Comments | jeannev: Luthor Screentime Minutes, and Deep Thoughts

jeannev

Luthor Screentime Minutes, and Deep Thoughts

Dec 05, 2010 00:22

OK, strap yourselves in kiddies, because this is going to be a long one....

And that sounded kinda dirty.

I'm going to try to power through this review, because I'm exhausted, and an expresso martini certainly didn't help matters (OK, it DID help matters, but not matters of doing a SV review).

In regards to screentime minutes, I've tabulated the RW ( Read more... )

screentime minutes, luthor, deep thoughts

Comments 61

tasabian December 5 2010, 05:56:50 UTC

Hee! I always enjoy your reviews and this one is a hoot!

Seeing Tom and Cassidy work together in this episode the way they did was off-the-charts on the chemistry scale for me. I think I might've found a dynamic that rivals Tom and Sarah Carter, and certainly it felt on par to the best of Tom and Michael Rosenbaum, back in the day.
As you know, it's all about Clex for me but yeah, I succumbed. TW and CF just spark and I couldn't take my eyes off them. The entire premise was worth it, just to get those scenes.

Was Clark's dialogue in this scene OOC? Yes, I think so. A contrivance to set up the episode? Yes, again, I think so. I will admit that the show has flipped back and forth of this issue of "bad blood" running through the Luthors veins, but this just didn't sound like Clark to me at all. Not the Clark of the present time. I think they went a bit overboard on this in order to set up the episode, and have Clark come to a revelation I'm not sure he didn't already come to a few times.Well, you know my biases. From my Lex-girl ( ... )

jeannev December 5 2010, 16:45:48 UTC

Always happy to entertain ( ... )

(The comment has been removed)

tasabian December 5 2010, 22:08:10 UTC

Beautifully put!

As I pointed out on my own LJ, original recipe Lionel? Totally tried to split and isolate Clark from his emotional support system. He goaded Jonathan into the fight that killed him by lording his potentially-increased influence over Clark, now that he was in the Know, over Jonathan. He championed Martha taking a job that would remove her from Smallville. He extorted Lana into marrying Lex at almost exactly the moment she'd decided to leave Lex for Clark for good. And, oh, yeah, he put Clark in a kryptonite cage that one time rather than allow Patricia Swann access to him.
Yes! And he's especially dangerous in the latter seasons because he's certain that he's doing the right thing. Lionel never became a good man, he became a zealot, obsessed with Clark.

And what will happen now? Will AU Lionel immediately start to gather his "family" around him, be thrilled to find (what he may see) as a gentler more malleable Clark? Will he team with Darkseid to take control of Clark? I hope this plotline doesn't disappoint.

Thread 7

jlvsclrk December 5 2010, 06:47:00 UTC

Love the review! I thought it was a very solid and enjoyable episode but could easily be classified as filler. Clark's lesson about Luthors being made evil wasn't much of a revelation, though it was lovely to hear him say it flat out. So really the only thing that changed was that we got a Lionel back, which I assume was the writers back up plan if they couldn't get Rosenbaum to finish off the clone story line. They could have done so much more with the premise!

As for Tom and Erica, I don't often get red hot sexual chemistry from them. I would rank Calicia well ahead in that respect, and yes, Cless could have been smoking too! What they do bring to the screen for me is a sense of joy, for lack of a better word. That's why I love them so much together.

jeannev December 5 2010, 16:47:38 UTC

As for Tom and Erica, I don't often get red hot sexual chemistry from them. I would rank Calicia well ahead in that respect, and yes, Cless could have been smoking too! What they do bring to the screen for me is a sense of joy, for lack of a better word. That's why I love them so much together.

And I wouldn't disagree with that at all. I too very much like that Clois are allowed to smile and be happy with each other. I truly do appreciate the lack of angst in their relationship, and often find them the most charming when they are being playful with each other, or just communicating in a relaxed way. Which is why I liked their last scene very much.

(The comment has been removed)

jeannev December 5 2010, 16:53:24 UTC

I do expect that AU Lionel and clone Alexander will encounter each other. I think thats a given.

I think you have to assume that AU Lionel had some serious power over AU Clark, because otherwise, why didn't AU Clark just kill him? And again, I think that plays into how its not hard to imagine a rather abusive, sadistic upbringing.

I wonder if some of the issues with current Clois is that its being OVERwritten. What I mean by that is that instead of just letting Clois be a natural, fun couple, but the show keeps thinking it has to hit certain beats with them, with seems to create a rather stiff component to their relationship. I really don't know. I'm very much reminded of S7 Clana, but there was some explanation for that, since Lana was hiding stuff from Clark.

I thought it was rather amusing that Oliver was a whiney, brooding dink in both worlds.

I think Cassidy is getting some of the best material this season, and she's doing a spectacular job with it.

twdiva December 5 2010, 07:28:22 UTC

While I've liked certain relationship dynamics on the show (like the one between Clark and his Earth parents), I've never really had a favorite character on this show in addition to Clark. But at this point, I think Tess is my second favorite on the show due to her intriguing character and the fabulous dynamic that gives to most of her scenes with Clark. So you won't be getting any hate from me regarding the Cless. After the AUClark/Tess scene, I'm seeking out Cless fanfic, the only time I've desired to read non-PWP Smallville shipper fanfic ( ... )

jeannev December 5 2010, 16:58:18 UTC

I'm really such a true-blue Clark girl. I mean, I totally admit it, there's Clark for me, and then everyone else is so far down the list. And thats probably not the best way to watch the show, LOL But honestly, Tess is probably my 2nd favorite SV character of all time behind Clark. I just find her so completely compelling. I never actually realized how I hadn't fully connected to the SV gals until one came along that I did.

And yes, fanfic, Please! I totally respect what the story is on SV, and thats Clois 100%, as it should be. Fanfic is where you can run and play with alternate pairings and such.

I didn't have a problem with Clark handling the object, just twisting it. But this is the sort of dumb stuff SV always does. I think I'm getting immune.

If I had seen more of AUClark (because hello? TW at his hottest...loved the voice he used) and a deeper, more explicit exploration of the background of the character, then maybe I'd like it better. Maybe split this into two episodes and completely scratch that horror called ( ... )

costas22 December 5 2010, 10:12:19 UTC

Thumbs for a very good review. Making it hard to disagree with you, lol. I know it's shocking, but I really liked this episode. If I have an issue with this episode is this ( ... )

jeannev December 5 2010, 17:05:24 UTC

Ah, I see you've already been making icons from this ep. I'll get on that soon ( ... )

costas22 December 5 2010, 20:06:24 UTC

It was my first attempt to use the screencaps. Thankfully live journal has the option of making them square and it worked out quite well ( ... )

jeannev December 5 2010, 22:52:49 UTC

I also understanding not liking an ep, God knows! LOL But like you, I think the reaction by some people is shockingly extreme. I mean, Cless is NO THREAT. What is the problem? (Well, no, I think I can guess what the problem is, but I'm not posting it here).

If Tess had been on screen for 30m, and Clark had been on screen for 17m, I'd be pretty pissed off! But this episode was a showcase for Tom Welling, even if it did more to advance the Tess storyline. And I appreciate that.

Thread 5