Dominion Screentime Minutes,and late thoughts

[jeannev]

  Wow, I never thought I would get this done.  Between a crazy busy weekend, major download issues, and general malaise about the show itself, it felt like a very long journey to this review.

I also think I was having a hard time thinking of what I wanted to say.  Because while this episode had some very entertaining moments in it, and some very

Comments

[tasabian]

And there's no 2 ways about it, the homoerotic undertones were all over this episode. Not for nothing, but why do all these guys that want to be Clark's "brother", or want to be his trusty companion, seem like they're true desires are something of a more sexual nature? Is it just me? They all seem to get overly pissy because Clark won't love them enough, or won't love them the way they want him to (and by that, I mean in a naked way).
Clark is always Belle of the Ball! It was a nice nod to SV's homoerotic legacy (and hopefully a nice warm-up for Lex's return.) And I got such a kick out of the campiness that I looked on this ep with a generous eye.

Because what this episode tells us is that it was a good thing that people didn't listen to Clark's plan, because while it might seem heroic on the surface, it was really dumb (Lois even calls it "stupid"). Going into the Phantom Zone in the first place? A trap hatched by Darkseid and Zod. Going in alone? Well, he needed Oliver to get out, so good thing Oliver didn't listen to him. Telling Tess to blow up the crystal? Well, thats a "stupid plan", and unless DevotedFianceeLois! hadn't shown up to change it, Clark would've been exiled in the Phantom Zone. And the one person who was actually standing by what Clark told her to do? Coded as wrong, and misguided, and got a gun pulled on her.
That's the trouble with everyone knowing Clark's secret - they all become his partners/advisers/researchers. I recently watched "Jitters" again - remember how 15 year old Clark solves that situation and rescues everyone, all by himself, no assistants required? In S10, he'd have one person researching, another guiding him through the building and a third saving his ass at the end!

Personally, I think Lois was a far more interesting character when she wasn't turned into this paragon of spousal perfection. Its like they rubbed off her edges to make her to the perfect fit for Clark.
When the SV girls become love interests, they always put them on pedestals! Tess is lucky to not be a love interest. I liked the last scene better than you did - thought ED gave a good performance - but it would have rung a little truer if Lois had been mad at him for taking the risk and telling Tess but not her. One of their best scenes this year was the tiff in Ambush - it felt like a real couple.

[jeannev]

Oh, believe me, I can understand how this episode can be appealing. Especially with all the Gay. I mean, how can you not get a kick out of all that gay? LOL

Oh, don't remind me of the earlier seasons. Because I do recall examples like you mentioned above. Vividly. Clark was a rather resourceful and clever teenager back then. But I just feel like, as time went by, it became more important to the writers to serve the characters around Clark, then Clark himself, and so they had to take much of that self-sufficiency away from him. And that just seems ass backwards.

I also would've liked it better if Lois had been more angry at Clark in the final scene. Because that just would've rang truer to me as well. I think there's many reasons that so many people liked Ambush, and among them was Clois acting like a passionate couple who actually has sex, and the other was the fact that they argued with each other.