SV episode commentary: "Beast"
So I've been reacting to this episode pretty much like everyone else on my flist (well...almost everyone else), which can be summed up as "SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" and "DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUDE!". I did have a couple of thoughts, particularly on Clark/Davis, the Phantom Zone, and Chloe's decisions to date wrt Davis and Doomsday:
On Davis/Doomsday and the Phantom Zone: I've seen *a lot* of people laud Clark for his initial decision to banish Davis to the Phantom Zone, and in the same breath chastize Chloe for putting the kabosh on it...labelling her pegoratively as a "martyr" and being stupidly blinded by her feelings for Davis.
Let's review for a second...how many times has the Phantom Zone been unlocked and opened since we were first introduced to it on SV? How many Zoners have escaped in the past 3 seasons? There was Faora, Bizzaro, Zod, Baern, that big guy played by Batista, the thing from Labyrinth that made Clark think he was crazy...am I missing anyone?
I know that Clark's choice is being lauded as practical and sensible and defensible...but was it? I mean, how smart would it be to put Doomsday in a prison with the strongest, most dangerous criminals in the 28 known galaxies, whereby they can kill him over and over again and build up his physiological immunity to said methods of dying...only to probably be accidentally let out of the PZ stronger than ever? And you know it's gonna happen...seems like everyone's got a keycard to the PZ these days!
Given that the PZ would likely make Doomsday an even stronger and unconquerable foe for Clark, I don't really get why some are saying this was the right or only thing to do. Am I missing something?
Which leads me to my thoughts on Chloe's final choice/solution. At the end of the day, it's the *only* solution that had any scientific merit and proof to it. Killing Doomsday (Ollie's idea, which you can't do), the PZ, Kryptonite baths...none of these methods had been tested or shown to be remotely possible or effective. Everyone was working off of assumptions...which isn't bad, but it did amount to grasping at straws. The ONLY person who went for the scientifically provable option was *Chloe*. Dr. Hamilton's hypothesis about what is controlling Davis' constantly-morphing cells (intense emotions and related biochemical interaction) was what drove her decision to stay with Davis...it's the *only* proven (if not sustainable) way to control the beast.
I guess maybe I shouldn't be suprised that there are those out there who choose to slam Chloe for this decision, but really? Regardless of what her motives for making this choice were (feelings for Davis, concern for Clark, a little of both), it has so far been the only choice to have any scientific merit and validity to it. Plus, regardless of the beast inside, it's hard for either Clark or Chloe to ignore that there is a being who A) feels remorse for his unavoidable actions and B) desperatly wants to stop what he's doing and becoming and is asking them for their help. No one right now knows that there is no end-solution to Doomsday...all there is is someone who needs and wants help from them. How Supermanish is it of Clark to ignore that? Not very. And you know it ate at him, too, when Chloe pointed that out in not so many words.
Anyhoo, bravo to SV last night. This whole Doomsday arc is quite possible the best arc they've ever done, and the moral complexity of the situation is suprisingly deep and layered for SV. Well done, show.
On Davis/Doomsday and the Phantom Zone: I've seen *a lot* of people laud Clark for his initial decision to banish Davis to the Phantom Zone, and in the same breath chastize Chloe for putting the kabosh on it...labelling her pegoratively as a "martyr" and being stupidly blinded by her feelings for Davis.
Let's review for a second...how many times has the Phantom Zone been unlocked and opened since we were first introduced to it on SV? How many Zoners have escaped in the past 3 seasons? There was Faora, Bizzaro, Zod, Baern, that big guy played by Batista, the thing from Labyrinth that made Clark think he was crazy...am I missing anyone?
I know that Clark's choice is being lauded as practical and sensible and defensible...but was it? I mean, how smart would it be to put Doomsday in a prison with the strongest, most dangerous criminals in the 28 known galaxies, whereby they can kill him over and over again and build up his physiological immunity to said methods of dying...only to probably be accidentally let out of the PZ stronger than ever? And you know it's gonna happen...seems like everyone's got a keycard to the PZ these days!
Given that the PZ would likely make Doomsday an even stronger and unconquerable foe for Clark, I don't really get why some are saying this was the right or only thing to do. Am I missing something?
Which leads me to my thoughts on Chloe's final choice/solution. At the end of the day, it's the *only* solution that had any scientific merit and proof to it. Killing Doomsday (Ollie's idea, which you can't do), the PZ, Kryptonite baths...none of these methods had been tested or shown to be remotely possible or effective. Everyone was working off of assumptions...which isn't bad, but it did amount to grasping at straws. The ONLY person who went for the scientifically provable option was *Chloe*. Dr. Hamilton's hypothesis about what is controlling Davis' constantly-morphing cells (intense emotions and related biochemical interaction) was what drove her decision to stay with Davis...it's the *only* proven (if not sustainable) way to control the beast.
I guess maybe I shouldn't be suprised that there are those out there who choose to slam Chloe for this decision, but really? Regardless of what her motives for making this choice were (feelings for Davis, concern for Clark, a little of both), it has so far been the only choice to have any scientific merit and validity to it. Plus, regardless of the beast inside, it's hard for either Clark or Chloe to ignore that there is a being who A) feels remorse for his unavoidable actions and B) desperatly wants to stop what he's doing and becoming and is asking them for their help. No one right now knows that there is no end-solution to Doomsday...all there is is someone who needs and wants help from them. How Supermanish is it of Clark to ignore that? Not very. And you know it ate at him, too, when Chloe pointed that out in not so many words.
Anyhoo, bravo to SV last night. This whole Doomsday arc is quite possible the best arc they've ever done, and the moral complexity of the situation is suprisingly deep and layered for SV. Well done, show.