Voice of Reason: Quotes of the Week

Quotes of the Week

Clark sees that the Titan is going to charge him again…and Clark smiles. Great moment. He’s discovering his own power against a fellow alien. And he’s enjoying it. We can see that, with everything in his emotional life out of his control, Clark needs control of something, and exploring his own power – testing himself – is a way to stay sane. Which, frankly, works for me.
- Combat, Good/Bad Moments (ag)

"Clark...what happened? How did you..." Lana looks up at the broken skylight, so many questions unanswered. Clark tries to stop them before they start with some of his usual reassuring words. "You're safe now. That's all that matters." Except this time, Lana isn't taking the cue to let it drop. "No, it isn't. You're here, after...everything. Why are you still watching over me?" She's still in his arms, looking at him in wonder. This wasn't exactly "Reckoning," but it was a very good substitute. You can't have a "Reckoning" revelation twice, but you can have this kind of slow, graceful dawning instead.
- Trespass, Good/Bad Moments (an)

"Where are they transferred to? Is LuthorCorp involved? Does this have anything to do with [carefully enunciating] 33.1?" I liked this moment. We've seen Chloe the research expert, but Chloe the hard-hitting reporter hasn't made an appearance in some time. I would like it if the writers took another look at the Chloe of Season Three, who got herself into complex situations and had to draw on all her creative resources to get out. Her reckless love of the reporting game is what makes her interesting apart from Clark.
- Justice, Good/Bad Moments (d)

Lex was magic in this episode. In previous episodes this season, the writers have often painted him as shallow and stereotypical, The Villain, seemingly with the idea of having him "become" Lionel. In this episode, he did not become Lionel: he transcended Lionel. Lex and Lionel have always been opposites, as fathers and sons often are – one was insensitive, the other ultrasensitive – one killed his parents, the other craved love from his parents – they came from different places and were different people. This episode was believable because Lex did not become Lionel. He was Lex: a vulnerable, messed-up, angry kid who had the potential to be good and the motivation to be evil. He took on Lionel's teaching and acted on it relentlessly, but his heart was in a very different place. "Why would I want to kill you?...You're a valuable asset to the company," "I'm not playing to win. I'm playing to instruct." The idea that he was passing on knowledge, evaluating his father in business terms, and playing his chess games showed that he was very much his father's son – as did the way he looked at Clark when he heard Lionel lauding him, and the way he said, half-plaintive and half-jealous, "I heard what you said over the video…about what a special boy he is. What did you mean by that?" His vulnerability and compulsive neediness (the abused child syndrome) was just as much a part of his character as his name and parentage. Suddenly Lex was the complex, self-contradictory bundle of desires and needs that make up the best characters, be they villains or heroes.
- Mercy, Overall

I thought the writers overplayed his scene with Clark (though certainly not as badly as last season, in "Mortal" and "Aqua"). Lex is suave. Although the third season's traumatic experiences revealed the darker violent side in him, his life since then has been – aside from a kidnapping here and there – a life of control. It seemed unlike him to throw his relationship with Lana in Clark's face. He seems more like the type of person who would suppress it, talk to Clark pretending nothing was wrong, and then burst out suddenly with one word, one line of dialogue, that showed how haunted he was. That Clark was still strong in Lana's thoughts. That Lex was hurt by it. I like the Lex of "Mercy," who looked at Lionel and said very quietly, "I heard what you said over the video…about what a special boy he is. What did you mean by that?" That's the Lex who is going to turn into a villain…not this Lex who taunts the man he should be resenting and fearing the most.
- Wither, Overall (Lex)

Clark and Lana have had confrontations galore, but this has been perhaps the second or third convincing one. It wasn't a back-and-forth verbal punch ("You're lying." "Well, but you're lying too." "I never knew you…"), it wasn't an imperial disdain ("Well, if you don't trust me!"). It was the tension not only of two people, but of two peoples' inner conflicts. Lana dealing with her former feelings, her trust, her concern for Lex, her wonder about Clark – Clark dealing with his former feelings, his need for reticence, his conflicted feelings about Lex. They weren't just trying to bully each other into telling their secrets. When they faced each other, they were facing themselves.
- Sneeze, Good/Bad Moments (ax)

The scene between Lionel and Chloe was strangely ineffective. Perhaps it's because we've seen them stand face to face, toe to toe (figuratively), and battle for their futures in the third season. We know the kind of chemistry they can have with each other, two stubborn, clever, game-playing people with a knack for wordplay. And instead, the conversation pattered on as usual. "That was him, wasn't it? That was Zod." Strange…this doesn't seem like the kind of dialogue Steven S. DeKnight would write. Usually his dialogue is full of undercurrent.
- Zod, Good/Bad Moments (k)

We like to see the other-worldly in Clark, the something in his blood that stirs him.
- Vessel, Good/Bad Moments (j)

It would have made script-sense if Clark and Martha had just finished a mother-son conversation about how Lois had been growing up, then walked into her "hiya-ing" at the television screen. But as it was, it was pointless. Funny, but random.
- Fade, Good/Bad Moments (b)

Lex: "You want to wait for the security team?" Clark, bluntly: "No." Lex pulls out gun. "Me neither." This was another "Yeah!" moment – we were all exulting as they charged in side by side. This scene was fluent in underlying language. Eleven words, that's all, but Clark's bluntness and Lex's humor interacted perfectly. This reminded us why they had been friends in the first place. They do have the same instincts, the same recklessness, and they're a forceful team when they work together. Showing how great this friendship could be makes it all the more powerful that it breaks irrevocably. This moment gave the whole relationship an epic feel.
- Mercy, Good Moments (n)

I couldn't stand the scene with Lillian. It would be one thing if this was all a hallucination, a projection of Lex's own state of mind, what he expected to hear from everyone, but it wasn't. It was supposed to really be Lillian in the afterlife. What was unclear was whether she represented heaven or hell. Her snarling condemnation was not the reaction of the tortured mother who couldn't stand to see her son suffer in "Memoria". And the exasperated "It's a rhetorical question" line almost sounded like they took a dialogue from a comedy and stuck it in.
- Void, Good/Bad Moments (c)

"Is that a good hm or a bad hm?" There's no better way to annoy someone trying to read what you've written. They overdid Chloe's fearlessness here.
- Thirst, Good/Bad Moments (bf)

They should have shown where the kryptonite rock went after Clark threw it, instead of cutting it off. It would have made a nice camera shot, tracking the rock, and would have been less awkward. As it is, the first thing you think is, "I bet it didn't go very far." I don't know why that's the first thing you think, but the human mind is perverse.
- Mortal, Good/Bad Moments (e)

"You've been obsessively drawing these for weeks. They're identical to the ones in the ship." It was clear that he'd been drawing them for weeks. Since Lionel wasn't in a strait-jacket any more, we assumed it had been some time since last episode, and since his walls were covered with the drawings, we could see that he'd been obsessively drawing them. Also, we knew they were kryptonian, and we knew that Lex knew they were kryptonian. (He's seen keys, caves, tables, and Walden's messages with those kinds of symbols. If he didn't understand what Lionel was drawing, he'd be Clark reincarnated.) So those two lines told us nothing, and made Lex look a little weird, telling his nearly catatonic father how he'd spent the past few weeks, just in case he'd forgotten.
- Hidden, Things Said And Unsaid (D)

Part of the characters' hollowness came through because the writers evidently hadn't predetermined what the characters' issues were; so having the characters spell it out to each other was like "Attack of the Clone Wars: Revisited". ("Lex, why is some state senate seat so important to you?" "It's a stepping stone." Never is life that simple.)
- Fanatic, Overall

The Daily Planet sequence of small events was wonderfully written. It was enjoyable the first time around because it made sense in the context of what you knew. Clark has proposed to Lana, and notices the secretary squealing excitedly over the flowers. Clark felt pressure to do something to keep Lana from breaking up with him, and notices the employee getting fired and storming away claiming he's quitting. And Clark is waiting for Lana to call, and is anxious when Chloe's phone rings. It was funny and real the first time around. Then the second time around, we realize that those little jokes were actually seeds planted, sprouting in the second half when Clark uses those incidents to convince Chloe that he's reliving the day. The amazing thing is that the writers who wrote "Exposed" were able to create in "Reckoning" a story where every heartbeat had meaning.
- Reckoning, Moment (c.)

Maybe the contrast between Clark's former self and his growing self is shown by his relation to [others] - they are plumb lines to gauge his growth. In "Rosetta," his parents feared his burning desire to find out his real identity and parentage; in the third season, many feared his new unabashed violence of emotion and behavior; every step of growth was met with a believable and helpful reaction, because the people reacting remained the same. This season, many of Clark's steps have instead been hindered by their random mood swings and shifting opinions. In "Arrival," it was Clark telling his parents that they would be there for him to help him through it: the writers stuck so hard to their "opposite reactions" rule that Jonathan and Martha receded into an ungracious, un-parental role. In this episode, Jonathan's "opposite reactions" were so random that when Clark worried about Martha, he was self-assured and bland; and when Clark and Milton offered assistance, he was frantic and certain that they needed to get her to the hospital. The "opposite reactions" rule should not be applied so unthinkingly. Someone with a firm and unchanging opinion (Milton, for example) makes an "iron sharpens iron" relationship - interesting, and conducive to growth. Someone who isn't sure about anything but that he disagrees (Jonathan, that is) makes a lot of contrived scenes and chaotic, meaningless emotions.
- Solitude, The Rule

People who are close don't flirt: they enjoy.
- Thirst, Clark-Lana

"How's Lana?" "She's back to normal, same as Chloe." The way Lex asked about Lana made him vulnerable again. It's his vulnerability that makes him twisted; it's his twistedness that makes him resolute, in both good ways and bad. It's being resolute in bad ways that makes him Lex Luthor.
- Thirst, Moment (ba.)




Quotes of the Week Clark sees that the Titan is going to charge him again…and Clark smiles. Great moment. He’s discovering his own power against a fellow alien. And he’s enjoying it. We can see that, with everything in his emotional life out of his control, Clark needs control of something, and exploring his own power – testing himself – is a way to stay sane. Which, frankly, works for me. - Combat, Good/Bad Moments (ag) "Clark...what happened? How did you..." Lana looks up at the broken skylight, so many questions unanswered. Clark tries to stop them before they start with some of his usual reassuring words. "You're safe now. That's all that matters." Except this time, Lana isn't taking the cue to let it drop. "No, it isn't. You're here, after...everything. Why are you still watching over me?" She's still in his arms, looking at him in wonder. This wasn't exactly "Reckoning," but it was a very good substitute. You can't have a "Reckoning" revelation twice, but you can have this kind of slow, graceful dawning instead. - Trespass, Good/Bad Moments (an) "Where are they transferred to? Is LuthorCorp involved? Does this have anything to do with [carefully enunciating] 33.1?" I liked this moment. We've seen Chloe the research expert, but Chloe the hard-hitting reporter hasn't made an appearance in some time. I would like it if the writers took another look at the Chloe of Season Three, who got herself into complex situations and had to draw on all her creative resources to get out. Her reckless love of the reporting game is what makes her interesting apart from Clark. - Justice, Good/Bad Moments (d) Lex was magic in this episode. In previous episodes this season, the writers have often painted him as shallow and stereotypical, The Villain, seemingly with the idea of having him "become" Lionel. In this episode, he did not become Lionel: he transcended Lionel. Lex and Lionel have always been opposites, as fathers and sons often are – one was insensitive, the other ultrasensitive – one killed his parents, the other craved love from his parents – they came from different places and were different people. This episode was believable because Lex did not become Lionel. He was Lex: a vulnerable, messed-up, angry kid who had the potential to be good and the motivation to be evil. He took on Lionel's teaching and acted on it relentlessly, but his heart was in a very different place. "Why would I want to kill you?...You're a valuable asset to the company," "I'm not playing to win. I'm playing to instruct." The idea that he was passing on knowledge, evaluating his father in business terms, and playing his chess games showed that he was very much his father's son – as did the way he looked at Clark when he heard Lionel lauding him, and the way he said, half-plaintive and half-jealous, "I heard what you said over the video…about what a special boy he is. What did you mean by that?" His vulnerability and compulsive neediness (the abused child syndrome) was just as much a part of his character as his name and parentage. Suddenly Lex was the complex, self-contradictory bundle of desires and needs that make up the best characters, be they villains or heroes. - Mercy, Overall I thought the writers overplayed his scene with Clark (though certainly not as badly as last season, in "Mortal" and "Aqua"). Lex is suave. Although the third season's traumatic experiences revealed the darker violent side in him, his life since then has been – aside from a kidnapping here and there – a life of control. It seemed unlike him to throw his relationship with Lana in Clark's face. He seems more like the type of person who would suppress it, talk to Clark pretending nothing was wrong, and then burst out suddenly with one word, one line of dialogue, that showed how haunted he was. That Clark was still strong in Lana's thoughts. That Lex was hurt by it. I like the Lex of "Mercy," who looked at Lionel and said very quietly, "I heard what you said over the video…about what a special boy he is. What did you mean by that?" That's the Lex who is going to turn into a villain…not this Lex who taunts the man he should be resenting and fearing the most. - Wither, Overall (Lex) Clark and Lana have had confrontations galore, but this has been perhaps the second or third convincing one. It wasn't a back-and-forth verbal punch ("You're lying." "Well, but you're lying too." "I never knew you…"), it wasn't an imperial disdain ("Well, if you don't trust me!"). It was the tension not only of two people, but of two peoples' inner conflicts. Lana dealing with her former feelings, her trust, her concern for Lex, her wonder about Clark – Clark dealing with his former feelings, his need for reticence, his conflicted feelings about Lex. They weren't just trying to bully each other into telling their secrets. When they faced each other, they were facing themselves. - Sneeze, Good/Bad Moments (ax) The scene between Lionel and Chloe was strangely ineffective. Perhaps it's because we've seen them stand face to face, toe to toe (figuratively), and battle for their futures in the third season. We know the kind of chemistry they can have with each other, two stubborn, clever, game-playing people with a knack for wordplay. And instead, the conversation pattered on as usual. "That was him, wasn't it? That was Zod." Strange…this doesn't seem like the kind of dialogue Steven S. DeKnight would write. Usually his dialogue is full of undercurrent. - Zod, Good/Bad Moments (k) We like to see the other-worldly in Clark, the something in his blood that stirs him. - Vessel, Good/Bad Moments (j) It would have made script-sense if Clark and Martha had just finished a mother-son conversation about how Lois had been growing up, then walked into her "hiya-ing" at the television screen. But as it was, it was pointless. Funny, but random. - Fade, Good/Bad Moments (b) Lex: "You want to wait for the security team?" Clark, bluntly: "No." Lex pulls out gun. "Me neither." This was another "Yeah!" moment – we were all exulting as they charged in side by side. This scene was fluent in underlying language. Eleven words, that's all, but Clark's bluntness and Lex's humor interacted perfectly. This reminded us why they had been friends in the first place. They do have the same instincts, the same recklessness, and they're a forceful team when they work together. Showing how great this friendship could be makes it all the more powerful that it breaks irrevocably. This moment gave the whole relationship an epic feel. - Mercy, Good Moments (n) I couldn't stand the scene with Lillian. It would be one thing if this was all a hallucination, a projection of Lex's own state of mind, what he expected to hear from everyone, but it wasn't. It was supposed to really be Lillian in the afterlife. What was unclear was whether she represented heaven or hell. Her snarling condemnation was not the reaction of the tortured mother who couldn't stand to see her son suffer in "Memoria". And the exasperated "It's a rhetorical question" line almost sounded like they took a dialogue from a comedy and stuck it in. - Void, Good/Bad Moments (c) "Is that a good hm or a bad hm?" There's no better way to annoy someone trying to read what you've written. They overdid Chloe's fearlessness here. - Thirst, Good/Bad Moments (bf) They should have shown where the kryptonite rock went after Clark threw it, instead of cutting it off. It would have made a nice camera shot, tracking the rock, and would have been less awkward. As it is, the first thing you think is, "I bet it didn't go very far." I don't know why that's the first thing you think, but the human mind is perverse. - Mortal, Good/Bad Moments (e) "You've been obsessively drawing these for weeks. They're identical to the ones in the ship." It was clear that he'd been drawing them for weeks. Since Lionel wasn't in a strait-jacket any more, we assumed it had been some time since last episode, and since his walls were covered with the drawings, we could see that he'd been obsessively drawing them. Also, we knew they were kryptonian, and we knew that Lex knew they were kryptonian. (He's seen keys, caves, tables, and Walden's messages with those kinds of symbols. If he didn't understand what Lionel was drawing, he'd be Clark reincarnated.) So those two lines told us nothing, and made Lex look a little weird, telling his nearly catatonic father how he'd spent the past few weeks, just in case he'd forgotten. - Hidden, Things Said And Unsaid (D) Part of the characters' hollowness came through because the writers evidently hadn't predetermined what the characters' issues were; so having the characters spell it out to each other was like "Attack of the Clone Wars: Revisited". ("Lex, why is some state senate seat so important to you?" "It's a stepping stone." Never is life that simple.) - Fanatic, Overall The Daily Planet sequence of small events was wonderfully written. It was enjoyable the first time around because it made sense in the context of what you knew. Clark has proposed to Lana, and notices the secretary squealing excitedly over the flowers. Clark felt pressure to do something to keep Lana from breaking up with him, and notices the employee getting fired and storming away claiming he's quitting. And Clark is waiting for Lana to call, and is anxious when Chloe's phone rings. It was funny and real the first time around. Then the second time around, we realize that those little jokes were actually seeds planted, sprouting in the second half when Clark uses those incidents to convince Chloe that he's reliving the day. The amazing thing is that the writers who wrote "Exposed" were able to create in "Reckoning" a story where every heartbeat had meaning. - Reckoning, Moment (c.) Maybe the contrast between Clark's former self and his growing self is shown by his relation to [others] - they are plumb lines to gauge his growth. In "Rosetta," his parents feared his burning desire to find out his real identity and parentage; in the third season, many feared his new unabashed violence of emotion and behavior; every step of growth was met with a believable and helpful reaction, because the people reacting remained the same. This season, many of Clark's steps have instead been hindered by their random mood swings and shifting opinions. In "Arrival," it was Clark telling his parents that they would be there for him to help him through it: the writers stuck so hard to their "opposite reactions" rule that Jonathan and Martha receded into an ungracious, un-parental role. In this episode, Jonathan's "opposite reactions" were so random that when Clark worried about Martha, he was self-assured and bland; and when Clark and Milton offered assistance, he was frantic and certain that they needed to get her to the hospital. The "opposite reactions" rule should not be applied so unthinkingly. Someone with a firm and unchanging opinion (Milton, for example) makes an "iron sharpens iron" relationship - interesting, and conducive to growth. Someone who isn't sure about anything but that he disagrees (Jonathan, that is) makes a lot of contrived scenes and chaotic, meaningless emotions. - Solitude, The Rule People who are close don't flirt: they enjoy. - Thirst, Clark-Lana "How's Lana?" "She's back to normal, same as Chloe." The way Lex asked about Lana made him vulnerable again. It's his vulnerability that makes him twisted; it's his twistedness that makes him resolute, in both good ways and bad. It's being resolute in bad ways that makes him Lex Luthor. - Thirst, Moment (ba.) © Voice of Reason, 2007