30 Days of Smallville | Day Three | Most heart-wrenching/saddest scene(s)
Most Heart-wrenching Scenes (I picked two)
Heart-wrenching Scene 1: Lazarus, Clark and Jonathan
Clark: Dad?
Jonathan: Chores, Clark. Work keeps a man honest. Gotta protect the things you work hard to build.
Clark: Are you real....? I missed you.
Jonathan: I never stopped watching out for you, Clark.
Clark: Then you must be disappointed, hunh? I haven't grown into the man you raised me to be.
Jonathan: No, you haven't. You are so much more than that and I'm so proud of you, Clark.
Clark: That's one dad.
Jonathan: Since when did you start listening to Jor-El, hm?
Clark: He's right.
Jonathan: Give me a hand.
Clark: I took my anger out on people. I destroyed an entire building. I know now that I have it within me to kill. I've failed!
Jonathan: We're all confronted with trials, Son. But the true measure of a man is how he chooses to react in the face of those trials.
Clark: You never had that problem.
Jonathan: Come on, Son, I was so -- far away from perfect. I could never keep my own anger in check. I let it all build up inside me till it made my own heart give out. It was my fury, Clark, that drove me to want to kill another man. But instead it killed me.
Clark: Lionel... but, Dad, you were just trying to protect me.
Jonathan: We can't make excuses for the dark stains on our hearts, Son.
Clark: I don't even know how I got to this place.
Jonathan: We all make sacrifices, Son, and every time we do we lose a little something in the process.
(Clark walks away.)
Jonathan: You've sacrificed more than anybody. It'd be easy to let resentment build up inside but it's gotta come out somewhere.
Clark: I feel like every time I do something right I do something wrong!
(Jonathan watches Clark, waits.)
Clark: Sometimes I think it would be easier if you were here.
Jonathan: Not a day goes by, Clark, when I don't regret not being able to right here for you. I would do anything -- I would give anything to be able to get a second chance to get it right. You got that second chance, Son. You could be the greatest hero the world has ever known.
Clark: Not according to Jor-El.
Jonathan: Well then do what you do best: prove him wrong.
(Jonathan kisses Clark.)
Jonathan: Jor-El was right about one thing: something dark is coming. You're gonna be tested. It's not gonna be easy, Son. But I have faith in you.
Clark: What's coming Dad...?
(Jonathan is gone, Clark is alone in the field.)
This scene, you guys. I watched it again this morning to get the lines and the first time, I was a mess. I just started crying. This moment, this place where Clark is right here is something that most people can relate to - a crisis of faith in oneself and in the world. I lost my father when I was young, much younger than Clark, and there's very few times when a scene in a film or a show or a book speaks to me so powerfully that I can't even see through my tears. And this is one of them. Perhaps it's my own history bleeding into it, and that's how we read, right? We bring ourselves into it, our lived experience and see any story through that prism. Whatever it is, just amazing acting by both of them, and so perfectly shot.
I'd just like to say that this scene is emblematic of the genius of Smallville as a concept. This right here is the show at base level, stripped to its bare essentials: the boy, now man, who would become Superman. He's an alien, he's a superhero, he's probably the greatest hero the world will ever know. But first and foremost, he's just a man. And this show, more than any other iteration of the Superman lore has shown us his humanity.
I've always found Superman relatable in the sense that we can all understand loneliness and difference and the fear that can generate, the insecurity and self-consciousness; he's an orphan, we all understand loss. Hey, he's a bit of a dork, and I've got a patent on dorkdom, a lot of people do. He has the capacity to rule the world, and yet he chooses to serve. That last one isn't as easy to understand for some folks. You see it on forums all the time, people deriding Superman for being such a 'good guy' and wishing that he'd be a little bit meaner or a little bit more... vengeful or angry... whatever. But no, this is the guy who stands for good and dedicates his life to protecting mankind and showing them that there is good within them - for no other reason than that he chooses to and that's how he conceives heroism based on the values instilled in him by his parents.
Long story short, this show, even with all the bad choices has managed to convey so much of what makes Clark Kent tick and show us why he becomes the man he becomes. Beyond the comics. Beyond all the movies. Beyond every animated series. I'm forever indebted to it for that, and that's probably why I could never give up this show even in the shitty times. And I defy anyone to come at me (all of us fans) and say any different.
Okay, shutting up now. Originally, I'd just intended to write: "the scene speaks for itself, I won't even try but amazing scene." Fail.
Heart-wrenching Scene 2: Reckoning, Martha and Clark (and Jonathan)
Clark: Can... I help you with this?
(Martha nods, places the pearls in Clark's hand.)
Clark: I love you, Mom.
(Martha crying, turns to him, they hug)
Martha: I love you too.
So there's one scene in Reckoning that actually made me weep. Not the moment when Jonathan dies, and he gives that last look to his wife and son. Not the conversation before this with Clark expressing his guilt and Martha reassuring him that it wasn't his fault. Not the actual funeral scene afterward with the mood music and the stark, white landscape, and Clark left standing alone at the grave. But this, a mostly wordless scene makes me bawl each time I see it. It's this poignant echo of a moment we had earlier between Martha and Jonathan. This, more than anything to me, conveyed the loss of Jonathan Kent and what it would mean for the lives of these two people. Clark would go on to try and fill his father's shoes, to be the man his father raised him to be, to be the man his father was.
Martha would have to go on, without her helpmate, her lover, her husband. And her son, while the best comfort a mother could ask for - not even he could be able to fill that void and she'd never expect him to try. She's at breaking point here, barely able to hold herself together, and I love the little things Annette does (sinking her face into her hair etc.) it's just ugh. And I think it's Martha's grief more than anything that touches me -- Clark's grief hits its emotional apex for me in "Vengeance." But this scene... Martha, you guys. I love it. So much.
Note: Interesting and gratifying I think that the scenes that affect me most feature the Kent family unit. I feel like it says a lot about the show, and about Clark Kent as a character.
Okay, I think something happier is in order, perhaps favorite/least favorite/guilty pleasure/surprise ships tomorrow!
Heart-wrenching Scene 1: Lazarus, Clark and Jonathan
Clark: Dad?
Jonathan: Chores, Clark. Work keeps a man honest. Gotta protect the things you work hard to build.
Clark: Are you real....? I missed you.
Jonathan: I never stopped watching out for you, Clark.
Clark: Then you must be disappointed, hunh? I haven't grown into the man you raised me to be.
Jonathan: No, you haven't. You are so much more than that and I'm so proud of you, Clark.
Clark: That's one dad.
Jonathan: Since when did you start listening to Jor-El, hm?
Clark: He's right.
Jonathan: Give me a hand.
Clark: I took my anger out on people. I destroyed an entire building. I know now that I have it within me to kill. I've failed!
Jonathan: We're all confronted with trials, Son. But the true measure of a man is how he chooses to react in the face of those trials.
Clark: You never had that problem.
Jonathan: Come on, Son, I was so -- far away from perfect. I could never keep my own anger in check. I let it all build up inside me till it made my own heart give out. It was my fury, Clark, that drove me to want to kill another man. But instead it killed me.
Clark: Lionel... but, Dad, you were just trying to protect me.
Jonathan: We can't make excuses for the dark stains on our hearts, Son.
Clark: I don't even know how I got to this place.
Jonathan: We all make sacrifices, Son, and every time we do we lose a little something in the process.
(Clark walks away.)
Jonathan: You've sacrificed more than anybody. It'd be easy to let resentment build up inside but it's gotta come out somewhere.
Clark: I feel like every time I do something right I do something wrong!
(Jonathan watches Clark, waits.)
Clark: Sometimes I think it would be easier if you were here.
Jonathan: Not a day goes by, Clark, when I don't regret not being able to right here for you. I would do anything -- I would give anything to be able to get a second chance to get it right. You got that second chance, Son. You could be the greatest hero the world has ever known.
Clark: Not according to Jor-El.
Jonathan: Well then do what you do best: prove him wrong.
(Jonathan kisses Clark.)
Jonathan: Jor-El was right about one thing: something dark is coming. You're gonna be tested. It's not gonna be easy, Son. But I have faith in you.
Clark: What's coming Dad...?
(Jonathan is gone, Clark is alone in the field.)
This scene, you guys. I watched it again this morning to get the lines and the first time, I was a mess. I just started crying. This moment, this place where Clark is right here is something that most people can relate to - a crisis of faith in oneself and in the world. I lost my father when I was young, much younger than Clark, and there's very few times when a scene in a film or a show or a book speaks to me so powerfully that I can't even see through my tears. And this is one of them. Perhaps it's my own history bleeding into it, and that's how we read, right? We bring ourselves into it, our lived experience and see any story through that prism. Whatever it is, just amazing acting by both of them, and so perfectly shot.
I'd just like to say that this scene is emblematic of the genius of Smallville as a concept. This right here is the show at base level, stripped to its bare essentials: the boy, now man, who would become Superman. He's an alien, he's a superhero, he's probably the greatest hero the world will ever know. But first and foremost, he's just a man. And this show, more than any other iteration of the Superman lore has shown us his humanity.
I've always found Superman relatable in the sense that we can all understand loneliness and difference and the fear that can generate, the insecurity and self-consciousness; he's an orphan, we all understand loss. Hey, he's a bit of a dork, and I've got a patent on dorkdom, a lot of people do. He has the capacity to rule the world, and yet he chooses to serve. That last one isn't as easy to understand for some folks. You see it on forums all the time, people deriding Superman for being such a 'good guy' and wishing that he'd be a little bit meaner or a little bit more... vengeful or angry... whatever. But no, this is the guy who stands for good and dedicates his life to protecting mankind and showing them that there is good within them - for no other reason than that he chooses to and that's how he conceives heroism based on the values instilled in him by his parents.
Long story short, this show, even with all the bad choices has managed to convey so much of what makes Clark Kent tick and show us why he becomes the man he becomes. Beyond the comics. Beyond all the movies. Beyond every animated series. I'm forever indebted to it for that, and that's probably why I could never give up this show even in the shitty times. And I defy anyone to come at me (all of us fans) and say any different.
Okay, shutting up now. Originally, I'd just intended to write: "the scene speaks for itself, I won't even try but amazing scene." Fail.
Heart-wrenching Scene 2: Reckoning, Martha and Clark (and Jonathan)
Clark: Can... I help you with this?
(Martha nods, places the pearls in Clark's hand.)
Clark: I love you, Mom.
(Martha crying, turns to him, they hug)
Martha: I love you too.
So there's one scene in Reckoning that actually made me weep. Not the moment when Jonathan dies, and he gives that last look to his wife and son. Not the conversation before this with Clark expressing his guilt and Martha reassuring him that it wasn't his fault. Not the actual funeral scene afterward with the mood music and the stark, white landscape, and Clark left standing alone at the grave. But this, a mostly wordless scene makes me bawl each time I see it. It's this poignant echo of a moment we had earlier between Martha and Jonathan. This, more than anything to me, conveyed the loss of Jonathan Kent and what it would mean for the lives of these two people. Clark would go on to try and fill his father's shoes, to be the man his father raised him to be, to be the man his father was.
Martha would have to go on, without her helpmate, her lover, her husband. And her son, while the best comfort a mother could ask for - not even he could be able to fill that void and she'd never expect him to try. She's at breaking point here, barely able to hold herself together, and I love the little things Annette does (sinking her face into her hair etc.) it's just ugh. And I think it's Martha's grief more than anything that touches me -- Clark's grief hits its emotional apex for me in "Vengeance." But this scene... Martha, you guys. I love it. So much.
Note: Interesting and gratifying I think that the scenes that affect me most feature the Kent family unit. I feel like it says a lot about the show, and about Clark Kent as a character.
Okay, I think something happier is in order, perhaps favorite/least favorite/guilty pleasure/surprise ships tomorrow!