thurSday

[xparrot]

The non-spoilerery reaction to SPN "All Hell Breaks Loose Pt.1":

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
*cough*
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

(--and it doesn't count! not if he's--because--argh! AHHHH!!)

And now a few comments on Smallville 6x21 "Prototype" from gnine and myself:

1. Lex is hot.

2. Lex is evil.

3. Lois is still in my good books, and has a genuine reason to be mad as hell and out to take Lex down. As opposed to Chloe, who blames Lex for, um, bringing her mother out of her coma. Still confused on that one.

4. Lex is hot.

5. Our Heroes are Dumb. And I want to smack them around. 'Oh, yeah, Lex used to be a bit shady but now he's gone black as the inside of a ninja's navel at midnight. Why? Oh, we have no idea. You know, he just is. The script says so. Why ask why?'

6. Clark is awful pretty. Dumb, but awful pretty.

7. Lex is trying to save the world. Yes, in a wrong and evil way. Still. Saving the world.

8. Lex is on the fast track to supervillain-hood for reasons I don't buy. If he's so convinced of the reality of the metahuman threat, why does he have to mind control soldiers to do his bidding? Couldn't he talk them into it? Especially when the guy had signed on willingly? Also, what about the aliens he knows are out there? Why doesn't he care? I'm totally fanwanking from this point on that Lex's number one priority is still alien invasion, he just doesn't have evidence enough to get people to believe him. Except that the doc at least knows aliens are real...

9. At least they're setting up the appropriate anti-Superman tension, with his whole metahumans = THREAT TO HUMANITY (totally justified) paranoia.

10. And Lex knew Lana was listening! And totally knew he wasn't the man she loved, either. Why he's still trying to win her affections, I have no idea. Just kill her, Lex. Please.

11. He needs to be better with his help, however. Threatening them is all very well, but no need to lose your cool. Though he is quite young, not as imposing as a fully mature supervillain, still feeling the chill of Daddy's shadow. And that momentary flash of guilt (?) when facing his successful test subject in the teaser...shows of temper to hide his own uncertainties, perhaps.

12. None of this changes the fact that Lex is hot.

13. Seriously. Hot. The no-tie and top-button-undone and black slacks and jacket and yow.

14. And he has good taste in brainwashed soldiers. Mmm, Tahmoh Penikett. One wonders what else those implants did.

15. And Lex has a minion, too! That dark-haired guy following him around is so going to die. Or betray him. Please, if you must go, do so saving your boss, Unnamed Minion! You know how much fanatic minion loyalty turns me on.

16. Um. So Clark totally just killed a guy. Even if he sort of wanted to die. Clark killed a victim of Lex's. I was expecting Lex to mention a preprogrammed self-destruct function, but no. Clark killed a guy.

17. I realize that I no longer care about anyone in this show except for Lex. And Clark, but only because Lex cares. This is not the best mindset to enjoy the show. Sigh. I might give it up over the summer. We'll see.

18. Did I mention that Lex is hot?

Comments

[aelora.livejournal.com]

I've never commented here before but I just have to say:

16. Um. So Clark totally just killed a guy. Even if he sort of wanted to die. Clark killed a victim of Lex's. I was expecting Lex to mention a preprogrammed self-destruct function, but no. Clark killed a guy.

Thank you!!! *throws hands in air* I jsut read someone justifying it saying that Clark was in a 'life or death situation'. WTF?!? Clark can't *BE* in a life or death situation unless Kryptonite or Doomsday are involved!! Just - no! He killed (again) plain and simple - but everyone is blaming the death on Lex. Whatever.

I just wrote a huge rant that I'll probably get flamed for by the Clark et al fans on my list but I really don't care. This show baffles me with it's weird version of morals.

But at least we got Lex in all black with his shirt unbuttoned, eh?? *FLAILZ*

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Hee, welcome to the comments! Any minion friend of Lex's... XD (and please excuse my ravings in your own comments!)

It had been life or death for Lois, maybe. But Lois was out of danger. I was pretty astonished that Lois doesn't even comment that Clark murdered him. The guy's death in "Combat" didn't bother me overly much, because that was a battle to the death and Clark was in danger (I'm willing to concede that Clark isn't fully developed so may be able to be endangered by monsters other than Doomsday. But enhanced meteor mutants, no, I doubt it...) I really was thinking Lex was going to make some comment about a self-destruct mechanism (what with the code the soldier was muttering) But no...

Hey, I'm a Clark fan! And I take exception to the way SV is destroying his char these days. Baffling indeed.

But Lex. With the shirt and the unbuttoning and yeah. Gah. Why must you make it so hard to quit you, stupid show?!

[bagheera-san.livejournal.com]

Sigh. I might give it up over the summer. We'll see.

No, no, no! Who will then explain the show to me in ways that make things awesome?

Lex was hot, just like the last three weeks. So was everyone, actually, except Lionel. He and Chloe have bad hair this season. No, wait, that was not what I wanted to say...

Ah, yes! World saving. Although Lex always delivers that justification in a way that sort of makes me doubt it's genuine, I can see no other motivation he could have for building an army of supersoldiers... so he's trying to do good in evil and non-sensical ways. Which is sort of what everyone on this show does, only they're not all quite that evil. But still. I see a theme here. *sigh*

And the Lex/Lana confrontation was awesome. Also, the show acknowledged that they're not having sex!

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Yeah, what's up with Lionel's hair?
...er, I mean--

Although Lex always delivers that justification in a way that sort of makes me doubt it's genuine

Hmm. Good, I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels this. The only time Lex has really sounded geunine to me, rather than EEEVOLLY scheming & manipulative, is his confrontation with Fine in "Oracle", and maybe in "Nemesis", though he doesn't mention the world-saving then. That's one reason I can keep fanwanking the alien invasion defense hypothesis, if his going on about meteor mutants and terrorist vigilantes is a cover for that.

Actually I think I figured out how to explain the mind control! It's still unethical (though Keenan did sign on...I wonder what he thought he was signing on for) but Lex has reasons for wanting absolute mental control over his soldiers. Partly because of meteor psychosis - most mutants have fairly evident neurological problems; combining all those powers couldn't be good for the brain. The soldiers might well be functionally insane without the mind control.

Also, if the alien defense hypothesis holds - Lex knows the aliens can take over peoples' minds/bodies. Zod took him over, and Lionel was possessed by Jor-El. So soldiers operating on remote control might be the only reasonable option. Doesn't justify doing it (mind control is pretty much unjustifiable, in my book, and after all the mindfuckery Lex has endured he should know this better than anyone...I like your explanation, that he's consciously or subconsciously taking those past transgressions on his psyche out on his victims...) but at least there's semi-reasonable explanations for it.

[bagheera-san.livejournal.com]

The only time Lex has really sounded geunine to me, rather than EEEVOLLY scheming & manipulative, is his confrontation with Fine in "Oracle"

Yeah! The cool thing is that the confrontation with Fine is also the only instance I can think of where Lex has no reason to lie or manipulate, because he's talking to the enemy.

But then, I've always gotten this odd vibe from Lex (maybe it's MR's acting) that the more serious and honest he tries to be, the more he sounds like he isn't. Like he's trying too hard or something. The only times when Lex came close to appearing completely honest and genuine were either when he was scared/under emotional stress/angry, like in "Vortex" or "Shattered" or "Reunion", or a couple of times with Clark, like their reunion after the island or in Nemesis. Most of the time Lex seems just slightly off.

that he's consciously or subconsciously taking those past transgressions on his psyche out on his victims
The show is definitely repeating the imagery from "Asylum" over and over again with Lex in Lionel's position: in "Mortal", "Cyborg", "Freak" and now "Prototype", and (less obvious) in the whole "drugging Lana to make her think she's pregnant" thing, which one could see as a parallel to Lionel drugging Lex to make him appear psychotic.

[ladydreamer.livejournal.com]

I have to sigh on the Chloe/Lois thing. Chloe has a genuine reason to hate/fear Lex! He had her kidnapped and experimented on! Never okay! That's enough! But they keep pushing this mother thing, and they didn't do it well enough for us to keep getting these weekly reminders of "What Lex Did to Chloe's Mother!"

(I can't stop exclaiming!)

And Lois, bless her heart. Though her plot with Lex's New Boyfriend felt real, it's just... dammit, why does everyone have to be a petty bastard? Look, I know that Lois was investigating Senator Fatman on her own, but they've repeatedly put her in the position of hating Lex for experimenting on/being the irrational obsession of her boyfriends (Aquatool, Ollie, Wes). That's subtle, but it's still disgusting, and it positions a strong woman firmly in the role of X's Angry Girlfriend instead of investigating Lex of her own right because hey, something hinky is going on there! What a random luck of the draw, for Lois's first love to be the prototype for Lex's anti-alien army! And Now It's Personal (tm)! *sighs* Well, it's personal for everyone, isn't it, Miss Lane? Why don't you ALL get over yourselves, forget your stupid grudges, and try to save the world instead of your bffs, K?!

And re: 16. Clark killed another dude. He SO did. Clark is so out of control. What, he couldn't have supersped the guy to the hospital? I mean, it makes it easier for me to write Clark as turning to Lex's side because if he's cool with murder but not torture, they could probably work something out. :P

Lex WAS really hot tonight. I think it was a combo of GOOD camera angles (cause when they shoot him in the wrong light and from bad angles he just looks weird or roundfaced... same with Clark and the nosecam), MR's acting, and really, they need to stop putting him in suits that cut off his neck. (that and his KIOS orange tan of doom is fading) He was in fine form.

I think Lex must have multiple goals, and one of them HAS to be aliens, because dur, Zoners are aliens and since Clark has been playing with his balls in the barn moping over Lana, they're still out there. He knows this hand has proof. The ones Clark hasn't killed, anyway. They just... totally, ripped off Marvel with the metahuman population boom threat to humanity. So that... okay. We have now ripped off Terminator, Heroes, and Civil War to do the 33.1 storyline. Brrrrrilliant. Now I feel better about ripping off Xavier to have Lex take in lil metas for training.

[attaccabottoni.livejournal.com]

Like he's trying too hard or something.
His sincerity, when not instantaneous, can always be taken as planned/controlled. Whether it's just his nature or the acting or both, I love it. You're not alone in feeling that vibe. If Lex is faking it, he's got it made! *tries not to get stuck on the hotass+sexy+villain mantra again*

repeating the imagery from "Asylum" over and over again with Lex in Lionel's position
Dude, I think I understand why it's not so disturbing anymore after the first time. Oh, you Luthors...

[attaccabottoni.livejournal.com]

System malfunction... Exposed to high temperature from sexy villainy... Cannot compute except be in total agreement with your logic...

[ladydreamer.livejournal.com]

d00d, it's your journal. You should be able to write what you want :(

And, well, I friended you for it, so anyone who wants to flame you 'cause killing is okay when Clark does it can :P

Lex is Hot...

[greenlady2.livejournal.com]

"8. Lex is on the fast track to supervillain-hood for reasons I don't buy... Couldn't he talk them (the Superhuman Soldiers) into it?"

But that would make sense. Nothing -- well, very little anyway -- on this show makes sense. Except that Lex is Hot.

"11. ...shows of temper to hide his own uncertainties, perhaps."

I'm not excusing Lex's mistakes, or blaming them on someone else. But it's simply true: of course Lex is paranoid and insecure. Who wouldn't be in his situation. I keep thinking 'if only, if only, if only', re: Clark and his parents. But of course, there's canon. Damned canon, anyway. And SV got rid of a lot of canon, including a Clark Kent who was a hero, so why not this? Why not Clark and Lex working together to save the world, and having a lot of heated arguments about their methods along the way? Would have been a more interesting show, in my opinion.

"17. I realize that I no longer care about anyone in this show except for Lex. And Clark, but only because Lex cares."

The SV writers made me stop caring about anyone else on the show, by turning them all into super-self-righteous hypocrites, which is worse, in my book, than being a supervillain. I have more to say, obviously, and will do so later. :-)))

[jakrar.livejournal.com]

Lex has reasons for wanting absolute mental control over his soldiers. Partly because of meteor psychosis - most mutants have fairly evident neurological problems; combining all those powers couldn't be good for the brain. The soldiers might well be functionally insane without the mind control.

Also, if the alien defense hypothesis holds - Lex knows the aliens can take over peoples' minds/bodies. Zod took him over, and Lionel was possessed by Jor-El. So soldiers operating on remote control might be the only reasonable option.

Your theories always click with me -- I get this great 'Of course!' moment, with the proverbial light bulb flipping on in my head. Mind-controlling the supersoldiers to prevent violent insanity and/or alien mind-control makes perfect sense! So Lex still isn't totally evil; he isn't doing this just for sick kicks. He's being extra-careful to keep his troops on the side of humanity, as opposed to letting them fall into chaos or the enemy's hands.

[jakrar.livejournal.com]

I so completely agree with you and gnine that there is not enough emphasis in the world. Also not enough squee, especially over #1, 4, 12, 13 and 18. And, yes, I noticed the unnamed minion of #15, too, and share your hopes, along with a partial hope that he and Lex have been getting it on during the Lana-freeze. (Or is absolute minion-loyalty even sexier without consummation?) Agree again on #16, and am baffled by those who insist that, 'unlike Lex, Clark is not a killer' when, in fact, Clark's racked up quite a body count. And #7 makes me very happy. *eg*

[jakrar.livejournal.com]

Ooops! Forgot to add that I am totally with you on the first half of #17, but the second half leaves me quaking. What would we do without your take on Lex? Without you and gnine to shine the light of sanity into the dark chaos created by the SV writers and AlMiles? *contemplates throwing self at your feet* Don't abandon us! We have The Sexy and The Pretty for you to muse upon and slash together unto eternity! *gives you the infamous Clark Kent puppy eyes* Stay? Pretty please?

[jakrar.livejournal.com]

Chloe has a genuine reason to hate/fear Lex! He had her kidnapped and experimented on!

But Chloe started her anti-Lex campaign before that. She's been accusing Lex of evil since mid-fourth season, long before he'd done anything to legitimately warrant her mistrust. And, yes, I've read your take on that, but it honestly doesn't work for me. When I look at the situation, it lines up like this: By mid-fourth season, Lex has saved Chloe's life multiple times. He's saved her father's life at least once, and twice if Gabe also survived the safe-house explosion. (They're so unclear on whether Gabe is still alive that it makes my teeth ache.) Lex stepped in to try to help her cousin Lucy, whom he barely knew, and apparently never pressed charges when Lucy blatantly ripped him off for a hefty sum of money and an expensive car. Lex has saved her friend Pete's life. He's saved her supposed friend Lana's life. He's saved Clark's life, and Jonathan's life, and he's saved the LuthorCorp plant in Smallville and the Kent family farm. Chloe has every reason to think well of Lex, and instead she begins to accuse and malign him for no apparent reason. I don't meant to pick a fight with you, but she seems (initially, at least) incredibly ungrateful where Lex is concerned. Of course, so does everyone else in the SV universe....

[ladydreamer.livejournal.com]

But Chloe started her anti-Lex campaign before that. She's been accusing Lex of evil since mid-fourth season, long before he'd done anything to legitimately warrant her mistrust. And, yes, I've read your take on that, but it honestly doesn't work for me.
Then I guess we have pretty much nothing to talk about then regarding her. You say no apparent reason, and the reason is VERY apparent to ME. It doesn't mean that at some point she shouldn't have done her research and found out what Lex was really up to regarding other things, but we're going to just have to disagree on that. I wrote that in part as a defense of Chloe FOR Chloe fans and in part because I need to make sense of her character to write her. And whether you agree with that or not, it doesn't counter my point that NOW Chloe has a very genuine reason to hate and fear Lex for what he's done to HER during Freak. Which is what I was talking about.

Clark's actions saving people don't wipe out the bitchtastic things that he does, so the fact that Lex is just as heroic (usually, because he's just altogether more awesome and usually has more than a selfish perogative) doesn't wipe out his questionable actions.

Gabe was alive as of Jinx, when Chloe mentioned that he was collecting unemployment. After that, who knows. Either he's died or become one of Lex's minions and Chloe won't talk to him because she never mentions him and he never comes when she's in the hospital. *shrugs* Which means that he's saved him TWICE. Update your records. :)

And I give you my hentai!Chloe icon. She writes Clex slash in between pulling haxx0rz jobs for her boss-man Lex.

[ladydreamer.livejournal.com]

Ye gods, I want minion!slash. He MUST have been getting it on with Wes (and then Clark killed his new boyfriend... AGAIN. Just like with Milton ;.; ), and now minion #15 too, I bet. I think if written correctly, the tension could be just as/more sexy than Lex actually giving it to them... I mean, the minions can always hope for a piece of the sexy boss-man...

It would be too much to have a LL_minions or lex_minions community, wouldn't it?

[jakrar.livejournal.com]

Mmmm -- Lex and his minions. With that kind of perk attached to the job, you'd think applicants for the position would be lined up around the block. (Oh, god, can't you see it? There's this long line stretching out Lex's front door and all around the house and down the driveway, and Clark is certain that this is all part of some evil plot, so he joins the line, and then tries to make casual small talk with the guy ahead of him, hoping to find out what they're all lined up for....)

Motivations for Mind-Controlling Lex and Doofus Clark

[trienne-hovus.livejournal.com]

I have a niblet of a theory about why our boys act as they do, and it goes back to the psycho-mutagenic effects of Green Kryptonite (aka gK).

The theory that gK is a Monkey's Paw - that it grants wishes in the worst possible way - is long established in fanon, and maybe canon. And Smallville is so soaked in the stuff, I posit Clark has been affected in the way his mind works, even when the gK isn't making him physically ill.

Lex's touchstone - over and above even Saving The World From The Alien Menace - is knowledge. Knowledge for its own sake, knowledge for strategy's sake, knowledge as a means of keeping himself safe. Adding the Monkey's Paw factor, that means his quest for knowledge is carried out, and fulfilled, in ways he didn't intend or want, originally.

Mind-control thus becomes part obsession with knowledge, and part Monkey's Paw wish fulfillment. It would keep people loyal, or at least keep them from betraying him without his knowing about it ahead of time. Also, the more he knows about mind control, the more he knows how to prevent it being done to himself.

Clark's a little trickier, but here's my theory: Clark's overriding desire is to be accepted for himself. Thanks to the gK's Monkey Paw factor, he's put up with almost anything for that.

He put up with Pete's various betrayals, he accepted Alicia's manipulations of other people (turning against her only when she manipulated him), and now he accepts the brutish tactics of Ollie and Co. without the anger and self-righteousness he shows Lex. A case could be made that he only turned against Lex once and for all when it became clear that Lex would not "accept him for himself," but would keep questioning and investigating him. In the future, Clark will put up with becoming Superman - sentencing himself to a kind of multiple-personality disorder, and the double life that goes with it, not to mention being humankind's Mr. Fix-It, in order to find the acceptance he craves.

gK took their natural longings and turned those longings into a trap that neither will escape from.

[ladydreamer.livejournal.com]

Maybe then he could get a JOB?? That would be a cute lil thing. Clark would get inside, and Lex would be all wondering why Clark was interviewing to be his minion... he could pull out his information on Clark killing Titan and beating the shit out mutants before dropping them of at the police and say, "Well, you do good work, but there is a trust issue we'll have to discuss before I consider your application..."

And then Clark gets the job by fucking his boss. :D

[jakrar.livejournal.com]

And then Clark gets the job by fucking his boss.

Of course, Lex would have to rate his performance. *eg*

Re: Motivations for Mind-Controlling Lex and Doofus Clark

[jakrar.livejournal.com]

Interesting theory.

Re: Motivations for Mind-Controlling Lex and Doofus Clark

[(Anonymous)]

"The theory that gK is a Monkey's Paw - that it grants wishes in the worst possible way - is long established in fanon, and maybe canon."

I've been working on my own tiny contribution to this theory, which doesn't negate yours.

When Lex was hit by the meteor dust, he was feeling small and inferior, and wanted to be big and frightening, in the mostly innocent way that small children who are constantly pushed around do. That's why almost everyone has a negative reaction to him, even before he does anything to earn that reaction. It's why Clark was immune to the effects, until other people started telling him that Lex was bad news.

Aaargh!

[greenlady2.livejournal.com]

Not logged in. Sorry. That was me, above. :-)))

Re: Motivations for Mind-Controlling Lex and Doofus Clark

[jakrar.livejournal.com]

Ooooh -- that's a neat theory, too!

[sholio]

*joins you in the SPN screaming*

I have remained blissfully(?) unspoiled for the next episode, so aside from "OMG NOOOOO" I have nothing useful in particular to add.

However, I stand by my theory that low-level kryptonite exposure from childhood is having much the same effect on Clark's brain as lead poisoning on any normal child's brain...