Smallville Season Eight/Doomsday Finale
May. 23rd, 2009 02:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
moonshaydeWell, I finally feel like discussing some of my thoughts on the season finale of Smallville and the season in general. It's not the most positive review, so I wanted to warn you ahead of time.
You know, season 8 started off pretty strong, imo. Clark came back with newfound fire to become a hero. He set up shop doing heroic deeds in Metropolis, started as a copy boy at the Daily Planet, and started to move on to a new phase of his life. I may have been a little annoyed that Clark didn't get a whole arc dedicated to him entering the DP, but at least he was there now and maybe we could leave the Lana drama behind.
Chloe decided to try new pursuits and I liked her try with the Isis Foundation. That could have been written better, but it was interesting to see her character branch out and try other things. Lois was great and fun. I loved her in reporter mode. Jimmy had some bright moments like in Identity. Davis wasn’t half as bad as I expected him to be. Overall, I found the first half of the season to be pretty strong. I loved the Red Blue Blur arc and I really felt that should have been the main focus of the season. I knew that they were going for Doomsday/Clark showdown, but I was far more interested in Clark building a dual identity.
I wasn't thrilled with Lois starting to have feelings for Clark, but I understood the how and why behind it. I'm glad they've moved her on from that and she's buried in her work.
And though I am a Cloiser, I don't need Clois on SV. I just need Lois doing her thing and Clark doing his. By the time the show ends, I expect him to have feelings for her, but I don't need anything consummated.
That's kinda hard to do when Clark is sidelined all the time. Still, the first half was enjoyable. Most importantly, I was having fun watching SV again during the first half of the season.
Second half started to slide with the Lana arc. I loved her first episodes – Bride, Legion, and Bulletproof, but Power (especially) and Requiem were terrible. Then, it kept sliding when the focus became more and more on Chloe (and not in a positive way, imo) and less and less on Clark. S3 did a good job at having a Chloe storyline that was interesting. This season didn't do her any favors. I could care less about the Chloe/Davis storyline. I didn't think having Chloe entangled with Jimmy and Davis helped her character. In fact, I thought TPTB did a decent job at character assassination with her this year, which ticked me off. Though, I did love Hex and thought that was a wonderful Chloe episode. I am excited for Chloe as Watchtower. Plus, it was fun and we were able to see Clark be funny.
I really wanted to see some great build for Clark as he furthered his journey.
And then the finale crushed everything.
I liked the finale at first. I liked the episode a lot until they Chloised Jimmy and we got that stupid ending. They even character assassinated "Davis" for Chloe and I didn't even like him in the second half that much.
I can't believe they took iconic Jimmy and made him Jimmy's older brother. I assume the kid's name is James because if he goes and takes his brother's middle name for himself then I have no words. This is what is really really annoying me. Maybe if Jimmy hadn't been so iconic and they had been building toward a fakeout for Jimmy, I could take this. But there was nothing in the show to ever indicate that Jimmy wasn't Jimmy. Argh. So stupid. What a slap to Aaron Ashmore.
What did I like? I liked that Clark came up with a plan to bury Doomsday (and therefore line things up). I liked that he was in charge of the JLA for a brief time. I liked him as the RBB on the phone with Lois. I liked his scene with Rokk. I loved Clark through the beginning with his convo with Lois. I loved him in charge of the JLA. I loved how he was ready to face Doomsday.
Then the episode derailed because it stopped really being about Clark. They better fix his Boohoo to humanity crap next season. Though, I heard some theories where people think Clark is "not Clark" and that they'll do a copy of the arc from the comics where we have a bunch of fake Clarks until the real one comes back.
While that would be a cool storyline, I don't trust it with these writers. Plus, on a show like Smallville that would just be another way to stall Clark by not having the real Clark around for a good chunk of the season.
My guess is that all these changes are coming because of budget cuts and because TPTB are under fire to start fixing half of their messes.
Frankly, the age thing with Jimmy didn't bother me and is the least of their worries.
Lois will be gone for a little while and then poof she'll be back.
My biggest concern? We're just going to get more of the same next year. Stall, stall, stall and a Clark that feels like a guest on his own show.
In short, when Smallville is fun and hopeful, I love it. When it is dark and takes itself too seriously, I hate it.
Currently, I don’t have much hope for S9 since these people obviously don’t get Superman. I’ll keep watching for now, but if it stays dire I may just quit. I’ve left the show before. Just give me positive and hopeful Clark as he becomes Superman. That is all I ask!
You know, season 8 started off pretty strong, imo. Clark came back with newfound fire to become a hero. He set up shop doing heroic deeds in Metropolis, started as a copy boy at the Daily Planet, and started to move on to a new phase of his life. I may have been a little annoyed that Clark didn't get a whole arc dedicated to him entering the DP, but at least he was there now and maybe we could leave the Lana drama behind.
Chloe decided to try new pursuits and I liked her try with the Isis Foundation. That could have been written better, but it was interesting to see her character branch out and try other things. Lois was great and fun. I loved her in reporter mode. Jimmy had some bright moments like in Identity. Davis wasn’t half as bad as I expected him to be. Overall, I found the first half of the season to be pretty strong. I loved the Red Blue Blur arc and I really felt that should have been the main focus of the season. I knew that they were going for Doomsday/Clark showdown, but I was far more interested in Clark building a dual identity.
I wasn't thrilled with Lois starting to have feelings for Clark, but I understood the how and why behind it. I'm glad they've moved her on from that and she's buried in her work.
And though I am a Cloiser, I don't need Clois on SV. I just need Lois doing her thing and Clark doing his. By the time the show ends, I expect him to have feelings for her, but I don't need anything consummated.
That's kinda hard to do when Clark is sidelined all the time. Still, the first half was enjoyable. Most importantly, I was having fun watching SV again during the first half of the season.
Second half started to slide with the Lana arc. I loved her first episodes – Bride, Legion, and Bulletproof, but Power (especially) and Requiem were terrible. Then, it kept sliding when the focus became more and more on Chloe (and not in a positive way, imo) and less and less on Clark. S3 did a good job at having a Chloe storyline that was interesting. This season didn't do her any favors. I could care less about the Chloe/Davis storyline. I didn't think having Chloe entangled with Jimmy and Davis helped her character. In fact, I thought TPTB did a decent job at character assassination with her this year, which ticked me off. Though, I did love Hex and thought that was a wonderful Chloe episode. I am excited for Chloe as Watchtower. Plus, it was fun and we were able to see Clark be funny.
I really wanted to see some great build for Clark as he furthered his journey.
And then the finale crushed everything.
I liked the finale at first. I liked the episode a lot until they Chloised Jimmy and we got that stupid ending. They even character assassinated "Davis" for Chloe and I didn't even like him in the second half that much.
I can't believe they took iconic Jimmy and made him Jimmy's older brother. I assume the kid's name is James because if he goes and takes his brother's middle name for himself then I have no words. This is what is really really annoying me. Maybe if Jimmy hadn't been so iconic and they had been building toward a fakeout for Jimmy, I could take this. But there was nothing in the show to ever indicate that Jimmy wasn't Jimmy. Argh. So stupid. What a slap to Aaron Ashmore.
What did I like? I liked that Clark came up with a plan to bury Doomsday (and therefore line things up). I liked that he was in charge of the JLA for a brief time. I liked him as the RBB on the phone with Lois. I liked his scene with Rokk. I loved Clark through the beginning with his convo with Lois. I loved him in charge of the JLA. I loved how he was ready to face Doomsday.
Then the episode derailed because it stopped really being about Clark. They better fix his Boohoo to humanity crap next season. Though, I heard some theories where people think Clark is "not Clark" and that they'll do a copy of the arc from the comics where we have a bunch of fake Clarks until the real one comes back.
While that would be a cool storyline, I don't trust it with these writers. Plus, on a show like Smallville that would just be another way to stall Clark by not having the real Clark around for a good chunk of the season.
My guess is that all these changes are coming because of budget cuts and because TPTB are under fire to start fixing half of their messes.
Frankly, the age thing with Jimmy didn't bother me and is the least of their worries.
Lois will be gone for a little while and then poof she'll be back.
My biggest concern? We're just going to get more of the same next year. Stall, stall, stall and a Clark that feels like a guest on his own show.
In short, when Smallville is fun and hopeful, I love it. When it is dark and takes itself too seriously, I hate it.
Currently, I don’t have much hope for S9 since these people obviously don’t get Superman. I’ll keep watching for now, but if it stays dire I may just quit. I’ve left the show before. Just give me positive and hopeful Clark as he becomes Superman. That is all I ask!
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no subject
Date: 2009-05-24 01:13 am (UTC)thats my greatest concern too.
And I agree that I dont need Clois to happen, even they're my SV otp.
The Jimmy/Aaron thing and how they think they can just sweep it under the rug with "he wasnt the real one" is what has got me thinking if I should drop this show or stick around and wait for another slap in the face and more stalling.
:sigh: Poor Jimmy/Aaron :(
no subject
Date: 2009-05-24 02:33 am (UTC)This whole Jimmy thing really crossed a line for me. It's too bad since I love the cast!
no subject
Date: 2009-05-24 03:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-24 01:23 am (UTC)But...yeah. There was a lot of "really, show? Really?"
no subject
Date: 2009-05-24 02:34 am (UTC)Enjoyed your thoughts
Date: 2009-05-24 04:06 am (UTC)All the suck of the latter half of season eight really is peripheral to the main problem... stalling Clark. I don't know what to think about all the different Clark's. It'll be fun to see Tom Welling flex his muscles and have fun but... what will it do for the REAL Clark's development?
Since Lois has disappeared and won't show up again until later I guess we won't get to see her adventures in the future. *sigh*
There are no words for the Jimmy retcon. I've lost faith in the writers because now... anything goes. That really lowered the bar for the show.
Great post.
Re: Enjoyed your thoughts
Date: 2009-05-24 03:43 pm (UTC)I can't say that I lost faith in the writers because I didn't have much to begin with. But I still enjoyed the show and really felt that while they were mucking things up, they had some good characters and stories to tell. When they kept it fun, it was great. I just don't know if I can forgive them for the Jimmy thing. I liked the Chimmy in the finale, but the whole Jimmy retcon really set me off.
It's too bad because when this show does things right, it's golden!
Re: Enjoyed your thoughts
Date: 2009-05-24 09:03 pm (UTC)Yeah. I'm usually able to stay pretty optimistic. I don't think I've ever been this down about the show. I think I'm too far gone (addicted) to stop watching but... I dunno... they may surprise me. LOL!
no subject
Date: 2009-05-24 06:11 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-26 04:30 am (UTC)Yes! That's what I'm worried about, too. I've watched this entire season, and at times it's almost been a chore. I want to know what happens, but sometimes I just wait days to watch the show and only when nothing else is on the DVR and only when I have something else to do at the same time.
I can't believe they took iconic Jimmy and made him Jimmy's older brother. I assume the kid's name is James because if he goes and takes his brother's middle name for himself then I have no words. This is what is really really annoying me. Maybe if Jimmy hadn't been so iconic and they had been building toward a fakeout for Jimmy, I could take this. But there was nothing in the show to ever indicate that Jimmy wasn't Jimmy. Argh. So stupid. What a slap to Aaron Ashmore.
This all totally went over my head, but reading it here, I get it now. Gah. And I agree. I really liked Aaron Ashmore as Jimmy. So lame.
This show was such a fun show in the past, even when it was sad sometimes. I just want it to be fun again. Or...maybe I shouldn't say this, but without Lex, especially, and losing Lana and Lionel and Martha and... Well, I almost think the show should have bowed out gracefully if this is the direction they're going.
no subject
Date: 2009-05-27 08:21 am (UTC)And though I am a Cloiser, I don't need Clois on SV. I just need Lois doing her thing and Clark doing his. By the time the show ends, I expect him to have feelings for her, but I don't need anything consummated.
Agreed x 1,000,000!! I started shipping Clois on the basis that we would probably never see it on the show and I was okay with that. When I found they were pushing it in s8 last year, I was worried. They handled it pretty well but like you said, it's hard when Clark isn't the center of his own show and Lois is only around half the time. :\
I liked the same things you did in the finale but I felt it was an overall disappointment.
Frankly, the age thing with Jimmy didn't bother me and is the least of their worries.
Seriously! That whole thing was totally FAIL. Worse off, they gave no signs of him NOT being the iconic one before so it seems even more fake.
I don't like Clark's friends, other than Lois. He seriously needs new ones and I'm sad that he has to walk away from his human side, though TBH, I don't blame him. I want Lois to come back next season and restore his faith. :D
I have the same fears you do for s9. Hopefully we're both wrong.
In short, when Smallville is fun and hopeful, I love it. When it is dark and takes itself too seriously, I hate it.
Seconded! This is supposed to be the story of Superman, not Batman. I hate that it gets this dark.