Clark Kent and the Learning Curve

[butterfly]

Last night's Smallville really worked for me, and it comes down to Clark. He's trying so hard not to automatically use his powers. Throughout this season, he's been shown to be learning lessons. He's trying to do things the right way first, the legal way.

And each time, it doesn't work, because the system is in the pocket of the criminals. The system is flawed.

So he gives into his worst instincts and does the illegal, unsustainable thing - he tries to break Lex out of Belle Reve, he 'borrows' Lex's car to try to save Pete. In the first case, Lex was destroyed anyway, in the second, someone died.

And his friend betrayed him - because that was a betrayal that Pete just did, and the writers must be aware of that, Clark must be, after Pete's words about Lex - "I've got your back, but Lex won't." Clark has to be thinking that he never should have told Pete about his powers. Never should have given Pete the temptation. In other words, he's falling more and more into keeping secrets - Chloe had to verbally smack him about keeping Pete's and he couldn't admit to Lex even something that Lex already knew. If Lex had said straight-out, as Chloe did - "This mysterious solution wouldn't be stealing my car, now would it?" Would Clark still have evaded? His secrets are locked up even more tightly from Lex, who he probably thinks that he's hurt enough already.

And the last Clark/Lex scene was a touch chilling for me - Clark is now, I think, afraid that Lex will ask him to cross boundaries for him. He's already done that (he strong-armed two people in Shattered, and if Edge hadn't been dead already, hitting Clark probably assured that he was dead by the end, in Aslyum, he breaks in only after trying the more legal way leads to someone's death). More than that, he crossed the familial boundaries for Lex - directly choosing Lex over his parents (he also was willing to place Chloe and Lana in danger to help Lex). But Clark is learning - from Lex and from his own experiences - that you have to say 'no' sometimes. And I think that it disturbed him a little that Lex's 'no' was really a sidewides 'yes'. He learned that he can't make moral exceptions even when it comes to friendship, and Lex is saying that what he just decided was wrong was all right. Ouch.

Clark is learning, putting the pieces together, and he's weaving a secret composed of many. His friendship with Chloe is now directly dependant on her not trying to find his secret. The fact that he sidesteps even the things Lex already knows probably tells Lex the same - as a result, Lex appears to be focusing on a different young man with secrets, one that he isn't friends with, one that he can concentrate on without worrying about caring. In a way, Adam is a Clark proxy, a way to focus the energy that he used to spend on Clark, a way to discover a secret without hurting his friendship with Clark. Right now, Clark probably wishes that his friendship with Pete were like the ones with Chloe or Lana - suspecting but unknowing.

So, he sets up an absolute - never again.

Yeah, I can definitely see why a secret identity was needed.

Comments

[logovo.livejournal.com]

Excellent analysis.
So, he sets up an absolute - never again.
Oh yes, although I believe TPTB will serve up a few more of these lessons before Clark leaves Smallville.

Re:

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's just one lesson - an important one, but just one. There are more to come.

"Thou shalt not let thine friends scam thee for thy superpowers." It was wrong of Pete to ask, but just as wrong for Clark to agree, and he gets both sides of that.

[mecurtin.livejournal.com]

And the last Clark/Lex scene was a touch chilling for me - Clark is now, I think, afraid that Lex will ask him to cross boundaries for him.

I think if Clark has any sense (not a given) he should be more afraid of what boundaries *Lex* will cross for *him*. Lex has already killed for him, he fired Gabe basically on Clark's say-so, he's tolerating Clark's lying and stealing -- Clark should truly be afraid of what Lex will do the next time Clark is seriously threatened.

As long as Clark keeps lying to Lex's face in a way that is blatantly disrespectful of Lex's intelligence and friendship, he is demonstrating a pretty strong disregard for moral boundaries. And the trouble is, Lex is using Clark as his moral compass, he's just *better* at lying and Clark-protection than Clark is.

Re:

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

I think if Clark has any sense (not a given) he should be more afraid of what boundaries *Lex* will cross for *him*. Lex has already killed for him, he fired Gabe basically on Clark's say-so, he's tolerating Clark's lying and stealing -- Clark should truly be afraid of what Lex will do the next time Clark is seriously threatened.

I think that he's already aware of how far Lex will go for him. That fear's already in him, but now, I think he'll be waiting for the other shoe to drop.

As long as Clark keeps lying to Lex's face in a way that is blatantly disrespectful of Lex's intelligence and friendship, he is demonstrating a pretty strong disregard for moral boundaries. And the trouble is, Lex is using Clark as his moral compass, he's just *better* at lying and Clark-protection than Clark is.

He is. And it's not just Lex - Chloe lied for Clark in Delete even when she honestly believed that he'd tried to kill her. It's interesting that both of them are investigating Adam (I have this whole 'Adam as Clark without the emotional attachment' thing going on - they can investigate him without feeling guilty).

[latxcvi.livejournal.com]

And I think that it disturbed him a little that Lex's 'no' was really a sidewides 'yes'.

I really want someone to explain this to me, because I keep seeing people saying things like this, things which suggest that Lex more or less actively did something to encourage Clark to steal from him, and I'm just not seeing it (and I really don't get it when people claim Lex left the car keys there with any kind of *intention* that Clark would take the Porsche).

I found the Clark/Lex scene chilling, too, but for completely different reasons. I didn't read Lex's comments to Clark as being an actual pat on the back; on the contrary, I found them ironic and almost-mocking. He knows Clark was lying to him there and to my eyes, pointing out *exactly* what Clark did really meant was like ... a twisting of the knife. A pouring of salt in the wound. "Oh, yeah, you're just so moral and upstanding aren't you? Not." Because I think Lex is basically getting to the point where he knows he can't even trust Clark with the little things if Clark couldn't just say, "Um, yeah ... about your car" to him, and really, it's only a matter of time before Clark is completely relegated, along with pretty much everyone else in Lex's life, to the group that's Useful and nothing more to him. Because intentionally or not, Clark's demonstrating to Lex that Lex can't really count on him any more than Lex feels like he can count on anyone else.

Which is all basically my way of saying I didn't see Lex's reactions to Clark at the end as being nearly as accepting or approving as others seem to.

Re:

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

I really want someone to explain this to me, because I keep seeing people saying things like this, things which suggest that Lex more or less actively did something to encourage Clark to steal from him, and I'm just not seeing it (and I really don't get it when people claim Lex left the car keys there with any kind of *intention* that Clark would take the Porsche).

Oh, I don't think that Lex intended for Clark to steal the keys - how could he know that that would solve any problems. But I do think that, in the aftermath, Lex understood why Clark did it and didn't discourage him from doing it again. He said that he understood crossing moral boundaries for friends - implying that he knows why Clark did it and isn't mad about it.

I found the Clark/Lex scene chilling, too, but for completely different reasons. I didn't read Lex's comments to Clark as being an actual pat on the back; on the contrary, I found them ironic and almost-mocking. He knows Clark was lying to him there and to my eyes, pointing out *exactly* what Clark did really meant was like ... a twisting of the knife. A pouring of salt in the wound. "Oh, yeah, you're just so moral and upstanding aren't you? Not." Because I think Lex is basically getting to the point where he knows he can't even trust Clark with the little things if Clark couldn't just say, "Um, yeah ... about your car" to him, and really, it's only a matter of time before Clark is completely relegated, along with pretty much everyone else in Lex's life, to the group that's Useful and nothing more to him. Because intentionally or not, Clark's demonstrating to Lex that Lex can't really count on him any more than Lex feels like he can count on anyone else.

I don't think that Lex counts on Clark - well, to save his life, yeah, but to tell him the truth? I think he's long given up on that. He expects Clark to lie to him, now. I don't think he's happy about it, but I don't think that he's keeping a tally of what Clark won't tell him.

Which is all basically my way of saying I didn't see Lex's reactions to Clark at the end as being nearly as accepting or approving as others seem to.

I saw him more... resigned than accepted. He knows that this is what Clark does - Clark lies. And despite that, he's still willing to protect Clark and care for him.

[lastscorpion.livejournal.com]

I love it in fanfic when Lex (or whoever of Clark's friends) is willing to just *let* the guy keep some secrets. I hope TPTB keep it that Chloe is giving him that space.

Re:

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

I love it in fanfic when Lex (or whoever of Clark's friends) is willing to just *let* the guy keep some secrets. I hope TPTB keep it that Chloe is giving him that space.

Agreed - some secrets are just secret. I do wish that Clark would sit down with Lex and say what he said to Chloe - I know the pieces don't add up, but please stop pushing.