paradisekendra, posts by tag: character: lana lang - LiveJournal

My favorite friendship for Tess Mercer:

Lana Lang.

Lana & Tess’s dynamic was touching and powerful. I was not expecting to respond to their scenes so strongly. An unlikely friendship indeed.

Lana, for any jealousy she might’ve had towards this striking woman to whom her husband had left his entire empire and who was now also occupying in his house, she never stooped to name-calling. While Lois called Tess ‘Lex’s 3pm booty call’ upon first meeting her, Lana respected Tess for the worthy opponent that she was.

Not knowing initially whether Tess was a bad guy or rather a loyal Lex supporter who had simply been mislead, Lana handled her first interactions with Tess with a soft brutality, yet with dignity.

Tess, feeling a little unsure, a little worried, and a little bit guilty when she first sees Lana – Lana, on-the-other-hand feels very sure of herself …. and maybe just a little bit jealous. That first conversation in Lex’s great room is also, in my mind, Lana speaking indirectly to Lex [through Tess’s eyes]. Lana wants Lex to know that she knows everything that he and Tess have been up to. She also wants him to know that she will remove his protective queen from the preverbal chess board and succeed in stopping him. It was a revealing, tension-filled scene.

I love the one jealous line that slips out of Lana’s mouth, “What Lex saw was a person he couldn’t control.” In other words, ‘unlike how he controls you’. Tess immediately replies with, “Really? Remind me to send my condolences about the miscarriage.” In other words, ‘Lex confided in me about things he didn’t confide in you’. That was AWESOME!

I love how Tess tries to explain that she understands the terrible decisions Lex made, but that he always loved Lana. And I LOVE how sympathetic Lana is as she rips the carpet out from under Tess, showing her the camera Lex has implanted in her brain. Lana sees that Tess is destroyed by what she’s showing her and she feels terribly for her.

I don’t think anyone else could’ve convinced Tess of Lex’s betrayal apart from Lana. I think this truth had to come from Lana in order for Tess to fully believe it. However once Lana steals Lex’s research and takes the supersuit for herself, Tess wonders if Lana concocted the entire thing just to have the supersuit for herself. Tess starts spiraling out of control and it’s Lana who keeps Tess from losing it completely. “You’re an amazing person, Tess, but every second that you’re consumed by hate is another second Lex is still in control of you. Don’t be a victim anymore.”

The grace of Lana to not simply shatter Tess’s life and then run off into the sunset, speaks volumes to me. I admired Lana and I think Tess did too. I think Tess felt that if Lana could be shattered by Lex and come through it to the other side, then so could she. In my fanon world of Offscreenville, Tess and Lana still keep in touch and now have fully developed friendship.

And power to them!

Happy International Women's Day

A little goodie I made in honor of the Smallville ladies!

Clark Kent/Superman • Tom Welling (Smallville)

Tom Welling, but Dean Cain is SUCH a close second! They are both charming, heroic, striking men who do the most important thing that Clark Kent can do.  They both found their Lois Lane irrefutably charming and amusing -- even when she was driving him a little crazy.  Tom Welling was in my mind, slightly better at being the superhero while Dean Cain was the better "Clark Kent at the Daily Planet".  So together, they both fulfilled the two parts of it perfectly.  Tom Welling in a flannel shirt, uh uh.  He is the superhero. 

Lois Lane • Erica Durance (Smallville)

No question, no competition, there aren't really any other contenders in my book!  Erica Durance is the perfect Lois Lane.  I love her every day.  "Clark has many sides."  "Yeah, I've seen several of them already." <-- LOVE    

Lana Lang • Annette O'Toole (Superman III)

Annette's Lana is the most accurate, genuine, and understandable to me.  I don't want to get kicked out of the Clois fanbase for confessing this, but when I watch Annette's version of Lana Lang with Christopher Reeves's Clark Kent, I actually understand why these two characters find each other so comforting.

I spent years watching Smallville trying to grasp Clark and Lana's 'epic love' and to this day, I still fail to see it or even understand what they have in common.  However, with Annette and Christopher, I understand how being around Lana would feel like going home, how Lana would feel soothing whereas Lois could still feel overwhelming and abrasive in contrast. 

Annette's wide-eyed innocence in the role was spot on and incredibly difficult to pull off.  I am mesmerized every time I watch her in Superman III and I'm a little surprised by how much chemistry she and Chris had.  *don't shoot please*  lol. 

Anyways, other than it taking me a little while to get used to her voice saying, "Clark" in a non-mother/son relationship, she is absolutely my favorite Lana Lang. 

However, Kristin Kreuk's portrayal of Lana Lang and her intense romance with Lex Luthor is still one of my favorite things about Smallville.

Lex Luthor • Michael Rosenbaum (Smallville)

Oh my god!  Michael is beyond beyond...beyond.  Again, he really has no competition is my book.  He should've been given a couple of Emmys for this role.  Lex's dynamic friendship with Clark, how he and Clark were two sides of the same coin, his battle with darkness, everything was pure genius.

I am often bored with shows that make two-dimensional characters.  Lex Luthor's multi-dimensional layers were incredible and through Michael we were able to see everything Lex was going through.  Sometimes, we were even on Lex's side.  That is a great actor.

Jimmy Olsen • Aaron Ashmore (Smallville)

The perfect incarnation of Jimmy.  Innocent, enthusiastic, eager, wonderful.  I loved him.  I also enjoyed Justin Whalin and Michael Landes from Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.

And the winner of 1st place is...