Was the Lana arc pandering?

[supercatmom]

Pandering - BIG TIME
I understand that KK had some imput with the writers on the Lana arc. And I could see how she would want to correct ever flaw she was ever given in the past 7 seasons. She has said that she was not happy with the way her character was portrayed in past seasons.
But really, did TPTB have to go this overbroad and pander to the character like this.

We have Lana the All-Good, she right up were with Sister Teresa.

She is now Lex's equal. Of course, she would want this because Lana was manipulate by Lex in previous seasons.

She is now Clark's equal. With the help of the suit, she is now as powerful and fast as Clark, the man she loves. But I find it was very interesting that when Clark asked her if she would like more sex, She said "What I would really love would be to go on patrol of metropolis with you".

And now she has been shown once and for all as the love of Clark Kent's life.
The only reason they are not together is because she herioically absorbed the kryptonite.

[tj_powers]

I dont think she is equal to anyone because she ended up paying alot more than Lex or Clark could have in their own ways. She did end up saving Clark and Metropolis but Lex would have never blown up Metropolis. No matter how much he wanted to destroy Clark and Lana, Lex was always more about mental strategies, games and personal grudges... not destruction.

[Snowfire]

Puhleese

After seeing what hell they put Lana through every season, how could any Smallville fan not be content about them finally paying her iconic character the overdue respect and reverence she deserves. Clark has had every season to come off looking like the knight in shining armor, saving the day more times then one can count. But give Lana a couple of episodes where she's being heroic and she's suddenly "outshining" Clark and making everyone look bad. Why can't Lana end up a heroine? Why wouldn't the one person who is worthy of Clark's love also shine next to him? Why does she have to be villified even when she does good? Lana can't win around here. If people were more empathetic towards Lana I think there wouldn't be so many haters complaining that she is making Clark look bad. She has given Clark a heart and made him more human than anyone else.

All these outcries of pandering just appear to be whines of discontent because Lana is no longer the persistant victim, ineffectual bystander or fleeting love in Clark's life they thought her character was only capable of being. She is now the biggest influence in his life and isn't leaving easily. She has developed so much as a character and sacrificed so much to be with the man she loves. And now she is even more connected and intertwined with Clark, since her parents were killed by Clark's meteor show. She is the one person he loves most in the world but can not be with her because of the added effects his planet's destruction. A poetic end, fitting of how they started in the Pilot, where it was set up that Lana would always be his weakness. That legacy is even more true now and how people continue to not acknowledge that and accept it as Clark's character trait then I really feel sad for you. He's not Superman he's Clark Kent. Learn him and love him.

So many people expect him to be this ideal hero and ignore the facts that he needs people in his life who will guide him and help him along the way. If TPTB were pandering to Lana here than you have to also insist that Jonathan was being pandered to when he constantly gave Clark moral direction/advice or when he empowered himself (with the help of Jor-El) to stop Kal-El in Metroplis. Then we have Chloe who has supercede her original character status to the point where she basically the brain to Clark's brawn. Clark always has to turn to for intelligence, advice and assistence despite him being quite capable and maybe even more proficent. Chloe has saved Clark's butt more times than he saved hers.

In closing, Smallville made Lana who she was so stop hating the player and start hating the game. (I love that line.)

[LuthorKent90]

No I didn't.

Clark's OWN idiocy made him look like a failure next to her.

As for being Lex's equal.. um how can she be Lex's equal AND save the world.
Unless of course you're saying Lex is a hero. Which judging from the season 7 finale he did come out looking the hero.(but a bad friend)

[suzieQ]

After seeing what hell they put Lana through every season, how could any Smallville fan not be content about them finally paying her iconic character the overdue respect and reverence she deserves. Clark has had every season to come off looking like the knight in shining armor, saving the day more times then one can count. But give Lana a couple of episodes where she's being heroic and she's suddenly "outshining" Clark and making everyone look bad. Why can't Lana end up a heroine? Why wouldn't the one person who is worthy of Clark's love also shine next to him? Why does she have to be villified even when she does good? Lana can't win around here. If people were more empathetic towards Lana I think there wouldn't be so many haters complaining that she is making Clark look bad. She has given Clark a heart and made him more human than anyone else.

All these outcries of pandering just appear to be whines of discontent because Lana is no longer the persistant victim, ineffectual bystander or fleeting love in Clark's life they thought her character was only capable of being. She is now the biggest influence in his life and isn't leaving easily. She has developed so much as a character and sacrificed so much to be with the man she loves. And now she is even more connected and intertwined with Clark, since her parents were killed by Clark's meteor show. She is the one person he loves most in the world but can not be with her because of the added effects his planet's destruction. A poetic end, fitting of how they started in the Pilot, where it was set up that Lana would always be his weakness. That legacy is even more true now and how people continue to not acknowledge that and accept it as Clark's character trait then I really feel sad for you. He's not Superman he's Clark Kent. Learn him and love him.

Wonderful post, I agree!

No, there was no pandering.......the storyarc gave Lana back her good nature, her desire to help others and her moral compass........the plus is the Superpowers!

[tj_powers]

this is just another version of so many threads weve seen so far. all the characters have traits that are particular to them. Lana's character has always been somewhat conniving. She always had to find out everyone's secrets and kept giving grief and guilt to those who had those secrets. Lana was hellbent on finding out Clark's secrets or knowing everything Lex was doing. In season 5, she kept insisting that it didnt matter if Clark had a secret but the more it went on, the more shed ***** about it to Lex... in season 6... she kept snooping on Clark and Lex... and resented Chloe for knowing Clark's secret... then in season 7, she kidnapped Lionel, tried to kill Lex.. and left Clark without fair warning... whether or not it was a setup shown on season 8... she still did it for her own reasons! It was always about her but thats how she needed to be portrayed because she is the entity of what Clark should not be with!

[actaeon]

Clark doesn't need Lana to look bad. He's perfectly capable of looking bad on his own.

I am though getting sick and tired of characters on this show lecturing one another about "it's wrong to kill". Clark has killed people-- and other sentient beings-- and has almost-killed more. Ditto Lana. Even Chloe. They've all got more in common with Lex and Lionel than they care to admit. At least Lionel was honest about being an SOB.

[Sunny8]

A poetic end, fitting of how they started in the Pilot, where it was set up that Lana would always be his weakness.

No, kryptonite is his weakness. Lana was just toxic to him.

----- Added 3 Minutes later -----

In closing, Smallville made Lana who she was so stop hating the player and start hating the game. (I love that line.)

What does that mean?

----- Added 4 Minutes later -----

Clark doesn't need Lana to look bad. He's perfectly capable of looking bad on his own.

I am though getting sick and tired of characters on this show lecturing one another about "it's wrong to kill". Clark has killed people-- and other sentient beings-- and has almost-killed more. Ditto Lana. Even Chloe. They've all got more in common with Lex and Lionel than they care to admit. At least Lionel was honest about being an SOB.

This Clark Kent can't tell anyone what to do because he was made so common by TPTB. Who would listen to such a hypocrite?

[abrazz1e]

Anybody else?

[BigT]

Of course it was pandering! If it wasn't then somebody tell me what the **** it was. I mean who else is going to even remotely like this **** other than the diehard Clark & Lana fans? Hell, I even seen that some Clark & Lana fans hated this and good for them. How was this closure? How was this any good? Because they cheapened Lois & Clark on this show. It may have but that's not the point! If anything there is more baggage than closure. It wasn't even a proper ending for this arc. You know what this was? Romeo & Juliet bull****. That's what this was and very bad Romeo & Juliet bull**** I might add and it was just stupid. It was like TPTB were thinking "Oh these are Kristin's last episodes so we got to make her the star of these episodes" and ended up taking away from the show as a result. Now Lana is invulerable and apparantly has no weaknesses and kryptonite is Clark's weakness making him totally irrevlent now. Yeah, he's Superman but that doesn't matter anymore because now you have Super-Lana with no weaknesses. Screw you, TPTB!

[TheSecretVampire]

There's a double standard, lol. When Clark lies to people about his powers or what he really knows about the caves and stuff like that, everyone gives him a hard time. When Clark gets on other for their lies, they give him the 3rd degree. It's like because he had secrets and lies in the past that justifies everyone else that lies to him in the present.