COMMITTED and PREY Official Re-Watch Thread, December 14th, 2012

[DJ Doena]

I just wish she and Clark had some actual closure.

Who doesn't?

[BoyScout-ManOfTomorrow]

Well, for one, Miller and Gough, who developed the thing for TV and helmed it for the first seven seasons....were gone.

Very true. I also think there was this mentality that S8 was really going to be the last season.

[skully]

Just a quick question: Do we skip Dec 29th? The week between Christmas and New Year's is stuffed full with family visits and whatnot, I doubt I'll be able to make it.

I'm sure we can come to some arrangement. I'll ask the general question, but I see no reason why we couldn't give ourselves a week off for the holidays.

[RightWingConspirator]

The rosary bead finish was good.

That was great drama. When I first saw that, I was thinking "Oh man, this season is gonna be great." I had reservations, since Rosenbaum and Glover were gone, and I didn't see how Doomsday--the one villain who actually KILLED Superman--would work in the show. So this scene gave me hope.

Within a few episodes, those hopes were crushed like an eggshell, and my initial gut feeling proven correct.

[RightWingConspirator]

Originally Posted by skully

More nice foreshadowing of the Injustice League that came to nothing.

i would definitely have preferred a bigger focus on that instead of the Davis/Doomsday arc.

Dittos. The Injustice League (I think it was supposed to be the Suicide Squad, though) "arc" really had promise. Almost seems like someone, somewhere, decided we just weren't worth a really cool arc like that and decided to force Doomsday on us after all.

[RightWingConspirator]

Originally Posted by RightWingConspirator
I just wish she and Clark had some actual closure.

Who doesn't?

Frankly, i was thinking most of the folks commenting on her. Maybe it's my imangination, but it seems like nothing but contempt for the character. I really haven't seen many comments saying it would have been nice to see the relationship resolved.
Again, I may be reading things that aren't there. But I do know I've read comments along the lines of "Stay away, Lana!" and "Too bad she didn't die." Just not feeling the love there.

[DJ Doena]

Actually, her having died would have been closure.

But seriously. The way the Clana story ended was the worst possible outcome. There was no real closure, just forced seperation for good due to external circumstances.

Why did the writers feel it necessary to go down the Clana road in S8 again? It's not like there were new stories to explore with that. The best possible outcome would have been what Bride promised, both realising that it just wasn't meant to be and then they part as friends.

And even from a real-world perspective this whole mini-arc made no sense. It interrupted the flow of the season (dramatically IMHO) and gave Erica's absence a real lame reason. Seriously, why would Lois take care of Jimmy after Legion while Chloe is conducting business-as-usual in Metropolis?

It would have been a far more interesting storyline if they had Allison pause for a few episodes and then see Lois and Lana deal with the new reality they found themselves in - that means if they felt the need to bring back Kristin at all just because she was contractual obliged to do a few more episodes.

If they had solved that dilemma better, maybe some fans wouldn't be quite so nasty/spiteful towards Kristin/Lana (some people just can't keep characters and actors apart in their heads) and maybe, just maybe she would have made a final cameo in S10.

But as it was I can understand Kristin's decision to never come back again. Most fans didn't want her and she had to fear that if she returned she would only be put into Clana round x+1.

[RightWingConspirator]

Actually, her having died would have been closure.

But seriously. The way the Clana story ended was the worst possible outcome. There was no real closure, just forced seperation for good due to external circumstances.

Why did the writers feel it necessary to go down the Clana road in S8 again? It's not like there were new stories to explore with that. The best possible outcome would have been what Bride promised, both realising that it just wasn't meant to be and then they part as friends.

And even from a real-world perspective this whole mini-arc made no sense. It interrupted the flow of the season (dramatically IMHO) and gave Erica's absence a real lame reason. Seriously, why would Lois take care of Jimmy after Legion while Chloe is conducting business-as-usual in Metropolis?

It would have been a far more interesting storyline if they had Allison pause for a few episodes and then see Lois and Lana deal with the new reality they found themselves in - that means if they felt the need to bring back Kristin at all just because she was contractual obliged to do a few more episodes.

If they had solved that dilemma better, maybe some fans wouldn't be quite so nasty/spiteful towards Kristin/Lana (some people just can't keep characters and actors apart in their heads) and maybe, just maybe she would have made a final cameo in S10.

But as it was I can understand Kristin's decision to never come back again. Most fans didn't want her and she had to fear that if she returned she would only be put into Clana round x+1.

Not much here for me to disagree with. Suffice to say I agree 100000000% the mini arch made no sense. Would have been better if Lana and Clark tried getting back together and, within minutes, realized the spark was gone and to just remain frineds. An early S9 ep could have had, in the teaser (the bit of story before the credits) Clark getting a phone call from Lana telling him she's engaged, and his wishing her happiness...putting down the phone, his fake smile gone, looking out the barn window saying "Goodbye Lana." Opening credits.
Would rather have that than Lex-In-Darth Vader's-Van scaming them and getting 'murdered' by Ollie, whom no one seemed to think needed brought to justice. But that's another gripe for later.

[DJ Doena]

getting 'murdered' by Ollie, whom no one seemed to think needed brought to justice. But that's another gripe for later.

That's a common theme throughout the show and something Ollie scolded Clark for recently: Knowing someone did domething and proving it are two completely different shoes.

Clark knew Lionel murdered his parents but he never had actual proof of that. Clark also learned in S7 that Lionel killed the Queens. But again he had neither proof nor in this case the time because Lionel was killed just episodes later.

In the same vein there probably wasn't any actual proof that linked Oliver to Lex' murder. So while Clark and the supergang knew what Oliver had done, there was nothing to be done about it.


And the other theme is that of redemption which the characters are very fond of. They're not unlike the Roman Catholic Church where you just have to confess your sins and then be absolved of them. Case in point: Lionel killed his parents and spent only half a year in prison (from Covenant to Scare). And despite the fact that he tried to kill Chloe at least twice in 2004 (Covenant, Gone) she feasted with his redeemed self on Thanksgiving 2006.

And when Oliver passed his trial-by-fire in Roulette all was forgiven to him as well.

Maybe Clark could have forgiven Lex if he hadn't behaved the way he did in S8 after he discovered Clark's secret.

[Supsfan]

I'm still gonna defend Lana. If you know Superman's backstory, (and not everyone does, this thing appeals to a lot of folks who barely know any of Supes' supporting characters) you know Lana's role. Her non-Clark relationships were sidebars.
When Whitney was being developed, it wasn't planned that the character would only last one season. Same for Adam (neither the plot nor the actor worked out) and Jason (the actor left for "Supernatural").

I think Lana probably stayed on a little too long myself, but I wasn't in a hurry for her to go. I just wish she and Clark had some actual closure.

I have nothing against the character the first couple season but starting around Season 3 it just felt like they were beating a dead horse with all the secret and lies on again off again drama. Personally I wish the show had her find out the secret by the end of Season 2 and have Clark and her move on from their relationship by the end of highschool. They didn't even have to get rid of the character, they could have found a new non relationship role for her(although I think if people had a positive enough opinion of the character they could have given her a spinoff). it just seems like the producers were so hellbent on doing Lexana at some point they had to keep the secret away from her so they just found ridiculous way after ridiculous way to keep it away from her.

[Freawaru]

Actually, her having died would have been closure.

I can't help it, I liked the character the second time I watched the series. The first time Clana was so bad I was not able to see that it was only Clana, she was quite interesting with the other characters and also good when on herself (as with the two Kryptonians). So I do think the character has potential and I hope that we will see her again in SVS11, preferrable without any Clana.

But seriously. The way the Clana story ended was the worst possible outcome. There was no real closure, just forced seperation for good due to external circumstances.

I doubt it was all that forced. Look how differently Lois and Clark act during the similar situation they face in SVS11 right now. I think Lana knew she didn't love Clark since the Bizarro affair and it took Clark just longer to accept it, too.

Why did the writers feel it necessary to go down the Clana road in S8 again?

Because Lana is in truth Circe and has this effect on males, even Kryptonians.

Lana clearly didn't want to return to Clark in season eight, but once Ollie found her she had no choice. And once Clark saw her he was obsessed again.

If they had solved that dilemma better, maybe some fans wouldn't be quite so nasty/spiteful towards Kristin/Lana (some people just can't keep characters and actors apart in their heads).

Yes. At times I wonder why some fans cannot discern here. They should have learned it during childhood. Any idea what went wrong?

But as it was I can understand Kristin's decision to never come back again. Most fans didn't want her and she had to fear that if she returned she would only be put into Clana round x+1.

Except for the inevitable Clana scenes I liked her devellopmen here. Finally, she seemed to have found a way to get rid of her intense fear that had stunned her all the time. How many times do we see Lana freezing to senselessness out of fear when she could have defeated her attackers easily. It was also always this fear that attrackted her to Clark. If you think about it they have nothing really in common, not even goals.

[Freawaru]

Clark knew Lionel murdered his parents but he never had actual proof of that. Clark also learned in S7 that Lionel killed the Queens.

But his source was Patty Swann. And she also told Clark that Lionel had killed her father and Edward Teague. As both prooved wrong I think Clark realized that she had not been the best source in the first place.

In the same vein there probably wasn't any actual proof that linked Oliver to Lex' murder. So while Clark and the supergang knew what Oliver had done, there was nothing to be done about it.

I still think it odd that Clark would assume that Ollie was able to kill Lex. I mean, given all the Naman/Sageeth and Traveler/Adversary prophesies this should have been impossible. These prophesies are not just some myth to Clark, he knows there is something real about them. Neither grand show down of those prophesies had happened, yet, how should they happen if Lex is dead? The starblade identified Lex as Sageeth and Lex didn't even appear on Clark's vision of the graves of his family and friends. One way or the other Lex cannot die, not until the prophesies are fullfilled.

[Freawaru]

Lana with Whitney. Lana with Clark. Lana with Adam. Lana with Clark. Lana with Jason. Lana with Clark. Lana with Lex. Lana with Clark. Lana away (now). Lana with Clark.

It is actually not unheard of. The psychological reason is that women (or men) like this look for a home, not a partnership. When they don't find it with other men they return again and again to the one they feel is family because they have no other family. Clark, the Kent farm, was Lana's home, her save haven. She always wanted to leave Smallville and find her own way but whenever it didn't work she returned home, back to Clark. I think if she had had a real family she would have gone there instead of to Clark. As she once told Clark when he asked her why she was with Whitney "With him I feel save".

[ArtgirlTexas]

I've gotta catch up on viewing and comments! I missed you guys on Friday. My internet has been down since mid week last week.