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| Tweet Topic Started: Sat Jul 3, 2004 5:20 am (166 Views) | |
| Smallvillian | Sat Jul 3, 2004 5:20 am Post #1 |
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Jonathan's Lady
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I was watching Exodus last night and first, I have to say, it's the first time I've watched it since seeing it last season and the scenes with Jonathan were so much more heartbreaking than I first remembered. The way his voice goes way up when he says "It's too late!" I almost cied. :*( Anyway--my reason for posting. I was thinking, I don't know if this was ever discussed but it seemed to me that specifically without Jonathan, Clark just wasn't Clark anymore. People may say it was guilt and whatever that had him so out of character but look at how the scene plays before he leaves. Just before the Kents leave for the wedding there is the scene between he and Clark where Clark says"thanks for always believing in me." Now skip to the hospital scene and Jonathan is very grief stricken and upset and cannot be the rock the Clark has always had available. Clark leaves then returns and is again alone in the hallway watching his dad comfort his mother. It seems to me that Jonathan's presence and lack thereof was a big key here--which he realized to some degree given what he said in Legacy. All that being said, I hope that means something touching and great will happen between Clark and Jonathan in the premiere, given the spoilers we've heard about what is happening to each :( |
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| Renee | Sat Jul 3, 2004 8:01 am Post #2 |
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Don't mess with JS
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I haven't watched the whole episode in a long time either (so I don't remember the "Thanks for believing in me" part), but I did watch the last few scenes again not long ago when I was looking for a particular shot of Jonathan. Heartbreaking is the word, all right. And yes, I agree with you. It's when Jonathan walks away that everything really falls apart for Clark. It's like the world was just pulled out from under his feet. I think that's why he says to Pete, "No one can help me now." Honestly, I think this is the worst thing Jonathan ever did -- way beyond the occasional snippiness with Lex that everyone gets so hot and bothered about. It's very hard to blame him because he's so shattered by what happened. I don't have kids, so I can't even begin to imagine the pain of losing one. But he and Clark had always been so close, he had to know how that would make Clark feel. I can't help thinking, "If he just could have said SOMETHING to Clark that might have kept him from running away. . . ." Of course, it's not like he hasn't paid for it about a hundred times over. :( I was upset that in "Exile" they cut right from the end of the fight to the homecoming -- I thought they really needed to show the reunion scene after Clark came back to his right mind, after we'd waited all summer to see that rift resolved. You're right -- they'd BETTER show us a really good reunion this time! (Good Lord, I've sat here and written a novel on the subject! :blush: ) |
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| Smallvillian | Sat Jul 3, 2004 9:47 am Post #3 |
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Jonathan's Lady
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I didn't see anything wrong with Jonathan's reaction, honestly. This wasn't the first time Clark had lied and gotten himself in deeper than he should have. To quote Jonathan from Rogue: "You can't protect your mother and I by lying to us, Clark." How prophetic. But Clark apparently hadn't learned his lesson. He lied when Jonathan specifically asked him if he had heard from Jor-El again. No, Clark couldn't have known exactly what would happen when he put that key in but he knew it wouldn't be good. He knew what Jonathan would have said and admitted as much. So in a way, he defied his father and in doing so almost killed both his parents. I think that is the mental place Jonathan was in just then. His son lied to his face (for no real good reason), then did what he knew he would be told not to do instead of trusting his mother and father who have always done what was best for him. I think maybe it would have worked better if something had been happening with the baby around that time--Martha not feeling well or something. At least then we'd be able to say that Clark had a good reason for not wanting to add to that stress. I also think it's key that Jonathan first asks why Clark didn't tell him the truth. He desperately *wanted* to hear something that could explain it all and he didn't hear it. What he heard was that Clark knew he wouldn't approve so he did it behind his father's back. Jonathan is in such a fragile state right then and he just couldn't be the man Clark is used to seeing. He couldn't put his arm around him and say it's all right because it wasn't. In fact, I think he needed time to calm down and did the only thing he thought he could do--walk away until he was in a better state of mind. For all people's complaints about how Jonathan treated Clark differently there then he would an actual son, I don't think so. I heard "Your mother is laying in a hospital bed..." not "My wife" That's key. Jonathan is not seeing Clark as anything other than his son. He's just in a lot of pain. |
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| Renee | Sat Jul 3, 2004 4:19 pm Post #4 |
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Don't mess with JS
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No, I don't think he ever for one minute thought of Clark as not being his son, even in that scene. But I was catching an "I just can't be around you right now" vibe from him, and I think Clark was too. And as you say, the absence of his "rock" nearly destroyed Clark. I don't want to be hard on Jonathan for it -- he was really suffering -- but I think it was there. And I think Clark's personality as Mr. Guilt Trip had something to do with it, too. He's always been that way; even when there's nothing to feel guilty about, he makes stuff up! (I once had a Sheltie who was like that . . . but I digress.) And he'd just been behind the accident that took away what his parents wanted most in the world. The guilt would have been horrible; the separation from Jonathan was the final straw. One thing I'm sure of, though: It wouldn't have been long before Jonathan would have been ready to talk with him and set things right between them. But by that time Clark was long gone. Hmmm. . . . I'm envisioning a Jonathan "thought piece" here, maybe involving his feelings before and after Pete and/or Lana come to tell him Clark's gone. But a really emotional scene like that would be waaay beyond my skill to handle. (Looks expectantly at Smallvillian) Of course, you'd be able to put in whatever you believe he was feeling, and maybe refute all my theories and change my mind! Come on, how can you pass up a challenge like that? ;) |
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| Smallvillian | Sat Jul 3, 2004 6:29 pm Post #5 |
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Jonathan's Lady
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Oh I think there was that vibe but I don't think it was a "you disgust me" vibe as Clark implied. It was more "I'm so angry at what's happened and until I can get a grip on it, I need to have some space." I might be persuaded to write something ;) But I don't think it's beyond you! Shoot, this is the only thing I write. I've never even taken a writing class :blush: Maybe we could co-write sometime :biggrin: |
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| Smallvillian | Sat Jul 3, 2004 6:52 pm Post #6 |
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Jonathan's Lady
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::tip toeing into that dark place Joanathan was in::: ::gulp:: :oh: |
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| Renee | Sat Jul 3, 2004 7:00 pm Post #7 |
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Don't mess with JS
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You mean my asking for things and your writing them isn't co-writing? But I like that method! It means so much less work for me.
;) Seriously, though, it would be fun to try sometime. We'll have to give that some thought. But I think this one would be better in your hands. I love to write, but I don't have any experience with the really heavy emotional stuff. The writing I do for work is very different. So . . . what might it take to persuade you? How about if I promise the first installment of my next story in the next couple of days? (By the way, thinking of touching and great things that might happen between Jonathan and Clark: Suppose Jonathan wakes up to find he's been out cold for three months, Clark's still gone, the farm is gone or going, they're flat broke, etc., and is about to die of a broken heart -- pardon the cliche -- when Clark shows up again and restores his will to live? Just a speculation!) Edited to add: Oh, you've already started! Well then, can I renege on my promise? (The dark place sounds horrible! I don't envy you. :( ) |
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| Smallvillian | Sun Jul 4, 2004 3:31 am Post #8 |
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Jonathan's Lady
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No reneging, No reneging!
:p I'm thinking about it. As corny as it sounds, that's a hard place to go. To do something like that, I have to be completely inside that character's mind and see through their eyes and poor Jonathan in such bad place. I waded in just a little last night and had tears in my eyes--which sounds even cornier. I'm such a freak, I know :p |
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| Renee | Sun Jul 4, 2004 9:17 am Post #9 |
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Don't mess with JS
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Nah. Just a sensitive artiste.
;) I just hope it's not going to be TOO hard on you! (If you had tears in your eyes just thinking about it, imagine what the finished product is going to do to the rest of us! :blink: ) |
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| Smallvillian | Sun Jul 4, 2004 9:39 am Post #10 |
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Jonathan's Lady
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Well thank you :) I know it seems silly but to write something like THAT shouldn't be done looking on from the outside. He's in such an emotional state that to do it any justice IMO I have to start from the inside and work with that...oh I'll shut up now :p |
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