Summary
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Smallville is old, with several episodes portraying outdated themes and uncomfortable dynamics.
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The series attempted multiple spinoffs that didn’t pan out, contrasting with the success of later team-up series like the Arrowverse.
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Smallville episodes like “Craving” and “Heat” showcase problematic portrayals of issues like eating disorders and teacher-student relationships.
Smallville Become one of the most successful series in the DC Universe after its long run of 10 seasons, but some details and stories have aged poorly. With 217 installments, Smallville Has many rewatchable episodes, however It also has a similar number of episodes that do not hold up. Beginning in October 2001 and ending in May 2011, the series has aged now, but provides a good encapsulation of the 2000s era. Even if the components of this do not hold up, the series needs to be recognized as a product of its time for the good and bad that it includes.
Superhero television has changed significantly since then Smallville Sent out. The series attempted many spinoffs that didn’t go together, including a snub of Alan Ritchson’s Aquaman, whereas Team-up and spinoff series subsequently became a focal fixture during the reign of the Arrowverse. Character and social dynamics have changed in contemporary culture as well, and the pop culture products that come out of that have changed as a result. After that, despite being an excellent and influential series, it makes sense that Smallville Has some awkward episodes and stories that don’t hold up well.
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Amy Adams in “Craving” has some outdated ideas about weight
The portrayal of eating disorders in Season 1 Episode 7 is uncomfortable
Before she became Lois Lane in the DCEU, Amy Adams appeared in Superman’s lowest point in Smallville As a high school student with an eating disorder. Adams plays Jody, and this episode attempts to show some of her struggles with her body and consumption. Embarrassed at school, Jody turns to vegetable shakes in an attempt to lose weight. Due to the inclusion of Meteor Stone, the shakes lead Jody to go on a violent eating spree across town.
The depiction of hunger or craving as a monster of the week feels incredibly outdated. Cultural conversations around body positivity have reframed how weight is discussed, and To see a character reduced to an ugly monster due to their relationship with food is gross and rude. This episode does a poor job with the themes it sets up, turning a very real, human body experience into something gross and deplorable.
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“Heat” shows an uneasy relationship with a twisted power dynamic
Season 2 Episode 23 features a strange abuse of power by a teacher
In “Heat”, Clark comes under the sexual influence of his teacher, Desiree Atkins. This is not the only time that Smallville Explored a relationship between a teacher and a student, but it may be the most soluble version. Atkins is heavily sexualized in each of her scenes, and uses this as a weapon. She seduces Lex, Jonathan, and Clark with her powers before trying to harm each of them.
While the episode certainly doesn’t encourage student-teacher relationships, the dynamic is still uncomfortable given Clark’s implied age, and “Heat” spends too much time allowing Atkins to flaunt her sexuality in front of Clarke. When she tries to seduce him, the camera runs over her body and treats her with extreme objectification. Clark’s heat vision blossoms out of this sexual experience, using it to play in the metaphor of awakening sexuality, and it is difficult to watch.
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Zatanna uses magic to get Clark to kiss her in “Warrior”
Season 9 Episode 12 makes some disturbing choices about consent
Clarke visits WonderCon in this season 9 episode, which introduces Zatanna to the Smallville Universe. After some twists and turns involving a charming comic book, Zatanna ends up throwing herself at Clark. Clark is still committed to Lois, so that doesn’t work. Zatanna then uses magic to put a spell on Clarke so that she can kiss him. Clark does not want this, but this infraction is not framed as a violation.
Because Zatanna is a beautiful woman, Clark’s being violated by her is not seen as a serious offense In the show. Instead, it’s played flirtatiously, and Clark’s admission to Lois about what happened is the most challenging thing to come out of it. Clark is robbed of his consent and is being used by Zatanna, but the framing of the series doesn’t allow for this to be shown accurately. Instead, the two part on good terms, and Zatanna was nearly given her own spinoff series.
Jensen Ackles played the Season 4 villain in an inappropriate relationship with Lana
answered, Smallville Is aware of how inappropriate a relationship between a school employee and a student is. However, just as that didn’t stop the show from exploring one in “Heat,” it also didn’t stop the show from exploiting this dynamic throughout season 4. Lana and Jason Teague share a romantic relationship throughout the season, and understanding his position as an assistant coach is difficult to watch.
The dynamic between school staff and students is delicate, and enormous power is given to senior staff. Resorting to a relationship with a student, even if it preceded his employment there, is a terrible misuse of that power. Fortunately for the show, this crumbled when Jason was revealed to be a villain. Their relationship ended with season 4, and Lana was given the chance to move on.
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The Smallville Justice League looks laughable compared to later iterations
Smallville nearly launched a Justice League spinoff with Green Arrow
Superhero storytelling is necessarily smaller in the 2000s, and no series has yet pulled off a big one avengers –Like team. Smallville Try to do this with the introduction of characters like Aquaman and Green Arrow, although the depictions of these heroes felt of a cheap quality. While the Arrowverse would later revolutionize how superhero team-ups on television could work, Smallville Spent many episodes setting up a Justice League and introducing characters like Doctor Fate and Martian Manhunter.
Many of the performers that the series received are excellent in their roles. However, due to limited budget and scope, The look and feel of Justice League throughout Smallville was weak. Maybe if Alan Ritchson hadn’t been recast in Aquamans spinoff series, the franchise may have successfully created a universe. Instead, as it stands, the Smallville Justice League feels small and unsatisfying.
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Lex groomed Lana from early on in the series
The relationship between the characters led to a strange marriage in season 6
The eventual relationship that blossoms between Lex and Lana is hard to watch. While both actors added much to the series during its run, Lex’s eventual pursuit of Lana in a romantic relationship feels difficult after his tutelage and support of her in previous seasons. His young friend Clark looks up to him and asks him for relationship advice in early seasons, and much of what Lex tells him ends up shaping Lana’s path during adolescence.
Using their past to lead to a pairing between the two is a poor choice. While they share charisma, it reframes their entire past to find it in a pattern of grooming and control. This makes their storyline a complicated one to witness, especially when Lex tricks Lana into thinking she’s pregnant later in the series. While the relationship would eventually dissolve, pursuing this pairing at all felt unnatural and to the show’s own detriment.
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“Instant” presents a dated and paranoid view of witchcraft
Season 4 Episode 8 doesn’t seem to understand pagan religion at all
One unfortunate sample too Smallville Is that Lana was poorly used throughout much of the series. Kreuk is an excellent performer with a unique charisma, and it’s unfortunate that so much of the show’s fumbling revolved around the use of her character.. In this Maligned episode, Lana, Chloe and Lois are possessed by witches who were burned in the 17th century. Out for revenge, the witches take the girls on a rampage through Smallville.
Many of the stories of witchcraft in the 17th century came out of paranoia rather than fact, and many people were hurt as a result. Capitalizing on this perception rather than exploring what witchcraft is and means is a cheap way to use this kind of story, especially since it’s relatively removed from the majority of Superman lore to begin with.. As such, the episode feels goofy and shallow, without any real understanding of what pagan art and their connections to nature really mean to people.
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Chloe’s nice girl pining over Clark early in the series is uncomfortable
Season 1 Chloe is much different from the character in later episodes
Phrases about nice guys finishing last have changed in recent years. when Smallville At first, these ideas were often shared in earnest. after that, Clark’s friend Chloe Sullivan was created to flag over him. She followed Clark into his life and resented his relationship with Lana Lang, even as she made reluctant efforts to help him pursue her. Her love for Clark has overshadowed her need to have him to herself, resulting in a strange, strained connection between the two.
It’s unclear what the original endgame for Chloe was intended to be, as she was an original character created for the show and was probably never intended to be Clark’s true love. Through a modern lens, the kind of devotion that Chloe shows is now recognized not as “beautiful” but as objectifying your friends and chipping away at friendships for selfish purposes. Fortunately, this is not the case with Chloe, although the prospect made some early appearances uncomfortable.
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Clark’s Kryptonite-Field Kiss With Lana In ‘Red’ Raises Questions About Consent
Season 2 Episode 25’s Red Kryptonite possession leads to uneasy romance
Unfortunately, Clark and Lana’s first kiss in Smallville is in the episode “Red”. During this episode, Clark is affected by red kryptonite, which removes his inhibitions and turns him into a completely different person. stronger, Clark is dressed in a leather jacket and sunglasses and rides a motorcycle. He seems little like the person he normally is, and it’s clear that he’s under the influence of something when he moves on Lana.
After a sweet and slow build up in the first season, the first sparks of physical connection between Clark and Lana when Clark is not herself and unable to consent is deeply unsettling. The scene chips away at their relationship and feels unfair to both parties. Although more would blossom between the two in the following episodes and seasons, this kiss is a very poor choice that feels uncomfortable to revisit.
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“Thirst” objects to Lana in uncomfortable ways
The Season 5 Episode 5 Vampire Episode Oversexualized Lana Lang
The “Thirst” episode of Smallville contains a story where Kristin Kreuk expressed his anger, with the frustration of how Lana was portrayed in the episode. The Halloween setting of the episode saw Lana joining a sorority. This in itself was out of character for Lana, however The episode goes off the rails in exploring sexual urges when Lana discovers the sorority to be a front for attractive young vampires. Lana is turned on, and spends the episode being objectified as she hunts for blood.
Kreuk recently spoke about her experience with the episode on want to talkAnd it seems to be the consensus that it is not true to the spirit of her character or the Smallville Series. Instead, the episode was built around the opportunity to objectify Lana, and to dress her in a “Super tight outfit“. This kind of exploitation has thankfully diminished in modern television, but episodes like this do Hard to watch today.
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