Missed opportunities & things that you would change looking back to improve Idol

[xrayvision]

I think they should have had Clark jump down to save Lois similar to how he jumped into Saunders Gorge after Perry White in Perry and the Wonder Twins could have helped him do so without revealing his powers. That scene would have been perfect had that happened. Heck, the episode would have been perfect. That Lois dangling scene didn't sit well with me. Clark would never have stood there like that.

[deanropi]

They could of made Infamous not pointless and had Clark remembered the lesson he was suppose to learn instead of Chloe having to tell him.

[xrayvision]

I don't think Clark stopped himself from outing his secret because of Chloe. I think that whole thing was poorly done. First he wanted to out himself & then when he should have done so since Lois was about to die, he didn't. It should have been the other way around.

[bigblueplanet]

They could of made Infamous not pointless and had Clark remembered the lesson he was suppose to learn instead of Chloe having to tell him.

ITA.

I thought whether or not he was about to out himself after the conversation with Chloe was not clear. But by re-watching the scene and listening to the tone of the score in the background, the message they were sending here was pretty much clear. I think he was going to. But just in the nick of time Lois appeared.

The writing of this part of the episode doesn’t make any sense to me because;

1) He is ready to out himself again despite of his experience in Infamous.
2) By doing so, he’ll put everyone close to him in danger again.
3) But earlier in the episode Clark told Chloe that he stopped calling Lois as the Blur after what’d happened with Corben for her own protection.
4) But later he is ready to out himself? Because he is the shield?? What???

People has been aware of his presence since his debut in Identity as the Red and Blue Blur and they know he’s been helping people ever since. What would his shield make any difference? Why did he think this time would be different? Please someone explain it to me. Or do I have to chalk it up to bad writing again?

[deanropi]

ITA.

I thought whether or not he was about to out himself after the conversation with Chloe was not clear. But by re-watching the scene and listening to the tone of the score in the background, the message they were sending here was pretty much clear. I think he was going to. But just in the nick of time Lois appeared.

The writing of this part of the episode doesn’t make any sense to me because;

1) He is ready to out himself again despite of his experience in Infamous.
2) By doing so, he’ll put everyone close to him in danger again.
3) But earlier in the episode Clark told Chloe that he stopped calling Lois as the Blur after what’d happened with Corben for her own protection.
4) But later he is ready to out himself? Because he is the shield?? What???

People has been aware of his presence since his debut in Identity as the Red and Blue Blur and they know he’s been helping people ever since. What would his shield make any difference? Why did he think this time would be different? Please someone explain it to me. Or do I have to chalk it up to bad writing again?

I just think that Clark wasn't the writers' priority. They had a great chance for Clark to learn from his experiences, but instead had him lectured by Chloe and saved by Lois.

[Exedore]

I would have avoided the Blunder Twins altogether. Plus I wouldn't have made the DA so clearly evil. I would have kept him more in the gray area. It's more interesting when everything isn't so black and white.

Instead of the twins' blunders, I think it would have been better if the DA had taken a stand against vigilantes in general, especially a superpowered one like the Blur. Opinions could have been more divided among the people regarding the Blur. Let's face it, not everyone would immediately love some superpowered entity who takes the law into his hands, especially not someone who hides in the shadows. A lot of people would actually be scared of him. In fact this would have been a good time to bring back General Lane in the picture (you know he'll hate the Blur ).

Since Clark is still hiding in the shadows, not everyone would trust him and this issue (of gaining the trust of the people and the respect of the government and police) should have been a running theme from this episode onwards, ultimately culminating in Clark deciding to go for a more public persona (i.e. without masks or hiding in the shadows and revealing a lot about his Kryptonian background). Wrapping it all up so nicely wasn't a good idea. IMO of course.

[KALLO]

Agreed the rooftop scene didn't work. Clark could have saved Lois quite easily without really giving away he had superpowers. He could just about reach Lois' hand without using any powers and he could easily have reached out another few inches without giving anything away to her or the crowd below(he could hang from one finger without trying for crying out loud!). Once he had hold of her hand then it wouldn't have looked strange that he could have hoisted her up. He is a big lad! That would have looked totally believable.

The fact that most people think that it was the WT that saved her basically means most people think that he was willing to 'let' her fall knowing it might be to her death, rather than giving his identity away. Eek - that is a major flaw IMO, which could easily have been avoided with better writing. Ofcourse, the argument will be that he was 100% confident that the WT had it all under control but that would have required a huge leap of faith on his part that doesn't really wash with me.

Overall though I loved this episode so I'm not going to throw my toys out of the pram over it

[xrayvision]

I would have avoided the Blunder Twins altogether. Plus I wouldn't have made the DA so clearly evil. I would have kept him more in the gray area. It's more interesting when everything isn't so black and white.

Instead of the twins' blunders, I think it would have been better if the DA had taken a stand against vigilantes in general, especially a superpowered one like the Blur. Opinions could have been more divided among the people regarding the Blur. Let's face it, not everyone would immediately love some superpowered entity who takes the law into his hands, especially not someone who hides in the shadows. A lot of people would actually be scared of him. In fact this would have been a good time to bring back General Lane in the picture (you know he'll hate the Blur ).

Since Clark is still hiding in the shadows, not everyone would trust him and this issue (of gaining the trust of the people and the respect of the government and police) should have been a running theme from this episode onwards, ultimately culminating in Clark deciding to go for a more public persona (i.e. without masks or hiding in the shadows and revealing a lot about his Kryptonian background). Wrapping it all up so nicely wasn't a good idea. IMO of course.

You make a great point. I love shows & movies where besides having to combat evil, superheroes also have to worry about their public image and various authority figures who disapprove of them & their vigilante perception of them.

I think this is another area where Clark being shown to love journalism and actually writing articles including those that would give show a side to the Blur that not Lois nor anyone else but Clark understands is needed & would be of tremendous value to the show.

----- Added 7 Minutes later -----

Agreed the rooftop scene didn't work. Clark could have saved Lois quite easily without really giving away he had superpowers. He could just about reach Lois' hand without using any powers and he could easily have reached out another few inches without giving anything away to her or the crowd below(he could hang from one finger without trying for crying out loud!). Once he had hold of her hand then it wouldn't have looked strange that he could have hoisted her up. He is a big lad! That would have looked totally believable.

The fact that most people think that it was the WT that saved her basically means most people think that he was willing to 'let' her fall knowing it might be to her death, rather than giving his identity away. Eek - that is a major flaw IMO, which could easily have been avoided with better writing. Ofcourse, the argument will be that he was 100% confident that the WT had it all under control but that would have required a huge leap of faith on his part that doesn't really wash with me.

Overall though I loved this episode so I'm not going to throw my toys out of the pram over it

Yeah. Like I said, had they done something to have a climax like the one seen in Perry (Perry dangling over the gorge) or in Jitters (Lex & Earl Jenkins dangling over the collapsed catwalk in Level 3), it would have perfected the episode. They could have still made the Wonder Twins provide cover. It wasn't asking too much to have Clark get a rope at the very minimum & lower himself down to get Lois than just sit there looking at her.

----- Added 44 Minutes later -----

By the way Exedore:

To add to your point of having a vigilantism theme to this season---using that D.A. throughout the season as a public opponent of the Blur's tactics would be a very interesting & high-brow story of a type that Smallville hadn't undertaken since the season 3 plot of Lex, Lionel & Morgan Edge. Imagine how great it would have been to have the D.A., on top of his Blur grudge, find Chloe's tapping of buidlings & other public areas. That would be an awesome storyline that they really missed on. And one where they could have tied Intergang with, given Bruno Mannheim's hatred of "capes". It would be great if the D.A. had some backroom deal with Mannheim and had this be a huge story that Clark would work on as a journalist during the season.

[markbot]

Yes, I agree that they should have made the DA more gray...or at the least, not dumb enough to get caught. Why not keep him around as a menace for future episodes?

[bigblueplanet]

I just think that Clark wasn't the writers' priority. They had a great chance for Clark to learn from his experiences, but instead had him lectured by Chloe and saved by Lois.

Yeah, that’s what I thought.

Instead of the twins' blunders, I think it would have been better if the DA had taken a stand against vigilantes in general, especially a superpowered one like the Blur. Opinions could have been more divided among the people regarding the Blur. Let's face it, not everyone would immediately love some superpowered entity who takes the law into his hands, especially not someone who hides in the shadows. A lot of people would actually be scared of him. In fact this would have been a good time to bring back General Lane in the picture (you know he'll hate the Blur ).

Since Clark is still hiding in the shadows, not everyone would trust him and this issue (of gaining the trust of the people and the respect of the government and police) should have been a running theme from this episode onwards, ultimately culminating in Clark deciding to go for a more public persona (i.e. without masks or hiding in the shadows and revealing a lot about his Kryptonian background). Wrapping it all up so nicely wasn't a good idea. IMO of course.

Great idea. I think they’ll explore this theme with [SPOILER]Amanda Waller[/SPOILER].

[BIGBMH]

I really he would wear the glasses from now on. Just putting them on for a second doesn't really do any good. It was nice, but we saw it before in that alternate universe episode.

[bloodymary2]

Thought keeping the DA and developing a back story that deals with the public's acceptance of the Blur would be great to watch and would actually add a lot in depth to the show, we have to consider that the season is majorly tied in with the Zod ark (and the writers do love their seasonal arks, don't they?) and air time is already limited. By adding another continuing plot, the writers would risk a tiresome season that has too many episodes that are simply too much alike. Now, if there were small, almost unnoticeable mentions of this, however, that culminated in this big plot in one of the later episodes, maybe it could work (like Doctor Who in season 3, with the Saxton ark, anyone knows what I am talking about?).

Just my two cents. I totally agree, though, that Clark wouldn't simply watch Lois falling, trusting some one else (who showed absolutely no sign of being all that reliable, no matter how good their intentions to begin with) would catch her, just to keep his identity a secret. There were other ways!!! Sometimes the writers show him so slow in the uptake. Really.

[protector91]

Not much. I would've had Zan say "hey can we say the thing we used to when we were kids?"
Jayna: "You know we aren't actually twi-"
Zan: "Please?"
Jayna: "Fine."
"Wonder Twin powers activate!"

[jon-el87]

Like I said, before this episode aired; I really think, they should've done some type of build-up, for Absolute Justice, rather then introducing the Wonder Twins; Introduce one or two of the younger, future JSA:ers (whom are offered membership, in the Watchtower group, but declines and hints, that there's another group, they'd much rather, be a part of). Or have some, seemingly insane guy, show up in Metropolis and stalking the Blur, claiming to have found evidence of superheroes, pre-dating the current generation.