Smallville10x21&22 "Finale" Discuss/Grade

[Trekker4747]

Besides, Batman's all about angst. His kind of angst, though, isn't about him moping in a barn over lost high-school love but about turning that angst into anger and action against the criminal element that causes his angst.

In The Dark Knight Bruce Wayne has just lost a life-long friend and a woman he loved deeply enough to give up a double-life for. Of course he's going to cry and be a bit pouty but then he takes that and unleashes himself onto The Joker and sacrifices his own hero's character for the sake of a greater good.

Superman, on the other hand, is supposed to be pure anti-angst, someone who has had it trained and built out of him to be a beacon of pure virtue and heroism. In Smallville, Clark/Superman still hasn't gotten over the girl who tried to marry his mortal enemy.

[Admiral_Young]

^ Yeah Smallville Clark needs to see a good psychologist. Perhaps...Hugo Strange?

[Broccoli]

Wasn't there a movie script for a proposed (one of many) Superman movie that had Supes go see a therapist?

[Admiral_Young]

^ There was indeed. I think it was one of the Salkind's film attempts to do Supes V. I can't remember though now.

[CorporalClegg]

Thanks for the perspective AY.

Imagine how much worse Smallville would have been with the Salkinds in charge. Yikes!

Weren't they behind the Superboy series in the early 90's?

[DarthPipes]

In Smallville, Clark/Superman still hasn't gotten over the girl who tried to marry his mortal enemy.

I still think the writers did permanent damage to Clark by not having him voluntarily end his relationship with Lana. Clark never grew up in that relationship. Despite everything that Lana had done and gone through, he still viewed her as his fairy tale princess. It wasn't a healthy relationship.

[Capt_Pickirk]

Admiral_Young wrote:

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^ Yeah Smallville Clark needs to see a good psychologist. Perhaps...Hugo Strange?

Played by Robin Williams!

[Admiral_Young]

^ Indeed. Yeah the Salkinds were behind the "Superboy" series (which I was actually a fan of when I was a kid. The thing about Lana...(this could be the title of an essay on her lol) is that Miles and Gough seemed to have based her not on the Bryne version of the high school Lana nor Loeb's version from "Superman For All Seasons" but the modern comic book version of the character. I noticed immediately similarities between Smallville Lana and modern Lana. I thought to myself...why the hell would they use older Lana for their high school character? Sigh. Kristen Kruek wasn't the main problem with the character, she can act when given actually dialogue and a good script (Street Fighter doesn't count lol) the way she was portrayed and meant to serve as a linchpin to Clark's entire existence hampered both characters. I hated the way she was depicted in Smallville.

[Broccoli]

It seemed like after the first couple of years, they didn't know what to do with Lana. But they had to keep her around due to either fan service or, more likely, contract reasons.

[Admiral_Young]

^ Yeah I think it was probably due to contract reasons. Kristen's interviews in later years suggested that she was getting frustrated with her role on the series. I think even she thought she shouldn't be hip connected to Clark all the time. I'm glad she was able to get out when she did, disappointed how they wrote her out.

[Broccoli]

I liked the "Dear John" video.


Didn't care for the Kryptonite Girl.

[Admiral_Young]

^ Yeah, there was no point in Kryptonite Woman. I always smile though thinking Geoff Johns must've pulled out some more hair if he ever viewed that episode because I doubt that is what he was thinking about when he gave Saturn Girl "You've a great destiny" line to Lana in "Legion".

[Samurai8472]

Admiral_Young wrote:

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Kristen's interviews in later years suggested that she was getting frustrated with her role on the series.

She even said she'd wouldn't watch the finale till it came out on DVD.

[Broccoli]

Re: AY

Well, I have my doubts that Geoff Johns actually wrote his Smallville episodes to begin with. Other than a story outline and first draft, I find it unlikely given his schedule that he'd sit through doing multiple drafts. Plus, even if he did write every word that ended up on screen, I'm pretty sure he'd be privy to the plans for the rest of the season so his episode could integrate in what was to come. Also, despite the stupidity of Kryptonite Girl, making someone into a superhero is a great destiny in the world of comic books.

However, I did smile when Lana became literal poison to Clark. I wonder if that was a subtle jab the writers took at themselves given fan complaints and the previous seven years.