When did it all go to heck?
Over on TWOP in the Bitterness thread, someone posted about hating S5. I commented that, despite the fact that now, five seasons later, people speak of S5 with something almost approaching reverence, it's not one of my favorites, either. It could have been, particularly if the show had had a plan and made S5 a kickass final season, utilizing it as a natural ending point (although I still think they should've taken Clark through 4 years of college and let him graduate! but by having S5, they could at least have let him leave for college (and stay there!)
However, one of the reasons I gave for disliking S5 was this:
S5 was the first time the show truly seemed to be losing its grip on Lex, devolving to make him two-dimensional and EVOL. It was as though they realized they'd eff'd everything up with regard to his character and decided to try to "fix" it by begging the giant question and trying to "trick" us into believing he was really "bad" because everyone said so.
That's a bit oversimplified because really, it was around the time of "Onyx" that (despite clear indications that Lex had a "good" side) the sloppy vilification kicked in. Not that they didn't try to force things occasionally earlier in the series, but for me, that was when it kicked in, in earnest.
What do the rest of you think? When did it become clear to you for the first time that TPTB were gonna screw the character of Lex over permanently?
However, one of the reasons I gave for disliking S5 was this:
S5 was the first time the show truly seemed to be losing its grip on Lex, devolving to make him two-dimensional and EVOL. It was as though they realized they'd eff'd everything up with regard to his character and decided to try to "fix" it by begging the giant question and trying to "trick" us into believing he was really "bad" because everyone said so.
That's a bit oversimplified because really, it was around the time of "Onyx" that (despite clear indications that Lex had a "good" side) the sloppy vilification kicked in. Not that they didn't try to force things occasionally earlier in the series, but for me, that was when it kicked in, in earnest.
What do the rest of you think? When did it become clear to you for the first time that TPTB were gonna screw the character of Lex over permanently?