by Ashley Gouveia
Lois Lane who?
Here’s the thing. We all know Clark Kent is supposed to end up with Lois Lane. That’s all well and good in the Superman mythology. The problem is, in the TV series Smallville, the gal many fans hope Clark Kent spends his caped-costumed flying future with isn’t named Lois. She’s named Chloe Sullivan, who on paper has embodied all the characteristics of Lois Lane and captured viewers hearts, since they were first introduced to her in season one.
Nothing drove home that point more than last night’s episode of Smallville that showcased the relationship between Clark and Chloe.
What can I say about last night’s episode of Smallville? After the first viewing I really didn’t know what to think. I was too busy trying to get my jaw off the floor. Wow! Heavy emotions were running rampant as Chloe was slowly forgetting everything she loved. Now that I have watched it twice (OK, maybe three times) I can successfully discuss my thoughts on this epic episode.
It was only a matter of time before Brainiac completely took over Chloe’s mind. She used massive amounts of brainpower to get Clark out of the Phantom Zone last week, and she killed a guy. That’s not the Chloe Sullivan we know and love, so something had to be wrong. The first person she forgot was Jimmy, her soon to be husband. Her last memories were ones of Clark, a fact that Jimmy appropriately brings up.
I love it when TV shows decide to show us things that happened in past seasons. We got to see the memory of Chloe finding out about Clark’s secret, which she forgot about after she relived it. Then we got to see quick flashes of some scenes that every Clark and Chloe fan hold near and dear to their hearts. The ‘Tempest’ almost-kiss from season one, the undercover kiss from season three, and the chemistry charged elevator moment from season four. We also go to see a flashback to a very young Clark and Chloe on the day they first met. Apparently, those are the memories that take Chloe to her “happy place.” Aww!
It was great to see this scene be reenacted since we only heard Clark retelling it during season one. Besides the bad wig on little Chloe, I thought the young actors pulled it off. It was so heartbreaking when young Chloe was running away with young Clark to keep him with her. When she jumped to a new memory, I knew exactly why Chloe would want that particular one. It was the memory of ‘Dark Thursday’ when Chloe kissed Clark before he went off to save the world. Who wouldn’t want to relive that? Chloe struggling to hold on to him and Clark reassuring her he would never leave her was awesome. But Brainiac managed to erase all but Davis from her mind.
Clark’s decision to rebuild the Fortress to save Chloe was noble but I have this gut feeling that this was Brainiac’s plan all along. In his effort to save her, he had Jor-el erase Chloe’s memory of his secret. That was even more heartbreaking than Chloe trying to hold on to her Clark memories. His speech to her in the Fortress was fantastically delivered by Tom Welling. He kissed her on the forehead and whispered to her that the only way he knew how to protect her was to let her go. I think that was the sound of my heart breaking right then. Folks, these two are why I watch this show.
No way can this Superman II-like mind wipe last. Can it? It would be completely crazy for Chloe to stay without some of her greatest memories. It just wouldn’t be right. So here’s to hoping that gets fixed soon.
Let’s not forget the hot Davis and Chloe kiss at the very end. It only lasted a second and it had more passion than anything she has shared with Jimmy. Davis said he wouldn’t let her go which paralleled nicely with Clark’s speech. Also, was that James Marsters I heard at the end? That was just icing on the cake.
I have no idea what’s going to happen next or how this is going to get resolved. All I know is Doomsday is coming and I’m excited.
What did you all think? Sound off in the comments.
Commentary with a Co-Ed is a weekly column at Tube Talk new every Friday.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Commentary with a Co-Ed: Clark Kent's dream girl shouldn't be Lois Lane
Subscribe by RSSPosted by tube talk girl at Friday, November 14, 2008
Labels: Commentary With a Co-Ed, Smallville
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24 comments:
This is the writers way of getting Chloe out of the way (Clark "letting her go") so he can be with Lois Lane (not the real Lois Lane as many people including you point out)...so this is their "guilt" feelings for the fans and so now Clark can move on with Lois and Chloe can be with whoever and "forget" her feelings for Clark...sad, sad, very sad.
Clark Kent's dream girl is always Lois Lane and there is no way that Smallville is gonna change that to a character only created for Smallville. And she emodies the things made of Lois Lane? Wrong... She liked reporting, like Comics Lana Lang, she was best friends with Pete and Clark, like Lana Lang, she was in love with Clark, like Lana Lang, Pete was in love with her, like Lana Lang, she found out the secret on graduation day like Lana Lang, she became his confidant and secret keeper, again like Lana Lang.. what did she share with Lois Lane besides the fact that Smallville made them cousins? Reporting? Sorry thats not enough.
You have put it perfectly. My heart broke into so many pieces tonight. I felt like Chloe at the Spirit formal. I hope they fix this soon. Like you, these two (plus Davis of course) are the reason I still watch this show. Poor, poor Chloe. She can't be herself after losing so many of her memories with Clark's secret.
I totally agree with everything you have said.I was crying throughout the show watching.It was heart breaking.I do hope somehow Chloe finds out his secret again or somehow remembers.You could see how bad Clark's heart was breaking with everything Chloe was going through.I'm always gonna be a fan of Chlark and they are the ones that should be together.NO more Clois and Clana crap
I've been a diehard Chlarker since the beginning, and as such I should be far more pissed off about this than I am.
But this is a brand new show, with a New Chlark, that I haven't been feeling at all, so it doesn't feel like a real loss to me; if they decide to undo it later I'm not sure I'll care
I agree with everything you have to say. I've watched Chloe work hard for years to protect Clark and risk her life on more than one occasion to save the world. She's every inch the heroine I believe Lois Lane should be and I hope this mind wipe is corrected because Chloe-lite, with her memories gone, married to Jimmy Olsen is not the ending I wanted to see for her and not the ending she deserves.
Toby
Thank you for voicing what so many fans have felt for ages - Clark belongs with Chloe and Abyss showed us why. They're the heart of the show and in this Smallville, neither Lois or Jimmy can ever compare to what Clark and Chloe mean to each other. That's why I don't think this memory wipe will last.
Exactly! I've always loved the Superman/Lois/Clark romance in every variation of the Superman mythology...except this one. To make this long-term Superman fan want Clark to end up with someone other than Lois is a major accomplishment (or failure, depending on what the writers are actually going for in the story). Even though there is a Lois on Smallville, Chloe will always be the character that I perceive as the "Lois Lane"-type character of the show, and the character better suited to end up with Clark/Superman. Thanks for the great review!
Great review. It's true, Chloe is Clark's dream girl, as Chloe herself once said in a letter. I just hope that Clark is able to make things right, because Chloe losing her most cherished memories isn't right.
I couldn't agree with you more. Honestly the love story of Smallville has been Chlark IMHO. No other relationship was well developed.
The Problem is, Chlark is strictly a Smallville creation and it seems to me, that the TPTB do not care about what the show created itself. They only care about now is ICONIC MYTHOS basically the Comic Cannon, which Smallville never follows.
It hurts seeing Lois Lane and Clark Kent sharing scenes that are just a redo of a Chlark scene of a previous season. It hurts that they basically treat Chlarkers as second rate fans, while Cloisers are given everything they ever wanted. I want some pay off for watching this show for 8 years, and it seems to me we may not get it.
I just wish they hear our voices sometimes.
you are right, i love this episode and at the same time i hate it i love chlark i love chloe with this episode i realized that any woman in this world could love clark like she does and any relationship can have what they have.i really hope chloe recover her memories soon
Thank you for this! Everyone knows that Lois and Clark end up together. That is the Superman mythology. But Smallville (despite insisting on wanting to line up with the mythos) is in a realm of its own. And one of the greatest things to come out of this is Chlark. This relationship is achieving legendary status. True that Lois is getting all the over the top anvils but the soul of that relationship lies with these two. No amount of insisting just because they've not been involved in a relationship on screen suggest that it wouldn't be the best kind for either of them. Remember the forehead kisses that Mulder/Scully gave each other? Speaks volumes!
I totally agree with you. although I do like Lois, but in the show Chloe and Clark are the perfect couple.
I completely agree with everything you said above, Abyss was a heartbreaking episode for almost all Smallville viewers. One can only hope that the writers follow through with the internal logic and give us the real relationship on the show - Clark and Chloe, preferably at the Daily Planet, working together as partners. I hope this mind-rape is reversed in the near future, most of all right now. I believe everything else will flow well.
you know I love the Chlark relationship, but as friends.
Sorry, but I have to disagree with you. I am a Superman fan before it all and I started watching Smallville for Clark Kent. I watched every episode from season 1 to now and even before Lois came into the show (which I wasn't expecting) I never thought Chloe was Lois nor that she had her qualities. The only thing they share is repotering. Chloe doesn't have the attitude, the self-confidence, the flaws or the heart of Lois Lane.
A relationship between Clark and Chloe wouldn't be healty. Not for her (because she desperately needs him to find a place in this world and it would be very hard for her to share him) and not for Clark/Superman. In this relationship everything stops being about Clark and his Superman persona fighing crime and being a hero. It's about Chloe needing him, being the poor girl left behind, the 'victim'. Clark is good as long as he stands by her and doesn't leave her, but as soon as he's out there making supermanly decisions and saving the world we're back to "poor little Chloe". It's not healty and it isn't supposed to be this way.
Also, the 'many' fans you mentioned aren't that 'many' anymore and the writers, the cast and everyone has stated that Chloe is not Lois. These fans, IMO, are Chloe fans who want her to end up with Clark or her to be Lois.
It's very clear in your review that the main focus is Chloe. I've never seen a Chlark fan, anywhere, mention at least one reason why Clark should be with Chloe. It's always about why Chloe should be with Clark. And that's because her pinning for 5 long seasons after him. I bet that if season 1 had started with her pinning after Pete or any other character we'd be now talking about him and not even care about her relationship with Clark.
Chlark fans are in fact Chloe fans, not Clark fans and not Superman fans. So, it's obvious they won't like anything that hurts their favourite character, not even if that thing helps Clark's evolution.
I see my comment has to be approved and I suspect you won't. I hope you will, though, because otherwise it will be terribily unfair to approve comments that only sustain your point of view. But that's just my opinion...
You've said everything absolutely perfectly. I've been following this show since the beginning for one reason; Chloe. If they continue to destroy this character, they've lost me. Smallville has never respected mythos, why do they feel the need to follow it by shoving Lois down our throats while killing off the iconic Lois Lane they created so beautifully?
Maaaan you're right!! Chlark is THE Smallville relationship and Chloe's Clark's dream girl.
No mythos, iconic or comic stuff, this is IT. And I'm sorry but Clois (the copyChlark) will never be near.
Very well said. I couldn't agree more with you. Except I don't have your faith in the writers of this show and I believe that was their way to put Chloe out of the way of Nois and Clark romance... It's like, this season, they took everything that made Chloe and tried to give it to Nois. But you can't make a cube fit in a cylinder. It won't work!
Thank you all for the comments. I knew it would get a lot of response since we all know this is a hot topic amongst SV fans. I appreciate all that has been said. Agree or disagree we can all discuss in a polite and respectful manner and that is awesome.
I agree with everything you said. I also agree with AqGalaxy and several others that have posted similar sentiments.
In response to another post made here: What did Chloe have similar to the iconic Lois Lane? Chloe has always had an insatiable curiosity for, and has been the adamantly fiercest seeker, exposer and supporter of the truth and justice (titles of 2 episodes entered around Chloe) at all costs and risks to her own well-being regardless of who's toes she steps on, except for Clark Kent when she learns his true identity.... She will defend with her life, not just him, but what she knows he will one day stand for. He has grown to admire, respect and trust her above anyone else, and their bond has grown to the point of being too resilient to ever break.
Perhaps the loss of her memory of his secret is preparing her for the day she will once again grace the Daily Planet with her smart and snarky wit and become the object of Clark's affection, no longer denied, for in essence they are true soul-mates no matter what their names may be.
Bravo Khyla! You make some really good points.:)
i think the combo of lois and chloe is the perfect embodiment of the real character of lois lane. chloe is the reporter and lois is the super fisty woman who thinks clark is a dork...that's lois lane. i'm a die hard superman fan and even though i always longed for chloe and clark to be together (and if that's how smallville would write it i do have to admit i wouldn't mind)it's just not superman. i've been watching smallville ever since it started and i've been waiting for lois to enter the picture all this time and now she has, yay!! his one true soul mate has always been lois lane and he doesn't meet her until later in life, i like this lois. i think erica durance is doing an amazing job especially in these past few episodes and she and tom welling seem to pull off the chemistry between lois and clark very well!!!
Chloe is NOT Lois - get over it guys. Enjoy the story that Smallville is, not what you want it to be. Chloe is a great character as a Clark's friend, not as Lois! Quit projecting!
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