the lexmas conundrum

[xparrot]

We've been working our way through X-files 5th season SV, which I need to rant about; I've enjoyed quite a bit of it, and there's some Clex that has utterly satisfied me, but there's still a lot of WTF-ing. For now, however, I just have one question - what the hell is up with "Lexmas"?

It's a TV classic, A Christmas Carol meets It's a Wonderful Life - character has a near-death experience, is given a vision of an alternate life by an angel/ghost, and makes a decision about their future. So how the heck does Smallville screw it up so badly? Either the writers got totally confused, or Lillian Luthor is actually as evil as her husband and is trying to get Lex to go darkside. Does anyone have another interpretation for the episode? Because we have totally failed to figure it out, and not for lack of trying.

A note for future angels/ghosts, if ever you are chosen to impart such a message. There are two methods. You can show your target how terrible their life or future could be, hoping that they'll choose the opposite; or you can show them how wonderful it could be, and hope they'll choose that way. Either way, please keep in mind: the Christmas that your beloved wife dies? It is not a wonderful life. No matter how many pretty trees were purchased before she died. That's pretty much going to be your worst Christmas ever. It's like if Scrooge was told Tiny Tim was going to die of arterial blockage if he gave in and bought the Cratchits that fat turkey. Who in their right mind would ever choose that future?

There are a dozen other ways this episode could have gone.

- The easiest change to the script would have been for Lana not to have died - just hit 'pause' a few hours sooner, Lillian! Have Lex torn between happiness with his family, but having to endure a middle-class life and his father's total rejection. As it is, Lex seems quite accepting of those sacrifices if he has love - only he is told outright that the only way he can possibly have a love is if he has the money and power to keep them. Otherwise he's doomed to lose them. So, yeah. Money & power? Looking pretty good. Especially since he's not given any indication that he wouldn't have happiness if he did have them. Okay, Lionel didn't look especially happy, but he didn't look totally depressed, either - he's always in his element tormenting Lex, after all. For true Christmas Carol effect, Lionel's misery should have been an emphasis, not a side note.

- Or show the same future, but a different angle, with a bittersweet touch: Christmas the year after Lana's death; Lex struggling with his grief, with his children and the Kents helping, but maybe it's not enough for Lex, who craves love and partnership so fiercely. One of the things that gets me most about this episode is that Lillian, like a poor writer, tells instead of shows. She says it's a future of love - but then why in the end is Lex in the hospital alone? Why, when he's desperately trying to find a way to save Lana, he can't go to, oh, say, his good friend the state senator, who might have pulled some strings to save her?

Good grief, what kind of world is this, that on Christmas, a hospital isn't doing all they can to save a new mother, only because of money problems? Lionel is the only man in the world who could possibly do anything? No one else is generous enough to try to help pillar of society Lex Luthor, after all he's apparently done? No wonder Lex rejects this world. It's false affection, fake love. When the going gets tough, he's left alone, holding his wife's hand as she slips away.

That's working with the future as given in the episode. There were a couple other possibilities I'd've liked to see:

- Go with the classic, with a twist. Show Lex the dark future - and, unlike all those past chars before him, have him choose that future anyway. Lillian could have shown him in the White House, in a loveless marriage, the Kents' rejection, Clark's hatred - but he has power, he has knowledge, and secrets, and Lex might have woken up and gone, "Hey. Maybe that's not so bad after all," and how wicked would that have been?

- Or else take the super-tragic route. This wouldn't have worked in 5th season, Lex has strayed too far; 3rd would have been best. Still. Have the same basic Lexmas future, married with children, friends with the Kents, with Clark. Except Lionel is becoming President, Metropolis is burning, and the world is going to hell in a handbasket. So Lex could have his happiness, but at the expense of everything else. And Lex chooses against it, chooses the way that will give him the power to fight Lionel - not realizing that he's sealed his fate, and he will become a worse dragon yet than the monster he seeks to slay.

And if Lillian had been trying to convince Lex to choose her future anyway - what kind of woman would she have been, to want her son's happiness, at the expense of the world?

As it is, I'm absolutely baffled as to what choice she actually wanted Lex to make, how she could have imagined that he would ever choose the life she offered, given what she showed him about it. It's Smallville's underlying problem with Lex yet again - they are writing a Lex who, instead of giving into corruption, is being shoved down that path, never given any other options. He's the victim, not the villain.

There's something else about "Lexmas" that disturbs me as much as the nonsensical writing. How cruel is it to tell your child that the way for him to be happy is for him to change himself completely - to imply that the person he is cannot be loved? This is the opposite of unconditional love - this is setting up conditions that might be impossible to meet, just to watch him jump through hoops trying. The Lex Luthor presented in "Lexmas" is unrecognizable - except for being bald, he is nothing like Lex. He's a mild-mannered, clumsy, unambitious, utterly average (and content to be) middle-class man*. Don't get me wrong, he's adorable in blue jeans - but he's not Lex. Lex Luthor is not so pathetic that when his loved one is dying, all he can think of to do is to throw himself at his father's boots and lick. He doesn't even really get angry at the useless, compassionless hospital. The closest we've ever seen Lex like this is at the end of "Asylum", practically lobotomized, sublimely happy in what he's lost and forgotten. Ignorance is bliss - maybe that's why Lex rejects this future, not because of Lana's death, but because upon considering it, he's so repulsed by the helpless, if happy, dweeb he's doomed to become.

* My god. I just described Daily Planet reporter Clark Kent. Is Lex in Lexmas secretly a superhero, and he simply never found out in the course of the vision???

The only other way I can make sense of "Lexmas" is that Lillian is secretly a Clexer. In this interpretation, the moment Lex wakes up, Lillian is shouting at him, "No, wait! You haven't seen the part that Clark shows up to comfort you and you marry him and live happily ever after!" Because Clark? Is not-so-secretly in love with Lex in that future. (That scene on the porch, Clark's questioning look at "I know you love...loved her." Aww.)

(Actually that's another a version in itself. Clark's love-life in this future is on the rocks - Lana's married, Lex is married, Chloe's just a friend, and Lois is MIA (was she Jor-El's sacrifice instead of Jonathan?) Clark seems reserved, if not in fact depressed - if Lex had chosen to sacrifice his own guaranteed happiness for Clark's potential future...eeee. Fangirl meltdown!)

Comments

[elychari.livejournal.com]

this ep was probably written by a committee of lexana and clana fans and played out by pro-clex actors.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

XDDDD it would make so much sense!

[bagheera-san.livejournal.com]

Hmm. I never before looked at it that way - consensus in fandom seems to be that this isn't a real vision or the real Lillian Luthor, but Lex's subconscious at work (note how Lex learns nothing in his vision that he doesn't already know - nothing about Clark's secret or Jonathan's death - and ignores Lois because she isn't important to him.)

The observation you've made, that Lex casts himself as DailyPlanet!Clark could be explained because Lex, consciously or subconsciously, believes that only someone like Clark (human Clark, not mean alien secret keeping Clark) deserves to be happy. Lex wants to be happy, but he has very little idea how happiness works, so he simply goes with Clark's idea of happiness - married, children, utterly ordinary life and adds the only things he *knows* would make him happy: the Kent's respect and Clark's friendship.

And Lex's idea of Lillian is so twisted because for many years he believed that she was a good Mom, he loved her, he believed he would have been happier if she hadn't died - but then in "Memoria" he discovered that she was the one who killed Julian. Now in his mind, she's still nice to him, still advocating a good life, but she *acts* like Lionel, dangling happiness in front of him and then not letting him have it, and, yeah, what you said about conditional love.

So it boils down to that Lex, traumatized by his childhood (and four seasons of SV) is at a point in life where he wants nothing so much as control (power) over his life and subconsciously, he's seeking justification that allows him to seize power.

But interpreting it this way doesn't change anything about the fact that SV Lex is and stays a victim.

Ummm... on a completely unrelated note, I fail at Source!Lex so far. *hangs head*

[yma2.livejournal.com]

Wow, that's a really facinating theory! I like it! It makes so much sense...

[bagheera-san.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but I take no credit for it. Smarter people than I came up with most of it, I'm just repeating bits of what other people said about the ep.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

(your icon is <3. I've never seen Buffy and I'm in love with this guy anyway now thanks to SV ^^;)

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Huh...yeah, that's the problem with getting back into a fandom so late, I've missed all the theories and standard interpretations. It does make sense as far as the vision itself goes that it was Lex's subconscious, I rather like that interpretation, but it's not really supported by the show. You see Lillian's ghost at the end watching him - if that shot was from Lex's POV, it could be his subconscious again, but it doesn't seem to be. And then in "Void" Lillian references that vision, and it seems possible that is the real Lillian, as it definitely was the real Jonathan, as he knew things Clark didn't. (And man, poor Lex x1000 in Void. Lana gets love from beyond the grave, Clark gets supportive messages, Lex gets his mother trying to kill him, which seems to be her only way of handling problems with her kids. Oh Dear.)

Admittedly I don't think you're expected to take "Lexmas" that seriously. But it still irks me. (I also still am trying to figure out his reaction to Clark in the vision, the first time Lex sees him. He reacts before Clark even says hi...Is it just seeing a familiar face in this world-turned-upside-down? Or is Lex always that happy inside when he sees Clark, and it's only then that he's capable of letting it show? ^^)

Oh, Source!Lex! Why must you be such a pain? Still wrestling with the plot, or...?

[bagheera-san.livejournal.com]

You're right, it isn't supported by the ending of the ep. But the only other interpretation I can think of is... well, Lillian's mad. And that makes me think... wtf, Smallville? They just keep adding traumata to Lex's already existing ones as if he needed any more reasons to go evil.

I haven't seen Void, so maybe I should. That definitely puts a different spin on Lexmas.

Lex's feelings for Clark are just terribly inconsistent. I think Lex gets that surge of excitement every time he sees Clark, but it's not always happiness.

I can't come up with a plot. And without a plot, I don't know what Lex wants. And without a motivation other than "I'm bored", the only kind of story I could tell is wacky humour - and I. Suck. At. Humour. (Seriously, I can't even retell a joke properly. I haven't got a funny bone in my body.) I think Source!Lex might be one of those ideas that sound awesome, but don't really work out on paper.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

The problem with SV is that they just don't want to make Lex evil. They want to make Lex act evil but they pile on so many reasons and justifications for his decisions that he can't be held accountable at all any more. The amazing thing becomes how he held it together long enough to be the man he is when he first appears. His loyalty to friends, his urge to do good and be saved, where did that even come from? Considering the power of his dark side (re: Onyx), his light side has to be something, to have held out that long...only to lose eventually to Clark, and the secrets Lex can't let go. Man, love sucks!

Which is cool on the one hand, I like my villains complex and all, and much as I love the bad boys I wouldn't be this keen on Lex if he didn't have such immense potential for redemption. But I'm confused as to the motives of the writers. Unless they're all just huge Lex fanboys and thought he was really the protagonist all along...

Void is, er, weird. (if by weird you mean a ripoff of Flatliners so obvious I recognized it without ever having seen the flick in question) Here's the recap of that scene. Not sure if this is the real Lillian, but if it is...man, she is psycho. And creepier even then Lionel, Oedipal complex much? OTOH if it's Lex's subconscious, then he's suicidal. Which fits, but...

Ahhhh I can sympathize, I can't write humor to save my life, usually. (We should get mahaliem to do it!) And that is the question, what Source!Lex would want (other than Clark, obviously). He'd probably end up challenging Got and one would end up retelling all of Paradise Lost, DC style ^^;
...you could just skip ahead and write Lex-comes-back-from-the-source...I still want that!! And it will be a while before I get the chance to get to it myself... XD

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

(...he might even challenge God, if this were an alternate universe where I could spell... >_<)

[bagheera-san.livejournal.com]

Is there even a proper God in the JLU/DC universe? (I mean, I'm sure there's a comic with God in it somewhere, but overall, the issue of God is mostly ignored...) I sort of took the Source to mean something like a neutral amorphous God-entity-thingy. But if there was a God, then Lex would *so* challenge him.

Actually I'd like to believe that if an individual reached omniscience, they'd be good by default.

I'll give Lex-comes-back-from-the-Source a try. At least that's a simple, clear-cut concept :D

[lastscorpion.livejournal.com]

This whole thing is so beautifully put!

Lex gets his mother trying to kill him, which seems to be her only way of handling problems with her kids. Oh Dear.)

LOL at that! It makes a person feel kinda sorry for Lionel, too, doesn't it? (I still think that Lionel falling in love with Lana would solve a ton of SV's problems....)

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

...XDDD to Lionana! That would be...spectacularly special. (and when Lex brings down their honeymoon plane - 2 birds with one stone!)

Lionel+Lana 4EVA!!1! (ZOMG MENT2B!!11!)

[lastscorpion.livejournal.com]

They're my Smallville OTP! (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/1922927/1/)

[yma2.livejournal.com]

There's nothing worse than dissapointment, in my opinion. In fic or in a TV program or in a book, dissapointment is the thing to get me maddest.
It's like Evangelion, which begins really well. Which looks really interesting and cool and smart and then just... just... flumps!
It's worse still when you watch it and see how many wonderful ways it COULD have gone.
It sounds liek this was what was happening with this ep. (I'd love to see it, btw, but no way will I be able to for a long time... not until they repeat it on TV or something... le-sigh)
I suppose the good thing about such episodes, however, is that they do allow plenty of room for a fnaficcer to 'imagine' things, and change things to their own fancy, which can create some wonderful stuff.
In fact, I think it's one of the reasons why I tend to do for shows which are imperfect. It's like Yu-Gi-Oh vs Buffy. Buffy is infinately better than Yu-Gi-Oh. It just Is. But I have no interest in writing Buffy fic because I don't feel like there's anything I could possbly write which the show hasn't done, and quite often hasn't done better! Yu-Gi-Oh, however, there are LOTS of things it hasn't done, or could do better, so it leaves plenty of room to play.
At any rate, your commen about Lex being a secret super-hero made me giggle, because I could just imagine him in Green and Black spandex and poor Superman/Clark on the floor rolling with laugher.
Now there's a wacky idea. Imagine an AU verse where Lex had Superman's powers... I mean the real Lex. Has that happened in Smallville yet?
I like your new layout btw, though I thought the dragonfly was a fairy, for some reason.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think one of the reasons Smallville is so fanfic-friendly for me is because has such potential to keep me watching, but is so flawed. I watch eps thinking of all the other ways I wish they would go, it's very inspiring!

Lex kinda-sorta gets Kryptonian powers in the 5th season finale, but then he's possessed by Zod and loses his memory of the entire affair (Lex has lost a shocking number of bits of memory. Considering how many times he's been knocked unconscious - last count I saw was 39, which must be pushing some sort of record - it's not surprising, but still. You can't blame the guy for going evil; he's dealing with pretty severe brain-damage!) Zod!Lex does, however, get to fly around in an incredibly hot leather trenchcoat. So that's okay. ^_^

The layout's one of lj's standards, it is awful pretty, isn't it? It's of Kyoto, so is appropriate to my present life (I live about a km away from Tohji, the pagoda pictured ^^)

[mahaliem.livejournal.com]

I think of Lexmas as a companion piece to Reckoning.

In both episodes, Clark and Lex are involved with Lana. She agrees to be Clark's wife in Reckoning while in Lexmas, she's married to Lex and pregnant with his child.

In both episodes, because of some action that Clark and Lex have taken, she dies. Clark told her his secrets, which indirectly caused her death. Lex removed himself from power and his father, which indirectly caused her death.

Both Clark and Lex reject this. Neither wants Lana to die.

By rejecting and changing reality, Clark takes a step away from Lana and toward his eventual destiny of becoming Superman. Lex doesn't seem to step away from Lana, but if you think about it, he does step away from the kind of person Lana could truly love and be happy with. He, too, moves closer to his destiny.

And I suppose you could go one step further and say that the end result is the death of a good man. Jonathan in Reckoning and in Lexmas, the good man in Lex.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Hmm, that does work quite well! So in other words, the root of all evil in Smallville isn't money, or Luthors, but Lana Lang! didn't we know that already? :P Sorry if you like Lana. I, uh...don't. ^^;;;

They do make sense as companion pieces, alternate lives that are rejected in favor of destiny...stupid destiny. Why can't you just let our boys be happy? I need some fluff, stat...

[lukita.livejournal.com]

Lexmas never happened. Hmmm... I made a whole list before that compares if it's actually Lillian's ghost or Lex's subconsious at work, except I kinda lost it so this is going by memory. I won't repeat what bagheera_san wrote (and I agree with her 100%), though there are several other things that nailed Lexmas for me being Lex rather than Lillian.

First nail being the party, other than Jonathan's speech, the rest of the party feels very fake. Man of the hour and he's suppose to be friends with all those people, except he's not, I think it's because (and I'm going to get lynched for this) Lex is a socially awkward person, so he skipped outside and Clark finds him. I think we're suppose to think back on S1 friendship, so Clex Clex Clex. XD

Lionel was interesting with the whole in Lex's office under a spotlight, cutting of credit card and company Christmas gifts deal. As far as I remember, Lex still have control of the company and well, giving up on the senator race does not equal giving up LuthorCorp in any book. If this is what Lex thinks of Lionel, all cold, distant, powerful and hates his son, I'm going to be very sad, a S1-3 Lex sure, but S5 Lex pretty much kicked Lionel down a few notches already.

The hospital itself, as you mentioned, it's Christmas, new mother, WTF aren't the hospital doing everything they can to save Lana. I'm blaming this one on Lex in the 'no one was ever nice to Lex'. Poor Lex, he's so very clueless when it comes to people sometimes.

Lana herself is strange, she's sweet, wonderful, nice and loves Lex. But the non-dream Lana still loves Clark, even if their relationship is sinking. Lex himself knows this when he and Clark were talking at the party. I never did got further than headdesk at SV to have Lex pursue Lana because of a dream.

If Lexmas is actually suppose to be Lillian's ghost, I'm subscribing to your idea of Lillian as a Clex fangirl.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Mmm, I agree it works better as Lex's subconscious, I just wish the show had made a point of that. Rather than trying to establish that it was Lillian, what with her ghost and the scene in "Void".
It's not that odd that Lex would ascribe so much power to Lionel subconsciously - it's not Lionel at all really, but a representation of the dark side that Lex turned his back on, with all its strength. In the real world he's overpowered Lionel, but in his subconscious the father is always going to be the ultimate authority figure, the only one Lex ever had.

And I agree that Lex is socially awkward - he can be smooth around people, but it's an act, deliberate manipulation...he rarely seems genuinely comfortable around people. Clark, and to an extent the Kents, are the exception. I'm tempted to ascribe that to Lex's serious self-worth issues, the legacy of getting only very conditional love - he doesn't think people ever could like him for being himself, so he always makes sure to wear the face that people want to see. The trouble is that his mask is so constant that when it does slip people tend to freak - the few times he gets visibly angry, people get terrified for no good reason, except that they're not used to seeing him out of control.

And the hospital: I argue, Lex isn't that clueless about people! He's just going on experience...no one ever has been nice to him, not without a reason. I think the only thing ever given to him freely, no request made and no strings attached, was his life when Clark pulled him from the river...so, yeah, if it's his subconscious, it makes sense why no one would be with him at the hospital. Still is so sad, though...

(I don't necessarily want to be a raging Lex Luthor apologist; I just can't see any other way to read the show! I keep expecting...hmm, if you've ever seen Babylon 5, Londo Mollari is a perfect tragic character who chooses his own destiny; you feel for him even though he makes the wrong choices, because he has noble ambitions even if at all goes so terribly bad. But Lex is never offered a choice; he's a puppet of destiny, who often can see his strings but there's nothing to cut them with...)

And I still don't know what's up with the Lexana. Nearing the end of 5th sesason I'm not finding it as unpalatable as I thought I would (given how I detest the char) because Lex is being so terribly manipulative about it; he might have some genuine feelings there but he definitely has an agenda. I just can't tell what it is, whether it's just winning (against Clark) or something more...

[lukita.livejournal.com]

I also thinks Void is their subconsiousness as well, mostly because Lana's parents just stands there like morons. Can't really explain Clark's vision that way, but I'm going with Clark can't possibily be that dumb about Lionel (or was it Fine?), he just needs 'Jonathan' to admit it.

I think a part of it is Lex's self-worth issues, but the other part seems to be that Lex wasn't a very social kid, or as one of Oliver Queen's friend said it, he had no friends. SV made Lex such a woobie, watching SV is like, 'good man here, watch him fall,' except it's closer to shoved down a flight of stairs than him walking down it.

I've never seen Babylon 5, I actually don't watch much TV I mostly buy the DVDs when they're on sale, but I know what you mean. Road to hell right?

puppet of destiny

Oh gods, mental image of Lex being able to see SV writers pulling his strings but can't do a thing about it. *dies*

The way I see Lexana is that Lex wants someone to accept him and Lana is the only one left from S1 that is still nice to him, also because she owes him. I just still can't believe the rift is going to be about Lana.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

because Lana's parents just stands there like morons

Though honestly now, if you had Lana as a daughter, what would you do? :P

watching SV is like, 'good man here, watch him fall,' except it's closer to shoved down a flight of stairs than him walking down it.

This is too terribly true. Oh, Smallville...

I'm choosing to believe that the Rift is not really about the Lana, that's just a side effect - one that might have been Lex's intent when he started going after her. I agree that the Lexana is partly due to her being the only friend left, but there seem to be darker things going on there from the start (I honestly can't guess for sure why Lex is in the relationship. It's weird for TV to have a romance that is so bafflingly inexplicable - there's a lot of possible reasons for it, but none that are clear. I mean, even if it was overwhelming lust, I could understand that. This, I'm just confused.)

[dogwoodblossom.livejournal.com]

I loved Lexmas, because it epitomizes all that is wrong with SV. I always assumed that it was a vision, but Lillian is just really really bad at visions. I envision a future where Lex gets these every Christmas from now on. His mom offers him everything he wants if he'll just 'change' then screws it up at the end. After a few years he stops taking her seriously because he figures out that the visions are just bad and don't really reflect reality.

Anyone think it was interesting (by which I mean disturbing) that the woman they got to play Lillian in Lexmas was a nubial young redheaded woman with a huge rack who kept drapping herself over Lex? That was a really odd and uncomfortable casting choice for me. She should have been someone at least a little older and more motherly. We've seen Lillian before in flashbacks and things and I don't recall her ever being a scary vamp before. Anybody have any theories as to what that was about? Because if that's how Lillian chooses to represent herself to her son it's kinda disturbing. And if that's how Lex subconciously imagines his mother (which I don't think it is)...that's even more disturbing.

But disturbing visions aside, everyone has overlooked what was easily the wrongest thing about this episode. The sub plot with Suicidal Santa! At first you think he's just a suicidal drunk guy who Clark is talking down, but at the end? It's revealed that he was the real Santa! He helped them deliver presents instead of getting wasted enough on rotgut to throw himself off a Metropolis highrise! It's a Christmas Miracle!

Maybe it's not Lex, or Lex's mom that doesn't understand Christmas specials. Maybe it's the SV writers.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

I loved Lexmas, because it epitomizes all that is wrong with SV.

*quietly dies* XDDDD

Poor, poor Lex. Can't even get a single ghost on his side on the holiday season. In one of tasabian's stories ("The Hinge Moment", I think?) Lex is constantly being haunted by his mother offering him Catch 22s, choices that always only end in suffering.

Lillian did die about a dozen years ago, so it makes sense that she's still pretty young. And considering how Lionel is with Lex, the extreme Oedipal vibes worked for me. In this horrible creepy twisted way, but it just goes to underline that Lex never had anything like a real family or real love...(because, y'know, we need more reasons to feel sorry for the boy. poor woobie! Clark needs to snuggle him more.) Have you seen "Void"? If you think she was draping herself over Lex in "Lexmas" it ain't nothing to her vamp act in his death vision. Eeep.

Bwahah to suicidal!Santa. No comments because we didn't really watch those parts. Just. The stupid. Oh, SV. If only you didn't have these nuggets of diamond awesome buried in the crap pile, I could just let you be. Why, SV, why?

[naye]

...yeah, nothing to say on the Lexmas issue (except, man your show seems to have annoying writers!), but I really love the new layout! So pretty! ♥ And so so sorry for ignoring you for so long. ^^;;;

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Yay for Kyoto layouts ^_^ (even if I had to futz with the whole color scheme, I don't like reading white text on dark, even if it's supposed to be better for one's eyes...)

you're okay, right? how goes the kitty-front? *hugs*

[jakrar.livejournal.com]

You make some excellent points. *ponders*

[attaccabottoni.livejournal.com]

SV should have a label attached. WARNING: Some plots are hazardous to logic. Has been proven dangerous to women characters and fans alike. May contain cheese, anvils, and Lana Lang.

Jokes aside, I think with Lexmas and Void are episodic tools (they used references/devices from other stories), so we should look at it with the meaning it expresses rather than actual rational content. I'm not saying we shouldn't dissect them (because episode meta is always cool), but I kind of got the feeling the audience was meant to take them as 'creative' ways to delve into the inner lives of the characters. We're supposed to see the respective characters' current mental state and subsequent reasoning, but it sort of falls flat because they were ineffective, and the methods employed within the visions can be kind of stupid. Maybe if they focused less on going for a particular audience impact and more of REALLY thought what those visions would actually MEAN for the CHARACTERS rather than the story...

Anyway, better minds have meta-ed these episodes than I have, and I defer to their *points up at other comments* at their interpretations. Because I'm only good at explaining what they mean to me personally, and make lots of references to random literature, kind of like what I did with Void recently. :D For Lexmas, I would have tried to make a point about Lex interchangeable with Christ and about the episode being the "birth" of the savior of the world, who could have lived a normal life but instead chose to die for it. That sort of thing. Um. Yeah.

Great job at pointing out the narrative flaws. Lucky for Smallville, Lex is so fucking beautiful in that glowing light effect, or that episode would have smashed my IQ to bits too.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

I've got nothing against creative character exploration at the sacrifice of plot, but if you're going to do that, I just wish the exploration were a little more creative! Lexmas...it just doesn't really make sense. You can give it complicated interpretations - the advantage of SV's massive logical gaps is that it allows for a lot of room for that...but I can't give the writers enough credit for trying to get any real meaning in there. They just seem too lazy. Or confused. Or something! (And Lexmas drives me nuts because damn, there was so much potential there. I wrote this post because once I started thinking about it, it flipped me out, how much they could have done with that scenario. And instead they picked a route that makes very little sense...and could have made sense, if they had just thought about it for two seconds, and grrrrrr! ...yeah. The show needs the Surgeon General's warning, big time ^^)

Lucky for Smallville, Lex is so fucking beautiful in that glowing light effect,

The beauty of the boys all through the show, I have to admit, is worth the psychological damage inflicted by nonsensical writing ^_^