I think everybody knows my favorite character on Smallville is Clark, but I've been a fan of every character at some point, and I still love most of them. And the show has dumped on all of them. Either they have them do something totally OOC that makes them look bad, or they make bad things happen to them to the point where they become the show's punching bag. It's a drag for the fans, it doesn't do the show any favors, and it even sets fans against each other. It's lazy writing, bad storytelling, and a slap in the face to those of us who hold these characters dear.
How about a few examples, just off the top of my head?
Clark - make EVERYTHING his fault, and punish him for it; put him in no-win situations, like in Abyss
Lex - have him fake Lana's pregnancy; routinely have characters who have benefited from his kindness and generosity call him a monster
Lana - have her kidnap and torture Lionel; have her sleep with Bizarro and like him better than Clark
Chloe - have her suggest to Clark that he needs to kill Lex; have her fall in love with a complete douche
Lois - have her sleep with her boss; have her write a news story about a superhero that she made up
Martha - have her berate her son for what he did while on Red!K, bringing him to tears; have her invite Lionel to the Kents' first Thanksgiving without Jonathan
Jonathan - make him unreasonably hateful toward Lex; make him dismissive of his son's emotional pain
Jimmy - make him pathetically jealous and insecure; also make him a complete horndog
Pete - make him jealous of his best friend; give him a huge chip on his shoulder about his lot in life
Does anyone else feel the way I do, or am I just being too picky, and paranoid? Don't get me wrong, I understand the importance of conflict in a good story. It's critical to developing characters, advancing the story, and keeping viewers engaged. But there's a difference between putting a character in a compelling conflict, and then taking us on his journey to resolve it, and just knocking a character down, and then kicking him a couple of times while he's on the ground for good measure.
We're hearing rumblings that S9 is going to be a dark one, especially for Clark, and that evidently the darkness will be of his own making. Yes, Clark, you screwed up again, and you must be punished. *headdesk* My own personal rage over what they're doing to Clark (AGAIN) aside, who in the world would want to watch THAT? This is Superman, not Batman. He's a symbol of hope to the world, not despair. And hello? He's the HERO of the story! Can't his journey be a source of inspiration and joy, rather than a depressing lesson in how he's doing it wrong? Maybe I'm being way too pessimistic, but I have a bad feeling about this.
So what do you think? Does this show crap all over your favorite character, too? Tell me the things that drive you nuts, and tell me why you think the show does this. Or maybe just tell me to get a life. :) Let's all vent a little bit, and see if it helps.
BTW, let's not turn this into a forum for character bashing, okay? I want to hear your thoughts on what the writers and producers have done to the character you love, not your justification for why you hate the character someone else loves. Let's leave the shipper wars at the door.
ETA: Spoilers in the comments, so be careful!
