, they are -- it's like watching an extended volley in tennis. And I don't like tennis.

Yeah. I've yet to see this particular episode--it's still downloading--but already this season the Clex has started to feel very Clana-y to me. Where they just do the same sort of scene over and over, where they have to decide whether they're still friends and whether they're keeping secrets and whatever. I didn't like it with the Clana, and it's not so interesting to me even with the Clex.

I mean, at least with the Clex, a future nuclear holocaust could hang in the balance, so that's a little more interesting. And I do like the way Rosenbaum now seems to be adding a bit more edginess to his performance every time Clark lies to him and tells him he's not.

But, yeah, on the whole: what you said.

Also, I could beta a novella! I love your stuff. Let me know.

[rivkat.livejournal.com]

Yes, that's exactly the problem: Clana was bad in its own special way because of the anti-chemistry thing those two had going on; bitter, pissy Clex is like spoiled orange juice -- it used to be so good, and now it just makes you want to gag. I liked Lex's not-very-passive aggressiveness for a few episodes, but it's not sustainable over the long term.

I love that entire set of icons you did -- simmering rage remains one of my favorites!

Beta would be great. Must finish a sex scene and a half; expect something in the mail soon.

[harriet-spy.livejournal.com]

Clark and Lex are friends -- no, they're not -- yes, they are -- it's like watching an extended volley in tennis.

I just don't get how Clark could talk to Lex in that fashion--bitter, dismissive, contemptuous--and yet continue to consider him his friend. If he wants to *not* be friends with him, he should go ahead, and then feel free to chew him out. But if he wants to be his friend, then he needs to *not* talk to him with the constant undertone of "You're a lying miserable jerk who's screwing me around and I know it."

[rivkat.livejournal.com]

The word "friend" has been somewhat debased as currency between those two. As you know, I blame Clark for starting it and Lex for playing along, which I think only hurts Clark and himself.

What's fascinating to me, in a sick sort of way, is that Clark still thinks nothing of barging in and asking for another favor, and Lex also still thinks nothing of providing it, at least if he's not made a better offer by the target of said favor. Fans tend to get mad on Lex's behalf at this exploitation -- I know I did -- but I now think that Lex is so used to paying for his relationships that Clark's, with its comparatively transparent demands, seems above par. Lex never seemed to resent Clark's requests, and I think that's sincere even now, since it's not as if it's anything he can't afford to give -- even his refusal in Velocity is more about making Clark's friend stand on his own than about being unwilling in the abstract. Both of them are formally working off the proposition, "If we are friends, then material goods don't matter; friendship and gifts are incommensurable." And I'm willing to believe that in this at least, both are sincere, perhaps with Lex wryly realizing that Clark doesn't think he's using the friendship to get things, because Clark would never maintain the friendship in order to get things -- Clark's position is more, "while you're there, will you give me X?" Clark is using Lex's wealth and power, but he's not using it as payment for his friendship, and I find it fascinating how in this one area Clark's demands/secrets can mesh with Lex's cynicism in a way that's not actually harmful to them. When it gets to the emotional aspects of the friendship, that's where the toxin is. I doubt Lex will ever consider cars and jobs and passport revocations on any tally he makes of what Clark owes him, but he will count a mashed Porsche and a stolen manuscript.

Not that this has too much to do with what you were saying -- I was just thinking.

[rivkat.livejournal.com]

Oh, yeah -- the other thing Clark needs not to do is bust into the mansion any more if they're not friends.

How I long for the days of "I sorta squeezed through the bars"!

[aelora.livejournal.com]

Now that we've forgotten the malaria

But I thought Dr. Foster said he never had malaria?

Perhaps I need to consult my earlier view, which was that Lex is really fucking angry this season, and doesn't care about the friendship so much as he cares about keeping Clark around to punish both Clark and himself. So maybe Lex knew that Clark would be pissy again and wasn't being stupid, merely self- and Clark-loathing.

See, this is how I view it. But then, I'm not a big Clexer so I don't really need to hang on to their friendship. But I've totally seen Lex's behavior this season as completely sick of Clark's shit and actually pretending to be all friendly and non-threatening because he really *is* investigating Clark - hard-core this time around. I just can't accept the fact that Lex would have seen and discovered so much about Clark and then just... let it go. Not after the way he's been treated. While I do believe a part of him still longs for Clark's friendship - any friendship, really - I don't think he's going to allow himself to be hurt by the lack of it this time around. And I can't really complain simply because I'm loving his snarky, bitchy comments/replies to Clark lately. They give me warm fuzzies!

[rivkat.livejournal.com]

The question is, who do you trust about Lex's medical condition? I don't think canon compels me to believe anything in particular about Lex's island adventure. My guess is that malnutrition and exposure slowed Lex's healing so that illness that would have killed an ordinary man just dragged him down, whether it was malarial or not.

I liked the first few iterations of bitchy, angry Lex. Take that, hypocrite alien boy! But it's beginning to seem one-note to me. He's not even fooling Clark -- and boy is that a condemnation! -- so he should just admit his anger and let go of the pretense. I'd feel better if I thought he was being honest with himself -- that's the one thing I really want Bad!Lex to be, knowledgeable about his own motivations. And I'm not sure he's there yet; he seems to flirt with the idea of wanting Clark's friendship for real, but he's unable to commit one way or another.

[cjandre.livejournal.com]

What turn around do you need on the beta?

Oh, and I totally agree with you about the whole thing with Clark asking for things. I don't think it counts as far as either of them are concerned. The only favor Clark has ever asked of Lex and made his friends ship conditional to, is that Lex give up researching Clark's secrets. Just as the only condition Lex has ever verbally placed on his friendship with Clark is that Clark tell him everything.

As much as the fans get caught up in Clark asking for things, I don't think either of them worry about it much at all. In that sense they really are friends.

[rivkat.livejournal.com]

No particular deadline on the beta, though probably a month would not work all that well for me. I've been working on the story on and off for over a year, and I am sick of it.

"In that sense they really are friends" -- you know, I think the disregard for the one-way flow of material benefits is actually an odd thing, even with close friends. Friends are usually of the same social class, so reciprocity in material gifts is the norm just by default. Maybe one guy makes dinner and the other guy pays for a restaurant, but there's still some rough parity. If I had a billionaire friend who kept wanting to give me big-ticket items, I couldn't help feel that accepting would have emotional consequences.

I think that it's only because Lex has so much money that Clark can't really make a dent, even with his thick alien head, that it can be a non-issue. Even then, Lex could easily, as Lionel would, expect that his material gifts had behavioral strings attached -- and in a sense they do, in that Lex is probably not going to continue to do Clark's bidding when Clark says "we're not friends" once and for all (if, you know, Lex is able to tell that Clark actually means it, which on the evidence of this season would be a miracle). The bargain of the friendship is that Clark will give Lex what Clark has to offer -- his smile and his moral support, etc. -- and Lex will do the same -- which in his case includes money and shady advice.

In part, I think Lex sees it as his job to give things to people around him -- that's part of what makes him a feudal lord, as well as a good employer. He's all about fides, fealty in this context. When the power disparities between lord and vassal are so great, it's the lord's duty to take care of the vassal's material needs, and the vassal's duty to offer his loyalty and the services of his body (Lex may, however, have a slightly different take on the latter than the average feudal lord). (As Sarah T points out, this all should have kicked in with Chloe and Gabe to keep Gabe off unemployment, but set that aside for a moment.) He doesn't resent handing gifts out right and left the way a more modern businessman might, and I don't think he does it to show off, either.

So I don't actually think this is a modern relationship. And I think a more usual person than Clark would develop discomfort with taking the gifts, especially if he weren't willing to be faithful in the way that Lex demands. Even Clark knows he's cheating on the honesty.

[cjandre.livejournal.com]

Friends are usually of the same social class, so reciprocity in material gifts is the norm just by default. Maybe one guy makes dinner and the other guy pays for a restaurant, but there's still some rough parity.


It's hard with the complete lack of continuity that the writers inflict upon us, but I do think that Clark attempts some parity with Lex: when Lex got thrown out of his house, he went to Clark and Clark came through, when he was getting married (twice) he went to Clark and Clark stood by him, Clark has done his best to protect Lex from Lionel, and Clark stood by him when veryone else said Lex was insane. Clark has pushed his parents to accept lex, and there have been scenes where Lex has seemed to be able to just show up at the farm in the same way that Clark can just show up at the manor (not as many I admit, and i can't remember the eps, but I'm sure I have seen them), so I do think there is an attempt at parity.

Where Lex has material wealth, Clark has family, moral certainty, and super powers. He has tried to share his family and his sense of right and wrong with Lex whenever Lex has asked, barring times when they were actively arguing with each other. he's also tried very hard to protect lex - not always using the best judgement to do so, admittedly, but he has tired.

I think Lex sees it as his job to give things to people around him -- that's part of what makes him a feudal lord, as well as a good employer.

I agree, I think that is how Lex sees it. I don't think Clark sees it that way though.

I really do think that Clark sees each of them as giving what they have to the friendship. Clark's discomfort in his relationship with Lex comes partly from the fact that he (mostly) believes Lex has given up on the investigation of Clark's origins, while Clark himself still holds all the secrets that Lex so desperately asked him for. The fact that Lex is lying through his teeth about this is probably going to enrage Clark past good judgement yet again.

But who knows, maybe the writers will do something more original?

[rivkat.livejournal.com]

I do think that Clark attempts some parity with Lex

I agree -- it's just that his parity is mainly on the level of emotional support rather than material gifts, with the exception of hosting Lex in Prodigal. So I do think the implicit bargain of the friendship is Lex supplying what he has (which includes a lot of money) and Clark supplying what he has (which does not). The reason that Lex does not perceive this as the same as everybody else who wants something from him is that Clark, even at his most demanding, is not holding the friendship hostage for gifts -- if Lex were poor (as in Prodigal), the implicit bargain would be exactly the same, only what Lex had to offer would be more historical parables and fewer concert tickets. And that would be -- indeed, empirically was -- fine with Clark.

Which raises the question: If Lex cut Clark off for whatever reason without losing access to his wealth, then what? I think as long as Lex's reasons were understandable, as they were in Velocity, Clark would not consider it an assault on the friendship. But if he just said no -- well, that might actually threaten the friendship, not because the friendship depends on Lex's wealth but because it depends on Lex's reciprocity in whatever metric he has to offer.

I agree with you (don't I always?) that Lex and Clark see Lex's responsibilities differently. As I said, I see that as part of why Lex doesn't feel exploited: while Clark is unaware of how demanding he is, Lex can be confident he's not being manipulated with offers of friendship for ulterior motives.

I really hope the writers don't go the way you suggest, at least not as the main reason for the supposedly final break. Clark acting or failing to act in a way that leaves Lionel dead is my top choice, followed by Lex doing the same with Chloe, followed by Lex doing the same with Lionel.

Do you think that Lex is lying about investigating Clark in particular? Formally, Lex doesn't know that investigating the caves is investigating Clark, and Clark can't exactly tell him that the ban extends to Kryptonian relics without revealing himself. I would say that Lex is flouting the spirit of the agreement -- though of course he's been quite upfront with Clark about that -- because he does know there's a connection, even if he's now investigating only the puzzle pieces surrounding Clark and not the boy himself.

[latxcvi.livejournal.com]

Which raises the question: If Lex cut Clark off for whatever reason without losing access to his wealth, then what? I think as long as Lex's reasons were understandable, as they were in Velocity, Clark would not consider it an assault on the friendship. But if he just said no -- well, that might actually threaten the friendship, not because the friendship depends on Lex's wealth but because it depends on Lex's reciprocity in whatever metric he has to offer.

I agree with you (don't I always?) that Lex and Clark see Lex's responsibilities differently. As I said, I see that as part of why Lex doesn't feel exploited: while Clark is unaware of how demanding he is, Lex can be confident he's not being manipulated with offers of friendship for ulterior motives.

Well, and as Velocity, Skinwalker and Jinx have all demonstrated, Lex is also perfectly capable of - and *will* - say 'no' to Clark when he thinks it's warranted. This is the main reason that I don't think *Lex* views Clark's constant requests for favors as exploitation or manipulation: Lex always has, and when he deems it appropriate to do so will exercise, the ability to decline the requests.

He only changed his mind in Skinwalker because he saw the value of keeping Willowbrook and the caves around and intact, respectively; he changed his mind because there was a reason specific and important *to him* for doing so (he only did so *after* seeing the space in the cave walls for the octagonal key). He *never* changed his mind in Velocity, and while Clark's reaction to his refusal to offer assistance was certainly problematic, Lex's refusal to offer the assistance at issue was reasonably based, and he wasn't swayed to waver. From Lex's perspective, as long as it doesn't ever seem, as you said, as though Clark is holding the friendship hostage in exchange for Lex doing things for him, Lex himself is unlikely to find Clark's requests to be the deal-breaker in terms of their relationship.

Do you think that Lex is lying about investigating Clark in particular? Formally, Lex doesn't know that investigating the caves is investigating Clark, and Clark can't exactly tell him that the ban extends to Kryptonian relics without revealing himself. I would say that Lex is flouting the spirit of the agreement -- though of course he's been quite upfront with Clark about that -- because he does know there's a connection, even if he's now investigating only the puzzle pieces surrounding Clark and not the boy himself.

Thank you for saying this. Sometimes, I think fans forget that the characters don't know everything we in the audience know. *We* know that investigating the caves and the symbols on them, or artifacts bearing those symbols has a direct and specific connection to Clark. *Clark* knows this. Lex, however, does not know this. He knows that Clark is interested in the caves and that Clark knows a lot about them that Clark isn't telling. But I don't think Lex knows - nor do I think we're *supposed to think* that Lex knows - that the Caves and Symbols Mean Something to Clark Precisely Because They Answer Questions About Clark's Alien Heritage. So, I actually object to it when people characterize Lex looking into the symbols/artifacts bearing them as Lex Still Investigating Clark - because Lex *doesn't know that*.

Also? Not to be a nitpicking canon-citing pain in the ass about it or anything but Clark? Has no one but himself to blame for Lex being interested in the caves in the first place. Lex probably would have never had anything to do with the caves *if Clark hadn't gotten him involved with the caves in the first place* (and Lionel didn't get involved/interested in the caves until *after* Lex was interested/showed an interest in them, in keeping with his typical Worst Father Ever shenanigans). So, yeah, this is me not being overly sympathetic for Clark wrt Lex being interested in the symbols/artifacts/caves. I dig Clark, but he's got nothing but his own short-sightedness to blame for that.

[rivkat.livejournal.com]

And a mighty "Word!" to all that. Though there's just no way Clark will ever understand, much less acknowledge, that he's responsible for Lex's interest in the caves -- it may get subsumed into his overall feeling of responsibility for Lex's later shenanigans, at most.

I think the show is not that careful with what we're supposed to think Lex knows. (I'm shocked! Shocked! at the carelessness.) Actually, it's worse with Lionel -- in Memoria, when he asks Clark "where are you from?" -- that's not the kind of question you ask someone you think was affected by the meteors when they came down. That's the kind of question you ask someone you think came down with the meteors.

Returning to Lex, I think it's clear that he knows that the caves have something to do with the powers that various SV residents (including Clark) manifest, and that there is an extraterrestrial connection. Whether he has made the leap to Clark being the ET is much more debatable -- even at the end of Shattered. The most powerful piece of evidence specifically pointing to that is Clark's writing on his family tree. More suggestive is Dr. Swann's special interest in Clark, but that could be explained by his special knowledge of the caves.

I suspect Lex understands that he's treading close to the edge of their bargain, but he thinks that being open with Clark about his interests (a) excuses him and (b) has the delightful side effect of making Clark squirm, because Clark can't possibly explain to Lex that their deal precludes such investigations. That's part of why I see Lex as being very passive-aggressively angry this season -- he's taunting Clark, and he knows there's nothing Clark can do about it without admitting something.

part I

[latxcvi.livejournal.com]

Returning to Lex, I think it's clear that he knows that the caves have something to do with the powers that various SV residents (including Clark) manifest, and that there is an extraterrestrial connection. Whether he has made the leap to Clark being the ET is much more debatable -- even at the end of Shattered. The most powerful piece of evidence specifically pointing to that is Clark's writing on his family tree. More suggestive is Dr. Swann's special interest in Clark, but that could be explained by his special knowledge of the caves.

*nods* Right. Although I still think the fact that Smallville itself is filled with all these people who can do incredibly unusual things is what keeps Lex (and Lionel, for that matter) from making the leap to Clark Is An Alien. Like, I can easily see how Lex could rightly and properly deduce that the meteors aren't terran in origin while not necessarily deducing that anyone showing signs of having been affected by them is extra-terrestial. In other words, I can easily believe - without also having to regard Lex as stupid because of it - that he could suspect or think the meteors aren't earthly while not also suspecting the same thing about Clark. Because all those other people who've manifested weird capabilities since Lex has been in Smallville obviously *aren't* aliens.

I also think, since Clark has pretty steadfastly stuck to his story that he can't actually *read* the symbols on the cave walls, that again, Lex wouldn't necessarily think "Clark understands this seemingly alien language, therefore Clark might be alien." Like Walden even pointed out in Rosetta, the doodlings on the family tree *could* have corresponded to the words "mother" or "father" but they could have just as easily been Clark copying what he'd clearly already seen on the cave walls.

I think Lex recognizes that there's a connection between Clark and the caves, but I honestly don't think it's all that disingenuous of him to believe/state that investigating the caves is not the same thing as investigating Clark. 'Cause based on *what he actually knows*, they *aren't* the same thing.

Re: part I

[rivkat.livejournal.com]

I agree with everything you've said -- I'd just add that I think Lex still knows that he's violating the spirit of his deal with Clark, however openly. And I think he knows in his heart that this is wrong -- my view of Lex is as someone who isn't impressed with technicalities. I'm working on a story now where Lex thinks that relying on technicalities amounts to blaming the victim for being fooled by the explicit words that were said. It's a Lionel, devils'-bargain tactic, and I see Lex as understanding that it's fundamentally not fair -- indeed, his finessing of his promise is a clear sign to me that he's gone a lot further down the "road to darkness" this season, almost as much as his taunting Clark with his continued investigations is.

part II

[latxcvi.livejournal.com]

Though there's just no way Clark will ever understand, much less acknowledge, that he's responsible for Lex's interest in the caves -- it may get subsumed into his overall feeling of responsibility for Lex's later shenanigans, at most.

Of course he won't. The thing that was most disquieting and annoying to me about Jinx is the way I thought it confirmed what I have long hoped wasn't the case with AlMiles, but suspected might have been the case: They come from the Hero Is Always Right school of storytelling. I think there was a reason they hammered home the point that Clark *never* trips, that he's *never* missed a throw, etc. To me, that was basically a metaphor for the idea that he's not ever really wrong about things.

Even when he's obviously making poor or bad decisions - the Lost Summer in Metropolis, going to Lionel in Memoria, lying for much of S3 to Lex about the events surrounding Belle Reve - he's never really called to account for it. If he suffers consequences at all, then those consequences are never presented as the result of his poor decision-making; it's always someone else's fault - Jor-El's for being an overbearing dad trying to force him into a destiny he doesn't want, or Lex for not being willing to just let go of the fact that seven weeks of his life went missing. Despite the fact that Clark's decision to play any kind of contact sport, let alone football, was arguably irresponsible at best and downright negligent at worst, the show never really addressed the point; if anything, the decision got completely and thoroughly validated in Jinx, since he got to save the game *and* the damsel in distress, be a hero *and* prove that it "wasn't really him" who was responsible for that player getting hurt.

One of the reasons I've grown disenchanted with SV this season is because I've come to realize that Clark probably *isn't* ever going to recognize or acknowledge his own role in the ultimate Rift between himself and Lex. I used to think that the story they were telling was the story where, in part, Clark has an epiphany - too late to undo anything, of course, but he still has the epiphany - that his own failings as a friend contributed to the creation of an enemy he didn't *have* to make for himself. Now? Post-Jinx? At the *most*, I can see Clark maybe wondering if Lex was a lost cause when he set foot in Smallville or if there was something about being in the town itself changed him for the worst. But I don't think this Clark will ever see or acknowledge how his own behaviors contributed to creating the enmity they have ahead of them. I don't think this Clark will ever understand or appreciate the possibility that this Lex actually might have reasons for hating/resenting/being disdainful of him.

Re: part II

[rivkat.livejournal.com]

I see your disillusionment, and I have to admit I share in it. I read a story that made the great point that, as beautiful as Clark's pass in the big game was, it was also ugly because of what it implied about his misuse of his powers.

I still have some hope that Clark will see the great error he's made, though. A writing team that could produce Shattered and Asylum might just be able to pull off Clark's realization of his own folly. "Both sides are to blame" is kind of a subtle concept for SV, but I live in hope.

Re: part II

[rivkat.livejournal.com]

Forgot to add: the thing about excusing Clark in Jinx is that it wasn't an excuse at all. The only reason Mxy was able to trip Clark into crushing another guy's collarbone is that Clark made the decision to go onto the field, knowing that this was SV and that if anything went wrong he'd be a danger to the others around him. He had no reason to expect that nothing would go wrong; all experience counseled otherwise. Hey, what if there were a sunspot?

As characterization in the short term, it makes a lot of sense to me. He's still a child, and still being encouraged to think like a child, for all that his parents talk about responsibility. The question is whether SV will be able to pull off a real step into maturity, where Clark accepts the indirect as well as direct consequences of his actions without devolving into feeling responsible for things he really can't control, like being dropped in SV in the first place. To be Superman, he needs to have a sense of obligation, but not one so great that it's overwhelming; that's the delicate balance that a proper resolution of the Clark/Lex storyline could bring.

[geekturnedvamp.livejournal.com]

You finished it, yay! I would love to beta, and I'll be around to chat and/or email you with comments over the weekend so please send it to me if you'd like.