7.09 - Gemini - Discussion Thread (Spoilers)

[Docker2.0]

So Clark is learning how to fight or defend the world in a crystal now? G&M are really running out of material.

 

[AgentPat]

The giveaway was what was coming out of Clark's mouth in that opening scene.

Hee! Ya think?! Even my MOM noticed it - and she had no clue about the spoilers (took every ounce of willpower I had not to tell her.) She figured out Clark wasn't himself when he was with Lana at Isis. "Somethin' not right here." LOL

Totally un-Clark like attitudes: He was far to willing to give up on finding Kara (he practically shrugged and said, "meh." Maybe Pat's been talking to him. LOL!)

BAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Yes, listen to Auntie Pat, Clark.

And not to get off on a typical Pat Tangent, but episodes like Gemini really show how superfluous characters like Kara are.

Well, to me it did.

...then again, I already knew that. Okay, moving on...

Tom played it really well, with subtle hints at his insincerity by laying it on just a teensy bit thick.

His acting was amazing tonight. He's so darn good at this.

I'm still a little put out that neither Lana or Chloe recognized that this was not Clark.

Well, he played into each character's drives and motivations enough that his being a little "off" didn't stick out. I'm guessing Lex or Lois will be the first ones to notice something aint right, particularly since both of them actually "met" Bizarro.

Of course, that would have ended the episode fairly quickly.

Oh, no doubt. I'm kinda hoping they hang with this for a while, but it'll probably conclude in Persona.

Did his hair look darker to anyone else? I swear, it was darker.

Hmm. Well, as Bizarro, he had to stand in the shadows most of the time. Maybe it was a subconscious thing because he was actually darker, both literally and figuratively?

Allison did a really wonderful job in this. I thought her scenes with Jimmy were some of her very best.

Two things that stood out to me: I think Chloe should have giggled more overtly at Jimmy asking her if she could fly (total throwback to Chloe asking Clark the same question in Rush), and I had to LOL at Jimmy joking about Clark's hair. What is it with Clark's hair? It is a joke both IN and OUT of the fiction - even WELLING has joked about his hair in interviews. Not just Clark's hair - HIS hair. They must really yank his chain on that topic, which I find oddly endearing.

I really felt for Grulian. I wonder if they are going to have him suddenly break down at some point like the other clone did.

I don't think he's gonna last that long...

Cute Lois anvil with her mentioning that her future guy would definitely not be someone she worked with.

*clang* LOL

Y'know, as much as fans give them grief about the anvils, I love every one of 'em. Every. One. Of. Them!

My girl Lana is quite the resourceful woman when she needs to be. I did snicker at how she talked about having "connections" who moved the contaminated woman for her. So very Luthorian, but with a conscience.

That scene took a lot of suspension of disbelief on my part. Ten million dollars is a lot of dinero, but it's not going to fund the kind of medical attention that woman would need, along with Lana's support staff "connections" and every other meteor freak she's "treated." But y'know what... I'm trying to not think about that, 'cause I don't want to ruin the "high."

I had to laugh at my husband's reaction to Clark zooming off to save Chloe and Jimmy. He is notsomuch a fan, but he half-watches only because he's usually in the room. When Clark zoomed away, my husband was like, "HE FLEW! Did you see that? Did he just fly? When did he learn to fly???" I was giggling and told him to just watch and see.

I think it could be argued either way. I watched the scene pretty close; it looked like he jumped to me. Obviously, we know that Bizarro can fly, but they made it ambiguous enough for the audience to not be sure, even if you watch the scene in slow motion. Plus, we know that Clark (as Clark) is fully capable of jumping that high and then some, so it could go either way.


Anyhoo, here's some random thoughts on the production...

Gemini was director Whitney Ransick's seventh episode, which I guess compared to James Marshall's 18 eps and Greg Beeman's 15 eps isn't a hell whole of a lot. BUT! What amazes me is how divergent in appeal (for me) Ransick's eps have been.

Ransick is the director of my most favorite episode of SV ever (Hidden) and my most loathed episode of SV ever (Spirit). I remind folks, he's only directed seven eps. That right there is pretty amazing. But wait! It gets better. He is now also the director of my most favorite S7 episode (Gemini) and my most loathed S7 ep (Fierce). In S6, he directed Labyrinth (wow!!!) but he also directed Wither (ouch!) He directed S5's Oracle - which I liked - as well.

Day-um!!! Consistency much? Nope!! Wow. Just wow.

Writer Caroline Dries has a little better record (with me.) She's directed six eps so far, starting with Cyborg. Yay! Great start. She moved on to Oracle and then Subterranean. Okay, the latter one was voted worst ep of S6 on K-Site, but it wasn't *that* bad. She then wrote some doozies - Nemesis, Action and Gemini. So she's 5 for 6.

Glen Winter was the DP, and wow, what a job he did. Everything looked beautiful, even that elevator. Next time y'all watch the ep, look at the detail on those walls. Amazing. Production and art design was just sick.

Okay, so the next episode is Persona and will be directed by Todd Slavkin. Slavkin has been with SV since the first season and is a co-executive producer for the show. He's written 23 episodes so far (most notably Transference, Commencement, Arrival, Aqua, Solitude and Phantom) but he has no directorial credits on his IMDb page. Persona is written by Holly Henderson and Don Whitehead, both of whom only have one prior SV episode to their credit as writers (Lara). This is gonna be interesting.

 

[The Caped Knight]

I hope to God they play around with The Bizarro angle for a while. And the real Clark doesn't return until the episode "Fracture" .

 

[The Caped Knight]

And finally were getting back to some Superman mythology comic book Continuity . With Lex Luthor now the owner of The Daily Planet just like in the comics

First - Lex Luthor

Then - Perry White

Lex again

And Perry again (Thanks to Lois Lane)

to finally the current owner Bruce Wayne.

 

[avidreader]

Hmmmmm...... I'm not sure I was entirely impressed with that episode. I so didnt want it to be Bizarro, but I knew from the second that we saw him that it was. The hair said it all as well as the mannerisms.

And I have to ask what does this say about Jor-el? That he would keep his son locked up in a frozen ice-cube while a mass murderer is on the loose.

 

[The Caped Knight]

Also I'm glad that the Lois & Grant relationship actually accomplished somethings that would help to further Lois Lane's character development towards her Future self . Rather than just be another one of Lois romantic fling that ends up badly .


Lois & Grant relationship established

1. Lois rule "Never date the partner you work with"

2. Office Romance never ends well

3. You've got to earn your way to the top (Not by your good looks , But by hard work .)

So I'm glad to see that their was actually a purpose of significant to this stupid Office Romance .

 

[Captivated]

The Grant reveal totally caught me off guard... which surprised me because it made perfect sense. Good one.

The Lois, Chloe and Jimmy story was not bad... considering Clark was hardly in it.

I had unfortunately been spoiled about Bizzaro... but I was glad because it helped temper the INTENSE disappointment I would have felt to find out that I had NOT been watching Clark all episode.

If not spoiled I would have still known something was "off" but may have assumed it was a result of Jor-El's discipline. Clark seemed more open, confident and... what's the word... proactive.

Tom was SO good at playing yet another distinct persona for Clark. It was very different from Red-K Clark, in that his aggressive confidence was more tempered and subtle... there was mischief behind his eyes... He was great.

But my problem is, this isn't Clark... under the "influence" or otherwise, it's not him. And I have no real interest in Bizarro.

I always thought that Clark should have been more sensitive to the pain that Lana was obviously in... So how wrong is it that Bizzaro would say what Clark should have. How does he even KNOW what has occurred since he got whisked away?! and how could MM let this happen?! Awfully odd.

I wonder what kind of a "lesson" is Clark going to get out of being frozen for who knows how long?! Jor-El is dead. May-be his "program," or whatever you call that thing that is trying to manipulate Clark according to some great plan his father had... may-be it has been corrupted.

 

[Hush]

Great ep buti mean even with out being spoiled onlinei knew that was not clark and i totally thought it ws Milton Fine at first just shape shifting as Clark. No kara this ep and she wasnt really missed. Great Ep when is the next?

 

[avidreader]

Gosh! I best go to bed. I am so not on the same page as everyone else.

The only thing I agree with is that Tom's performance was outstanding.

And we had to endure another ten minute break-up scene, this time between Lois and Grant.

 

[AgentPat]

And I have to ask what does this say about Jor-el? That he would keep his son locked up in a frozen ice-cube while a mass murderer is on the lose.

Awww... you didn't like it? Gah! Figures I'd be the one to love an ep and you not this time.

FWIW, I don't think Jor-El (AI) has any clue what's going on with Bizarro. The ENTIRE episode was about misdirection, so it's safe to assume that that theme extends to Clark's "punishment." I think the whole idea of a punishment is a red herring to make auds *believe* Jor-El is behind the chaos when in fact he has nothing to do with it.

From a realistic POV, Bizarro wouldn't casually impersonate Clark w/o knowing that the real Clark couldn't show up at any moment and blow his cover. It seems clear to me that Bizarro had something to do with keeping Clark locked up, or perhaps was the direct cause of Clark's incarceration. Bizarro has Clark's DNA, knowledge and memories; maybe that means he can control the FOS just as easily as Clark can? Notice that the Fortress was dark and looked like it was completely shut down.

So no... I don't believe for one second Jor-El was behind Bizarro's reappearance.

The Lois, Chloe and Jimmy story was not bad... considering Clark was hardly in it.

I'm usually the first one to b**** about lack of Clark, but somehow, everything seemed to pull together re-heeely well tonight, and I didn't notice it so much. That's RARE for me.

I had unfortunately been spoiled about Bizzaro... but I was glad because it helped temper the INTENSE disappointment I would have felt to find out that I had NOT been watching Clark all episode.

Well, in some ways you were seeing Clark.

This is what I find most interesting. Bizarro is a phantom, but he's also a perfect copy of Clark, right down to his DNA and memories. So while the phantom has his own agenda, he also speaks for Clark using Clark's own feelings, desires and regrets. From a narrative POV, that serves two purposes: it manipulates the other characters and it gives the audience a peek into Clark's psyche and the suppressed emotions that Clark clearly has, but hides from everybody else.

Tom was SO good at playing yet another distinct persona for Clark. It was very different from Red-K Clark, in that his aggressive confidence was more tempered and subtle... there was mischief behind his eyes... He was great.

Agreed. Best part is that Bizarro is much MUCH more dangerous than RedK Clark, and he's not as easily taken down.

 

[Cmill216]

Even without the big twist at the end, this was still one of the better episodes of this season. To think an episode completey devoid of Clark (Bizarro Clark or not) could be so damn good. I loved Erica, Allison, Aaron, and Michael tonight and they did a terrific job carrying this one. And this was about as good of a Chloe/Lois centric episode as you're going to see.

Now on to the big twist: wasn't a big surprise. I knew from the opening scene in the barn something wasn't right, and in fact, that ended up distracting me more than anything because I kept thinking, "So is it Fine or is it Bizarro?" Still, it's a badass twist, and props to the writers for doing something awesomely cool before the long hiatus.

The giveaway was what was coming out of Clark's mouth in that opening scene. Totally un-Clark like attitudes: He was far to willing to give up on finding Kara (he practically shrugged and said, "meh." Maybe Pat's been talking to him. LOL!), and his encouraging Lana to continue her investigation of Lex when he knows how much she needs to get past all that.

Bingo.

 

[Cmill216]

I'd also like to add that I'm thanking the man upstairs for this Julian thing working out the way it did in "Gemini". Thanks, big guy.

Oh, and if I didn't mention it in that first post, I'll mention it here: Kristin, Allison and Erica all looked extra :heart: tonight.

That is all.

 

[Whiteflag]

Gosh! I best go to bed. I am so not on the same page as everyone else.

The only thing I agree with is that Tom's performance was outstanding.

And we had to endure another ten minute break-up scene, this time between Lois and Grant.

I totally agree with you!

I don't care about Bizarro if he's not interacting with Clark. I can't be happy about Clark being absent from one whole episode, and maybe two, in his own show, with so much pending to tell, to be replaced by a character that's a cold-blood murderer and whose story doesn't interest me if I don't see it through Clark's POV.

Tom did a wonderful job, that's for sure. But I hope the real Clark is back soon so he can confront the villains on his show, Bizarro included.

 

[mellyM]

I totally agree with you!

I don't care about Bizarro if he's not interacting with Clark. I can't be happy about Clark being absent from one whole episode, and maybe two, in his own show, with so much pending to tell, to be replaced by a character that's a cold-blood murderer and whose story doesn't interest me if I don't see it through Clark's POV.

Tom did a wonderful job, that's for sure. But I hope the real Clark is back soon so he can confront the villains on his show, Bizarro included.

I think Pat made a good point in that Bizarro is giving us insight into what Clark is feeling and thinking, things that he won't say, because Clark is not notoriously emotionally open unless pushed, so on that level I found it really interesting. I enjoyed it because the ep was well done, and I like the Lex finally reminded me of future Lex and he finally felt dangerous and powerful to me. Poor guy, even the people he makes don't stay loyal to his crazy-a$$ self.

the only thing I didn't like was Clark god-awful haircut, i mean is that the true punishement??

 

[avidreader]

Awww... you didn't like it? Gah! Figures I'd be the one to love an ep and you not this time.

Yeah, I was disappointed. I will watch it again before I pass final judgement.

FWIW, I don't think Jor-El (AI) has any clue what's going on with Bizarro. The ENTIRE episode was about misdirection, so it's safe to assume that that theme extends to Clark's "punishment." I think the whole idea of a punishment is a red herring to make auds *believe* Jor-El is behind the chaos when in fact he has nothing to do with it.

Maybe.

So no... I don't believe for one second Jor-El was behind Bizarro's reappearance.

Well, I think Bizarro's reappearance was made possible by the eclipse that Zor-el created in Blue. The eclipse must have had a long enough affect on Mars that Bizarro was repowered again.

This is what I find most interesting. Bizarro is a phantom, but he's also a perfect copy of Clark, right down to his DNA and memories. So while the phantom has his own agenda, he also speaks for Clark using Clark's own feelings, desires and regrets. From a narrative POV, that serves two purposes: it manipulates the other characters and it gives the audience a peek into Clark's psyche and the suppressed emotions that Clark clearly has, but hides from everybody else.

But its not Clark. Its someone else.

I totally agree with you!

I don't care about Bizarro if he's not interacting with Clark. I can't be happy about Clark being absent from one whole episode, and maybe two, in his own show, with so much pending to tell, to be replaced by a character that's a cold-blood murderer and whose story doesn't interest me if I don't see it through Clark's POV.

Exactly! And they made their main character totally superfluous to the other characters around him and by extension the entire show.

 

[Captivated]

I think Pat made a good point in that Bizarro is giving us insight into what Clark is feeling and thinking, things that he won't say, because Clark is not notoriously emotionally open unless pushed, so on that level I found it really interesting. I enjoyed it because the ep was well done, and I like the Lex finally reminded me of future Lex and he finally felt dangerous and powerful to me. Poor guy, even the people he makes don't stay loyal to his crazy-a$$ self.

the only thing I didn't like was Clark god-awful haircut, i mean is that the true punishement??

How could Bizzarro know about Lana going after Lex? Much less what Clark was feeling about it? How can he have any memories or feelings of Clark's that occurred AFTER he was created? And besides that, he's been... what, on Mars? Makes no sense to me.

As for Clark's haircut... I don't like it getting shorter. I love it longish. (Clark's hair in Metropolis, at the beginning of Season 3 made him almost too hot to watch!) Here I thought it looked great though. Full and wavy... great hair is definitely one of Clark's (Tom's) superpowers!

 

[RakuMon]

I came in completely unspoiled, but even I could tell something was up with Clark. He had this look in his eye the entire time that made me think something was *off* about Clark.
However, the second they revealed he was Bizarro the entire time, all I could think was "then why the hell did he save Chloe?" He didn't have to. You can't say it was because Lana was there. He could have let the bomb go off and Lana would not have known any different.

Anyway, I can't believe no one has mentioned how freaking awesome Rosey was in the episode! He is def at his best when he plays unhinged (see Shattered, Onyx) and the scene where he shoots notJulian and shouts "You're not my brother!" was megacool. (Makes all the fanboys who drooled over Spacey's "Wrrrooooonnnngggg" delivery in SR seem silly.)
That's evil Lex, dagnabbit!

I was completely relieved by the clone story. That was the only thing that could have made sense. Also like the reference to Lex super-aging his clones (which addresses the age disparity issue.) I've been very interested in the clone story since the intro of cloneLana. (Despite a lot of people's misgivings.)

See, to me, Lex actively cloning people he wants to love him is perfect. It blends mad scientist Lex of the comics with the pyschologically scarred Lex of SV. Everyone wants Lex to traverse down the dark side. Well, this is how he gets there. And the more he is able to accomplish his goals, the more evil he will get.

 

[Serene]

I haven't really had a chance to write out anything really insightful about this episode yet (I need Calgon BIG TIME these days), but a few notes...

However, the second they revealed he was Bizarro the entire time, all I could think was "then why the hell did he save Chloe?" He didn't have to. You can't say it was because Lana was there. He could have let the bomb go off and Lana would not have known any different.

He needed Chloe to do whatever it was she did to figure out what it was the infected girl was babbling about, as she'd done before with the Kryptonian code. They made a specific trip to the D.P. to see her so she could do this. Also, the final scene was all about her giving him the results of what she found.

I also wonder if, like his feelings for Lana that he spoke of, perhaps Clark's strong feelings for Chloe also had a part in making Bizarro saving her an almost reflexive action. Yes, Biz is manipulating the situation, but he said that "feelings don't change" and I think it's a hint to us that he IS being affected by Clark's feelings.

Anyway, I can't believe no one has mentioned how freaking awesome Rosey was in the episode! He is def at his best when he plays unhinged (see Shattered, Onyx) and the scene where he shoots notJulian and shouts "You're not my brother!" was megacool. (Makes all the fanboys who drooled over Spacey's "Wrrrooooonnnngggg" delivery in SR seem silly.)
That's evil Lex, dagnabbit!

WORD! I squealed out loud when he shot that guy. That sounds awful, I know. LOL! Michael can NOT leave this show, it simply won't be the same.

I was completely relieved by the clone story. That was the only thing that could have made sense. Also like the reference to Lex super-aging his clones (which addresses the age disparity issue.) I've been very interested in the clone story since the intro of cloneLana. (Despite a lot of people's misgivings.)

I honestly was pretty sure this is the way they'd go with it. It just makes sense in light of everything else.

 

[Serene]

How could Bizzarro know about Lana going after Lex? Much less what Clark was feeling about it? How can he have any memories or feelings of Clark's that occurred AFTER he was created? And besides that, he's been... what, on Mars? Makes no sense to me.

Not my theory, but I did read something that possibly made sense of it by someone else. Perhaps Bizarro re-absorbed some more of Clark's DNA (which is how he got all the memories in the first place - which also makes no sense, but hey, it's one of those things you just go with. ). Bizarro has to know that Clark is trapped in the P.Z., whether he put him there or not. Maybe he took an ice pick and scraped off a few cells to 'update' him on what he's missed.

Really, in context of what's already been laid, that would make sense.

As for Clark's haircut... I don't like it getting shorter. I love it longish. (Clark's hair in Metropolis, at the beginning of Season 3 made him almost too hot to watch!) Here I thought it looked great though. Full and wavy... great hair is definitely one of Clark's (Tom's) superpowers!

I think they very intentionally styled it differently. It was shorter on the sides but sort of mussed up on top -and it was DARKER! I swear it was darker.

Off to work... have a good day, guys!

 

[Mikelus]

I think is pretty obvious that Jor-El freezed Clark, at the end of "Blue", after Jor-El told Clark about "the consequences", the FOS began to light up and now Clark is frozen. How Bizarro got liberated is more tricky, maybe the eclipse has something to do with it, unless is all part of sadistic Jor-El's punishment. Some people ask how does Bizarro has the memories of Clark since his absence, well, maybe sadistic Jor-El has something to do with that or the phantom has the ability to access Clark's memories by getting in contact with him, which could've happened at the FOS before Bizarro went to Smallville. Anyway, we have to suspend our disbeliefs a bit, is just a fiction show.

 

[Whiteflag]

Exactly! And they made their main character totally superfluous to the other characters around him and by extension the entire show.

Ditto. And that's something too serious to be overlooked. It seemed awfully easy to replace Clark. It's outrageous!

 

[Cmill216]

Anyway, I can't believe no one has mentioned how freaking awesome Rosey was in the episode!

I loved Erica, Allison, Aaron, and Michael tonight and they did a terrific job carrying this one.

 

[AgentPat]

I don't care about Bizarro if he's not interacting with Clark.

As somebody who pissed and moaned LOUDLY over Supergirl coming to the show - and my gosh, I *still* hate that angle - I do understand where you're coming from. But I also see how Bizarro as a character is being used to tell us more about Clark in a very direct sense - he IS Clark, albeit a facsimile. I'm cool with that. It's when we have a bunch of characters handwringing about Clark in absentia that bores me to tears. Show me. Don't tell me.

Tom did a wonderful job, that's for sure.

And this for me is the other side of the entertainment coin. Put bluntly, if SV didn't have Tom Welling, I would have stopped watching the show YEARS ago. He didn't have a Labyrinth amount of screen time last night, but I thought what he did have in Gemini was fabulous.

But I hope the real Clark is back soon so he can confront the villains on his show, Bizarro included.

Clark will be back in the next episode.

Well, I think Bizarro's reappearance was made possible by the eclipse that Zor-el created in Blue. The eclipse must have had a long enough affect on Mars that Bizarro was repowered again.

An eclipse of the sun as seen from Earth would have nothing to do with what's going on on Mars. The only thing that would is if one of Mars' moons passed in between Mars and the Sun, or if Zor-El was able to dampen the Sun's output of energy directly - the latter being a show of power that I seriously doubt he or anybody would be capable of.

How could Bizarro know about Lana going after Lex? Much less what Clark was feeling about it? How can he have any memories or feelings of Clark's that occurred AFTER he was created? And besides that, he's been... what, on Mars? Makes no sense to me.

My best response to this is to relay what Craig said in the spoilers for Persona:

"By now you've seen the conclusion of "Gemini," and it appears that Bizarro has taken Clark's place! How and why? We're going to have to wait a few months to see!"

That tells me it will be explained. We all thought retconning Memoria was the dumbest thing the writers could have done. But it turns out they did no such thing; that was totally explained too.

So I'm keeping a very open mind with this. (Avid and Melly's advice is finally sinking in. LOL)

However, the second they revealed he was Bizarro the entire time, all I could think was "then why the hell did he save Chloe?" He didn't have to.

He did have to - for two reasons: he was there to get Chloe's assistance in translating the Kryptonian code, and then there's those Persona spoilers again. This one I'll put in tags:

Spoiler

"Bizarro will want Brainiac's help to be able to remain 'Clark' forever."

So Bizarro *does* want to take Clark's place. The best way to do that is to "act" like Clark.

Anyway, I can't believe no one has mentioned how freaking awesome Rosey was in the episode! He is def at his best when he plays unhinged (see Shattered, Onyx) and the scene where he shoots notJulian and shouts "You're not my brother!" was megacool. (Makes all the fanboys who drooled over Spacey's "Wrrrooooonnnngggg" delivery in SR seem silly.)
That's evil Lex, dagnabbit!

No doubt! I watch the show for Clark, but Lex is totally next in line. Any episode that focusses on those two characters is gold in my book.

I don't use this analogy too much, but Gemini was a piece of toast buttered with both sides of awesome!



Now I'm off to do some snowblowing. *sigh*

 

[Tron5000]

So, like, didn't Jimmy wonder what happened to the bomb?

 

[Whiteflag]

And this for me is the other side of the entertainment coin. Put bluntly, if SV didn't have Tom Welling, I would have stopped watching the show YEARS ago. He didn't have a Labyrinth amount of screen time last night, but I thought what he did have in Gemini was fabulous.

Bizarro had like five minutes total. Clark 20 secs.

I don't use this analogy too much, but Gemini was a piece of toast buttered with both sides of awesome!

It's curious how the same episode can have a very different effect on people. I found it mostly boring and disappointing.