LotR, Smallville, Angel

[butterfly]

Lord of the Rings is one of the few movies that I would watch with just the soundtrack. Sadly, it doesn't have that as an option. Shame. The music is so unutterably perfect and well-done. It'd be nice just to put it on in the background. Then again, it's no bad thing to have the dialogue.

I'm thinking of seeing Return of the King again tonight. It's been a while. I also gave some thought to seeing Big Fish (Ewan!) or Peter Pan (Peter Pan, yo!) but there's this voice in my head that says, "What's the point of going to the theater and not seeing Return?"

I may be the slightest bit obsessed.

So, onto other things I'm obsessed with:

This is the first episode where we see any of Pete's family. We see his mother faced with an echo of what we're always seeing the Kents confront - a choice between protecting a son and between doing the honest, right thing. Clark prevents us from seeing the choice Judge Ross makes, before we know whether she will make Lionel's choice or Jonathan and Martha's. Though those, of course, are the extremes (and Lionel's, of course, are only honest and right on the surface).

We get a good look at the 'new' Lex. Drinking orange juice today. Does he remember more than he says or does he just want to keep him mind clear and focused? Of course, I'm not sure that Lex ever knew about the drugged Scotch to between with.

We see choices - Chloe chooses Clark over her job and her father's, though she wasn't as aware of the choice as she should have been. Lex chooses Clark over Chloe and her father, fires a man to make sure his father doesn't suspect Clark of anything. Lana doesn't choose Clark.

After the determined Clark of the last episode, we see a Clark brought down - vulnerable, as he says. Scared and willing to reach out to what he'd walked away from in the last episode.

It's about connections, about the unseen webs of need that hover between people. In the last episode, an episode about destiny and loss, we saw a flash of Superman. Here, in this episode, we see a clear glimpse of the Clark-to-be.


Angel's soul is a dead goldfish (well, Buffy did kill it once, and she kills her goldfish) and his heart is a dried up walnut (Gunn's words from The Cautionary Tale of Numero Cinco, words that Fred wasn't there to hear, as I recall). Angel's soul was forced on him, and it's so fragile. Handed off to a bear, a mascot, a person in a bear suit, reminiscent of Pangs, Angel's outside in with Buffy. I really need to watch this episode again - it's full of fun things.

Comments

[dlgood.livejournal.com]

And it might not just be any bear. It could be the UCLA Bruin. UCLA, a traditional power in athletics, is struggling with a change in management and looking pretty mediocre compared to both the tradional rivals in their own conference and newer upstarts. And UCLA's roster is full of highly talented and regarded athletes who (due to fate, injury and other circumstances) are failing to live up to the high standards expected of them.

Granted, I'm only thinking that way because my Terps lost to Duke. ME clearly has no particular sports fans among the writing staff, but hey - I'll extrapolate.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

*blinks*

I'll just... trust you on that one.

(I know next to nothing about sports, really.)

[hermionesviolin.livejournal.com]

I bookmarked this a while back and for some reason never got around to commenting. Love the points (including dlgood's). One note: The "walnut" reference actually comes from Numero Cinco, when he and Angel are alone in the graveyard:

Numero Cinco: Mis hermanos, they came back.
Angel: Because you're worthy. You proved it.
Numero Cinco: Maybe. But still the demon did not want my heart.
Angel: He didn't want mine, either.
Numero Cinco: Of course not, amigo. Who would want that dried-up walnut of a dead thing?
-http://www.buffy-vs-angel.com/angel_tran_94.shtml

Re:

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

Dude, right - Gunn was the one with the beef jerky call. Which is more Gunn anyway, now that I think about it.