on Vortex:
Sep. 25th, 2002 06:47 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
aruanAnd so the new season has begun with a whimpering bang. Allow me to elaborate.
First, nits:
Martha is on serious probation - only by virtue of last season was she not slated for the wolves along with her dearly beloved.
Pete still barely had two things to do. Chloe's lines were recycled, along with her facial expressions.
If they're bringing on the flights we'd better not get gipped on the tights, or there'll be bloody hell to pay.
I can't even begin to properly describe the kinds of evil Lionel is. That scene was vile and twisted something so deep within the watcher, not to even mention Lex, that I actually clutched at my chest and had to focus on breathing.
It's painfully obvious that the seasoned writers are out, and not just dialogue-wise, although that sucked pondwater in parts this episode. The real problem is that they rarely if ever get coaching from the old team members, and that reflects in their characterization.
Actual musings:
Lana got major acting points from me for the look she gives Clark in the loft before leaving. Also, that exit rocked. But her face when he tells her, eyes everywhere but, that 'what you see is what you get' - Kristin Kreuk did disappointment, genuine hurt, suspicion, insulted intelligence, knowing she was being lied to, and untrustworthy all in the same singular expression. She must've hooked up with Michael's acting coach. How does Clark stand to have his friends look at him like that? I couldn't care either way about Lana, but I felt her in that moment, and how could Clark not?
I bid farewell to Lex/Lionel fic with some regret. Anything written with this episode behind it will be groundless at best; anything written in the past is unjustifiable considering Lex as we saw him in Vortex. Not that I love Te's See This any less. But it's the end of an era here, I think.
This episode almost felt like a culmination of the trials of Lex. If anything, his task seems more Herculean than Clark's at this point. Except, like most of the great Greek plays, his fate is a tragic one. He reminds me of Louis from Interview with the Vampire. When Louis is lying out on the balcony after turning Madelaine, when he tells Claudia that what died in that room wasn't her, but "the last breath in me that was human." That's what Lex's shooting of Nixon made me think of. Louis had no choice - he was in love with Armand and he knew Claudia was in danger if she stayed in Paris but wouldn't be able to take care of herself alone. Turning Madelaine was the only feasible solution, however much it cost him personally. Lex's shooting of Nixon was just as unavoidable. His own issues with Nixon had been resolved, he'd been dismissed and told to leave the Kents alone, and Lex has told everyone concerned as much. Yes, Nixon was about to kill Jonathan, as contrived as that all was, but the facts remain. He was also about to reveal Clark's secrets, something Lex realizes the weight and magnitude of even without having to know them. It was the only way to save Clark, Jonathan, and the friendship he's worked and fought for. I'm not entirely sure he had to think about it once before he pulled the trigger.
He killed a man, yes. This is not trucks, not concert tickets, not excessive organic produce investments or carte blanche to start over as friends with honesty as the foundation. But in the same few seconds' time, a part of him was lost too.
And Clark won't even thank him for it.
He won't be ungrateful and he'll somehow acknowledge that what Lex did saved them all, but he'll never agree on the principle. And if Bo Kent has the audacity to say something to any effect, someone needs to remind him that he'd be dead and Clark would probably be on a laboratory table in some government basement with a Y-incision in his chest.
What's interesting is that even as hero complex boy, Clark doesn't understand. He doesn't seem to see, and how you could miss devotion like Lex's is utterly beyond my comprehension. As intent as he is to save everyone he can't see the most desperate case of all right in front of him. Not meteor mutants, not manipulative cops, not greedy bastards, but the best friend who loves him like he doesn't love anything, even his own life. He shows Clark his weaknesses - confessing about hesitating when it came down to saving his father. He tells Clark about his dead brother, something he's never told anyone. He asks Clark's opinion, keeps him posted on his life (Stray), listens to him with all the intensity no one musters for a fifteen-year old. Anything Clark needs, anything Clark thinks he might want, any happiness, every gesture grand or simple alike Lex has freely given, made happen, never asking anything in return. He's laid down his money (Pilot, Cool, etc), his power (Rogue, Hug), his secrets (Zero, Stray, etc.), and even his life (Jitters). He's braved his trials and though somewhat morally questionable (he did call off Nixon, and his curiosity about the meteors does extend beyond Clark). He'd give Clark the world if that's what would prove himself worthy, anything at all if Clark would only let him. Just let me love you. Trust me to know what that means.
And not only will Clark not thank him for it, I doubt it changes the status quo at all because Lex won't point it out. Clark will never know the personal price Lex paid with Nixon's death because Lex won't try to capitalize on it with him, nor will Clark dare give him the opportunity by asking. Too close, too high risk.
Jenn commented on this frustrating dynamic infinitely more eloquently in her diary: 4.24.02 - My Clark Issues
Quoting Te: "He's been raised not *just* to be a good, sweet, caring boy, but to be a boy who holds himself aloof. For good, logical reasons. But the thing is? He's a *kid*. It makes a terrifying kind of sense that he isn't old enough yet, *wise* enough yet to know where to draw the line between keeping his secrets and cutting himself off from the world."
The kid is aloof.
Clark seems to know exactly who he is--Future Superhero, Great Destiny Holder, Boy With Hopeless Crush, Good Son, Friend to All Humanity. He's--really, really, squeaky clean. He's compassionate and he's so good it hurts to look at him, he's mature in a weird, sort of frightening way.
[Lex is] a kid who loves fast cars, a plant manager who is doing brilliantly at his job, a son who feels unloved by his father, a man whose learned ruthlessness as a reflex and an instinct, that lying is a necessity, not an option, a guy who, when you get the loyalty, you get it with his entire soul--and just a boy who wants to be trusted and cared about and liked for his own sake. And it's symptomatic of his luck, lousy damn Luthor luck that he connects with the one person completely incapable of connecting back with him. It's--just horrifying, that there's this suspicion that the most damage done to Lex won't be by his dad or his life--the big damage is being done by Clark.
And on Clark's side....
Don't ask questions, don't ask too much of me, keep your distance, we'll be friends but only when I say so, you can give me things but don't expect anything in return, live with the lies and deal with me on my terms, close your eyes when I do weird things, take it when I kick you, or you know what? Forget it. And if you do all this? I'll be nice to you most of the time. The past will only matter when it's yours. I reserve the right to keep my moral high ground no matter how dishonest I am.
Clark really is a good, sweet, compassionate, kind, generous boy. He has wonderful, good qualities. But with the sole exception of Lana, they're all blurred by that--aloofness.
That slightly above the earth mentality. That--distance.
And Lex? He's ruthless; he emotionally unstable at times and acts out of that instead of reason; when he's cornered, he's absolutely merciless; he has a cold streak that comes out at the worst of times. There's not much compassion in his make-up, a real lack of empathy, and a scary ability to make right or wrong a public relations thing, not a personal moral code. Despite all those things above, he's also deeply loyal, kind, generous, and he's not malicious. At all. He has a--frighteningly idealistic mindset, coupled with ambition and intelligence and absolute confidence in himself. He has a strong desire to actually DO the right thing. And this is part of his NATURE, not his upbringing. And he's utterly incapable in every way of not giving everything he has and is. Completely.
That's a combination that's pretty much bound to go really fucking wrong.
I wanted to smack Clark during the end sequence when Lex and Jonathan shake hands. Sure he may've defended Lex earlier, but he'd also accused Lex of the very same things Jonathan was then, so whatevercakes as to irrational hypocrisy. Lex was genuinely surprised at the elder Kent's acceptance of his actions and will work to maintain that respect (we're not going into displaced father issues right now). Clark, however, will continue to smile when he shows up to deliver produce, sit for coffee in the Talon, make inconsequential small talk about Lana and pretend like everything's as it was before. That's the luxury of taking someone for granted - things big and small don't even make a ripple but are taken in stride, matter of course and all that.
And now I've confused myself. I wonder if Clark has any vague conception of what he means to Lex, and if he's afraid of that kind of intimacy because he can't allow it and is therefore trying to keep things on the straight and narrow or if he's honestly blind to it all. I wonder which one would be more painful - faulty logic or ignorance?
Sigh.
I'm sorry, Erika, but I can't write. My Lex is angry and all my he wants is to rage against the machine of Clark about not seeing that he's given him every reason and opportunity, no strings attached, to tell him the truth, that killing Nixon was something he didn't have to think about because he was saving Clark but which surely destroyed some moral fibers within himself, casting doubts on his character and goddamn it, what will it fucking take to believe in me, to believe that I can help you, protect your secrets and your family, let you lead any life you wanted and why aren’t I good enough?
And I have the sneaking suspicion that Clark is going to blow the whole thing off as blasely as the concert tickets, etc.
I had heard that in the premiere Lex takes a big step toward the dark side - and how ironic is it that his first big step is to protect Clark? -DT
What did Lex accomplish here? He's finally proven his character beyond what the Luthor name means to Jonathan, for better and worse - there's respect there, but the murder part taints that no matter how you want to rationalize it. He's proven to himself that he's got it in him to kill, that he has the power to make things disappear, inconsequential, and if that requires breaking a few eggs, he can do it. That much closer to being his father's son. And now with Lionel placing the blame squarely on him for the surgery, for doing the right thing even in the face of such a temptingly easy solution, and for the life he'll have to lead now as a consequence of it --
I can't. I just, I can't.
Miranda and I had fun watching. Much squealing and garlicy happiness. Hope Jon's eardrums are okay. Let the flood of makeup sex begin.
First, nits:
Martha is on serious probation - only by virtue of last season was she not slated for the wolves along with her dearly beloved.
Pete still barely had two things to do. Chloe's lines were recycled, along with her facial expressions.
If they're bringing on the flights we'd better not get gipped on the tights, or there'll be bloody hell to pay.
I can't even begin to properly describe the kinds of evil Lionel is. That scene was vile and twisted something so deep within the watcher, not to even mention Lex, that I actually clutched at my chest and had to focus on breathing.
It's painfully obvious that the seasoned writers are out, and not just dialogue-wise, although that sucked pondwater in parts this episode. The real problem is that they rarely if ever get coaching from the old team members, and that reflects in their characterization.
Actual musings:
Lana got major acting points from me for the look she gives Clark in the loft before leaving. Also, that exit rocked. But her face when he tells her, eyes everywhere but, that 'what you see is what you get' - Kristin Kreuk did disappointment, genuine hurt, suspicion, insulted intelligence, knowing she was being lied to, and untrustworthy all in the same singular expression. She must've hooked up with Michael's acting coach. How does Clark stand to have his friends look at him like that? I couldn't care either way about Lana, but I felt her in that moment, and how could Clark not?
I bid farewell to Lex/Lionel fic with some regret. Anything written with this episode behind it will be groundless at best; anything written in the past is unjustifiable considering Lex as we saw him in Vortex. Not that I love Te's See This any less. But it's the end of an era here, I think.
This episode almost felt like a culmination of the trials of Lex. If anything, his task seems more Herculean than Clark's at this point. Except, like most of the great Greek plays, his fate is a tragic one. He reminds me of Louis from Interview with the Vampire. When Louis is lying out on the balcony after turning Madelaine, when he tells Claudia that what died in that room wasn't her, but "the last breath in me that was human." That's what Lex's shooting of Nixon made me think of. Louis had no choice - he was in love with Armand and he knew Claudia was in danger if she stayed in Paris but wouldn't be able to take care of herself alone. Turning Madelaine was the only feasible solution, however much it cost him personally. Lex's shooting of Nixon was just as unavoidable. His own issues with Nixon had been resolved, he'd been dismissed and told to leave the Kents alone, and Lex has told everyone concerned as much. Yes, Nixon was about to kill Jonathan, as contrived as that all was, but the facts remain. He was also about to reveal Clark's secrets, something Lex realizes the weight and magnitude of even without having to know them. It was the only way to save Clark, Jonathan, and the friendship he's worked and fought for. I'm not entirely sure he had to think about it once before he pulled the trigger.
He killed a man, yes. This is not trucks, not concert tickets, not excessive organic produce investments or carte blanche to start over as friends with honesty as the foundation. But in the same few seconds' time, a part of him was lost too.
And Clark won't even thank him for it.
He won't be ungrateful and he'll somehow acknowledge that what Lex did saved them all, but he'll never agree on the principle. And if Bo Kent has the audacity to say something to any effect, someone needs to remind him that he'd be dead and Clark would probably be on a laboratory table in some government basement with a Y-incision in his chest.
What's interesting is that even as hero complex boy, Clark doesn't understand. He doesn't seem to see, and how you could miss devotion like Lex's is utterly beyond my comprehension. As intent as he is to save everyone he can't see the most desperate case of all right in front of him. Not meteor mutants, not manipulative cops, not greedy bastards, but the best friend who loves him like he doesn't love anything, even his own life. He shows Clark his weaknesses - confessing about hesitating when it came down to saving his father. He tells Clark about his dead brother, something he's never told anyone. He asks Clark's opinion, keeps him posted on his life (Stray), listens to him with all the intensity no one musters for a fifteen-year old. Anything Clark needs, anything Clark thinks he might want, any happiness, every gesture grand or simple alike Lex has freely given, made happen, never asking anything in return. He's laid down his money (Pilot, Cool, etc), his power (Rogue, Hug), his secrets (Zero, Stray, etc.), and even his life (Jitters). He's braved his trials and though somewhat morally questionable (he did call off Nixon, and his curiosity about the meteors does extend beyond Clark). He'd give Clark the world if that's what would prove himself worthy, anything at all if Clark would only let him. Just let me love you. Trust me to know what that means.
And not only will Clark not thank him for it, I doubt it changes the status quo at all because Lex won't point it out. Clark will never know the personal price Lex paid with Nixon's death because Lex won't try to capitalize on it with him, nor will Clark dare give him the opportunity by asking. Too close, too high risk.
Jenn commented on this frustrating dynamic infinitely more eloquently in her diary: 4.24.02 - My Clark Issues
Quoting Te: "He's been raised not *just* to be a good, sweet, caring boy, but to be a boy who holds himself aloof. For good, logical reasons. But the thing is? He's a *kid*. It makes a terrifying kind of sense that he isn't old enough yet, *wise* enough yet to know where to draw the line between keeping his secrets and cutting himself off from the world."
The kid is aloof.
Clark seems to know exactly who he is--Future Superhero, Great Destiny Holder, Boy With Hopeless Crush, Good Son, Friend to All Humanity. He's--really, really, squeaky clean. He's compassionate and he's so good it hurts to look at him, he's mature in a weird, sort of frightening way.
[Lex is] a kid who loves fast cars, a plant manager who is doing brilliantly at his job, a son who feels unloved by his father, a man whose learned ruthlessness as a reflex and an instinct, that lying is a necessity, not an option, a guy who, when you get the loyalty, you get it with his entire soul--and just a boy who wants to be trusted and cared about and liked for his own sake. And it's symptomatic of his luck, lousy damn Luthor luck that he connects with the one person completely incapable of connecting back with him. It's--just horrifying, that there's this suspicion that the most damage done to Lex won't be by his dad or his life--the big damage is being done by Clark.
And on Clark's side....
Don't ask questions, don't ask too much of me, keep your distance, we'll be friends but only when I say so, you can give me things but don't expect anything in return, live with the lies and deal with me on my terms, close your eyes when I do weird things, take it when I kick you, or you know what? Forget it. And if you do all this? I'll be nice to you most of the time. The past will only matter when it's yours. I reserve the right to keep my moral high ground no matter how dishonest I am.
Clark really is a good, sweet, compassionate, kind, generous boy. He has wonderful, good qualities. But with the sole exception of Lana, they're all blurred by that--aloofness.
That slightly above the earth mentality. That--distance.
And Lex? He's ruthless; he emotionally unstable at times and acts out of that instead of reason; when he's cornered, he's absolutely merciless; he has a cold streak that comes out at the worst of times. There's not much compassion in his make-up, a real lack of empathy, and a scary ability to make right or wrong a public relations thing, not a personal moral code. Despite all those things above, he's also deeply loyal, kind, generous, and he's not malicious. At all. He has a--frighteningly idealistic mindset, coupled with ambition and intelligence and absolute confidence in himself. He has a strong desire to actually DO the right thing. And this is part of his NATURE, not his upbringing. And he's utterly incapable in every way of not giving everything he has and is. Completely.
That's a combination that's pretty much bound to go really fucking wrong.
I wanted to smack Clark during the end sequence when Lex and Jonathan shake hands. Sure he may've defended Lex earlier, but he'd also accused Lex of the very same things Jonathan was then, so whatevercakes as to irrational hypocrisy. Lex was genuinely surprised at the elder Kent's acceptance of his actions and will work to maintain that respect (we're not going into displaced father issues right now). Clark, however, will continue to smile when he shows up to deliver produce, sit for coffee in the Talon, make inconsequential small talk about Lana and pretend like everything's as it was before. That's the luxury of taking someone for granted - things big and small don't even make a ripple but are taken in stride, matter of course and all that.
And now I've confused myself. I wonder if Clark has any vague conception of what he means to Lex, and if he's afraid of that kind of intimacy because he can't allow it and is therefore trying to keep things on the straight and narrow or if he's honestly blind to it all. I wonder which one would be more painful - faulty logic or ignorance?
Sigh.
I'm sorry, Erika, but I can't write. My Lex is angry and all my he wants is to rage against the machine of Clark about not seeing that he's given him every reason and opportunity, no strings attached, to tell him the truth, that killing Nixon was something he didn't have to think about because he was saving Clark but which surely destroyed some moral fibers within himself, casting doubts on his character and goddamn it, what will it fucking take to believe in me, to believe that I can help you, protect your secrets and your family, let you lead any life you wanted and why aren’t I good enough?
And I have the sneaking suspicion that Clark is going to blow the whole thing off as blasely as the concert tickets, etc.
I had heard that in the premiere Lex takes a big step toward the dark side - and how ironic is it that his first big step is to protect Clark? -DT
What did Lex accomplish here? He's finally proven his character beyond what the Luthor name means to Jonathan, for better and worse - there's respect there, but the murder part taints that no matter how you want to rationalize it. He's proven to himself that he's got it in him to kill, that he has the power to make things disappear, inconsequential, and if that requires breaking a few eggs, he can do it. That much closer to being his father's son. And now with Lionel placing the blame squarely on him for the surgery, for doing the right thing even in the face of such a temptingly easy solution, and for the life he'll have to lead now as a consequence of it --
I can't. I just, I can't.
Miranda and I had fun watching. Much squealing and garlicy happiness. Hope Jon's eardrums are okay. Let the flood of makeup sex begin.
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*wince*
Date: September 25th, 2002 05:56 am (UTC)*snuggles* Now cheer me up? Please?
jenn
Re: *wince*
Date: September 25th, 2002 09:03 am (UTC)Instead, I went for realism and made a beeline straight back to A Handful of Dust if you can believe it. I think last night made me realize just how warped and raw Clark's savior complex could potentially make his mind and methods - but moreso, I found what would compel Lex (funny that it's Lex I may've had issues with) to take up and carry on a quest of that magnitude. The desperation, the failed cause, the bitter tang of love on the back of his tongue despite every slap Clark deals him.
They killed me last night with Lex. At every.single.fucking turn. He didn't catch one break, and paid debts he's supposed to have long settled. Literally, I was reciting the epilogue to Romeo and Juliet by the end of it. An endless, tearful litany. Hypothetically (aka 'I just want to torture myself with the possibility'): if they were together (and I use that term by this point, that only twists the knife deeper, especially with that scene in the woods. Would Lex, knowing his all or nothing attitude when it comes to commitment, be capable of being with Clark without fully trusting him?
Which do you think it is, ignorance or willful aloofness (hope you didn't mind the quoting)? Is he consciously (in his own warped psyche) trying to spare himself trouble and Lex pain, or does he just honestly not get it? I know the show's writers won't play the angle, but I wonder what would make Lex leave. If this doesn't, be it guilt about his father, qualms (not regret) about Nixon, or the emotional whallop he gets every time he puts himself out on Clark's behalf, what would? Though really, by all rights, I think murder should unequivocally settle everyone's mind on the matter.
Not even Froot Loops are helping. My childhood's sponsor can't shake this funk. Not even the jovial little colorful floating handcuffs/pinky rings kinky sugar high is helping. I can only hope Te's writing. There's a Closer/Champagne Wishes hybrid begging to be written here if Clark has any decency in him.
And jenn, you know I'd head up any crusade at all if you only gave the word. Cheer right just now? I might not be able to manage.
Re: *wince*
Date: September 25th, 2002 11:52 am (UTC)It's kinda scary. I wnat to say aloof, but--
*thinks*
It's odd. Lex has worked for a season to basically condition Clark into not just expecting but taking for granted that he will help with anything. Again, we have this knee-jerk reaction thing going on somewhat. I've been re-reading what you wrote and thinking about it, and yeah, it's Clark's usual ability to tune out the entirety of the world pretty thoroughly if it doens't involve Lana, but.
But. But. But.
I don't think he was even really that surprised. Because when he's in trouble, Lex shows up. The comparison that makes me sort of giggle is what Lana said about Clark always being there. There's this really bizarre feeling that at least subconsciously, Clark's picked up some of the same mindset.
Hmm.
jenn, still thinking
Re: *wince*
Date: September 25th, 2002 04:52 pm (UTC)Agreed. Absolutely. Lex maybe gave at first because he felt indebted, but he kept giving because he came to genuinely like Clark and wanted to get closer to him and "keeping him in happiness" seemed to be the way to go, by necessity if not dictated by his own upbringing. Lex isn't Clark's age. He has no real reason to be at the places he is save for the Talon, really has no legitimate reason to be friends with a fifteen-year old farm kid in Bumfuck, Kansas. So, get Clark to rely on him. Depend on him to be there for anything Clark needs because Lex genuinely cares more for his well-being than his own happiness.
I don't think he was even really that surprised.
It's just... he killed a man, jenn. That's a point of no return save for extremely outstanding circumstances. I agree completely that Clark takes him for granted - the offhand way he had Lex wing the tickets for the journalism conference in Crush is the incident that comes to mind specifically. But this. I mean. He has to see this, understand this. I just wonder if it's enough for him to believe. If it's too little too late for Lex.
Word!
Date: September 25th, 2002 07:48 am (UTC)Re: Word!
Date: September 25th, 2002 09:44 am (UTC)A. Logical reasoning (though here is where if he had any inkling at all about Lex's character, much less his feelings toward himself there would be no secrets). The fear of exploitation has been so deeply ingrained in him that he doesn't see how anyone could actually love and accept him. I get the thing about being the ultimate kind of different and people freaking, but really, he's been raised and knows only how to be human, and I won't mention the part where he has two loving parents, girls with crushes after him, a childhood friend he still hangs with, and a best friend who wants to give him just everything he's ever even thought to dream of, all of whom love him for who he is, which would change as much if he told them he was an wood nymph as an alien. Or...
B. The same things that keep Lex fabricating half-truths as qualifiers - he's afraid that things have gone too far and beyond repair between them, so to go back on things he's said before would only serve to hurt, not help them.
And my original points about maybe he does want to spare Lex pain in his desperate efforts to conceal his secrets or just needing a clue more potent than Chloe's mind-whammy kiss. See, I like Clark too! I want to think that his intentions are good, but what he's doing to Lex is just reprehensible.
You mean a Kryptonite-laced two-by-four, right? ;) Although that little bit of rock seemed to do the trick just fine and oh man we are not getting me started on the plot devices running rampant last night.
I got the distinct feeling that he was patronizing Lana the same way he's always done to Lex. This won't come without some serious consequences for him.
And isn't that a kicker? Essentially, Clark did all the right things in this episode: he rescued Lana, respected Chloe's feelings (I'm choosing to think that he honestly thought she meant what she was saying, in which case he shouldn't even be able to walk much less fly he's so dense), lent Lex a sympathetic ear even as his own father was missing, even gave Lex the benefit of the doubt in regards to Roger (though that was based on prior information gleaned during the most vicious pseudo-lovers' spat I've ever seen). And yet? Lana feels insulted, Chloe's banged her head against the Clark Kent brick wall for the last time if she knows what's good for her, brushed off the killing of a man as included in Lex's arsenal of resources at his disposal and I still can't talk about any of this rationally. He takes advantage of the fact that he knows he can rely on Lex, and that just makes my bile churn in ways it shouldn't just after breakfast.
I'm really scared about what Lex could be thinking right now. How easy the decision to pull the trigger must've been, which you just know he'll attribute to himself and not the necessity of the situation.
Great icon, btw. Always one of my all-time favorite screenshots. Happier, more innocent times and I can't believe I'm already lamenting like that.
Re: Word!
Date: September 25th, 2002 10:18 am (UTC)Yes. I also got the feeling the producers were thinking what was so good for the CLex last year will be good for the CLana and get people behind this pairing instead, but sorry ... I knew Lex Luthor, and you, Lana Lang, are no Lex Luthor. *g*
Someone on TWoP speculated that Nixon is not the first person Lex has killed. In fact, she speculated he might one in a line that goes all the way back to Julian up to the unreliable narration of the Club Zero/Jude Royce murder. Not sure I buy that but what a kick in the pants that would turn out being true at series end. I could also question the necessity of shooting Nixon in the back instead of the leg or yelling at him to drop his weapon, but alas, poor Tricky Nicky had to die. He just had to, so ... was it Lex or was it the writers just being lazy. We may never know.
And yes, my poor sweeties in their happy times. Lex Luvs Clark, he does, he does ... and it might just be the spiritual death of him.
Re: Word!
Date: September 25th, 2002 10:52 am (UTC)Okay, there are a lot of things I will forgive Smallville for. Okay, not a lot, but if this turns into a revisionist history thing where 'Lex has always been evil just hiding it well'....
Uh-uh. Can't handle that.
*perks up*
He *didn't* kill Dominik, Hamilton or Nixon the first time. That COULD be considered proof, right? RIGHT?
jenn, total denial now. Total.
Re: Word!
Date: September 25th, 2002 12:54 pm (UTC)Someone on TWoP speculated that Nixon is not the first person Lex has killed.
Did we all see his expression when he was standing over Nixon's body? He didn't look like he was taking it lightly. He didn't like Nixon, was better for everyone involved this way, but he still.killed.a.man. And that showed. This wasn't the face of someone who knows murder personally.
He was mornful but accepting when he described Julian's death. Read a great fic somewhere, probably Wendi or Hope, from Lilian's point of view that had her as the responsible party because she knew that not only would Lionel love Julian more, so far as to possibly even "excommunicate" Lex, but that he'd work to turn them against each other. She loved Lex too much to let any of that happen to him. That's my standing theory. Lex is many things - he is not not not a babykiller. Nothing in his characterization so far would even hint at that. I believe he may have witnessed the act but somehow understood, or came to understand it, but that's as far as I'll bend on that.
I believe the last sequence in Zero is the proper version of events - Amanda wouldn't have killed herself over missing Jude.
That is all I have to say about that.
no subject
Date: September 25th, 2002 08:51 am (UTC)believe me, babe, i understand. i can't even get my thoughts coherent enough to talk about it. so you know- you're off the hook ;)
this was an excellent post, jules. you're dead-on about all this stuff and at the moment the entire kent family is very much out of my good graces. to the wolves!
Re:
Date: September 25th, 2002 09:50 am (UTC)I saw it last night. All the seeds have been planted. I've never held onto my tears more fiercely for fear they'd help them grow.