Mmmmm...Lex (no Smallville spoilers contained herein)

[dangermousie]

I ended up watching Smallville by accident today (I was tired and didn't want to move off the couch and was flipping channels and remembered someone on my lj mentioning it).

Now, you have to realize I've seen at most one ep of Smallville before. I know the outlines through osmosis and all that but that's about it.

Two minutes after watching it, I was hooked. Why? Mmmmmmm...Lex. Instant crush with all that darkness and vulnerability. Whoever he is, he is totally angstily hot. Clark who? Even though I generally prefer guys with hair. He is sorta like Logan's older, eviller brother. And it's like a delicious trainwreck because you know he'll go bad but you keep rooting for him not to. Sort of Lallan Singh in Yuva (and did I just reference Bollywood and Smallville in the same sentence? Heeee).

Also, this is the infamous Lana Lang? Considering the horror stories I heard, she ain't that bad. True, she looks like Bambi, but she is no Duncan as she has more than one facial expression.

Also, Chloe looks a little like Veronica.

I am off to find some Smallville DVDs. Good show? Nope. Potentially entertaining? Very likely. Satisfying my angsty hot bad boys kink? Most definitely.

Comments

[crumpeteer.livejournal.com]

I swear Michael Rosenbaum is one of the few people who can pull off being bald and still attractive. It's really weird. And you've got to root for the Smallville version of Lex. You know he's gonna go very very bad, but he still fights it and just like all those people who kept watching Titanic hoping that the boat might not sink this time, you wish in your soul that he and Clark would be friends forever and everything would be rosy.

And I'm in the "I hate Lana" camp because, dude, you can't have both Tom Welling and Jensen Ackles in a season and still have me like you.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

You know he's gonna go very very bad, but he still fights it and just like all those people who kept watching Titanic hoping that the boat might not sink this time, you wish in your soul that he and Clark would be friends forever and everything would be rosy

Indeed. And it reminds me of the whole Anakin thing. You know he is fated to go bad but you keep rooting for him not to.

you can't have both Tom Welling and Jensen Ackles in a season

What season is JA in? Because? Must. see.

[crumpeteer.livejournal.com]

JA was in season 4. He played Jason, Lana's boyfriend. The writers completely ruined his character though. He starts out really nice and sweet and then the writers seemed to have decided that they MUST make him evil because Lana cheating on him with Clark had to be validated and if Jason was nice, well, Lana looked bad. And we can't HAVE Lana looking bad. So Jason became evil in an extremely slipshod way.

[rawles.livejournal.com]

Dude. What is Smallville like catching or something?

I've been showing dearladydisdain select Smallville season three episodes to show her the best of Chloe/Lex. She was also immediately fixated on Lex.

Lana is a wretched, wretched character, but 1) This episode was mostly AU Lana who is always more likeable than actual Lana and 2) Lana has been, in general, a thousand times more likeable this season.

Not saying much, but still. Also, Smallville will kill your soul if you like and/or are sympathetic to Lex. And not in a good "omg this r so angsty and sad way" in a "OMG I WANT TO FUCKING KILL THE PRODUCERS OF THIS SHOW HAAAATE HAAATE!!" way.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Lana is a wretched, wretched character

I saw so little of her in this ep, I didn't have any reaction except "whoa, she is not as dreadful as I feared." Of course, with bargain basement expectations for her such as mine...P

OMG I WANT TO FUCKING KILL THE PRODUCERS OF THIS SHOW HAAAATE HAAATE!!" way

Why? What'd they do?

[rawles.livejournal.com]

It's...it's the sort of thing you really just can't understand until you watch a lot of Smallville. I'm too weary thinking about it to even explain it, but mostly the entire universe revolves around Lana and eventually everyone loves her because apparently she's the most perfect creature in the universe, the idea of having continuity is a joke, entire storylines are dropped without a backward glance, and it's not the story of Clark Kent's journey towards being a hero and Lex Luthor's journey towards being his nemesis, it's all about how Lex is inherently evil no matter how much good he does or tries to do just because he is Lex Luthor, and Clark is inherently good no matter how much of a self-righteous, hypocritical asshole he is just because he's Clark Kent.

It's just...it makes me sad, all the lost potential.

[rawles.livejournal.com]

And I see now that emily_anne has gone into wonderfully accurate detail about the problem of Lana Lang and how she ruins the show.

Yay. I really feel like everyone who considers watching Smallville should know that, but I didn't have the energy to articulate how awful it is.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the info...yeah, it does sound bad. Oh well, I'll check it out anyway, with low expectations in tow.

[ch1pper.livejournal.com]

First two seasons are whoa good. 3rd starts suffering from All.About.Lana. and I dunno after that cuz I stopped watching. From what my fam told me, the Luthor parts rock out so if that's all you want, then go forth!

And there is the whole squirrelface!Gate thing

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

squirrelface!Gate

Now I am intrigued.

the Luthor parts rock out so if that's all you want, then go forth!


That's actually the advantage of watching a show on DVD. You can always fast forward, and plus there is a greater concentration of eps available so if one had only 5 minutes of what you like, you can go on to the next and get your daily dose.

[ch1pper.livejournal.com]

I give you Squirrel!Lana!



Ah yes, DVDs, they make almost any show watchable.

Actually, I just watched the S3 finale and now I'm hooked again!! Couple years late but hey, Lex cannot be denied.

[thelana.livejournal.com]

Really? Because I always perceived as season 3 be rather Lanaless. Then again that was the season with the wretched Adam arc, so I'm guessing you do have a point (as it is the season where they tried to give Lana "outside" storylines).

[angelicus.livejournal.com]

Ahhh...the horribly fascinating trainwreck that is Smallville. Like someone else said, though, if you want to watch it for the Luthors then you will love it. Sexy Lexy and his father, the Magnificent Bastard are well worth your investment of time. All About Lana Show? The butchering of the Superman mythology? Not so much.

But Lex is...mmmmmm...too delicious to miss.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Mmmmm...pretty icon!

I have no objection to selective watching, so Lex and his in-needs-of-grooming father it is. I've heard that the TPTB are totally in love with Lana though. Why?

[angelicus.livejournal.com]

I never could figure out the Lana love. At least, like others have said, she's much better this season. Is it the talk-whispering? Is it the Power of Pink? We'll never know.

His in-needs-of-grooming father? Bwah! Catch him in the first couple seasons and you'll love the long flowing mane of hair. I always thought he grew so much hair to rub it in Lex's face that he didn't have any.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I always thought he grew so much hair to rub it in Lex's face that he didn't have any

Now I have this image of him rubbing his locks all over Lex's face. Yuck :P

[morwen_peredhil]

OMG, yes! It was Lex that got me hooked on Smallville. I love him and Chloe and I even like Lois sometimes. Clark is pretty but useless. Lana, well, you didn't get the full "All Lana, all the time, because TPTB are perversely obsessed with her even though most viewers wish she would die painfully" effect in just one episode. But Lex...yes. He makes bald look good.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

But Lex...yes. He makes bald look good.

Mmmmmm. Yes.

[antiqueskies.livejournal.com]

Lex Luthor = teh hawt in this show. And it was pretty good, until second season or something. Dunno, stopped watching. XD

But I still occassionally glance at it just for Micael Rosenbaum. Yep, I'm shallow.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I am going to check out a few eps and see.

I am shallow too :P

[thelana.livejournal.com]

Logan as proto!Lex. Never thought of it that way, but now that you mention it...

Me, I always had a soft spot for Lana, but even I can admit that the writing for her is pretty wretched at times. And since you know my notoriously bad taste in all things fannish...

I liked seasons 1 and 2 best even though they are corny. But I'm probably not a great authority as I haven't really been watching regularly since then. But yeah, Lex focused episodes rock.

[thelana.livejournal.com]

Randomly, I think a lot of my left over Lana-okay-ness comes from the fact that she spawned this guy:



Lana's boyfriend from season 1. Almost everybody else hated him, but he was totally my unpopular (over Clark and Lex) crush.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Heee. He is cute. But I think Clark and Lex are cuter. Maybe she should just have a four-way.

[thelana.livejournal.com]

He had this stupid&psychotic, but loyal jock thing going on that I liked. Lana should have stuck with him.

[crumpeteer.livejournal.com]

Have you ever noticed she gets the best looking guys in the world yet doesn't seem happy with any of them? Come ON! Whitney was a cutie, even if they did try to make him look bad all the time. Poor guy even had an emmasculating name on top of everything. Sort of like not only did Jason have to be bad, he had to die as well. You gotta reiterate the fact that "they're not Clark therefore they are BAD".

[thelana.livejournal.com]

You gotta reiterate the fact that "they're not Clark therefore they are BAD".

That's what I liked about Whitney and Season 1 (and why I consider both Adam and Jason a total waste of space, but not Whitney [hell, even the 1 episode Nocture guy had more of a point to him]), because back then they were still capable of some subtility and didn't turn Whitney all bad.

Sometimes I wonder if they just don't GET that it just makes the Clark/Lana relationship look worse. If whoever Lana is dating must turn out to be a psycho for her to break up with him. Rather than her just liking Clark enough to break up with whoever she is dating. Doesn't really paint a good picture of Lana's supposed attraction/dedication to Clark.

[crumpeteer.livejournal.com]

If I were Clark I'd completely forget Lana. She's had HOW many boyfriends in the course of time that she's supposed to have been his "true love"? Pick up the clue phone, Clark, she's not that into you. Move on. Go find someone who appreicated the fact that though you may be a little light on the brains, you look like an Abercrombie model and have that whole super power thing.

Lana really drives me NUTS. It's like she's allowed to do anything on the show but she's still perfect. And the whole waste of perfectly good boyfriends REALLY pisses me off.

[thelana.livejournal.com]

I've always thought that the story would work so much better if Lana really and intentionally was just not into Clark at all. And the only reason why she is dating him now is because everyone else she likes keeps getting killed off.

Lana really drives me NUTS. It's like she's allowed to do anything on the show but she's still perfect.

I must say, I don't really take it that personally. I think almost everybody on the show has asshat tendencies (and even if they pay, in my mind they usually don't pay for the right thing and/or don't learn from it), so I don't mind if she does. To me the core difference between her and most of the other characters is that she is more useless and even more inconsistantly written than the others.

[crumpeteer.livejournal.com]

I wish Clark would just go for Chloe or something. At least she isn't as limpid as Lana.

And really, trying to base the whole "true love" angsting on Clark/Lana and be serious about it is already undermined by the fact that we all know that Superman was ultimately about Clark/Lois. It's sort of like when Buffy shot itself in the foot by replacing Buffy/Angel with Buffy/Spike. Screwing around with a mythology you've already set up just ain't cool.

So, no matter how much Clark pines over Lana, we know it's all in vain, so what's the point?

[thelana.livejournal.com]

I seriously do not get the writers attitude towards Clark/Lana at all. Based on the screentime they throw at them at times one would assume that they adore them.

Yet they intentionally write them as Clark not being able to trust Lana (while working with Chloe)? Wouldn't it actually be nicer for the relationship if Lana could be the good little supportive girlfriend Clark can go to and angst to about his powers? It wouldn't even violate comic canon.

It's like they are intentionally trying to keep the relationship as shallow as possible.

[crumpeteer.livejournal.com]

See, it would make sense to me if Clark and Lana had a nice high school level romance that would make sense if they broke up. A lot of high school relationships do. The problem is that they seem to be trying to play this romance as some grand level tragic romance, which it ain't. It would actually make just as much sense if Lana had no interest in Clark other than a friend too. I have no clue why they haven't gone with either of those angles since they make SENSE.

I gave up with Smallville after about season 2.

[thelana.livejournal.com]

I gave up with Smallville after about season 2.

LOL, met too.

Which is why I'm technically totally talking out of my ass since I have only seen like 1 or 2 episodes per season of 3,4,5 (they are at 5 now, right?).

[lesbiassparrow.livejournal.com]

Even my love of Lex Luthor couldn't keep me watching Smallville. I don't hate Lana as much as some people but I do think that show is probably written by idiot monkeys locked in a cage somewhere.

[thelana.livejournal.com]

Yeah to me the biggest problem of Smallville is that they are really, really bad at following stories through (again, thinking Adam arc here for example).

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

ROTFL!

It cannot possibly be as bad as One Tree Hill though. I managed to get through a season of that on ff.

[thelana.livejournal.com]

I think that depends on how much stomach you have for cheesy villains of the week. Me? I liked those (must be left over X-Files nostalgia). Most people hated them.

I liked them as corny parallelism to Clark and general teenager issues. Not to be taken too seriously.

[emily-anne.livejournal.com]

Also, this is the infamous Lana Lang? Considering the horror stories I heard, she ain't that bad. True, she looks like Bambi, but she is no Duncan as she has more than one facial expression.

Well, Kristin Kreuk is a (slightly) better actor than Teddy Dunn. Also, you got AU Lana who is generally far less odious than actual Lana. However, even with this episode the idea that Lex's future happiness centres on Lana leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth. That whole thing where Lana is the love of Lex's life, his reason for existing and that he apparently turns evil so that she won't die giving birth to his child? That's fairly mild Lana-obsession for this show.

Lana is supposedly perfect. The characters think she’s perfect, the average 12 year old female viewer thinks she’s perfect and the writers think she’s perfect. Unfortunately they fail to realise that she’s actually a whiny, passive-aggressive, emotionally manipulative, liar. Lana is not a character. She's a paper-doll the writers use to bend to their every whim. The producers also have a huge hard-on for Kristin Kreuk, which I think is where the problem starts. If you listen to the commentary for the pilot it’s just disgusting – she was 18 at the time and you can practically hear the drool dripping onto their microphones. There’s a great essay here about the fetishisation of the character.

In the first season, she started managing a coffee shop at the age of 15. She was accepted to the Paris School of Art at the end of season 3 despite never once before (or since) showing any interest whatsoever in art. She apparently manages to get fantastic grades despite the fact that we never see her working or attending class. Time and again attention is drawn to her looks and fair enough she is beautiful, but it's made out that looks alone elevate her above all the other lowly beings in the town and make her worthy of admiration, reward and love while 'plain' Chloe just gets shat on over and over again.

She's a terrible girlfriend. She cheated on Whitney in season 1 but it was okay because it was with Clark and they are OMG ment2b4eva!!!!111! She went through Adam's apartment instead of just, you know, talking to him when he acted weird. She threw accusation after accusation at Jason and then turned around and lied to him. Also, she killed his mother but she was possessed by a 17th century witch at the time, so it's okay. Oh, also she killed an evil henchman with a pitchfork and immolated a sorority girl/vampire but has never shown any remorse or got into any trouble for either event. She's a terrible friend, too. Every conversation is brought back round to her and/or her dead parents. She treated Chloe like utter shit - Chloe let Lana live with her when Lana's aunt left town and then, just over a year later, Lana turns around and says that Chloe never let her feel accepted (rubbish) and she refuses to let Chloe's out-of-work dad buy her coffee shop because she doesn't want to have any ties to Smallville when she leaves for Paris. She’s obsessed with ‘secrets and lies’ but she’s the worst liar of all. She bangs on about how everyone abandons her despite the fact that her parents died, Whitney died and when her aunt Nell left town she had every intention of taking Lana with her – it was Lana’s choice to stay in Smallville.

And now Lex, too, is in love with her (every man in Smallville falls in love with her. Even her long-lost biological father nearly got divorced because he was just so obsessed with her) and is being totally emasculated in the process. The rift between Clark and Lex is looking like it’s going to be over her. Remember when Logan and Duncan had their blowout in the nurse’s office and they specifically said it wasn’t about Veronica, that the issues between them were between them? Well, Clark and Lex have plenty of issues between them that are nothing to do with anyone else but that’s just not good enough for the PTB at Smallville. It’s All About Lana. The enmity between Superman and Lex Luthor is apparently over a girl.

Okay, that rant went on a lot longer than I intended. Sorry. I just ... really hate Lana.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

You know, after reading this, I rhink I hate her too :P And I've seen two measley episodes. She sounds dreadfully Mary Suish.

And now Lex, too, is in love with her

Is he? I thought it was just one of those bizarre AU things and the reason he decided to keep on his evil path is because hey, the other one doesn't seem like a bed of roses, what with spouse keeling over from Over-Dramatic Plot Contrivance. (I wonder why it didn't occur to him to choose good and then just use protection, but I guess he realized without money and power he's always vulnerable blah blah blah). But you mean he's in love with her for real?

The enmity between Superman and Lex Luthor is apparently over a girl.

ROFL. Oh no. Over Lana??? I mean, she is a high school girl, not Helen of Troy.

[thelana.livejournal.com]

Honestly, I saw this episode as an indicator of the writers saying that whatever conflict the writers have will not be over romantic fighting over Lana (hence the scene of Clark and Lex still being friends even after Lana switched from Clark to Lex). Or maybe I'm just being optimistic.

Then again, Lex and Clark have been at odds since, season 2? Season 3? Long before the Lana factor entered the picture.

Me thinks if they keep on rifting big time it will be because Lex hurts somebody physically, maybe Lana, maybe Chloe, maybe some random stranger. (think Lex doing the water torture on A.C.)

But you mean he's in love with her for real?

He's been beating around the bush as far as that is concerned. Dropped hints and such. But nothing full out dramatic or romantic. I think the writers are playing it pretty close to the vest. I'm actually not really convinced that that is a good thing. I mean if they want us to think that Lex has some feelings for her, shouldn't they show us more stuff we (and he) can base this on?

[emily-anne.livejournal.com]

Oh, Lana is the Grand High Priestess of Mary Sues. Other Mary Sues cower before her and can only dream of being as Mary Sue-like as her.

But you mean he's in love with her for real?

Yep. They've been teasing us with it for ages but now they're going there for real. It started in season 3 - when Lana got pissed at Lex for wanting to sell the Talon after she left for Paris, he told her it was never a good business venture and that the only reason he'd kept it was to keep her happy because she was so honest and pure-hearted (I only wish I was making this up) and saved him from all the Wall Street Sharks he had to deal with. Then in season 4 it was implied that he got Jason fired because he wanted Lana for himself. Then there was an episode when Lex split in two - Good Lex and Bad Lex. BL kept GL chained up in the basement while he wreaked havoc in his life. He shot Jonathan Kent, beat up Clark and tried to kill Chloe. But the worst thing? He kissed Lana! And threatened to close down the Talon if she didn't move in with him! Lana was also the only person he apologised to when the episode was over and his two halves were re-united. Last episode of season 4 saw Lex tell Lana she "meant more to him than she knew". Then a couple of episodes ago, Lionel told Lex that Lana could never love him because she knows he has a lump of black coal where his heart should be, and that was apparently the worst thing Lex could hear. And now Lex's fantasy dream life involves being married to Lana and any future happiness with his friends or even his children is worthless without her. Can you tell I'm bitter?

Oh no. Over Lana??? I mean, she is a high school girl, not Helen of Troy.

Exactly! I simply cannot see what Lex sees in her, beyond her looks. It's ridiculous, yet in every interview I've read the producers seem so pleased with their little love triangle and keep banging on about how that 'dynamic' will up the ante between Clark and Lex. Cause, you know, Lex investigating Clark for three years and Clark constantly lying to Lex isn't quite dynamic enough.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

any future happiness with his friends or even his children is worthless without her

Well, I can see how having your wife die will sorta undermine the rest, and he could have loved her in the AU without loving her in reality. But hmmmmm. If he loves her in RL, as opposed to worshipping the ground she walks on the way everyone else seems to? Well, Lana must have some powerful pheromones.

[thelana.livejournal.com]

I guess I have a hard time seeing it as love since Lex keeps hinting at feelings but it feels like they never have any actual scenes.

It's like it isn't based on anything.

I mean, Clark/Lana was always as shallow as they come, but even they had more of a development as they occasionally did meet and did try to have conversations (even though they usually were all about Lana, since Clark can never talk about himself because of his seeeeeeeeecret).

[emily-anne.livejournal.com]

he could have loved her in the AU without loving her in reality

But the Lex in the AU was our Lex transported into that world. So when he said he'd always loved her, that was the character we know talking, not some alternate version of him. And if the writers are seriously trying to retcon that he's always loved her they're kinda twisted, given that when they met he was 21 and she was 14.

Lana must have some powerful pheromones.

Well, she did wear a fragment of Kryptonite around her neck everyday between the ages of 10 and 16. Maybe she's a meteor freak with the power to make every man who gazes upon her beautiful visage fall in love with her?

[thelana.livejournal.com]

Exactly! I simply cannot see what Lex sees in her, beyond her looks.

See that's the thing. All they would have had to give us was a handful of scenes where Lex whines about his life and Lana sits next to him looking blank and going "Whatever". Then Lex could be running around telling everybody how Lana is his best friend in the world because she doesn't judge him (because we know that Lex is whiny like that).

It would have required minimal tinkering with the storylines and it at least would have given Lex some semblance of justification of where his feelings are coming from.

Or even go for objectification. Make it about how Lex wants what Clark has. And since he can't take his powers, his family or his happiness, he'll just settle for taking Lana.

All this triangle talk is bullshit to me because to me it looks like they aren't even trying to establish the Lex/Lana side of it. Making Lex come off like an idiot.

[emily-anne.livejournal.com]

Exactly. There's no lead up to statements like the stuff about the Wall Street sharks or "You mean more to me than you know." The writers just seem to pull it out their backsides because Lex can be in love with Lana now that she's legal (they actually admitted in an interview they've been waiting for that) but they don't want to do the hard work of actually showing us this. It's like they think that there doesn't need to be a reason because hey, Lana's so preternaturally beautiful and has such anime-like eyes, who wouldn't fall in love with her? Making Lex look like an idiot is right. Also, an emasculated, pale shadow of the great character he once was.

[thelana.livejournal.com]

I could live with the WallStreet stuff. Since that isn't really romantic per se and Lex has had other charity cases before (like him offering money to the Kents for their farm). The Talon has basically been their ongoing storyline, from the point when Lex gave it to her in season 1. It being taken away from her has always been a thing that gets pulled out every once in a while.

But beyond that? Where does it come from?

Him falling in love with preternatural Lana would make sense only if it had been like that from the start. I can "buy" Clark more because he's been consistently been in love with Lana since the beginning. Same goes for all the Freaks of The Weeks that fall for Lana pretty much instantly.

But Lex has known Lana for a long time now. So why on earth should he start idealizing Lana now, since he KNOWS her and he didn't ideallize her before.

[emily-anne.livejournal.com]

Well, the writers couldn't have him actively lusting after her while she was underage.

Even the Wall Street stuff, I feel, is part of the idealization. With the Kents, he specifically said in season 1 that he wasn't interested in charity and that his offers of financial help were a business investment (and yeah, a desire to help the family of the kid who saved his life) and then when he bought the farm for them in season 3 he justified it by saying that he owed them his life because they gave him the compass that guided him to the island. The Talon started off as a legitimate business investement but then the writers tried to retcon it into being all about Lana's honesty and pure heart.

Even if he himself hadn't actively objectified her before, he'd always bought into Clark's objectification of her, from his first, "I can't fault your taste in women," to using her as a commodity in his early attempts to buy Clark's friendship, before he realised it was free (eg giving Clark the necklace so that he could 'win' Lana from Whitney). Now, out of nowhere, he's right in the thick of it, with her suddenly being his perfect woman.

The problem I have is that Lana contributes nothing to this idealisation beyond being insanely pretty. There is nothing about her that justifies the constant adoration from every male character on the show. It's just so shallow.

[thelana.livejournal.com]

Well I vaguely remember a whole bunch of times when Lex was very complimentary of Lana as Clark's choice. But there's a big difference in thinking that he is hot or pretty to "I can't live without her/my self worth depends on what she thinks of me", especially if it wasn't that way before. Journy to darkness supposedly isn't a lightswitch, but falling in luuurve is and the name of the switch is "18"?

With the Kents, he specifically said in season 1 that he wasn't interested in charity and that his offers of financial help were a business investment

Fanwank explanation:

(1) he mellowed out/it's no secret that he wants and needs friends and does things that he think will tie those friends close to himself
(2) that's just what he says at the beginning (just like he told Lana in the beginning about having to step up and everything). Of course it's a charity case, doesn't mean that he can't challenge people

The problem I have is that Lana contributes nothing to this idealisation beyond being insanely pretty. There is nothing about her that justifies the constant adoration from every male character on the show. It's just so shallow.

See, that wouldn't bother me, if I actually thought that there was some sort of deeper purpose to it. She has no purpose on her own. Clark and Lana are written very shallowly (they spend the last 4 seasons apart and they wont even let her know Clark's secret). The Lex and Lana is even more shallow (barely any build up). Lack of purpose? Worst flaw any character can ever have to me.

[emily-anne.livejournal.com]

The Lex and Lana is even more shallow (barely any build up). Lack of purpose? Worst flaw any character can ever have to me.

Word. It just seems like wish-fulfilment on the part of the writers, with no consideration for actual characterisation.

Journy to darkness supposedly isn't a lightswitch, but falling in luuurve is and the name of the switch is "18"?

Oooh, don't get me started on the lightswitch! I remember back in season 1 when I thought they would actually show Lex's journey to the dark side and that it would be beautiful and painful and that I would weep for Clark and Lex's lost friendship. Instead we quite literally get lightswitch!Lex, but the switch keeps going on and off according to whether or not the plot calls for Clark and Lex to be friends this week. The inconsistency of it drives me nuts.