Killing off Jimmy was a mistake - we were robbed of two seasons of wacky "Jimmy Olsen, Superman's Pal" style stories, where Jimmy gets the random superpowers or is transformed into something for an episode. The show was already doing that kind of story every so often, but Jimmy is the ideal target for them.
This Jimmy Olsen isn't generally light-hearted and easy-going like the comics' Jimmy - That's why it aids in it making sense that he isn't the comic book character.
Or even a story where he randomly, as this completely human character somehow ends up saving someone like Clark completely by accident. It fits for him considering the fact that his last moment was literally saving Chloe.
What is truly heartbreaking is that Davis' first kill was Linda Lake (Tori Spelling) in Infamous (S8E15), up until that point he was self medicating to control the beast, and in that episode he finds that killing calms it down, but as you well point ou it takes a toll on your soul. So, when Clark went public for the first time, and it went horribly, he went back in time and didn't reveal his secret to the world, changing Linda's and Davis destiny, which inadvertedly sets off Jimmy's death, because the killer had been unleashed. It's a subtle nod to season five when Jor-El warns Clark that changing time ALWAYS has consecuences (not orchestrated by him).
Do yall remember that rumor of a Chloe Sullivan spin-off show where it would follow Chlole being part of a sex cult and go to jail? Wonder what happened to that!
Also bringing back Lana and lex was a waste of time, their character arcs wrapped up in season 7, they shouldn’t have all been in season 8, Lois should’ve gotten more screen time, all bringing back Lana did was delay Clark-Lois relationship
I watched every single episode of Smallville when they first aired and the best person on the show wasn't Clark(we knew where he was going), not Ma & Pa Kent(loved who they picked to play them, btw), certainly not Lex(good pick for younger version of him, though he should've kept the Red Hair imho), it was "Beautiful" Chloe Sullivan that interested me the most.
I really feel that you don't fully understand Superman's never kill stance. It really came into being post crisis when after being shunted into a pocket dimension that Zod terrorized, Superman had to depower and ultimately kill Zod. This traumatized him so much that this is where his no kill stance started. In the early 2000s there was a story in the comics where general zod of pokolistan found out about this and chose the name Zod to mess with his head. I think that having his no kill rule without that background takes a lot of the wind from his sails.
I usually try to separate the art from the person, but in some cases it's just impossible. With a big irony of how this character was likeable, balanced and a great person, and how it turned out to be in real life... You just can't separate the two. That ruined the show for me.
I was never a big fan of the character honestly. It didn't ruin anything for me but it made it very ironic in a twisted way. Most actors don't reflect characters they play though obviously, all actors do is lend their voice and likeness to a role if they're deemed talented enough for it.
@@bwackbeedows3629 Yep....she was a member of NXIVM, a cult founded by Keith Raniere, it's pretty effed up, he came and brainwashed her in between Seasons 5 and 6....she served 2 out of the 3 years she was sentenced.
@@bwackbeedows3629 The actress Alison Mack got pulled into a cult called Nxivm which originally portrayed itself as self help retreats for those with depression but as a person got sucked further in, would involve things like preforming sex acts, getting locked up in an isolated location for days to weeks at a time to break them emotionally and mentally, getting literally branded like cattle, being treated and used as a slave, and other such horrifying acts. She was in the cult long enough to become one of the higher ups who's responsibility was to recruit others and also perform those aforementioned criminal acts upon other newer cult members. Micheal Rosenbaum on his podcast talked about how unsettling it was to watch his work friend go from this nice normal lady to the uncomfortable as all hell brainwashed woman that he didn't feel safe around. I personally always liked Chloe's character. I thought she was so smart and charming but now it's hard to watch her in the show knowing that Mack's charming demeanor was probably used to pull people into a cult.
I also grew up in this, and when then a few years ago i binged it all again. 8 is weird, and i think its where the show officially jumped the shark. 6 and 7 were kind of filler, but they had enough going on to justify its existence. Through 8, i could see the writers just trying to tread water until he was superman. His most iconic villain was dead, he's already got a romance with Lois, he's in Metropolis, and he's becoming a more public hero. Then he fights his most dangerous enemy from his most iconic story, just to have another (albiet better) season doing more of the same until he can be Superman. This season feels like it was done out of obligation, not love for Superman
Oh man...I cannot begin to say how excited I am for you to cover season 9 and ABSOLUTE JUSTICE. Gah! Please please please give that 2 parter some extra love.
Okay looking back I have noticed how whenever Chloe crosses the very inappropriate line, Clark gets mad but she starts crying and turns the table on him which makes him feel guilty and he ends up forgiving and forgetting what she did. But when his pal Pete Ross (an actual character of Superman) does something bad, Clark is mad at him and doesn't speak to him. I saw that as discriminating. The writers made Chloe strong enough to keep Clark's secret but not Pete, NOPE they made him weak and got him out of town. I also noticed how people seem to come to her for the dumbest of requests: research. People can do their own research if they have a computer, phone, or iPad. But they still come to her. I then saw a scene on The Dark Knight Rises and Lucius Fox got the same setup as Chloe's Watchtower and he said "This is too much power" he gave that up fast. Chloe took it because she loved it, it's what she has always wanted since she could remember. I bet she didn't want to lose that meteor power of making people tell the truth, especially when she was racing to ask Clark all her dying questions. "Fundamental goodness"? Really? Prying, stalking, barging, and clinging on to Clark is called goodness?
Davis bloome doomsday was an interesting idea having a human form, but it was executed badly, also the season finale fight with doomsday was bad, also I don’t get why Davis killed Jimmy tbh
I honestly think that Chloe Sullivan has both good and bad moments in this series, which makes me feel like she sometimes overstays her welcome in the series, while also having me conflicted about her character. I also don't think she's always right, especially when she thought that killing Davis was equivalent to stopping things that threaten Clark. If anything it just makes her hypocritical because one moment she's hesitant in killing Davis when he wants her to kill him, but she thinks that Clark's in danger, she kills Davis anyway, which becomes meaningless when Davis comes back immune to green Kryptonite. Not to mention the whole keeping Davis a secret from Clark and stopping Clark from sending to the phantom zone which would have been the best option to stop Doomsday. Chloe just annoys me in later seasons, especially in season 8 and 9. In spite of that, I honestly think that season 8 was a good season of Smallville, even with the bittersweet ending that has a negative impact on Clark that affects him throughout the last 2 seasons until he can find his way to become Superman.
Chloe was conceived as the character who would end up becoming Lois. There are many, many signs of this in the early seasons, and it's been recently confirmed in an interview with Al and Miles in Rosenbaum's Talkville podcast.
I had the biggest crush on Alison Mack. So, so sad what happened. Her constant back and forth as a character is kinda what her the most human on the show. She was the only other main character than Lionel that was wholly created for the show so she had no lore or fan base to live up to. No human has all of the right answers all of the time so why do we expect our fictional characters to always know everything? I think it would have been perfect if David would have appeared on "Smallville" or at least if they had been allowed to use "Starman." in a dramatic moment.
Y'know, I was waiting for Smallville to fully become Superman. We loved this show growing up, but I always hoped they'd fully embrace the absurd, like just accepting everything Chloe says because --she's so damn hot-- _she's always right._ 😅
I know the feeling. Does feel like they were spinning their wheels on that. No more apparent the Clark taking the persona of… the Blur Such a dumb name
I@autobotproductions1244 I kind of like the Blur. It's simple yet mysterious, much like how clark was during season 9. I think it works best as a proto-hero name for Clark at that time before he officially becomes you know who.
I remember during the first 3 or so seasons wanting Chloe to secretly be Lois, that Chloe was a middle name she went by or something. Especially in the early years where she was teen journalist, and got Clark into it.
@@travis5732 it's hard likely her character knowing the person that played her was part of a sex trafficking cult just like with the actor that played Hyde on that 70s show I forgot his name but it's hard to love his character knowing he's a child molester and pedophile
Season 8 was the best season up until that point. The beginning of the season was incredible as we saw Clark’s journey on the show finally get him to where we knew he would end up. It was so exciting seeing the classic Superman elements start to take shape like Clark working as a reporter at the Daily Planet and the constant flirting between Clark and Lois. This season also solidified Smallville as the best Superman adaptation with so many perfect Superman moments from Clark as he finally became a true hero. We also saw other characters reach their potential like Lois and Jimmy. By the end of the season, Jimmy had really become the character from the comics who has the potential to be the best reporter. In the comics, Clark believes Jimmy can be an incredible reporter and Smallville showed us that potential reached when he was the only one to figure out Clark’s secret and Davis’s story. I don’t understand why DC thought he was too old if Jimmy was the same age as Clark in Superman Returns
I think an important part of Oliver's character is the fact that he isn't a hero like the other DC heroes, He's not a paragon of absolute Justice or Stoicism. To quote him from the comics he's a hunter and he's an emotional hunter. He's not Batman, he's not in it to prevent further loss of life, whether it be the villain of their victims. He learned to hunt on the Island. To hunt pirates and to protect the prey. Unlike heroes like Batman he is prone to do whatever it takes, whether it's putting arrows through the gang holding Black Canary hostage in The Longbow Hunter's or through the head of Prometheus after he destroyed Star City, killed his granddaughter and crippled Roy. Green Arrow is more human than a lot of the DC heroes IMO. He can be impulsive, cocky, and vengeful. Traits you don't often see in heroes from DC.
Didn’t Alison Mack also audition for Lana, or did I imagine that bit? Maybe they secretly knew she wasn’t a good person or had a vibe, but then why cast her at all? Huh… I do know that Kristin Kreuk was cast before Tom Welling, and with how they wrote Sam Jones III out because they had no idea how to use Pete (this before his own crimes)… I dunno.
@@Dalton_stuff Agreed. The original Doomsday storyline is basically "Oh, something scary is coming! He's coming! He's coming! He's here!", followed by punching. Which, well, it's grand and dramatic and filled the time left because DC needed to delay Clark and Lois getting married by a year.
I guess Alison Mack would just memorize her lines and not really take in anything her character said or did to heart to follow the path she wound up following irl.
I hated that Lana absorbing the kryptonite in her suit is what made her relationship with Clark officially end, coz by the time that the writers decided to touch upon Lois & Clarks romance I felt that it was already ruined coz it just felt like Clark went for Lois out of just for the sake of it and not out of genuine love.
I usually agree with 95% of your takes but I think you got it wrong here...... I think there was definitely a selfish element to her protection of Davis..... I do believe that she had genuine feelings for him and was dead wrong and committing emotion adultery by allowing him to be and get so close to her as an engaged/ married woman ...... plus the facilitating the murders bit......lol
A big problem with smallville is Lana, yeah she's pretty and she needed to be in the series, but literally 50% of smallville is about Clark loving Lana but it won't work etc etc. Even worse is that Chloe was jealous for 5 seasons. And last but not least: Season 8 is the worst season
Chloe and Jimmy were one of the worst couple and to this day I still hate how the show in a lot of times put more focus on them than on Clark. Never cared much for Jimmy as well, for this iteration of Smallville at least, so when he died I was like "yeah, good riddance". Davis arc was interesting, but it should've been written better, not only to avoid the retcons which I had forgotten but also that stupid resolution we got.
Chloe should have died instead of Jimmy. She was a murderer and a piece of crap. Chloe should have died instead of Jimmy she was the one who deserved to die. Her character was completely worthless to the show and she was a major bore. They never should have hooked Jimmy up with her and Jimmy should have taken over watchtower it would have been a lot more fun. Chloe should have left the series after season 3 but like Lana she hung around way past her usefulness.
@@Michael-rp5pv both Chloe and Lana should've been written out after season 3. It was the perfect moment to give Clark a reason to start over after high school.
I liked Chloe quite a bit in season four, and then she spent the next 3 seasons being absolutely insufferable (especially to Lois - a character that did nothing but love and support her). They somewhat redeem her in 8-10, but, oof. She was a lot.
Aye she broke the law and is now paying for her crimes. She just like us. Chole/allie is american actor and ill pray for her and thank her for her time on screen.
I watched the entire series but I have never liked Chloe - to me she seems like a writer's self insert, why? she sounds like one. Also, She's profoundly manipulative towards her friends. (her unnecessary months long investigations into Clark's origins is an example of this, then, making weepy excuses for her indiscretions when Clark finds out.) She was the conscience of the show because she was the writer, simple. She's the writer's voice. The god in the machine. Smallville is such a mixed bag of good and bad episodes, characters and plot twists, with far too much soap opera- style story telling, I've never been able to watch it a second time. I can't love the show. I wish they could have explained exactly why Kryptonians seemed to so dangerous to earth, yes, fine. Zod. Got it. but, even the normal Kryptonians seemed so? Even the AI Jor-El seems dangerous and threatening? Did he really think his son would become a ruler and if he did why did he send so many way to defeat Kal-El? ... And, after visiting many centuries, why hadn't they taken our planet over as a colony of Krypton, before our technological revolution, if they were so dangerous? It would have easy enough to do so, wouldn't it ? Were the Kryptonians, like the Asgardians in the Marvel Universe, seeming gods who were actually aliens? There were signs of ancient Kryptonian artifacts from all over our world and throughout our history... it didn't seem that this show's version of Kryptonians were ruled by a profound sense of morality, to me. That horrific sacrificial altar in one of the episodes... In short, Their handling of Kryptonian aspects seemed to me to be very muddled and confusing.
@@DarthDread-oh2ne Thanks. Just to elaborate: Chloe is Xander as he is jealous of Angel regarding Buffy's affection in a deep, intense, and dark way. Chloe is Max as she is a tech savy, loyal, awesome sidekick, and lastly, in season nine, she's the other side of a Batman coin - Green Arrow is the rich hero with gadgets, while Chloe is the tech savy, strategic, and somewhat ruthless mastermind (this attitude caused by desiring to ensure something as painful and upsetting as Jimmy's death never happens again).
@@tornadochaser2457 And don't forget, like Lana from the comics(Who also had an unrequited love for Clark.) She had an unrequited love for Clark,like Lois, she has an passionate for journalism (there's probably more but I haven't seen the series in A year.)
I really get tired of the constant attack on Oh yeah Superman killed Todd in origin story movie where he had no other options had no way didn't learn the lesson which you know the whole point was put him in a situation where it was either the human race or his own people what should Superman do without kryptonite without being able to imprison him what are your two options that is the option Like y'all keep forgetting that there are stories where Superman had no choice you know and it tears them up inside that was the whole point you know. That yes they're always should be a way to save people no matter illness or good but when you are put in a situation where there is literally no other choice and everything else other options are spent what do you do Do you protect the people or do you protect the one.
It might just be you. Chloe was a pretty popular character while the show was on, they even wrote her into a few Superman comics. I think the actress had a lot to do with it; people really liked Alison Mack before the whole 'sex trafficking cult' thing.
When I heard how doomsday was handled in this show later on I legit stopped I don't even really care much about doomsday cuz to me he's just a plot device, but when I found out "yeah it went like this" I just said "okay fuck this, I'm not watching through to that"
