Scion Screentime Minutes, and Thoughts
I'm really starting to wonder if I'm judging SV eps based on their content, or if I'm judging them based on a curve against the rest of the season. Because taken alone, and just judging it for what it was, I think I wouldn't be overly find of Scion. But judging it against the rest of the season, and some of the horrible stuff we've gotten, I think it shakes out on the favorable side.
Lets start with the totals:
Scion, running time 41m, 35s
Clark : 19m, 47s
Lois : 13m, 24s
Tess : 11m, 10s
Lionel : 14m, 26s
Connor, the artist formerly known as Alexander : 19m, 46s
Totals to Date (# of eps)
Clark : 340m, 10s (16)
Lois : 263m, 44s (16)
Tess : 121m, 27s (12)
Oliver : 133m, 43s (13)
Chloe : 75m, 40s (7)
Lionel : 38m, 47s (3)
Now, this is a really difficult episode for me to review. Because on one hand, it had a lot of scenes I liked, and it had a lot of POV from Clark, and it showcased Clark in a very positive way. But, on the other hand, it was centered around a character I couldn't give a fat rats ass about, namely Alexander clone turned Conner Kent. Now, maybe if I carried some comic book knowledge with me, or maybe if I allowed myself to get lost in the hilarity of Clark and Lex having a child together (sort of). Or, maybe if I wanted Clark to turn into Jonathan Kent (which he was really channeling in this episode). But, here's the truth...none of those things appeal to me overly much. Maybe the Clex baby coming the closest.
Let me take a step back though, and discuss some of the scenes I did like.
Clark and Tess in the very beginning. I liked this scene a lot. Tess and Clark's awkward shot at small talk cracked me up (in fact, more then anything I witnessed last week on the "hilarious" Hangover rip-off). You know how so many people talk about how much they love ED and JH in scenes together, and enjoy watching Lollie interact? Well, thats how I feel about CF and TW, and Cless scenes. I just enjoy the vibe, I enjoy the dynamic. I can't explain that to anyone. It just is what it is.
I really like that Clark might be the first real friend that Tess has had in a really long time. Do I think Tess is a little in love with Clark? Yeah, I do, and probably more then a little. But I think CF does a masterful job of showing that Tess really respects Clark, who he is, what he does, and who he's in love with. So, if she's a little in love with Clark, so what? He's freaking Superman. In my mind, everyone SHOULD be a little in love with him. I think he should inspire that sort of intense, deep feeling in people. Especially someone like Tess who is desperate not only to find a place to belong, but to be redeemed.
I also enjoyed the Tess/Lionel scenes immensely. Look, I'm not a huge proponent of AU Lionel being back in the mix. But I cannot deny that John Glover is just damned fun to watch. I've missed him. And as I had hoped, Cassidy is excellent at playing off him (in fact, she pretty much channels Rosenbaum to me). Much like Lex would absorb the verbal blows delivered by Lionel, but we could see how they hurt, Tess does the same thing. Its rather remarkable to me just how easily I can buy into Tess being a Luthor, and just how she clicks into that dysfunctional family tree. I do have to give SV some kudos for that one.
I also enjoyed the first Clois scene in the kitchen for the most part. I really loved all the POV we got from Clark on his own childhood, and his feelings of isolation and alienation. I've always wished that the show would've spent some time to delve more deeply into just how difficult Clark's childhood must've been, instead of the way they always painted it as him having it easy because he had loving parents. I did appreciate that this episode showed that no matter how loved Clark felt, the sting of being different still left its mark.
Now, I do have one issue with that scene though, and thats my wish that they had allowed Lois' initial objections to get more time and POV. Because to me, she was making a whole lot of sense. Its in Clark's character to want to help, and take Conner in. But I would think it would be in Lois' nature to be more wary and suspicious, and instead of having her go all doe-eyed and agree so readily (though who can blame her when Clark is giving her the "you're the only one that makes me feel normal" line), I'd have preferred to see her agree, with reservations. Because again, as I saw it, her worries were VALID. And the idea that Clois can never be in conflict over an issue contributes to their....well, how should I say this?....blandness?
Another good scene, Lois and Tess. I like the ladies working together, and I liked how Lois came up with the idea to find another way to put the screws to Lionel. That made her look smart.
But, again, I have to call out an issue here, and thats more of the "We have to protect Clark" stuff, which I'm just going to be blunt, DO NOT WANT ANYMORE!!! And the idea that Clark can never throw down with anyone who knows his secret and weaknesses is moronic. Of course he can, and should. I appreciate both Lois and Tess wanting to protect Clark, because that is realistic from both of them, however I think Lois especially should be more of the mind that she doesn't need to go behind his back to protect him. We've seen that sort of behavior from the people in Clark's life ad nauseum, and Lois should be the character to break that vicious cycle. Clark is a big boy now, and the people closest to him need to believe in his ability to take care of himself.
And really, it seems like everytime Lois goes undercover, she gets caught. Its a very, very familiar scene at this point.
OK, but I'm ignoring the elephant in the room, and he had a new name. I just do not understand the point of bringing on this character, at this point in the season. I don't understand why I'm supposed to care about him. I don't understand how I'm supposed to want Clark to be, essentially, a parent at this point in his life. I don't understand how I'm supposed to be thinking that Conner is going to be living at the farm, attending Smallville High, somewhere in Offscreensville.
To me, NONE of this feels at all necessary.
One of the oddest things that SV has done this season is zoom up parts of Clark's life, while holding him back from others, like flying, or donning the suit. His relationship with Lois went from "I love you" to "secret reveal" to "sex" to "living together" to "engaged" to "acting like they've been married for 10 years" to "parents to a teenager". And yet they're still planning the wedding. It just all feels so scattered and wrong to me.
While I truly did love and appreciate seeing Clark in mentor role, as he always shines when dealing with younger characters, I just couldn't shake the feeling that they just felt like something that was better suited to a different time in Clark's life. To a time when he's been Superman for a while, and settled into his marriage with Lois. A time when the idea of him taking on a teenage "son" just feels more right. Our Clark is still in his early 20's. Are we to believe that he's going to continue to live on the farm indefinitely, or at least as long as Conner's in high school?
Just none of it seems to fit.
I'd say they were interested in a spin-off, but Conner doesn't have a vagina, so we know the CW won't want that, and also, wouldn't a show about Conner the Superboy basically be....Smallville?
Now, there are a few scenes I didn't like at all.
The Clark/Lionel scene pinged me wrong. While I did love Clark sticking up for Lex, I HATED the way it was turned around and the responsibility for Lex dumped on Clark's shoulders (and did these writers actually use the line "secrets and lies"?). I so thoroughly reject the implication that Clark keeping his identity from Lex turned Lex evil. And I thought this scene opened that door far too wide without Clark coming back strong and slamming it closed.
All of the Lois/Conner stuff was just big gigantic fail for me, and overly creepy. I think what they were trying to go for was in saying that the Red K brought out the "Lex" side of Conner, and Lex does have a history of coveting what Clark has. However, by couching it in creepy sexual language, and then having Conner assault Lois in a way that felt a bit too graphic for me, it sort of created a picture of Conner thats damned hard to shake. And then when you have him moving in with Clark and Lois at the end, with no discussion at all, and no POV from Lois about it, it really compounds the problem.
I understand the old SV trope "you weren't yourself". Its been used on this show a hundred times. But when turning it into a sexual thing in the way it was done here, I think you need to spend more time handling that at the end. Because as it is, I'm thinking that Clark moved a superpowered teenager into the house with him and Lois who is going to be masturbating about Lois in the shower. And ya know, but, EWWWWWWWWW!!!!
I also felt the idea that Clark wanted to withhold the truth from Conner about him being half Luthor was super contrived to create conflict.
I felt doubly disappointed by the last Clois scene because I think the subject of having children should be a much bigger topic of discussion for them then just a line thrown in there at the end. The Clois kiss was very cute, and very sweet, but I still find the interactions between these two to be a bit too far on vanilla side for me (didn't Lois compare herself to "wild cherry" at one point?). I guess I just like my couples a bit more on the fiery and tempestuous side. Its just an individual preference sort of thing.
This was the initial directing effort from writer Al Septien, and I think he did a lot better then his writing partner, Turi Meyer did with Harvest. Though I did find a number of the scenes way too dark.
A few scattered thoughts:
When has Lois ever saw Clark on Red K? She doesn't have a memory of Crimson? And it does far more then bring out his "inner angst"
That Kent family picture Clark showed Conner in the barn was very cute.
Great performance by Tom in this episode. Really, everyone was good. Such a contrast to last week.
How the hell was Lionel tracking Conner since he ran away from the Kent farm? How does one track someone going superspeed?
At first I was bothered by Clark just letting Lionel waltz away, but then I realized what he meant about Lionel having no place to hide when we saw the next scene, and realized Tess had a plan in place to track him. Clark and Tess must've gotten in touch at some point.
I thought when Green K got heated by heat vision, it turned into Black K. Isn't that what happened to it in Onyx? And if Conner made the green K explode, wouldn't there be pieces embedded in Clark?
OK, now I must run, because I have 20 minutes to get ready for dinner. So, sorry for any typos.
Its hiatus time again. I'll have to think of something fun to do!!!.
Lets start with the totals:
Scion, running time 41m, 35s
Clark : 19m, 47s
Lois : 13m, 24s
Tess : 11m, 10s
Lionel : 14m, 26s
Connor, the artist formerly known as Alexander : 19m, 46s
Totals to Date (# of eps)
Clark : 340m, 10s (16)
Lois : 263m, 44s (16)
Tess : 121m, 27s (12)
Oliver : 133m, 43s (13)
Chloe : 75m, 40s (7)
Lionel : 38m, 47s (3)
Now, this is a really difficult episode for me to review. Because on one hand, it had a lot of scenes I liked, and it had a lot of POV from Clark, and it showcased Clark in a very positive way. But, on the other hand, it was centered around a character I couldn't give a fat rats ass about, namely Alexander clone turned Conner Kent. Now, maybe if I carried some comic book knowledge with me, or maybe if I allowed myself to get lost in the hilarity of Clark and Lex having a child together (sort of). Or, maybe if I wanted Clark to turn into Jonathan Kent (which he was really channeling in this episode). But, here's the truth...none of those things appeal to me overly much. Maybe the Clex baby coming the closest.
Let me take a step back though, and discuss some of the scenes I did like.
Clark and Tess in the very beginning. I liked this scene a lot. Tess and Clark's awkward shot at small talk cracked me up (in fact, more then anything I witnessed last week on the "hilarious" Hangover rip-off). You know how so many people talk about how much they love ED and JH in scenes together, and enjoy watching Lollie interact? Well, thats how I feel about CF and TW, and Cless scenes. I just enjoy the vibe, I enjoy the dynamic. I can't explain that to anyone. It just is what it is.
I really like that Clark might be the first real friend that Tess has had in a really long time. Do I think Tess is a little in love with Clark? Yeah, I do, and probably more then a little. But I think CF does a masterful job of showing that Tess really respects Clark, who he is, what he does, and who he's in love with. So, if she's a little in love with Clark, so what? He's freaking Superman. In my mind, everyone SHOULD be a little in love with him. I think he should inspire that sort of intense, deep feeling in people. Especially someone like Tess who is desperate not only to find a place to belong, but to be redeemed.
I also enjoyed the Tess/Lionel scenes immensely. Look, I'm not a huge proponent of AU Lionel being back in the mix. But I cannot deny that John Glover is just damned fun to watch. I've missed him. And as I had hoped, Cassidy is excellent at playing off him (in fact, she pretty much channels Rosenbaum to me). Much like Lex would absorb the verbal blows delivered by Lionel, but we could see how they hurt, Tess does the same thing. Its rather remarkable to me just how easily I can buy into Tess being a Luthor, and just how she clicks into that dysfunctional family tree. I do have to give SV some kudos for that one.
I also enjoyed the first Clois scene in the kitchen for the most part. I really loved all the POV we got from Clark on his own childhood, and his feelings of isolation and alienation. I've always wished that the show would've spent some time to delve more deeply into just how difficult Clark's childhood must've been, instead of the way they always painted it as him having it easy because he had loving parents. I did appreciate that this episode showed that no matter how loved Clark felt, the sting of being different still left its mark.
Now, I do have one issue with that scene though, and thats my wish that they had allowed Lois' initial objections to get more time and POV. Because to me, she was making a whole lot of sense. Its in Clark's character to want to help, and take Conner in. But I would think it would be in Lois' nature to be more wary and suspicious, and instead of having her go all doe-eyed and agree so readily (though who can blame her when Clark is giving her the "you're the only one that makes me feel normal" line), I'd have preferred to see her agree, with reservations. Because again, as I saw it, her worries were VALID. And the idea that Clois can never be in conflict over an issue contributes to their....well, how should I say this?....blandness?
Another good scene, Lois and Tess. I like the ladies working together, and I liked how Lois came up with the idea to find another way to put the screws to Lionel. That made her look smart.
But, again, I have to call out an issue here, and thats more of the "We have to protect Clark" stuff, which I'm just going to be blunt, DO NOT WANT ANYMORE!!! And the idea that Clark can never throw down with anyone who knows his secret and weaknesses is moronic. Of course he can, and should. I appreciate both Lois and Tess wanting to protect Clark, because that is realistic from both of them, however I think Lois especially should be more of the mind that she doesn't need to go behind his back to protect him. We've seen that sort of behavior from the people in Clark's life ad nauseum, and Lois should be the character to break that vicious cycle. Clark is a big boy now, and the people closest to him need to believe in his ability to take care of himself.
And really, it seems like everytime Lois goes undercover, she gets caught. Its a very, very familiar scene at this point.
OK, but I'm ignoring the elephant in the room, and he had a new name. I just do not understand the point of bringing on this character, at this point in the season. I don't understand why I'm supposed to care about him. I don't understand how I'm supposed to want Clark to be, essentially, a parent at this point in his life. I don't understand how I'm supposed to be thinking that Conner is going to be living at the farm, attending Smallville High, somewhere in Offscreensville.
To me, NONE of this feels at all necessary.
One of the oddest things that SV has done this season is zoom up parts of Clark's life, while holding him back from others, like flying, or donning the suit. His relationship with Lois went from "I love you" to "secret reveal" to "sex" to "living together" to "engaged" to "acting like they've been married for 10 years" to "parents to a teenager". And yet they're still planning the wedding. It just all feels so scattered and wrong to me.
While I truly did love and appreciate seeing Clark in mentor role, as he always shines when dealing with younger characters, I just couldn't shake the feeling that they just felt like something that was better suited to a different time in Clark's life. To a time when he's been Superman for a while, and settled into his marriage with Lois. A time when the idea of him taking on a teenage "son" just feels more right. Our Clark is still in his early 20's. Are we to believe that he's going to continue to live on the farm indefinitely, or at least as long as Conner's in high school?
Just none of it seems to fit.
I'd say they were interested in a spin-off, but Conner doesn't have a vagina, so we know the CW won't want that, and also, wouldn't a show about Conner the Superboy basically be....Smallville?
Now, there are a few scenes I didn't like at all.
The Clark/Lionel scene pinged me wrong. While I did love Clark sticking up for Lex, I HATED the way it was turned around and the responsibility for Lex dumped on Clark's shoulders (and did these writers actually use the line "secrets and lies"?). I so thoroughly reject the implication that Clark keeping his identity from Lex turned Lex evil. And I thought this scene opened that door far too wide without Clark coming back strong and slamming it closed.
All of the Lois/Conner stuff was just big gigantic fail for me, and overly creepy. I think what they were trying to go for was in saying that the Red K brought out the "Lex" side of Conner, and Lex does have a history of coveting what Clark has. However, by couching it in creepy sexual language, and then having Conner assault Lois in a way that felt a bit too graphic for me, it sort of created a picture of Conner thats damned hard to shake. And then when you have him moving in with Clark and Lois at the end, with no discussion at all, and no POV from Lois about it, it really compounds the problem.
I understand the old SV trope "you weren't yourself". Its been used on this show a hundred times. But when turning it into a sexual thing in the way it was done here, I think you need to spend more time handling that at the end. Because as it is, I'm thinking that Clark moved a superpowered teenager into the house with him and Lois who is going to be masturbating about Lois in the shower. And ya know, but, EWWWWWWWWW!!!!
I also felt the idea that Clark wanted to withhold the truth from Conner about him being half Luthor was super contrived to create conflict.
I felt doubly disappointed by the last Clois scene because I think the subject of having children should be a much bigger topic of discussion for them then just a line thrown in there at the end. The Clois kiss was very cute, and very sweet, but I still find the interactions between these two to be a bit too far on vanilla side for me (didn't Lois compare herself to "wild cherry" at one point?). I guess I just like my couples a bit more on the fiery and tempestuous side. Its just an individual preference sort of thing.
This was the initial directing effort from writer Al Septien, and I think he did a lot better then his writing partner, Turi Meyer did with Harvest. Though I did find a number of the scenes way too dark.
A few scattered thoughts:
When has Lois ever saw Clark on Red K? She doesn't have a memory of Crimson? And it does far more then bring out his "inner angst"
That Kent family picture Clark showed Conner in the barn was very cute.
Great performance by Tom in this episode. Really, everyone was good. Such a contrast to last week.
How the hell was Lionel tracking Conner since he ran away from the Kent farm? How does one track someone going superspeed?
At first I was bothered by Clark just letting Lionel waltz away, but then I realized what he meant about Lionel having no place to hide when we saw the next scene, and realized Tess had a plan in place to track him. Clark and Tess must've gotten in touch at some point.
I thought when Green K got heated by heat vision, it turned into Black K. Isn't that what happened to it in Onyx? And if Conner made the green K explode, wouldn't there be pieces embedded in Clark?
OK, now I must run, because I have 20 minutes to get ready for dinner. So, sorry for any typos.
Its hiatus time again. I'll have to think of something fun to do!!!.