Smallville

Happy 21st Anniversary to Smallville.

Gene Hackman Would Have Appeared On Smallville If Not For 1 Issue

I really like this clip from Micahel Rosenbaum's podcast where he, Tom Welling and Kristin Kreuk criticize love triangles, especially the ones done on Smallville.

There's something satisfying about seeing the actors hate the triangles too.

The irony is that Lana and Lois were always friendly or at least civil with each other in this show, as opposed to the comics where they were very petty and hostile to each other over Clark.

I recently watched the season 4 episode "Bound". Now, I'll admit there is certainly more to gender relations that I don't quite grasp but I can't help but feel the writers had some strange ideas about what is the most disrespectful thing a man can do to a woman and what implies about what he is also capable of.

The plot of the episode revolves around Lex trying to prove his innocence when he is found in bed next to a dead woman whom he seemingly had a one-night stand with. As the plot progresses, we learn that Lex has a habit of hooking up with women whose names and faces he doesn't remember, leaving them ear rings and then never contacting them again. The dead woman Lex is accused of killing is Eve Andrews, a woman he slept with 18 months ago and had been stalking him ever since. Ultimately, it is revealed that Lex is the victim of a Frame-Up by another one of his forgotten one-night stands, Shannon Bell.

Here's my issue: the episode's stance seems to be that Lex simply having had numerous one-night stands is reason enough to believe that he killed Eve. Clark is disappointed to learn that Eve is not the first woman Lex has slept with and other characters talk about how what Lex did to these women was so awful despite there being no indication he was coercive or abusive towards them. Not even the knowledge that Lex was stalked by Eve but also several other women he may or may not have slept with is enough to earn him some sympathy. Oh and did I mention that Shannon was engaged to another man the night she slept with Lex? Lex did not know this and yet the episode still presents Shannon as a broken woman driven to extremes because Lex slept with her and then didn't call her back.

I try not to use the "imagine if the genders were reversed" argument these days given how that well tends to be poisoned by certain people, but I can't help but wonder if this episode would not have me more significant pushback if it was Lois being accused of murder and the main source of evidence against her was that she had a lot of sex partners, some of whom had been stalking her.

Edited by windleopard on Jul 14th 2023 at 6:56:24 PM

The show was always weird about Lex. I swear half the episodes were "look how he drinks water, is he a VILLAIN" and the other half were "he looked sad when he killed a man, could he become a HERO."

Smallville occasionally tried to tap into the same audience the WB was getting from 7th Heaven.

Edited by RavenWilder on Jul 15th 2023 at 12:16:06 PM

That explains all the "Lana's libido goes up and her outfits become skimpier when she's possessed or corrupted" plots.

Also, Lex arguably the most incompetent security personnel in all of fiction. In "Bound", the villain knocks out Lex and then carries him home. When Lex comes to, she says she simply told his security that Lex got drunk. This is a man who has been subject to no less than four attempts on his life and is being investigated for a murder for which he insists he is being framed, yet the people tasked with his safety think nothing of a strange woman showing up to his house and leaving her alone with him.

There's a reason Swiss-Cheese Security used to be named Lex Luthor security or something similar

I remember doing my Big Rewatch a while ago and it did feel uneven with Lex. I do think the worst is the episode Descent, where Clark and Lex argue after Lex killed Lionel.

Yesterday marked the 22nd Anniversary of the show. So, Happy Anniversary to the series about the meteor capital of the world and the Superman show that influenced DC live-action tv for years to come.

Yeah, one can be divided over the shows quality, but there's no denying it's impact.

Looking at some past discussions on here, just my two cents:

1. On the matter if Clark's secrecy is to blame for Lex's dark turn, I'd say no for several reasons:

A. He's made missteps even before Clark as we saw in some S1 eps, plus responsibility for his old friend Duncan getting fatally wound and never really owning up to that.

B. Clark never really when you get down to it told anyone his secret with lack of hesitation. Told Lois in part thanks to his glimpse into the future in S10.

Both times he told Lana (First time undone) were out of desperation not to lose her. Showed Chloe only to save her and cause she admits to knowing. Showed Pete during the drama regarding his missing ship. Or Jimmy who saw him recovering from Kryptonite. And Lionel becoming emissary of Jor-El.

I don't know. Seem Lex or some of the viewers overlook that Clark guarded his secret from anyone sans his parents and that he wasn't even the last when you factor in Tess, Jimmy and Lois.

2. From not too long ago:

Funny thing is that according to sources like the Smallville Season 2 Companion book, Emmanuelle Vaugier, wasn't informed of her character's fate cause they wanted her to come off as someone without a hidden agenda.

Alan Ritchson (Arthur Curry/Aquaman), on his time on the show.

Anyone remember this hilarious promo for season 5?

Wait, was that an actual, official promo?

Nope, and looking at that all I can think of is that "Consensual" Sex meme.

It's not inaccurate to the season, though. It was the show's best year, in my opinion, because it finally pulled the pin on a bunch of plot threads that had been kept in stall mode for years: notably, Lex going full bad, and Clark & Lana going to pound town.

Pound the town literally. Shockwaves were felt for miles.

Years of sexual tension unleashed when both could take a jet liner to the face and be okay.

Wait, thought that was (one of the points) when Clark lost his powers?

Edited by Cross on Jan 6th 2024 at 4:03:36 AM

That's what enabled him and Lana to go at it in the season 5 premier. He got his powers back rather quickly, though.