Why is Tess the only one accountable?

[borednow]

I really don't get it... okay she's done some bad things and all but I thought last week the parallels between her and Chloe were drawn pretty clearly, so why does Tess get the "You don't know what it is to love someone" speech and left all alone while Chloe gets a hug and "You are a hero" pep talk? What was the sin she committed? Not being a childhood friend of the protagonist?

This isn't a bash anybody thread here, I'm not saying anything about whether or not Chloe deserved forgiveness or if she did anything that wrong or whatever so I would like it not to go there, all I am saying is why are Tess' actions painted as so selfish in this episode after last episode she laid down her life to defend her attempts to save the world... while Chloe's being painted as selfless when ultimately they both claimed they wanted to save the world, have both tried to protect Clark, both killed, both spied, I just don't get the double standard here...

Why is Tess the one who is alone at the end?

[Bizarrolover]

I guess because Chloe is sleeping with Oliver instead of Zod?

[xrayvision]

Because Tess is really Henry Tess Mercer? Who really knows why. My best guess is that Tess doesn't have a fanbase.

[JennyMoon]

Tess started as a villain so anything goes.

Chloe is entering Lana territory who started as a "hero" then slowly began to get dark and by the end of this dark period returned to a hero path and was still celebrated as such as and never held accountable for any of her heinous actions.

Same thing.

This is a Smallville problem. I've never seen good characters do so many horrible things and get away with them. This show likes to take characters down, keep them there a good while, and then pretend that it never meant anything and keep them high as kites.

At this point, I just ignore it because basically the answer is this:

No matter what any main female character (mostly Lana/Chloe) does they will NEVER be painted as villains. This includes them lying, stealing, torturing people, killing, embezzling, spying, you name it. They will not be held accountable for it most of the time.

That's just how this show rolls, unfortunately, and it's ridiculous because the general fans end up disliking characters for this reason and only the hardcore fans of each stay with their characters through the good and bad and thus you end up polorizing fanbases as you get a really divided viewership.

But anyway. That's my long winded way of saying, Tess is held accountable because she should be. Chloe is not held accountable because she's Chloe and she can do no wrong in the eyes of the writers.

I don't even get upset with it anymore. I did with the Lana character but now seeing that repeated with Chloe I just mostly shake my head. It's ridiculous.

[ginnyfan]

Good question. I think Tess' list of transgressions is longer. There was a time when she enjoyed being evil and was a disciple of Lex Luthor. Even though she turned to Clark after Lex betrayed her... yeah... she has a longer list.

Still I couldn't help feeling sorry for her standing there all alone. After begging Oliver to help her... and bonding with Chloe... yeah, I just feel really sorry for her and I wonder why everyone gets a chance at redemption but Tess. How is Martha so sure that Tess' motives are completely selfish?

Maybe the characters know something about Tess' plans for the book of Rao that we don't. Oh yeah... and Tess sikked Zod on the Kandorians loyal to Clark. And stole the book of Rao from clone Jor-el. I like evil Tess I just... wish someone would try and reach out to her. Maybe Chloe will.

[hellokitty]

Because Tess is really Henry Tess Mercer? Who really knows why. My best guess is that Tess doesn't have a fanbase.

Awww! As a former total Tess-loather, I love Tess. Her character is unimaginably ambiguous and questionable, but it's complete props to Cassidy that she gets portrayed to the point that I feel so badly for her.

I can only chalk this up to a trite over-simplification of TPTB. Chloe=good, any bad she did was a dalliance on the dark side. Tess=bad, no amount of teetering on the line between "saving the world" and shooting a colleague in the back of the brain can make her a good person.

[Skaterpen357]

Morally ambiguous is all fine and good. Season 8 was a pretty good year for Tess. This year, though, I don't know...as anyone who's seen some of my snarkier posts can attest, I'm usually the last person to insinuate anything about the SV writers' abilities, but this season Tess' alignment seems to be "whatever advances the plot correctly." That's not moral ambiguity; that's niche-filling. Personally, I think that if she finally just stuck to being a villain, she'd be one of the more convincing villains on the show.

[xrayvision]

I'm starting to like Tess a lot more. I don't think she did any wrong in this episode. Yes she had the Book of Rao, but wasn't giving it to Zod or even using it herself. It would have been best had she hand delivered it to Clark, but I don't think she's at that point yet. I'm hoping Tess will end up being a friend to Clark, the type of friend that Lex could have been to him had he not fallen into the darkness.

[KryptoB-ron]

I think Tess should be held accountable but I think all other characters get away without being held accountable. Tess has done much worse than Chloe but the one thing that annoys me is that villians and morally gray characters are given chances all the time but with Tess she was never given a chance.

[Lauren_17]

I LOVE Tess. Cassidy does an amazing job portraying her. I think she is being held accountable because in a way, Lex never was, and she was the closest thing next to Lex. Also, it doesn't help that she is helping the Kandorians, especially when Clark saw the outcome of that union in the alternate future.

[Tatiana]

I do think Tess will end up trying to help Clark, that's probably why she looks fried on that trailer, and looks like Clark will be by her side by the look of those pics. I do agree I felt sorry for her at the end of Hostage, she has had to learn her lessons the hard way, very hard. I suppose the fact that she was helping Zod all the time and working with checkmate didn't help, but that is a good question though, someone should ask that at the Comic con next summer

[uncaged]

I'm not entirely sure why she's never been given a shot either. I mean, Chloe and Clark are willing to risk the fate of the world on their respective villains the past two years (both Doomsday and Zod have been shown to have the power and ability to destory the world as they know it) but Tess, llittle human Tess, they just ignore and give dirty looks to. Both are aware of how dangerous she could be and Clark was even given an opening by Tess for him to trust her--she came to him and wanted him to trust her, but instead he turns her offer down and tries to make peace with the guy he knows has a grudge against his father and who will never accept true partnership because he wants to be on top. It makes me wonder, if Tess had been depicted as one of the morally ambiguous good guys just how sorry I'd be for her. She's ten times more tragic in my eyes than Lana ever was, what with her abusive father and all that.

[celita]

I'm starting to like Tess a lot more. I don't think she did any wrong in this episode. Yes she had the Book of Rao, but wasn't giving it to Zod or even using it herself. It would have been best had she hand delivered it to Clark, but I don't think she's at that point yet. I'm hoping Tess will end up being a friend to Clark, the type of friend that Lex could have been to him had he not fallen into the darkness.

Have you seen how badly Clark behaves around her?, their scenes in Kandor, Pandora, Persuasion, Checkmate... were everything but nice. I use to joke that Cassidy feels panic everytime she reads she'll share a scene with Tom. I don't know why Tess should trust Clark or go to give him the book of Rao, I don't know, maybe he'll let her fall of the top of some building this time.

The point is that Tess has never tried to hurt Clark, she is being even more loyal to him that Ollie or Chloe, but everybody acts like she were Satan. I really feel bad for her, I mean, she isn't a good person but they didn't give her the chance to change. In "Checkmate" I was like "Ollie who the hell do you think you are? didn't you kill Lex Luthor and framed another person for it? how you dare to judge her!" (I mean, we know Lex isn't dead, but it won't ever change that Ollie tried to kill him twice, being a sucky killer doesn't mean you're not a killer). If she dies next week I know I'll cry for her what I wouldn't cry if Lana, Chloe or Ollie die.

[Mars Investigations]

I think it comes to the fact that no matter what lengths Chloe went to - be it stashing kryptonite weapons or installing spyware at the Kent farm - she was always doing it for the greater good. There was never any element of personal gain in what she did.

In contrast, Tess' constant betrayals were very rarely in service of anything other than her own individual purpose. She only turned on Lex when she found out he had been using her - not because of the morals involved in what she was doing for him. She only allied herself with Zod because she thought he would have the most power; when Clark took the dominant position in the Kryptonian power play, she began to play them off against each other. I think Martha was right to brand Tess as selfish. She didn't say she had no redeeming qualities whatsoever, but she definitely has a very prevalent self-serving instinct.

That being said, Tess is an awesome character, and Cassidy Freeman acts her brilliantly.

[ginnyfan]

^Great post.

It makes me think about Tess and Chloe comparisons from a different POV. Maybe Tess saw her younger self in Chloe. Chloe's moral compass was still in tact even though she'd drifted into a very gray area but maybe in isolating herself so much, Tess could see that it was only a matter of time before "ends justify means" began to shift toward something much darker for Chloe. I think for Lex and Tess but especially Lex, the greater good became a label that was slapped on accumulating power.

I still think that Tess may be in Lionel territory now. Where maybe she's really starting to regret the selfishness and cruelty in her past. On a Superman show I think it's good be have hope in the possibility of redemption. Even of the slimiest snakes. I'm excited to see what happens with Tess on Friday. Maybe constantly beating up on a character is what serves for death foreshadowing on Smallville now.

Again, I like Tess as an evil character but she's really pulling at my heart strings.