S marks the spot

[xparrot]

SPN 2x19 was terrific fun as always. We caught John Shiban's writing credit at the beginning so didn't bother watching for plotholes, just enjoyed the ep. Loved Dean especially, fitting into the prison environment so uncomfortably easily, so determined to do the job. Sam questions the merit of helping convicted criminals at such risk to themselves, but Dean is blind to human evil, except when it's directly targeting his family. As far as he's concerned, it's Us vs Them, and while he's relentless and ruthless in his pursuit of Them, when it comes to Us he is solidarity all the way. If Agent Hendricks was in danger from a ghost, Dean might bitch about it, but he'd save him in an instant without hesitation. The only exception are people who are deliberately using ghosts/spells/etc.; they're siding with Them. (And folks who go after Sam, naturally!) Everyone else in the human race is part of Dean's extended family, and gets the protection that implies.

Of course the other reason the plotholes didn't bother me is because after a steady diet of Smallville, I'm becoming inured against the common garden variety of logical inconsistency. SV doesn't so much have 'plot holes' as it has 'a few tightrope strands of plot suspended swaying over the void'. Which doesn't mean that "Nemesis" wasn't awesome.

Not that I liked it unreservedly. In contradiction to most of the rest of the fandom, I still cannot stand Lana. I can't enjoy the badass villainess-in-training when I know she's going to flipflop back to helpless victim in a week or two anyway. And while I think she's justifiably outraged, what Lex did to her was totally, undeniably beyond the pale (even if she should have seen it coming) - it gets to me how much she revels in playing the Luthor game. She doesn't hesitate to sink to their level. Even if she's bad at it. Hello, opening the briefcase in Lex's office? Which she knows is wired with cameras?

She better be found out. It doesn't sit well with me that a hick farmgirl can run rings around Lex flippin' Luthor, who has been trained in this kind of psychological warfare and manipulation from birth. Unless you want to argue that Lana has natural talent for corruption, while Lex has been wrestling against his dark side all his life...(I gotta admit, it would be fun if Lana stayed married to Lex and they contentedly passed time manipulating and backstabbing one another. All the more entertaining if Lana did it supposedly to protect Clark, only to make herself such that Clark is forced to go against her...that would be kind of awesome. And I just made myself almost enjoy thinking about Lana, I'm going to be quietly sick now.)

Oh well. gnine and I are still trying to figure out why Lex wanted to marry her at all. One would think he would be less than eager himself to be trapped in a loveless marriage, after what happened after his last two weddings. The whole faux-fetus plot is entirely nonsensical to us.

But who cares about Lana! We have Clex! And it was marvelous fun. After racing to finish "Contingencies" it was great to see that I didn't have to; pretty much everything that happened in the fic is totally supported in the episode, up to and including Chloe wanting to see Lex dead and Clark not being able to, for heroic reasons or something else. Loved Clark & Lex talking, loved that Lex came back for him (and at substantial risk to his own life; he could have just run off, with the clock ticking - for all the times Clark has saved Lex, how many times has he actually put himself in danger to do so? gnine pointed out that if Clark hadn't bothered to come save Lex, Lex would probably have gotten out safely anyway; Clark doesn't do a heck of a lot...)

Loved the Martha-Clark conversation. (even if I did shriek at "Maybe this is the one time Lex was actually telling the truth", because yeah, I know, hyperbole, and Lex is being an ass now, but what about, oh, most of 3rd season when Clark blamed everything from global warming to the Spanish Inquisition on Lex and it was never Lex's fault?) Loved that Clark actually is wondering if part of who Lex is is because of him. The answer, MacLeod Clark, is YES. OH YES. Not that I blame Clark for what Lex has become. While Clark made some major mistakes with Lex, he's not accountable for Lex's choices. And he shouldn't guilt over lost chances; all the what-ifs don't mean anything. Maybe if Clark had told Lex the truth from the start it would have gone beautifully; maybe it would have gone horribly wrong (I wish the show had just once given us some evidence for the latter, but...) There's no way to know.

But the truth is that every person is a product of their environment, a result of the influences around them; and Clark was an incredibly strong influence on Lex's life, and knew it. So yes, whatever Lex is, Clark played a role. And it's great to see Clark realizing this, to see him wondering if maybe there were things he could have done differently. Not just for the Clex; it's good for Clark, a necessary part of growing up and coming into his own as a hero, to realize how significant he really is in people's lives, to make an effort to do right by them.

And loved that Clark said, "I saw a glimpse of something I hadn't seen in years - my friend." Not that he saw good in Lex, not that he saw a chance for redemption; just that incredibly personal epiphany. That whatever else Lex was, or might be now, Lex was Clark's best friend, and he can't forget that. It ultimately doesn't matter if Clark had anything to do with Lex's fall; even if he's not responsible at all, he's still losing something in losing Lex, something worth fighting for.

--So don't listen to your mother, Clark. You're going to be freakin' Superman; you don't ever have to let go if you don't want to. And you sure as hell did give up on Lex - deserved or not - and you shouldn't, not if you're going to be worthy of the incredibly heavy mantle of the hero. By the way, hope isn't your greatest weakness. Kryptonite is. Just want to clarify that.

Also, regarding Lionel, I will never believe he's "made an effort"; I will never believe he's gone good. Sorry, drugging your son to drive him to a schizophrenic break, so you can commit him and submit him to illegal electroshock therapy, so he can't testify that you murdered your own parents? Yeah, that trumps faking a pregnancy, hands down. If Lionel is redeemable after that, then Lex is totally, utterly forgivable - but Lionel isn't trying to save Lex. (Unlike in 4th season, in which I honestly believe Lionel might have reformed, and in part because he was so eager to reform Lex as well. The genuinely saved tend to want to save others.) Instead Lionel's damning his own son to get an in with the good guys. It's manipulative as ever, and I love the Magnificent Bastard for it, but man, Martha is blind sometimes.

Finally, the very end was the awesome, and not just because when I first saw the director's cut last week, I predicted exactly what happened, that we were going to go to credits with Lex standing over the not-dead husband. (Also not just because, hey, Helo! Great to see you! Even if you were cheating with a blond chick. Poor choice, that. Sharon's so much hotter.) But because Lex finally confirms that whatever 33.1 and Project Ares are, he puts them above his own life. I don't know what Lex thinks he's doing, fighting against mutants, fighting against alien invaders (he did have the Zoner attack video on the Ares disk), whatever. But he's not in it for profit or power; he's got a cause bigger than himself. He's found his Great Things and they're consuming him, he's letting them consume him for the greater good, and I can't help but find a tragic nobility in that.

Comments

[ladydey.livejournal.com]

Word!!! I was actually really glad to see that the Project Ares had something to do with Zoner attacks - this is Smallville so I can't think that they will actually follow through and give Lex a noble purpose, but as for right now I am comforted by thinking that Lex is trying to protect his planet while everyone else has their heads stuck in the sand - and like you various stories have talked about he's willing to shoulder the burdens that that demands.


I know that I put this down somewhere else, but what I really want is for Lana to go totally darkside, become absolutely repulsive to Clark (where he actively tries to shun her), but she still thinks she's in love with him and Clark's starts moving on with his life. I want her still married to Lex, but throwing herself at Clark and acting awfully so Clark is just disgusted - especially if Lex can realize that she's just awful too; so Lana is getting no love from anyone. I know that will never happen, but I can dream.

[ladydreamer.livejournal.com]

I'm really going to be dubious if Lana isn't found out. You're dead on for the flip-flopping and her being so bad at it. I knew she was good at being a phoney, but she shouldn't be about to out-Luthor Lex, and OMG security cameras. Not to mention turning up the music to deafening loud and then turning it off immediately. Like the servants don't know what that means. Like that shot up case isn't going to raise suspicions with Lex. *eyeroll* At the beginning of the season when she went all coldly evil, I thought, "Cool! She can learn from Lex and join in his fight!" But then they backtracked. So now it's just... not even as awesome. When she went evil in Arrow, it was For Lex and For Saving the World. Now it's for her own selfish reasons, which is really just Lana per usual.

pretty much everything that happened in the fic is totally supported in the episode, up to and including Chloe wanting to see Lex dead and Clark not being able to, for heroic reasons or something else.
I was swearing at that when I watched, but I think this is an important reversal, since Clark pretty much copped out on being a hero in "Static" (despite Chloe arguing with him to save Lex) and been all I Wanna Kill Lex! for half the season. This step puts Chloe back in her place as Human, while Clark is Super.

Lionel is an asshole. Making an effort, in this case, means that ever since he came out of whatever Clarkthrall he was in since Clark was in his body, he has consistantly tried to cut Lex down in busness, in relationships, and emotionally. He has tried to control him on every level and then moves in on the family Lex was trying to get acceptance from. He's not really even magnificent anymore, manipulative, yes, but he's sucking Superman's ass so he can be on the side with the most power. Why the "good guys" listen to Milton Fine and Lionel Luthor about Lex is beyond me.

But he's not in it for profit or power; he's got a cause bigger than himself. He's found his Great Things and they're consuming him, he's letting them consume him for the greater good, and I can't help but find a tragic nobility in that.
How flippin cool is that? I'm so proud of Lex for doing that much. I'd be prouder if he had more of a moral compass, but he IS trying so hard to fight when everyone else is running around like a bunch of idiots consumed with their own little lives.

[aerynvala.livejournal.com]

You know, you keep talking and I keep falling more in love with your brain. I love that Lex (for the moment) has a higher purpose to his actions. He very much is a tragic figure, I've felt that almost from the start.

[bagheera-san.livejournal.com]

I don't like the ep unreservedly either, but I can't pin down why. Maybe because it was good and so felt slightly AU, as if it didn't quite fit with the rest of the show, especially the Lana parts. It's like S4 Lex: now I'm evil, now I'm not, now I'm helpless... did the fake pregnancy make her stupid(er)? Has she discovered her own equivalent of redK? Mostly I'm afraid it will be without consequence.

Also, I didn't get what was up with the tunnels and the water purification system. I need to rewatch when I'm not falling asleep in my seat.

What burns me...

[greenlady2.livejournal.com]

... about this show:

Where to begin?

We all know, from comic book canon, that Lex and Clark are destined to be less than friends. That Lex is going to grow up to be Evil. Or at least Amoral. Or something along those lines. We knew that going in.

But then, we have had a steady stream of people, some of whom knew Lex in the past, most of whom never met him before he showed up in Smallville, and they tell Clark, and us by extension, that Lex going to be Evil.

And the last few seasons, guess what? Lex is turning Evil. And Clark, Chloe, Lois and so on, are going around saying, 'Lex is Evil.'

It's like a school essay, you know? First you tell your readers what you're going to tell them, then you tell them, then you tell them what you told them.

I don't like being told what to think, especially by hypocrites, which describes most of the characters in Smallville. And yes, I realize that term describes most people on Earth, and probably Krypton too. But you'd think there would be one or two more perceptive people hanging around, wouldn't you? Just for variety.

If I hadn't felt I was being choked by the whole 'Lex is Evil' thing, I might have swallowed it with a bit more ease. As it is, I stopped believing in it long ago. If they actually showed him eating live babies, I wouldn't believe it.

I have a lot more to say on the subject, but since that would involve regurgitating most of the history of Smallville for the last few years, I should probably stop now. Most people reading this would know more about it than I do.

I will say, though, that someone who would take murder raps for two people -- one of them his mother, for killing his beloved baby brother, when he himself was just a child -- deserves better from life. But they're not the kind of people who get what they deserve.

A Tragic Figure, yes.

[lukita.livejournal.com]

Hee~ I won't mind if Lana keeps getting darker and not flip back to the side of angels, because if she does I will flip out. Because right now? The only thing Lana hasn't done and Lex has is... somebody help me out here. She've kidnapped (Clark), killed (Teague and someone I can't remember), manipulative (hoo-boy) and her hands aren't clean about 33.1 either. You know what? I think I'm going to flip out anyway. Grrr~ I hope Lionel kills her or maybe vice versa.

I hope SV have a great explaination for the fake!baby thing. Mostly because two scenes supports the Lex wasn't behind it, one was in "Static" when Lana told invisible Lex and the other is in "Promise" with Lex's dream.

Dood, you totally win with "Contingencies", not only did "Nemesis" not blow it out of the water it backed it up. ♥ Eeee~ *flails* Lex is trading his soul to save the world, I have this horrible feeling I'm going to think "Contingencies" is canon sometimes in the future. XD

[utopiantrunks.livejournal.com]

^_^ It's fun to read these analyses of yours when I catch the ends of the SV episodes before SPN... it seems like a lot of the slashy/angsty stuff happens in those last few minutes. XD

[bonnysprite.livejournal.com]

I caught the last few minutes of this ep, right before Clark dropped the wonderful "I saw a glimpse of something I hadn't seen in years - my friend" line. TW did a really good job of conveying the anguish and hope of that. Stinger right to the heart.

I could have kissed him then. It was so sad and so the Clark I see and know him to be.

And yeah, I can go with the severe whack up side the head Martha is deserving. She has no place giving advice about not trusting Lex when she has Lionel in her home. None.

Works been a bit manic so I'll be catching this ep at 1am on SPACE tonight, thank you for allowing me look forward to it. I can ignore the Lana black hole for all the Clex goodness I'll be getting, there are worse prices to pay. Like all Lana n Clark or Lex and no Clex.

What's this about "Contingencies", you're done?!! I can't believe I've missed it entirely. Didn't you like just start it? Well there's something even greater to look forward to. :)

Huge hugs for your the love you feed this fandom. You make the whole ordeal more bearable with your ep discussions and fanfic, but it's just as nice that you haven't thrown Clark to the wolves. Thank you for that so very much.

Now I will run off to see if I can't hunt down this wonderful fic I've missed. I'm certain I'll have more to share once I've read it and seen the ep.

Hugs.
kik

[attaccabottoni.livejournal.com]

why Lex wanted to marry her at all.
They were genuinely in love with each other before the fake-baby plot or so, I can't think of any other canon-supported reason either. (The mutant!Lana theory is still my best bet though... when Lionel made that turn around and said he wanted to protect Clark by preventing Lana to elope with him, I thought he was going to reveal that he didn't want Clark be totally ensnared in Lana's love mutant clutches. :D)

pretty much everything that happened in the fic is totally supported in the episode
I was coming down from the high of rereading Contingencies (*sighs blissfully*) before I watched Nemesis... this was why I wasn't made into a gibbering wreck about their very heart-wrenching dialogue (I kept thinking about my favorite lines in your fic as well), because I always had faith in the Clex, and I knew they'll never let each other die if they can help it.

It doesn't sit well with me that a hick farmgirl can run rings around Lex flippin' Luthor, who has been trained in this kind of psychological warfare and manipulation from birth.
I'm with you, but they made Lana a kung-fuing witch, so I couldn't tell how far they're willing to make Lana go.

Yeah, that trumps faking a pregnancy, hands down.
*applauds* Is any other character going to remember Lionel's reign of evil? No? Damnit.

*goes off to read everybody's comments and more meta*

[littlehollyleaf.livejournal.com]

Yo! I was linked over this way from finding 'Contingencies' in the Smallville Slash Archive :)

Wow, you just say everything about this episode that my subconscious was feeling but coudln't express. Kudos! One thing-

gnine and I are still trying to figure out why Lex wanted to marry her at all. One would think he would be less than eager himself to be trapped in a loveless marriage, after what happened after his last two weddings.

He married her as a dig at Clark perhaps? I know you're big on Lex not making his 33.1 projects personal, as I gathered from reading your fic (which, btw, was just incredible! I mean, seriously, I was sobbing when Lex was dying. Honestly. There were real tears. You wrote it beautifully, I was completely hooked. I think I might have died in a puddle of tears if you hadn't brought Lex back for a happy ending!). Anyway, since a relationship with Lana is personal, I figure Lex'd have no problem utilising it for personal reasons- as a attempt to make Clark feel as neglected as Lex does maybe? Or maybe just an attempt to draw himself away from Clark, and try and convice himself that he doesn't really care? Though honestly, Lana was a silly choice for that, she is nowhere near strong enough to maintain Lex's love and affection... in my opinion :p

I only really came here to feedback your fic. Damn. Soz about the rant. Um. Good job with 'Contingencies,' keep writing!

[jakrar.livejournal.com]

Sorry for the lateness of this comment, but I have to agree with you on Lana's role in "Nemesis." Before seeing the episode, I just wanted her dead, however I could get it. Now, having seen her utter willingness to let Lex die, I want to see the bitch suffer before she buys it, preferably in some truly horrible and agonizing fashion.

Granted, if Lex was the one behind the fake-baby business, Lana has reason to be upset with him, but -- given all the times she's emotionally jerked him around with her 'I really love Clark far more than I love you, but if he doesn't want me, and you're properly worshipful, maybe for now I'll settle for you' -- I figure Lex manipulating her into marrying him by whatever means just makes them even. And let us not forget all the times Lex has risked his own life to save Lana's, while I recall her returning the favor only once (and ineffectively, at that).

On Clark's side, I am feeling more friendly toward him now that he's finally shown enough honesty to question his own role in Lex's recent actions. (I can still adore Clark in fanfic, but lately I've been really wanting to see him smacked around hard on screen, given all his ranting about Lex being evil incarnate, and all his hesitation over saving Lex's life.)

So, for me, the upshot of watching "Nemesis" is that I adore Lex even more than before, detest Clark somewhat less than before, and loathe everyone else more than ever before. And I'm still convinced that Lex is trying to save the world.