Were Chlark right to lie to Jimmy?

[ms.c.]

When Jimmy figured out Clark was super, I thought he made a great case for himself as a worthy secret keeper. He was pleading with Clark and Chloe to let him in on the secret and I felt sorry for him that they were refusing him. He had figured things out and he was right. It was even worse when Chloe got closer to Jimmy and he faced her and told her to tell him the truth.

Jimmy made the scene about trust and the truth and it was clear he felt rejected by Chlark. This was really brought home by Chloe walking over to stand beside Clark as a united front as they both smiled and lied to Jimmy.

Did they really have a good enough reason to lie to him? I wasn't sure.

Chloe is engaged to Jimmy so Chloe siding with Clark over Jimmy made me feel even worse for him. He was offering his friendship to Clark and asking Chloe to give him her loyalty and trust and they withheld it. Or, it felt that way to me at least. Clark confiding in Ollie makes him a closer friend than Jimmy. It was a bit like Clark chose Ollie over him. Likewise, it definitely came across to me that Chloe chose Clark over Jimmy. The blocking of the scene especially gave me that impression.

[lillie_poo_pod]

I'm not sure either. I thought that it showed that Jimmy was a good secret keeper. After the Clark and Jimmy scene when he put together the pieces, I was kind of hoping that PS3 would let him remain part of it. It was nice. I felt bad for Jimmy when Chlark lied.

[BWOracle]

As Clark said to Oliver that people have died from knowing his secret or have had their lives turned upside down, it was appropriate to keep the secret from Jimmy. For his protection more than anything else.

I do have one question about that scene. How did Clark only arrive seconds before Jimmy? If Jimmy drove and Clark supersped wouldn't he have beaten him by hours instead of seconds?

[Firebunny]

It seems to me that people have to find out the secret a couple times before they are allowed to remember it or know it for real. Chloe learned the secret in Rush and then again in Pariah. Lana learned it in Reckoning and Promise. Lex learned it Shattered and Arctic. This is Jimmy's first time learning it. Maybe next time he won't be convinced he was wrong.

The only person I can think who was allowed to know the secret after only learning it once is Pete, and he's the one who seems to have had the hardest time dealing with it (not including Lex, because he's EVOL). Maybe there's something to earning the right to know the secret, or proving that you're trustworthy. Jimmy said some things that suggested he'd be able to handle the secret well, but he didn't prove it.

Does that mean Chlark were right to team up on him? I think Clark has every right to keep his secret a secret. He shouldn't have to be forced to tell anyone he's not comfortable telling. But Chloe did obviously pick Clark over Jimmy here and that does make me feel a little bad for Jimmy.

[mistaguitarmasta]

Although I think Jimmy could be trusted to protect Clark's secret, Clark and Chloe were acting in his best interests by lying to him about it. Lana, Chloe, Pete, Lionel and of course Jonathan suffered for bearing the burden of Clark's secret. Why should Jimmy have to deal with that? Clark is finally learning from his mistakes!

[clarkbunny]

I did feel bad for Jimmy and he did put forward a good secret keeping case, however mythos is his doesn't know so ultimately he can't know.

Jimmy is friends with superman but he doesn't know that Clark Kent and superman are one and the same.

[HumanoidCorvin]

Jimmy is one true friend. :D

[All about Clark]

But it does lend to the fact that deep down Jimmy suspects that Superman and Clark are the same and just decides to never voice it. I mean, let's face it, everyone in trouble, calls Clark and he knows that. I think Clark made it clear in this episode that he doesn't want it to go any further and probably Jimmy accepts that.

[Kevin24]

But it does lend to the fact that deep down Jimmy suspects that Superman and Clark are the same and just decides to never voice it. I mean, let's face it, everyone in trouble, calls Clark and he knows that. I think Clark made it clear in this episode that he doesn't want it to go any further and probably Jimmy accepts that.

I totally agree.

[ms.c.]

Does that mean Chlark were right to team up on him? I think Clark has every right to keep his secret a secret. He shouldn't have to be forced to tell anyone he's not comfortable telling. But Chloe did obviously pick Clark over Jimmy here and that does make me feel a little bad for Jimmy.

I think that is what got to me. It felt like Chloe was picking teams, and I felt bad for Jimmy that he knew and I knew that Chloe picked Team Kent over him. It seemed like he was pleading with them and he got turned away. I normally don't like Jimmy, but I felt bad for him in that scene. He was right. They were almost trying to gaslight him and given that the people doing it are his fiancee and someone I think Jimmy would like to call a friend, I felt sorry for him. It made me doubt the decision Chloe and Clark made to keep it from him and Chloe didn't try to argue with Clark otherwise. She doesn't trust Jimmy with the secret either.

[All about Clark]

I don't think it is about trust. Clark clearly told Oliver that people who learn his secret either die or become overly burdened. Both Chloe and Clark both saw this as protecting Jimmy. Hopefully Jimmy can figure this out and just accepts things as they are. If he chooses to believe Clark is the one and never voice it, then he's much better off. And I really believe this situation helps Jimmy understand the relationship that is Clark and Chloe.

[babyluthor]

I kinda thought they should have let him in on the secret at that point, but they chose not to in order to protect him. Everyone who knows Clark's secret is in danger, so they decided it would be best not to tell him.

[ms.c.]

Clark told Ollie. I know that Ollie is a superhero and chose that life, but Jimmy was saying he wanted to choose that life as a secret keeper too. I thought the underlying message was that neither Clark nor Chloe felt confident that Jimmy could handle the burden that goes with knowing Clark's secret. It was a vote of no confidence really.

[Firebunny]

Clark told Ollie. I know that Ollie is a superhero and chose that life, but Jimmy was saying he wanted to choose that life as a secret keeper too. I thought the underlying message was that neither Clark nor Chloe felt confident that Jimmy could handle the burden that goes with knowing Clark's secret. It was a vote of no confidence really. I said this in another thread, but Clark has the right to confide his secret in whomever he chooses and if he chooses to confide in Ollie and not Jimmy, well, tough luck for Jimmy.

I think where it gets sticky is with Chloe. Clark's secret is not her secret to tell. So she can't be the one to tell Jimmy, but she actively lied to Jimmy. She's supposed to be in love with him, but she chose her loyalty to Clark over her loyalty to Jimmy and she did it without batting an eyelash. At the time they were doing it, Jimmy was not convinced that Clark wasn't super. He suspected that they were lying to him, that Chloe was lying to him. I think it was Chloe's lies that had to hurt more.

Although, to be honest, he didn't seem that hurt to me. He just seemed really excited that the hero of Metropolis was his friend and co-worker.

[ms.c.]

I agree that Clark can pick who to share his secret with, but I felt sorry for Jimmy that he didn't make the cut but Ollie and Chloe do.

I guess it made me think of Jimmy like the younger kid wanting to join the older kids on the playground and being turned away. With Clark, Chloe and Ollie all agreeing that it was in Jimmy's best interest not to know, I thought they were treating him like a child and protecting him for his own good.

Maybe I'm wrong, but that was the feeling I took away from it and Chloe being engaged to Jimmy made that idea come across really insulting to him.

[Sue Denim]

Jimmy made the scene about trust and the truth and it was clear he felt rejected by Chlark. This was really brought home by Chloe walking over to stand beside Clark as a united front as they both smiled and lied to Jimmy.


With regard to the secret, Chlark blew it.

With regards to Chlark, it showed Chlark>Climmy and Chlark>Chimmy. I think Jimmy behaved the coolest out of everyone that Clark's told, and I really enjoyed Jimmy in this episode. He's interesting, when not written to be Gary Sue.

Jimmy finding out the secret was used to as exposition of the Chlark relationship--that too.

[SteveS]

There is no such thing as a 'right to know' ClarkMan's secret and Clark has stated repeatedly his reasons for not spreading it around. Chloe showed her true loyalty to a greater good even though little Jimmy had figured it out.

In general, Jimmy is not a strong character. If you combine that with the fact that at one time or another, people generally like to share some inside private knowledge with someone else, then you can see how silly it is to continue the idea of an ever-widening group of people who know all about ClarkMan and his secret. At this stage, it is only Chloe and the other superheroes (Pete, I think, is extinct for this series) who are dependable enough to know, not others.